Pink Floyd - Akademiska Föreningen Lund Sweden 1970 (Bootleg) (Sounsquality A)

Size: 231 MB
Bitrate: 320
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Great sound, everything comes through really clear, and there's no extraneous noise/chatter near the taper in the audience, to interfere with the listening experience. 

I'd definitely feel comfortable rating this show as an A. Their earlier tours (pre-Eclipsed) tend to get glossed over a little, since the material they performed isn't as legendary as their later works, which is a shame because these shows were just as tight and solid as the ones they did for The Dark Side of the Moon, Wish You Were Here, and Animals.

Lund Master is the latest incarnation of one of the more interesting Pink Floyd tapes in circulation.  A high generation copy of this tape was used for the earliest release Atom Heart Moo Live (WPOCM 0390 F 048-2).  It was listed incorrectly, claiming to be the March 8th show in Birmingham.  But also the label completely ruined the tape with the NoNoise procedure and produced one of the worst Pink Floyd bootlegs to ever be released.  

Better sounding versions were issued including Interstellar Highlights (Orange Records FP-70-A/B) released in 2002, In The Lund Of Grey and Pink (Ayanami 132) on CDR and Lund Sweden 1970 (Flux And Reflux Music FARM 20507).  Sigma use the master cassette which surfaced several years ago.  The sound quality is not only an improvement over all previous releases, but can be considered to be one the best sounding tapes from their short European tour that spring.  It is very clear before a quiet audience and is very enjoyable.

When they toured England earlier in the year, Pink Floyd incorporated more numbers into their live repertoire including songs from their soundtrack More, songs from their own avant-grarde theater piece The Man And The Journeyand even a couple attempts at “Sysyphus” from Ummagumma.  But when they began their tour of continental Europe on March 11th in Offenbach, Germany, the set took on a standard form with numbers from their released albums, the unreleased song “The Embryo,” and their epic “Atom Heart Mother.”  The show in Lund, Sweden was the penultimate gig with the final show being at Tivolis Koncertsal in Copenhagen.

The show begins with Syd Barrett’s signature tune “Astronomy Domine,” a song that is so firmly rooted in their early days that it sounds archaic in the new decade.  It sounds close to the studio version as the band give a perfunctory performance, and it turns out to be the shortest song of the night at nine minutes.  “Careful With That Axe, Eugene” is introduced by Waters as a “track off our last album Ummagumma.”  The band sound much more interested in this song.  It’s fascinating to hear the instrumental taking its time to build.  The vocals, articulating the song’s title, is delivered in an evil monotone.  The latter half of the song hits a rare intensity in a tribal sounding beat  under the guitar, only to be answered by the tranquil keyboard melody.  It’s a very dramatic performance.  

The first set ends with “A Saucerful Of Secrets” which has a tense keyboard solo before Gilmour breaks the tension right before the “Syncopated Pandemonium” section.  Mason favors a strict military beat during “Storm Signal” before “Celestial Voices” ends the piece.   

Disc two contains the second set.  It cuts in with “The Embryo” and this performance is interesting for the extreme dynamism between the instrumental breaks and the vocals.  It sounds as if Waters and Wright join Gilmour on vocals, singing in unison.  There is no giggling children tape played in the middle, but rather it is dominated by the whale-song effect before Wright brings them into the final verse.  “Interstellar Overdrive” begins with an interesting and unique keyboard melody.  In the long improvisation Gilmour’s playing sounds very abstract, sounding very sixties, but at about the eleven minute mark becomes very melodic and having a catchy melody.

Wright dominates the middle improvisation during “Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun,” producing tense moments punctuated by Waters playing the melody on the bass guitar.  The show ends with their latest epic “Atom Heart Mother” which at this point was still called “The Amazing Pudding” (it wouldn’t receive its final title until July).  At nineteen minutes, it is close to its final form but is obviously performed without a brass and choir section.  

Gilmour plays an angular guitar solo during the ”Funky Dung” blues section in the middle before he essentially duets with Wright, who plays more fascinating melodies.  Hearing the two interact during the entire show is a wonderful experience.  Fortunately, because the taper paused the tape between songs, the whole epic is captured on tape.  

Lund Master is one of the best shows from this era, demonstrated not only by the number of releases throughout the years, but by the care taken to work with the original master to produce a definitive edition.  As usual Sigma produce very attractive artwork with good live shots on the inserts.  This is definitely an improvement over past releases and is worth having.   

Live at Akademiska Föreningens Stora Sal, Lund, Sweden, 1970 03 20
For Promotional Use Only.

Band:
* David Gilmour
* Nick Mason
* Roger Waters
* Richard Wright

Disc 1:
01. Astronomy Domine   9:23  
02. Careful With That Axe Eugene 11:23  
03. Cymbaline 10:00  
04. A Saucerful Of Secrets  13:09  
    
Disc 2: Time: 
01. Embryo    8:44  
02. Interstellar Overdrive 13:26  
03. Set The Controls  11:53  
04. Atom Heart Mother 18:29 

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Not to be missed!! Buster Brown - The New King of The Blues (Outstanding Blues US 1961)

Size: 115 MB
Bitrate: 256
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Ripped by: ChrisGoesRock
Artwork Included
Source: Japan 24-Bit Remaster

Buster Brown (August 15, 1911 – January 31, 1976) was an American blues and R&B singer best known for his hit, "Fannie Mae".

