Right Profile - 1980s Demos

The Right Profile

The guys who almost made it:

The Right Profile, with Clive Davis 
of Arista Records

Demos
(mid 1980s)

 
studio demos
(various dates & studios)

 
sound quality: VG to VG+

REPERCUSSION: Mitch Easter produced an early session for The Right Profile, which resulted in the group's only official release, the 3-song Let's Pretend single in 1983 (see below). Don Dixon produced subsequent demos for the band, including some of the tracks included in this collection.

CURIOUS? This band reminds me of The Long Ryders, but with more passion and a spirit of abandon that I like.

01 God's Little Acre

02 Cosmopolitan Lovesick Blues

03 Underneath the Window

04 Something New

05 Infatuation

06 Heart & Soul + coda

07 Take a Look at Me Now

08 Who's to Say?

09 Ride My Train

10 True Blue You

11 'Til the Sky Turns Black

MP3 Files (first 6 = 320 kbps; last 5 = 160 kbps)

The RIght Profile (photos by Nelson Penninger)

Here’s a good overview of the band by Michael Allen via YouTube:  

THE RIGHT PROFILE: (1981 - 1988) The Right Profile was formed in the early 1980s. A long cold winter at Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina, was the void from which this inexperienced and enthusiastic band was hurled. Playing everywhere from colleges to the chicken wired stages of the South, they found themselves popular by the mid-'80s. Jeffrey Dean Foster, Tim Fleming, and Stephen J. Dubner held it together through a parade of drummers including the rock solid Whitey Foster (brother of Mr. Foster). Jon P. Wurster from Pennsylvania, having written cryptic yet amusing fan letters to the band, seemed the natural choice for the bands permanent drummer. He was relieved from his job at the toothpaste factory and shipped down south.  

The Right Profile toured up and down the east coast opening shows for many mid-'80s rock heroes including The Del Fuegos, the Del Lords,and Jason & The Nashville Scorchers. After Clive Davis of Arista Records left his limo long enough to see the band at CBGB's in NYC, The Right Profile signed a record deal with Arista Records in the summer of 1986. Arista was at one time home to many of the bands favorites, including Patti Smith, Graham Parker, and The Kinks. But the many Barry Manilow gold records in the hallways should have been a foreshadowing of the train wreck ahead.

After moving to New Jersey and recording numerous demos with many producers they finally made it back down south to record with the legendary Jim Dickinson in the summer of 1987. Stephen J. Dubner left the band and guitar-wiz Eric Peterson accompanied the band to Ardent Studios in Memphis to record with Dickinson. After these sessions proved unsuccessful, it pretty much was all over but the crying. None of the many recordings of this era of The Right Profile have ever been released. Some earlier recordings done by Mitch Easter and Don Dixon have seen the light of day. The early 3 song EP Let’s Pretend was released on Vibratune Records in the fall of 1983. The Dixon-produced sessions piqued major label interest and the song “Cosmopolitan Lovesick Blues” was later released on the European compilation LP, Welcome to Comboland.  

FUN FACT: Stephen Dubner from this band is the same Stephen J. Dubner who co-authored the best-selling Freakonomics (and a host of related books, syndicated public radio segments, etc.)
  

Learn more about The Right Profile at  the NC Music History blog     
     

Peter Holsapple - WFMU Session 1983

WFMU-FM

East Orange, NJ

Feb. 25, 1983

FM recording (sound quality VG--; from a multi-generation tape source)

 

PH: has guitar, will travel (Austin, TX 1984)
Stephanie Chernikowki photo

HEAP O’ THANKS to WFMU for their undying support of The deeBs, to the original taper, and to dB’s Fan for sharing

NOTE: As received, this was not a great-sounding tape (lots of hiss & a handful of dropouts). I used Audacity to make various improvements — and now it's a pretty decent listen. Someone else edited out the interview bits, which explains the brief, truncated comments prior to some of the songs.

ROB SEZ: Here's a rare and welcome opportunity to hear Peter in busking mode: just the man and his guitar. He covers a lot of ground, playing dB's tunes, rare solo material, old covers, and a very early version of "She Got Soul." Pretty sure I'd never before heard him sing the old Big  Star chestnut that closes the set... ENJOY!

