Marshall Crenshaw - Ritz, NYC 1984 (sbd)

The Ritz

New York, N.Y.

Dec. 19, 1984

  

soundboard recording (quality: VG++; probably deserves a higher rating, but I can't ignore the faint sound of a short in one channel — don't listen with headphones!)

Marshall Crenshaw: 1984 or '85

01 For Her Love

02 Our Town

03 Little Sister (Elvis Presley cover) [cuts out]

04 There She Goes Again (cuts in)

05 (We're Gonna) Shake Up Their Minds 

06 Soldier of Love (Arthur Alexander cover)

07 One More Reason

08 I'm Alive (The Hollies cover)

09 Reet Petite (Jackie Wilson cover)

10 Mary Anne

11 Monday Morning Rock

12 Whenever You're on My Mind

13 A Big Hunk o' Love (Elvis Presley cover)

14 Lesson Number One

15 She Can't Dance

16 Someday, Someway

17 Feliz Navidad (José Feliciano cover)

18 Brand New Lover

19 Someday We're Gonna Love Again 

     (The Searchers cover)

New archival live release! INFO

ROB SEZ:  A rare 1984 performance, in lovely soundboard splendor. (Although 2 generations removed from the master tape, this recording still sounds pretty amazing to me.) As far as I can tell, Crenshaw only performed 4 times in 1984 (heard here, MC's explanation for his lengthy absence is typically sardonic). As usual, MC, his brother Robert on drums, and Chris Donato are in very fine form, and fully a third of the songs here are covers, including a couple I have not heard elsewhere. Trainspotters will want to know this is not the complete performance, because the recording as I received it lacked a few of the songs listed here. This recording has a faint short in one channel that you probably won't hear unless you use heaphones or earbuds — so don't do that! 

FLAC

MP3@320

  

Marshall Crenshaw - Early Demos + 'Downtown' Demos

Early Demos (c. 1979-1981)

various recording dates & locations

home recordings (sound quality VG-; source was a not-great-sounding, multi-gen. tape;  lilpanda cleaned up the tracks & they’re enjoyable now)

01 Never Gonna Happen Again

02 We Belong Together

03 This Is the Love

04 She's Not Mine Anymore [1] 

05 Somebody Like You

06 Now I've Got You

07 She Can't Dance

08 Not for Me

09 Brand New Lover

10 Communication

11 I'll Do Anything

12 Rockin' Around In NYC (alt. demo)

13 Soldier of Love

14 For Her Love

15 Something's Gonna Happen

     (alt. demo)

16 Mary Anne

17 The Usual Thing

18 There She Goes Again

19 Cynical Girl

20 She's Not Mine Anymore [2]

NOTE: none of these appears on the official 9-Volt Years collection (but some are alt. versions of demos that did appear on the same)

BIG THANKS to lilpanda, atlasstar, and angelo. 

'Downtown'-Era Demos

c. 1984

unknown source

home recordings (sound quality VG+; probably first-generation tape source) 

01 My Desiree

02 Terrifying Love

03 She Hates to Go Home

04 That Girl Belongs to Yesterday 

      (unfinished lyrics)

05 Shake It Till We Break It 

     (unfinished lyrics)

06 Baby Doll (unfinished lyrics)

07 Instrumental 1

08 Instrumental 2

09 Instrumental 3

10 Feliz Navidad

11 All I Ever Wanted (K. MacColl demo)*

12 Santa Baby (unknown female vocalist)

     *Imagine my surprise — as a fan of both M.C. and Kirsty MacColl — to discover

      that track 11 is M.C. playing to a K.M. vocal demo...

FLAC

MP3@320

Learn more about the music of Marshall Crenshaw at his official site and/or AllMusic

Marshall Crenshaw - Live 1983 in CT & PA (FM + preFM)

Agora Ballroom

Hartford, CT

July 18, 1983

  

FM recording (sound quality: VG++; great!) 

