Monday, December 27

The dB's - New Year's Eve 1986, Raleigh, NC

*bumped for 2021 — 35th anniversary!*
The Brewery
Raleigh, NC
Dec. 31, 1986 into the wee hours of Jan. 1, 1987
   
audience recording (sound quality VG+; a well-balanced, solid-sounding recording).
  
Gene models the kind of hat all well-dressed  
New Year’s Eve revelers should wear
(a sideways Like This LP jacket!)
01 Any Old Thing
02 She Got Soul
03 Auld Lang Syne -- Never Say When
04 Rains Around Here
05 Lonely Is as Lonely Does
06 Not Cool
07 Never Before and Never Again
08 A Better Place
09 Today Could Be the Day
10 White Train
11 I Lie (end cut, fades out)
12 New Gun In Town
13 Change With the Changing Times
14 Amplifier
15 Love Is for Lovers
16 Witchi-Tai-To (Jim Pepper cover; Will sings lead)*
17 A Spy In the House of Love
18 Why Don't We Do It In the Road?
    
*16 is a traditional Native American peyote chant set to music (leave it to Will to find something that cool & include it in a dB’s show...)

TT: 78:25

ROB SEZ: A fired-up dB’s play a rowdy New Year’s Eve show — a perfect way to ring in any New Year. During the show, Peter announces (for the first time in public?) that I.R.S. Records has signed The dB’s and that a new album will be recorded and released in 1987. BIG THANKS to TG for recording the show and RIDICULOUS THANKS to dB’s Fan for the share.

FLAC
  
MP3@320
 
These photos were taken at a show in Boston at The Rat in the mid-1980s. But it probably looked a lot like this on New Year's Eve in 1986 at The Brewery in Raleigh.
  
  


















The dB's:
Peter Holsapple: guitar, vocals
Gene Holder: lead guitar
Will Rigby: drums, backing vocals
Jeff Beninato: bass, backing vocals
   

Wednesday, December 15

Rapid Eye Movement - Holiday Fanclub Singles (complete)

bumped from several Christmases ago...
R.  E.  M.
Holiday Fanclub Singles (complete)
1988-2011

ROB SEZ: I can think of no better musical celebration of the holidays than listening to the complete set of fanclub singles issued by R.  E.  M.  After calling it quits, the guys shut down the fanclub in 2011. In early 2013, a certain Mr. Buck made noises about releasing these on a possible future boxed set for charity.

soundboard recordings (sound quality range VG+ to Ex-; many are vinyl rips with attendant pops & a few skips)

First fanclub single, issued in 1988
THANK YOU KINDLY to the original rippers, sharers & posters.

1988a Parade of the Wooden Soldiers
1988b See No Evil (Television cover)
1989a Good King Wenceslas
1989b Academy Fight Song
1990a Ghost Reindeer In the Sky
1990b Summertime (final seconds cut)
1991a Baby Baby (Vibrators cover)
1991b Christmas Griping
1992a Where's Captain Kirk?
          (Spizzenergi cover)
1992b Toyland
1993a Silver Bells
1993b Christmas Time Is Here
1994a Sex Bomb (Flipper cover)
1994b Christmas In Tunisia
1995a Wicked Game (Chris Isaak cover)
1995b Java (Allen Toussaint cover)
Artwork for 1999 holiday single
1996a Only In America
           (Jay & The Americans cover)
1996b I Will Survive (Gloria Gaynor cover)
1997a Live for Today
1997b Happy When I'm Crying
           (Pearl Jam cover)
1998a Lucky (M. Stipe w/Radiohead)
1998b E-Bow the Letter
           (live w/Thom Yorke)
1999a Country Feedback
           (Live w/Neil Young)
1999b Ambulance Blues
          (Live w/Neil Young)
2000a Christmas Time (Is Here Again)
2000b Hastings & Main
2000c Take Seven
2001a Let Me In (Live)
2001b Find the River (rehearsal)
2002a No Matter What (Badfinger cover)
2002b Jesus Christ (LX Chilton cover)
2002c M. Stipe reads Martin Luther King
2003a Country Feedback (Live)
2003b It's the End of the World As We 
          Know It (And I Feel Fine) (Live)
2004a I Wanted to Be Wrong (Live)
2004b She Just Wants To Be (Live)
2005a Turn You Inside-Out (Live)
2005b The Great Beyond (Live)
2006a Tongue (Live) [performed by Tin Cup Prophette]
2006b So. Central Rain (I'm Sorry) (Live)
2006c These Days (Live) [performed by The Observatory]
2006d Begin the Begin (Live)
Final fanclub single, issued in 2011
2007a Merry Xmas Everybody
          (Slade cover)
2007b Magnetic North
2008a Living Well Is the
          Best Revenge (Live)
2008b Let Me In (Live)
2008c Just a Touch (Live)
2009a Santa Baby
2009b Crazy Like a Fox
      (Link Cromwell & The Zoo cover)
2010a Christmas
          (Baby Please Come Home)
2010b IHT->U->EDIYTW (Dubmix)
2011a Perfect Circle (Live)
2011b Life and How to Live It (Live)

(includes artwork for all singles)

Check out the many connections between 
R.  E.  M. and The dB's at THIS earlier post.