 

SAMPLE: "I'm In Love With a Girl (WFMU 1983)"


01 Not Cool

02 You Got to Die (Blind Willie McTell cover)

03 Since You're Gone (Ric Ocasek / Cars cover)

04 Poor Howard (Lead Belly cover)

05 Close to the Hand

06 Modern Boys and Girls

07 She's Coming To

08 On the Battlefront

09 She Got Soul (early version)

10 Nothing Is Wrong

11 I Feel Good (Today)

12 Elvis, What Happened?

13 You Don't Miss Your Water (William Bell cover)

14 Moving In Your Sleep

15 I'm In Love With a Girl (Big Star cover)

TT: 45:49 mins.

MP3@320

Peter Holsapple – guitar, vocals

   

Ann Arbor, MI 1985 (soundboard)

The dB’s

Ann Arbor, MI

1985

venue & exact date unknown (possibly early in the year)

soundboard recording (quality VG++; occasional vocal distortion, from poorly-adjusted levels at the mixing desk, prevents this from getting a higher rating). This is an outstanding show and excellent performance. ENJOY!

Among the odder photos in The dB's scrapbook:
Mardi Gras, 1985 - with king cake letters spelling the band's name

EXTRA BIG THANKS to the taper and to TheBynumite for sharing

SAMPLE: "I Lie (Ann Arbor 1985)"


01 greeting + She Got Soul

02 Rendezvous

03 Big Brown Eyes

04 Working for Somebody Else

05 Lonely Is as Lonely Does

06 Not Cool

07 I Lie

08 band intros + Spitting in the Wind

Peter & Co. look to the future:
Danceteria, NYC roof shot, 1984

09 pH Factor

10 Amplifier

11 Neverland

12 Big Black Truck

13 Rains Around Here

14 Living a Lie

15 Love Is for Lovers

16 Black and White

(this recording lacks encores)

MP3@320

The dB’s:

Will Rigby – drums, backing vocals

Peter Holsapple – guitar, vocals

Gene Holder – lead guitar

Jeff Beninato – bass, backing vocals

 

R. E. M. - Chronic Town REVISITED

CLASSIC ALBUMS REVISITED

The debut EP in demos & live versions

(RCA Studio 1982 demos, produced by Kurt Munkacsi)

ROB SEZ: It's time for a new installment in the blog's "Classic Albums Revisited" series. I've been spending a lot of time lately, collecting the best available sources for demo and live material from the late, great R. E. M.

soundboard & FM sources (sound quality: VG+; see additional note below)
 

ABOUT THE SET: There are interesting alternate versions of Gardening at Night out there, but they’ve seen official release somewhere along the way, which accounts for the most excellent live version I used here from the band’s first radio broadcast on May 14, 1982. The rest of the songs, including the bonus tracks, are from the RCA Studios, NYC Feb. 1982 demo session.
    

There will be more here soon from these guys.

Any guesses what the next album will be?

   
01 1,000,000 (demo)

02 Stumble (demo)

03 Wolves, Lower (demo)

04 Gardening at Night (live – Atlanta, GA 1982-05-14, FM)

05 Carnival of Sorts (Box Cars) [demo]

  

06 Catapult (demo)

07 Romance (demo)

08 Just a Touch (demo)

  
Lossless WAV
  

MP3@320

 

Source: Studio C, RCA Studios, NYC 1982 sessions (Feb. 1, 2, 8 & 22) with producer Kurt Munkacsi (all except track 4, as noted above). Although some boots list these as Chronic Town outtakes or rough mixes, they actually were recorded after the Drive-In Studio sessions with Mitch Easter that led to the master takes released on the EP. In Johnny Black's 2004 book Reveal, Munkacsi said he was impressed with the band, based on their work in the studio during those few days in February: "They knew exactly what they were doing. The session was very spontaneous, with everything going down in one or two takes."
   