01 Monday Morning Rock

02 Brand New Lover

03 I’ll Do Anything

04 Here I Am (Come & Take Me)

05 Whenever You’re On My Mind 

06 I’ve Been Good to You

07 One Day With You

08 Mary Anne

09 Rockin’ Around In NYC

10 Try

11 Move It

12 Cynical Girl

13 Someday Someway

14 The Usual Thing

Ripley's Music Hall

Philadelphia, PA

Dec. 2, 1983

  

preFM recording (sound quality: Ex-; partial set broadcast on "King Biscuit Flower Hour")

  

01 Monday Morning Rock

02 Little Sister

03 Our Town 

04 Try 

05 Whenever You're On My Mind 

06 Cynical Girl

07 There She Goes Again

08 Someday Someway

09 Blues Is King

  

ROB SEZ:  1983 was a good year to be Marshall Crenshaw. His second LP Field Day was released to strong reviews (and some carping about Steve Lillywhite's production), and it rose to no. 52 in the album charts. The classic band lineup of MC on vocals & guitar plus his brother Robert on drums and Chris Donato on bass clearly had their act together, and the songs and choice covers were superlative. Here are the best recordings I have from 1983, in terms of performance and sound quality. Although there's some overlap between the two sets, the Philly recording features 4 songs not performed in Hartford, including the sterling "Our Town." Big-time thanks to the original tapers and sharers. (True MC fans won't want to miss the bonus set that's hidden almost in plain sight.)

FLAC

MP3@320

  

Marshall Crenshaw - Roslyn, N.Y. 1982 (sbd)

My Father's Place 

Roslyn, N.Y.

June 29, 1982

  

soundboard recording (quality: Ex-; 

from a pristine vinyl rip)

  

01 Soldier of Love (A. Alexander cover)
02 Not For Me
03 There She Goes Again
04 Brand New Lover
05 I’ll Do Anything
06 Mary Anne
07 Rockin’ Around In N.Y.C.
08 Something’s Gonna Happen
09 Move It
10 Someday, Someway
11 Got a Lot o' Livin' to Do (Elvis cover)
12 She Can't Dance
13 Cynical Girl
14 Girls

15 The Usual Thing

MC, soundchecking at My Father's Place before this show

ROB SEZ: January is Marshall Crenshaw month at the blog. MC is so underrated, he should win some kind of prize for music career longevity long after his name dropped below the "who's hip today" horizon, some time in the mid 1980s. He's continued to make worthy albums and tour extensively, up to the present. MC's still-amazing debut album was re-released on vinyl (special 40th anniversary edition) on RSD Black Friday in 2022. The expanded CD and digital download versions will appear this February. You may be familiar with this show and an FM recording of it, but you've probably never heard this version: a pristine vinyl rip from an official radio show LP, produced for the BBC College Concert Hour. I've heard a lot of MC shows from the early 1980s, and this one is my hands-down favorite. The guy who shared this with me many years ago obviously knew what he was doing. It's a beautiful digital transfer, with no extraneous noise. Come back for more next week!

FLAC

MP3@320

     

Kings of Convenience - Madrid 2021

Teatro Lope de Vega

Madrid, Spain 

Oct. 18, 2021

audience recording (sound quality: VG++; from master — pristine audio with some enthusiastic clapping between songs)

Kings of Convenience onstage in 2021

00 intro

01 Comb My Hair

02 Rocky Trail

03 Cayman Islands

04 Angel

05 Killers

06 Love Is a Lonely Thing 

07 Fever

08 Mrs. Cold

09 Boat Behind

10 24-25

11 Rumours

12 Catholic Country

13 pre-encore applause, etc. 

14 Homesick

15 Know How

16 Misread

  

17 I'd Rather Dance With You*

  

*bonus track: Roskilde Festival, Denmark 2022-07-02 (aud)

ROB SEZ: Looking for a newer, mildly hipper version of Simon & Garfunkel? Even if you're not, Kings of Convenience could still be your new musical crush. Erik Bøe and Erlend Øye started making music together two decades ago in their native Norway, singing harmony-enriched songs with English lyrics. By the time they released their second album in 2001, they were topping the album charts at home. In succeeding years, the rest of Europe caught on, and big-city America was next to be charmed. After a long hiatus, they're back performing together, with their latest studio project Peace or Love out in 2021. Enjoy this very well-recorded show, courtesy of Moon! Taper. 

   

- see what the fuss is about here -

excerpts from 2021 London concert

FLAC

  

MP3@320