For complete fanclub singles discography info, look at these
two great fan sites: HERE and HERE.

   

Friday, December 10

Straitjacket Fits - Radio & TV Sessions 1989-1993

Live Sessions 1989-1993
FM & TV broadcast captures 
various dates & venues

sound quality: VG+

01 Dialling a Prayer
02 Seeing U Fled
03 Bad Note for a Heart
04 Hand In Mine
05 Roller Ride
06 She Speeds
07 Follow & Fall 
08 Headwind
09 Quiet Come
10 Hail
11 Roller Ride
12 Hand In Mine
13 Bad Note for a Heart
14 Grate
15 Skin to Wear
16 Cast Stone
17 Dialling a Prayer 
18 Down In Splendour 
19 Brittle

sources:
01-10 - KPFK Radio, Los Angeles, CA Oct. 21, 1989
11-13 - John Peel Session, BBC Radio, UK Nov. 12, 1989
14-16 - Triple J, ABC Radio, Australia April 29, 1991
17 - The Factory, ABC TV, Australia April 1989
18 - MTV, Basement Studio, Australia 1990
19 - Late Night with Conan O'Brien, NBC TV, USA, Nov. 1993

ROB SEZ: No time for a longer comment this week, so I'll just say I hope fans of New Zealand rock with an avant garde edge will appreciate Straitjacket Fits, active from the mid 1980s into the '90s. BIG THANKS to mondoprune for sharing the Radio & TV collection and to crankingamps for the 1989 Triple J session below.

Live at the Wireless (2JJJ FM) 
ABC Studios
Sydney, Australia 
Aug. 7, 1989

FM recording (sound quality: Ex-)

01 DJ intro
03 Quiet Come
04 interview 1
05 Bad Note for a Heart
06 interview 2
07 Mellow Cheer
08 interview 3
    
note: officially-released tracks from the session were omitted in the original share, thus the tracklisting above is missing 02 and 09 as intended


     

Friday, December 3

Neil Finn & Dave Dobbyn (Party Boys) - Live 1985 (aud)

The Party Boys
Wellington, N.Z.
September 18, 1985

audience recording (quality: GD+ to VG-)

01 What's the Matter With You? (cuts in)
The Party Boys with Dave Dobbyn
before Neil joined in '85
02 Devil You Know
03 Mercury Blues (KC Douglas cover)
04 Love You Like I Should
05 Me and Bobby McGee (Roger Miller cover)
06 I Got You / Pretty Woman (Roy Orbison cover) 
07 Steal Yourself
08 Can't Carry On
09 Dancing Days (Led Zeppelin cover)
10 Be Mine Tonight
11 I Walk Away
12 Petticoat Junction (TV show theme)
13 Daydream Believer (Monkees cover)
14 Not Fade Away (Buddy Holly cover)
15 Now We're Getting Somewhere
16 Fire (Jimi Hendrix cover)
17 Bliss
18 Love Me Two Times (The Doors cover)
19 One Love (+ next song intro)
20 History Never Repeats
21 Hang Onto Yourself (David Bowie cover)

ROB SEZ: Can't have a 1980s & 1990s-centric N.Z. music series without posting this one. The recording goes back to the time just after the demise of Split Enz. Neil Finn had formed The Mullanes, but not yet signed to Capitol Records or changed the band's name to Crowded House. Meanwhile, Dave Dobbyn & friends began touring in 1984 as "The Party Boys" (kind of an odd name, since Jenny Morris was a member). Neil joined for the band's tour in Sept. & Oct. of 1985. This recording's sound quality isn't up to my usual standards, but the fun of hearing these two Kiwi legends playing & singing so many classic covers — and some of their own originals — makes up for what's lacking. Please enjoy.


