Vol.94 Edgar Winter Group 1975-10-14 Long Beach Arena
相変わらずの高音質です。
Edgar Winter Group
Long Beach Arena
Long Beach, CA
October 14, 1975
+ Two Bonus Tracks from Climax Blues Band's opening set
Mike Millard Master Tapes via JEMS
The Lost and Found Mike the MICrophone Tapes Volume 94
1644 Edition
Recording Gear: AKG 451E Microphones (CK-1 cardioid capsules) > Nakamichi 550 Cassette Recorder
JEMS 2021 Transfer: Mike Millard Master Cassettes > Nakamichi Cassette Deck 1 azimuth-adjusted playback > Focusrite Scarlett 6i6 > Sound Forge Audio Studio 13.0 capture > Adobe Audition > iZotope RX8 > iZotope Ozone 8 > MBIT+ resample to 16/44.1 > Audacity > TLH > FLAC
01 Introduction
02 Let's Do It Together Again
03 Rock And Roll, Hoochie Koo
04 Cool Dance
05 Shuffle Low
06 Devil With The Blue Dress On
07 Don't Every Say Goodbye
08 Frankenstein
09 Just Another Punk
10 Free Ride
11 Keep Playin' That Rock 'n' Roll
12 Tobacco Road
13 Undercover Man
14 Goin' To New York (Climax Blues Band Opening)
15 All The Time In The World (Climax Blues Band Opening)
Edgar Winter Group with Rick Derringer, Long Beach Arena, Long Beach, CA, October 14, 1975
From a rare Millard DAT master last week (U2 San Diego 1992) to a classic analog master this week. We're back in 1975, the first year Mike recorded with his legendary AKG + Nakamichi cassette rig. This time he was on site to capture the Edgar Winter Group with Rick Derringer. That pairing had released an eponymous album in 1975, though the tour drew on more familiar material for the most part, notably hits like Derringer's own "Rock And Roll, Hoochie Koo" and Winter's massive "Frankenstein," which Derringer produced.
It seems unimaginable now that there were instrumental pop hits in the '70s, but it happened several times in many genres. Astonishingly, "Frankenstein" actually topped the Billboard Hot 100 in May 1973 as the biggest song in the country. It is surely one of the most unlikely hits of all time, though to be fair, its hooky melody is an undeniable earworm.
Mike and Jim were seated in the fourth row, dead center for this one and the result is something special. There is a case to be made that of all the fantastic Mike the Mic recordings, his work in the Long Beach Arena might be his very best.
Like previous volumes of Black Sabbath and Jefferson Starship recorded in the same venue the same year, his capture of Edgar Winter Group is quite astonishing. I'm running out of adjectives to describe Mike's work but to my ears, this one is as close, clear, rich and full as any tape he ever made.
While he is recording from his sweet spot, the other factor surely at play here is volume. I sometimes wonder if audiences were quieter and more respectful in the '70s or if the shows were so fucking loud, no one bothered to talk.
Regardless of your interest in Edgar Winter or Rick Derringer, I'd encourage any of fan of Millard's work to download this show for quality alone. It is the shit. Samples provided.
Rather unusually, Mike also recorded just under ten minutes of the opening act, Climax Blues Band, at the start of tape one. Mike rarely recorded opening acts and there are few other examples of him recording openers on the same tape as the main show. Perhaps he was enjoying their set and decided to record the last nine minutes. Perhaps he got there late but had wanted to record them all along.
Given that Climax does an encore song, rare for an opening act and suggesting they were extremely well received, our guess is Mike liked what he heard and grabbed the last bit of their set. We've added the song and half Mike did record of CBB to the end of this release as bonus tracks.
Here's what Jim R recalled about Edgar Winter Group with Rick Derringer at the Long Beach Arena:
I attended the Edgar Winter concert with Mike Millard. It was at the Long Beach Arena on Oct 14, 1975. We sat in our sweet spot, 4th row center. Great sound as expected.
Our equipment was easy to get in. Long Beach Arena was never as tight as The Forum, plus, to be honest, Edgar Winter is not a big name, therefore, less security than a big act. He did put on an entertaining show with Rick Derringer in tow, I give him credit for that.
You may ask, why did we go to Edgar Winter Group at all? The answer is simple. A female friend of Mike's was a total fan and wanted a recording. So the rest is history.
I hope you enjoy the sights and sounds. Cheers to my buddy Mike.