The best-sounding source for these demos is the rare Early Movements boot. I corresponded with someone who knows the guy who created the thing. He was a DJ at an Atlanta radio station when Mike Mills gave him a copy of the tape, so you can be assured the sound quality here is as good as it’s going to get. In this "revisited" version, you will hear a less atmospheric, more straight-ahead rock sound than the one found on the IRS release (which I prefer). That said, this collection suggests a fascinating alternate reality in which the group signs to a major label instead of pursuing the artier, indie'r, & ultimately more enduring path they chose. 



A note about the running order: Even the band seems ambivalent about the proper sequencing for the EP. The back cover of the original release lists 1,000,000 as the first track. But the “A” side label has Wolves, Lower first, as does the first CD release on Dead Letter Office. Me? I say you must listen to the thing starting with 1,000,000 and ending with the sublime Carnival of Sorts. No doubt about it: the album jacket got it right the first time…

         Other albums in this series include The dB's debut album 
and The dB's Like This. Collect 'em all...

  

R. E. M. - Edinburgh, Scotland 1985 (sbd)

Coasters Ballroom

Edinburgh, Scotland

June 25, 1985

soundboard recording (quality Ex--; judging by the great sound, I’m guessing this is from the master tape or a first-gen. copy; the punters get rowdier after the first 4 or 5 songs, so you folks who like crowd noise hang in there — it’s coming…)

The performance? Smokin'...

MUCHOS GRACIAS to the original taper & sharer (whoever you are)

There are a few brief anomalies in the set. The most noticeable is track 2 switching from stereo to mono & back in a handful of places. The latter was necessitated by the repair job I did to replace intermittent dropouts in the left & right channels on that track -- which is still quite listenable.  

Coasters "Roller Disco", circa 1979

01 - feeling gravitys pull (cuts in)

02 - harborcoat

03 - green grow the rushes

04 - laughing

05 - driver 8

06 - so. central rain (i'm sorry)

07 - have you ever seen the rain? 
       (j. fogerty / ccr cover)

08 - can't get there from here

09 - maps and legends

10 - 7 chinese bros.

11 - hyena

12 - (don't go back to) rockville         
      (end cut, fades out)

13 - just a touch

this artwork & above included in download
create your own boot!

14 - auctioneer

       (another engine)

15 - old man kensey

16 - little america

17 - life & how to live it

18 - pretty persuasion

19 - this day

(? – extemporaneous ditty)

20 - talk about the passion

21 - see no evil

     (television cover)

22 - second guessing

23 - theme from two steps onward

24 - gardening at night

25 - 9-9

 
TT: 1:24:12 (suggested disc split: between #13 & 14)
  

Lossless WAV (800 MB)

MP3@320 (this was missing track 2, but that's been corrected)           
   

 Explore the connections between The dB's and R.  E.  M.   at this earlier post A B.I.G. R.  E.  M. post is coming soon...      

  

Let's Active - Best Live Covers (!!)

‘Should We Play Somethin’ REALLY Dumb??’

Best Live Covers

Various Dates, Venues

audience, FM & soundboard recordings (sound quality: GD++ to Ex-; variable, of course!)

01 Shakin' Street (MC5)
02 Dancing Days (Led Zep)

03 Hush (Deep Purple)

04 Classical Gas (Mason Williams)

05 Lucifer Sam (Pink Floyd)

06 Back of a Car (Big Star)

07 Lies (Knickerbockers)

08 The Rover (Led Zep)

09 Hey Grandma! (Moby Grape)

10 Tush (ZZ Top)

11 I Wont Let It 'Appen Agen (Slade)

12 Hot Smoke & Sasafrass (Bubble Puppy)

13 Sunshine of Your Love (Hendrix/Cream)

14 I Want to Hold Your Hand (in German)

15 He's a Whore (Cheap Trick)

16 Godzilla (Blue Oyster Cult; feat. Don Dixon)

 

xx mystery track

TT: 50:41 mins.

SOURCE INFO (where there is any) can be found in the comment tag for each track

MP3@320

 

Let’s  Active:

Mick Ersatz (guitar, vocals)

+ various other musicians