Rob's Pages

Tuesday, January 30

Feelies - Celebrating 40 Years! June 2016

Great Hall at the Woodland
Maplewood, N.J.
June 10 & 11, 2016

audio rip from audience-shot video 
sound quality: VG- to VG

This collection includes the following sets for both June 10 & June 11:

Set I - acoustic
Set II - electric
Encores with special guests

Night 1 = 37 tracks
Night 2 = 39 tracks

Huge thanks to the taper and to Rob G for sharing his audio rips with me.

MP3@VBR (196-212 kbps) 

Friday, January 26

Rich Robinson Band - Live 2014 + 2016

Sellersville Theater 
Sellersville, PA
July 28, 2016

audience recording (sound quality: VG++special thanks to edtyre)
  
Set 1:
01 Shipwreck
02 The Upstairs Land
03 Down the Road
04 Everything's Alright
05 In Comes the Night
06 Astral
07 Time to Leave
08 Veil
09 Yesterday I Saw You
  
Set 2:
10 Which Way Your Wind Blows 
11 Ides of Nowhere
12 For to Give
13 Nonfiction
14 Bring On, Bring On
15 Life
16 Trial and Faith
17 Sway
18 War Drums

Rich Robinson Band:
Rich Robinson - guitar, vocals
Matt Slocum - keyboards
Joe Magistro - drums, vocals
Sven Pipien - bass, vocals
Nico Bereciartúa - guitar, vocals

Visulite Theatre
Charlotte, N.C. 
Aug. 7, 2014
  
audience recording (sound quality: VG+)
   
01 intro
02 This Unfortunate Show
03 I Remember
04 I Know You
05 Falling Again
06 Bye Bye Baby
07 When I Paint My Masterpiece (Bob Dylan) 
08 The Sad Bag of Shakey Jake (Humble Pie)
09 One Road Hill
10 Lost and Found >
11 My Morning Song Jam >
12 Lost and Found
13 The Giving Key
14 Do You Hear Me?
15 In Comes the Night
16 Down the Road
17 Inside
18 Trial and Faith
19 encore break / band intro
20 Presence of the Lord (Blind Faith)
21 Got to Get Better In a Little While (Derek & The Dominos)
   
Note: 2014 recording is A Doodee Music Master Recording. It's a 24/48 fileset, so if you want to burn to CD, you will need to convert to 16/44 first.

ROB SEZ: I'm not a fan of the whole Allman Brothers / Lynyrd Skynyrd / Widespread  Panic genre of jammy Southern rock. I can understand the musical appeal, so I don't knock it. It's just not what I choose to listen to. When legions of music fans latched onto Chris & Rich Robinson's Black Crowes as saviors of the genre, I shrugged. Recently, I was reading about Rich Robinson's new band, The Magpie Salute. A writer claimed that even though Chris Robinson is better known, Rich is the Robinson brother worth listening to. So I gave a listen to Rich's more recent solo recordings. Lo and behold, I liked what I heard — a lot. So I sought out some of the better bootlegs from his 2014 & 2016 tours & decided to share two of 'em here. EXTRA THANKS to the tapers & sharers at bt.etree — a lovely bunch of music fans. The sharer of the 2014 Charlotte show said it well: "For some reason, the seemingly forgotten man is Rich Robinson. And, ironically, he's produced outstanding music that, among all the offshoots, stays most true to the Black Crowes' ethos. Rich Robinson has quietly released two of the best albums in recent memory with 2012's Through a Crooked Sun and The Ceaseless Sight from 2014. Heartfelt, honest, emotionally raw and musically engaging, these two records have flown under the radar for most folks. If you don't own them you need to. Immediately." One more thing: the most recent solo album is Flux, probably his best yet.

FLAC

MP3@320

Learn more about Rich Robinson's music 
(incl. Magpie Salute) at his web site & FB page

   

Tuesday, January 23

Maria McKee - Dublin 2017

Temple Bar Trad Fest 
St. Patrick's Cathedral
Dublin, Ireland
Jan. 27, 2017

solo performance on guitar & piano
with guests Denis Roche & Jude
   
audience recording (sound quality: VG+; there's the expected reverb from the cathedral's natural acoustics; that said, it sounds excellent)


Maria plays TradFest in Dublin, 2017
above photo by retiredmartin, below by V. Lennon 
  
00 intro
01 Shelter from the Storm
02 Am I the Only One?
03 talk
04 A Good Heart
05 talk
06 You Are the Light
07 talk
08 If Love Is a Red Dress Hang Me In Rags 
09 talk
10 High Dive
11 Wheels
12 Breathe
13 talk
14 Has He Got a Friend for Me?
15 talk
16 Show Me Heaven
17 talk
18 In Your Constellation
19 Absolutely Barking Stars
20 encore applause
21 talk
22 Life Is Sweet


ROB SEZ: There aren't many recent MM solo shows available, so I thought I'd share this one with you. In his review, Paul McGee called McKee's performance a "tour de force ... with a disarming charm that [kept] everybody completely present in the moment." For a 50-something vocalist, McKee's tone and vocal technique are stunning. Trusting the taper did his level best with the available acoustics, I found the results too trebly. So I eq’d the tracks in Audacity to improve what sounded to me like an overly shrill top end. I think it’s easier on the ears now ... at least my ears! Enjoy.
  