Friday, November 26

Bailter Space - Auckland, N.Z. 1999 (sbd) + bonus

Sweetwaters Music Fest
Puhinui Reserve
Auckland, New Zealand
Jan. 24, 1999

soundboard recording
(quality: Ex-) 

01 Begin
02 Two Stars
03 Shadow
04 Dark Blue
05 Windows On the World
John Halvorsen & Brent McLachlan of Bailter Space
fab photos by Michael Hall
06 Woke Up
07 Robot World 
08 Splat
09 U.H.F.

ROB SEZ: Christchurch noise rock gurus Bailter Space (aka Bailterspace) aren't really my cup of tea, musically speaking. Yet they fit the bill for this NZ series, and they're the "successor band" to the Gordons. Plus, Bailter Space is undeniably good at what they do. Here we have a lovely 1999 soundboard recording from the master tape source, recorded & generously shared by crankingamps. All praises to him; I'm just passing along his work. The bonus share is a 4-song Dutch radio compilation from a 1994 live session for VPRO and a much shorter VPRO session from 1995. The names of the taper & sharer have gone missing, unfortunately...

Bailter Space plays Edinburgh, 1991
photos above & below by misterworthington
VPRO Radio Live Session
May 1994 (exact date unknown)

FM recording (sound quality: VG+)

01 intro
02 Robot World
03 dj speaks
04 Projects
05 dj speaks again 
06 X
VPRO Radio Live Session
Oct. 1995 (exact date unknown)

FM recording (sound quality: VG+) 

01 Untied
02 interview





Sunday, November 21

Owsley - Live & Rare (by request)

(Will) Owsley
Live & Rare archive 
various venues, dates
1997-2004

WHAT'S IN THIS ARCHIVE:


Owsley - Mess With Me (from debut, indie version, 1997) HQ MP3

Owsley - Newark, N.J. 1999-02-21 MP3

Owsley - Newark, N.J. 2000-02-21 HQ MP3

Owsley - Roseville, CA 2000-03-04 HQ MP3

Owsley - Live On Drive 105 (2003) HQ MP3

Owsley - Vintage Vinyl, Nashville, TN 2004-03-04 (untracked) MP3@256 

Owsley - Vintage Vinyl, Nashville, TN 2004-03-20 (RDF edit) HQ MP3

Owsley - photos + Big Takeover scanned article


ROB SEZ: I don't get many requests these days. So when a blog reader left a recent comment, "More Owsley, please!" I was inclined to oblige if I found the time — which I did just a few days ago. Years ago, I created a proper blog post featuring a 2004 FM broadcast by the late, great Will Owsley. In case the name doesn't ring a bell, Will was a master of tasty, crunchy guitar pop. Here is the rest of my ROIO archive for Owsley, featuring live recordings (mostly audience recordings in VG or better quality) plus a rarity. Still want more? Head over to Pop Fair and cross your fingers that Haper still has an active link for the collection of Owsley demos and non-album tracks he put together years ago.


MP3@320

(as received; I do not have these in lossless)

     

Friday, November 19

VA - Songs of Big Star Live Nov. 2021

Various Artists
The Songs of Big Star 
St. Ann & the Church 
     of the Holy Trinity
Brooklyn, N.Y.
Nov. 7, 2021

audience recording (sound quality: VG++)

ROB SEZ: This was billed as "Songs of Big Star"— a one-of-a-kind acoustic, orchestrated performance featuring Chris Stamey (The dB's), Jody Stephens (Big Star), Mike Mills (R.E.M.), Ira Kaplan (Yo La Tengo), Brett Harris, Charles Cleaver, and Skylar Gudasz (Big Star's Third Live), Crispin Cioe (Uptown Horns) & the Occasional String Quartet. And it all happened in the stunning setting of St. Ann's Church in Brooklyn. When Chris declared a couple of years ago that "Big Star's Third Live" was over, I never thought I'd see something like this again. The performance starts off a little slow, as if the musicians are taking a while to get back in the groove. Stay with it, though, because they definitely find it several songs into the concert. The taper was Lucca. BIG THANKS to him! FYI: the NZ music series continues next week...

01 music intro
02 spoken intro
03 I'm In Love with a Girl 
04 The India Song
05 Kanga Roo
06 Watch the Sunrise
07 Dream Lover 
08 O My Soul
09 Daisy Glaze
10 Night Time
11 Take Care
12 For You 
13 You and Your Sister
14 intermission
15 September Gurls
16 Back of a Car
17 In the Street
18 Jesus Christ
19 February's Quiet 
20 Thirteen
21 Way Out West
22 Holocaust
Songs of Big Star in Brooklyn, earlier this month.
That's Chris on the right.
23 Thank You Friends
24 There Was a Light
25 You Get What You Deserve
26 Give Me Another Chance
27 The Ballad of El Goodo
28 O Dana
29 Femme Fetale [Velvet Underground]
30 I Am the Cosmos [Chris Bell]
31 Don't Go Back to Rockville [R.E.M.]