BIG WHOPPIN’ THANKS to jonnyfox for sharing

FLAC

MP3@320

Friday, January 19

Lone Justice - Band On the Verge (demos + live)

The Record Plant
New York, NY
Aug. 4-5, 1987
demo recording sessions 

soundboard recordings (quality: VG+ to VG++)

SAMPLE: "Friends for A While" (demo 1987)

Lone Justice: happier in the early days...

01 Panic Beach
02 Much Too Good at Goodbye 
03 Little Diva & Sugar Jones
04 Nobody's Child
05 Friends for a While
06 Friends for a While
07 Little Diva & Sugar Jones
08 Panic Beach
09 Much Too Good at Goodbye
10 Nobody's Child
  
Record Plant, Los Angeles, CA Dec. 1983
11 Working Late
xx Drugstore Cowboy*
13 Don't Toss Us Away
xx The Train*
15 I See It
  
Maria McKee - live bonus tracks
16 I'm Gonna Soothe You
17 I Can't Make It Alone
18 Shelter
19 Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye 
  
NOTES:
* tracks marked "xx" were officially released on 
    This World Is Not My Home & have been removed
16-18 Tower Records, San Francisco, CA 1993-10-05
19 World Café, WXPN Philadelphia, PA 1993-09-03

EXTRA THANKS to tjr.dk for the great remastering job and to lolita 
& others for sharing

Paradise Rock Club
Boston, MA
Dec. 17, 1986

FM recording (sound quality VG++;
     WBCN radio broadcast)

01 You Are the Light
02 Working Late
03 Wait 'til We Get Home
04 Sweet, Sweet Baby
     (I'm Falling)
05 This World Is Not 
Lone Justice, Mach II (1986 to 1987)
     My Home 
06 Ways to Be Wicked
07 Wheels
08 Shelter 
09 Belfry
10 I Found Love
11 A Little Bit of Heaven 
12 Inspiration
13 Soap, Soup & Salvation
14 announcer - encore break
15 Sweet Jane
16 radio outro

Musicians:
Maria McKee - vocals, guitar 
Shane Fontayne - guitar
Greg Sutton - bass, vocals
Rudy Richman - drums | Bruce Brody - keyboards

Transferred from master tape source; a this and that production 
SINCERE THANKS to glasnostrd19 for sharing
  
Lone Justice, early days at L.A.'s Palomino Club
ROB SEZ: Late 1986 marked the beginning of the end for Lone Justice. Dubbed the "Next Big Thing" by the music press, the group began life as a cowpunk band in Los Angeles in the early 1980s. When the likes of Linda Ronstadt and Jimmy Iovine heard Maria McKee's voice, they recognized a rare, red-hot talent, and Iovine became the band's manager. No less than Bob Dylan, Tom Petty & Little Steven all contributed to the self-titled debut album, released in 1985 by Geffen Records. Despite catchy, well-performed songs like Petty's "Ways to Be Wicked" and Little Steven's "Sweet, Sweet Baby (I'm Falling)", sales were below expectations. After the fact, Lone Justice was judged too country for rock radio and too rock for country stations. (Too bad "alt. country" & Americana weren't in vogue yet.)
  
After tours supporting U2 and Tom Petty, all band members except McKee went their separate ways. A new band was assembled for 1986's Shelter, the second album — a patchy, overly slick affair (Iovine & Geffen wanted to turn the group into an MOR, arena rock juggernaut). Although Shelter featured strong original songs by McKee, sales remained disappointing. After a live tour, the group spent part of 1987 demoing new material. Soon after, the 23 year-old McKee was persuaded she might find greater success as a solo act ... and Lone Justice was no more.
   
Think of this collection as the audio diary of a promising band on the verge of falling apart.
 
FLAC

MP3@320
  
Learn more about Lone Justice' music 

Tuesday, January 16

Maria McKee - Hamburg 1989 + Washington 1998 (FM)

Club Logo
Hamburg, Germany
Nov. 11, 1989

FM recording (sound quality: VG+)

01 To Miss Someone
02 Shelter
03 Hickory Wind
04 Hold Me
05 Wheels
06 Drinkin' In My Sunday Dress 
07 Don't Toss Us Away
08 Breathe
09 Panic Beach
10 This Property Is Condemned

9:30 Club
Washington, D.C.
Dec. 11, 1998
  
FM broadcast (sound quality: VG+)

01 intro
02 Life Is Sweet
03 The Promised Land
04 Panic Beach
05 Love Doesn't Love
06 I'm Not Listening
07 Wheels
08 From Our TV Teens to the Tomb
09 This Perfect Dress
10 Be My Joy
11 Something Similar
12 Am I the Only One?
13 Absolutely Barking Stars
14 Worry Birds
15 Shelter
16 Breathe

  
Extra thanks to Don for sharing

ASH Tuesday post #85

Friday, January 12

Maria McKee - Live in Sweden 1993 (pre-FM) + bonus

Karen
Goteborg, Sweden 
Nov. 6, 1993

preFM recording (sound quality: Ex-)


SAMPLE: "My Girlhood Among the Outlaws" (live 1993)

    
   
      
ROB SEZ: Bottom line: this is one of the best-sounding, best-performed Maria McKee boots in existence (yup, I have listened to most of 'em). There's another version of this show — a shorter FM capture, but this one has incredible sound quality. Extra big thanks to BK, araslim & Edwin for sharing this with the fans. The shorter live set from Germany is also pretty spiffy. Expect more from the Little Diva here in the coming days. [Psssst ... the mystery bonus share is not to be missed. Just poke around; you'll find it.]
   
Musicians(Dusseldorf show; see comment below for Goteborg line-up)
Maria McKee - guitar, vocals | Bruce Brody - keyboards
Marvin Etzioni - violin, mandolin | Don Heffington - drums
Susan Otten - perc. + backing vocals | Tammy Rogers - guitar, fiddle
Ben Fisher - bass
  
Dusseldorf, Germany
July 17, 1993

FM recording (sound quality VG++) 

01 I Can’t Make It Alone
02 My Lonely Sad Eyes
03 Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye
04 Breathe
05 Nobody’s Child
06 The Way Young Lovers Do
07 I’m Gonna Soothe You
08 Why Wasn’t I More Grateful
09 New Pony
10 Sister Anne - You Gotta Sin 
     to Get Saved
   
FLAC
   
MP3@320

Maria hasn't released any albums of her own music in quite a while. But she's featured prominently in the soundtracks to husband Jim Akin's independent films. So if you want to hear recent "Maria McKee" music, check out the soundtracks for After the Triumph of Your Birth and The Ocean of Helena Lee. Most tracks are instrumentals, but a few longer MM songs with vocals are sprinkled in...

Learn more about Maria McKee's music 


Tuesday, January 9

Marshmallow (Alan Gregg) - London 2005

The Borderline 
London, UK
April 12, 2005

audience recording (sound quality: VG+)

01 Chopping Wood and Carrying Water
02 Anytime Soon
03 Come Sunday
04 Snow
05 Do the Decent Thing
06 Empty Beach
07 Hang Up On You
08 Little Genius
09 Let Me Love You
     (Like There's No Tomorrow) 
10 Just North of Nowhere
11 Scooter Girl
12 Casting Couch
13 Later On
14 Open Mic Night

ROB SEZ: I'm a huge fan of New Zealand legends The Muttonbirds. When I learned that bassist Alan Gregg formed his own band, I had to hear it. After Muttonbirds dissolved and the other members returned to New Zealand, Gregg stayed behind in London and wrote the music that appeared on Marshmallow's eponymous debut long-player. If you like Muttonbirds, Crowded House, etc., Marshmallow is definitely worth your while. Mega thanks to Don for sharing this rarity. 
MP3@320
ASH Tuesday post #84
  

Friday, January 5

Lloyd Cole & band - Glasgow, SCT 2014

Lloyd Cole & The Leopards 
Celtic Connections 2014
Glasgow, Scotland
Jan. 29, 2014

audience recording (sound quality: VG+)

SAMPLE: "Women's Studies" (live 2014)


01 intro
LC wows the Glasgow crowd in 2014; below, with backing band.
(above photo by JayJay Robertson, below by Iain Reid)
02 Rattlesnakes
03 Weeping Wine
04 Sweetheart
05 Opposites Day 
06 That's Alright
07 Perfect Blue
08 Another Lover
09 Blue Like Mars
10 Period Piece
11 Brand New Friend
12 Women's Studies
13 Perfect Skin
14 Myrtle and Rose
15 My Alibi
16 Tried to Rock
17 What's Wrong With 
     This Picture? 
18 Lost Weekend
19 Missing
20 No Blue Skies
21 Jennifer She Said
22 band introductions
23 Like Lovers Do
24 Forest Fire

ROB SEZ: "Underrated" doesn't begin to capture the popular perception of Lloyd Cole's music in the 2000s and 2010s. More like "not rated at all." I won't blather on about how unjust this is, given the incredible quality of Cole's music after dissolving the Commotions in the 1980s. If they're none the wiser, lovers of great rock & pop really are missing out. Standards, Cole's most recent studio recording, is nothing short of brilliant. If you haven't explored his music in a decade or two, I recommend placing Lloyd Cole on your list of musicians to reconsider in 2018. Here's a nicely-recorded "hometown" show in Glasgow, backed by The Leopards. BIG-TIME THANKS to the taper and sharer, and to jonder for setting me straight. Please enjoy.

MP3@320

FLAC
Learn more about the music of Lloyd Cole 
at the artist's official site and/or AllMusic