Friday, November 12

Sneaky Feelings - Hamburg, GR 1987 (aud)

Sneaky Feelings 
Hamburg, Germany
October 12, 1987

audience recording (sound quality: VG-)

01 Husband House
02 There's a Chance 
03 Wouldn't Cry
04 It's So Easy
05 Trouble With Kay
06 Not to Take Sides
07 Now 
08 A Letter to You
09 Won't Change
10 Hard Love
11 In the Shape of a Heart
12 Waiting for Touchdown
13 Better Than Before
14 Broken Man
15 Unknown Cover Song
16 Throwing Stones
17 Discipline
18 Your Secret's Safe with Me 
19 Levin Dream
20 Coming True
21 Amnesia

ROB SEZ:  Here's a true rarity and collector's item: a complete live recording by Dunedin's Sneaky Feelings from 1987.  Sneaky Feelings trafficked in the musical collision between rock and pop typical of Flying Nun's roster, with frequently compelling results. (The band has a musical family tree connection to the Mutton Birds via drummer Ross Burge, who joined Sneaky Feelings in 1989.) This recording turned up recently, and I thought it had unrealized potential. It's an audience capture several generations off the master tape, so I applied some eq to bring up the bass and take the edge off the treble frequencies. After balancing the left & right channels, raising the levels, and adding one pass of compression, I think it's worth a listen — or two! Hearty thanks to DAP for sharing this one and gratitude to the unknown taper.



Saturday, October 30

Dave Dobbyn - Palmerston North, N.Z. 2011 (aud)

The Square
Palmerston North, N.Z.
Oct. 1, 2011


audience recording (sound quality: VG+)

01 Language
02 Slice of Heaven
03 Outlook for Thursday 
04 Maybe the Rain
05 Blindman's Bend
06 Lap of the Gods
07 Beside You
08 Only Love Remains
09 Whaling
10 You Oughta Be In Love
11 Rain On Fire
12 Be Mine Tonight
13 Pour the Wine
14 Love You Like I Should 
15 Loyal
16 pre-encore break
17 Just Add Water
18 Hanging In the Wire 
19 Welcome Home

ROB SEZ: New Zealander Dave Dobbyn is a musical treasure to longtime Kiwi & Aussie fans, but he's more or less unknown outside Australasia. That's a real shame, since he's been justly celebrated for decades by better-known musicians such as Neil & Tim Finn. If you want to find out what you've been missing, this recording is a decent place to start. It features old classics from Dave's "DD Smash" days through more recent solo hits. (I also recommend my earlier DD post HERE.) I wish I knew more about this recording, such as who to thank and who Dave's fellow musicians are. Safe bet the drummer is the fab Ross Burge (The Mutton Birds). Other than a lack of info, I have no complaints about this fine offering.


   

Friday, October 22

The Clean - Live in 2010 + 2011 (webstream recordings)

Primavera Sound Festival 

Parc del Forum

Barcelona, Spain

May 29, 2010


WFMU webstream capture (sound quality: VG++)


00 DJ intro

01 Fish
New Zealand's The Clean, in-store appearance in 2015
02 I Wait Around

03 Drawing to a Hole

04 Wipe Me, I’m Lucky

05 David tunes, Hamish talks 

06 Anything Could Happen

07 (unknown song)

08 Whatever I Do It’s Right

09 Outside the Cage

10 In the Dreamlife U Need 

     a Rubber Soul

11 Oddity

12 Point That Thing 

     Somewhere Else

13 band interview



The Kings Arms
Auckland, N.Z.

Nov. 24, 2011


Radio NZ webstream capture 

    (sound quality: VG++)


01 At the Bottom

02 Two Fat Ladies

03 Wipe Me, I'm Lucky

04 Flowers

The Clean, Kings Arms, Auckland
(above 2 photos by petra jane)
05 In the Dreamlife U Need a Rubber Soul

06 Getting Older 

07 Tally Ho


08 Fish*

09 Point That Thing Somewhere Else*


*bonus tracks: San Francisco Bath House, 

Wellington, N.Z. 2007-03-16 (RNZ webstream)



ROB SEZ: Last week, I featured The Clean's founder & primary songwriter David Kilgour in solo mode. This week, you get The Clean live in 2010 and 2011, courtesy of Radio New Zealand. Please enjoy.


FLAC lossless capture, lossy source


MP3@320