Brown was born in Cordele, Georgia. In the 1930s and 1940s he played harmonica at local clubs and made a few non-commercial recordings. These included "I'm Gonna Make You Happy" (1943), which was recorded when he played at the folk festival at Fort Valley (GA) State Teachers College, and was recorded by the Library of Congress' Folk Music Archive.

Brown moved to New York in 1956, where he was discovered by Fire Records owner Bobby Robinson. In 1959, at almost fifty years of age, Brown recorded the rustic blues, "Fannie Mae", which featured Brown's harmonica playing and whoops, which went to # 38 in the U.S. Top 40, and to #1 on the R&B chart in April 1960. His remake of Louis Jordan's "Is You Is or Is You Ain't My Baby" reached # 81 on the pop charts later in 1960, but did not make the R&B chart. "Sugar Babe" was his only other hit, in 1962, reaching # 19 on the R&B chart and # 99 on the pop chart.

In later years he recorded for Checker Records and for numerous small record labels. He also co-wrote the song "Doctor Brown" with J. T. Brown, which was later covered by Fleetwood Mac on their 1968 album, Mr. Wonderful.

rown died in New York in 1976, at the age of 64. It is often erroneously cited that Brown's real name was "Wayman Glasco" - however, that was Brown's manager who, after his death, bought all of Brown's publishing - thus unintentionally creating the confusion. Though likely a nickname, or alias, Buster Brown may have been his birth name.

If blues musicians took up residency in Vegas during the late '50s, it might come out sounding like this. Brown's gleeful run through myriad blues related styles (gospel, R&B, doo wop, New Orleans, early rock & roll) casts a vaudevillian sheen over many of the 16 tracks here, placing the performance squarely in the realm of Louis Jordan's own showy style. The fact Brown had a very brief hour in the sun with his unexpected 1959 hit "Fannie Mae" further indicates his pop approach to blues probably was better suited to the lounges of the chitlin circuit than the main venues of blues and rock & roll. 

His almost perfunctory versions of war horses like "St. Louis Blues" and "Blueberry Hill" reveal the downside the situation. But he does have his moments, particularly when he plies a hard, Chicago blues groove à la Little Walter on cuts like "Don't Dog Your Woman"; his harmonica sound borrows from both Walter and Sonny Terry while his singing is punctuated with timely whoops taken straight from Terry's animated vocal style. Even with more than just a few bright moments here, the good amount of watered down material ultimately makes this Brown collection a secondary choice next to prime titles by Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Wynonie Harris, and even Big Jay McNeely.

01. Fannie Mae
02. John Henry
03. The Madison Shuffle
04. St. Louis Blues
05. When Things Go Wrong (It Hurts Me Too)
06. Lost in a Dream [False Start]
07. Lost in a Dream
08. Gonna Love My Baby
09. I Got the Blues When It Rains
10. Is You Is or Is You Ain't My Baby?
11. Don't Dog Your Woman
12. Blueberry Hill
13. Sincerely
14. I'm Goin', But I'll Be Back
15. Good News
16. Raise a Ruckus Tonight
17. Doctor Brown
18. Sugar Babe
19. No More
20. Fannie Mae [Alternate Take]
21. Raise a Ruckus Tonight [Alternate Version]

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Some Articles For The Day...

April 30, 1966 Article
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Ten Years After - Record Mirror January 1969
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David Byron Article 1974
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Al Kooper - Naked Songs (Good Album US 1973)

Size: 81.9 MB
Bitrate: 256
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Ripped by: ChrisGoesRock
Artwork Included
Source: Japan 24-Bit Remaster

Naked Songs is the sixth and final album by singer-songwriter Al Kooper for Columbia Records, released in 1973.

A contract-fulfilling release, coming months after Kooper had set up the Sounds of the South label through MCA Records, it was quickly recorded at New York City's Record Plant (the first time Kooper had recorded in New York since 1970's Easy Does It) and at Studio One in Doraville, Georgia (where the following year Kooper would produce Lynyrd Skynyrd's smash hit "Sweet Home Alabama").

Mixing a heavier dose of gospel into the mix and the Arp synthesizer, Kooper effortlessly blended soul, rhythm and blues, rock, country and pop music much as he had on all of his Columbia albums.

Naked Songs represents the other end of Al Kooper's early career from I Stand Alone. Where that first album was recorded very gradually at the outset of his solo career, soon after exiting Blood, Sweat & Tears, Naked Songs was a much more cohesive work (cut in New York and Georgia) from the end of his stay at Columbia Records. Ironically, it was a contractually obligated album, but never one to throw away an opportunity, Kooper embraced soul, gospel, blues, pop, and even country music in the course of filling its two sides. 

Playing his usual array of instruments, including loud, note-bending blues guitar and gospel-tinged organ on "As the Years Go Passing By," he effortlessly switches gears to the smoother pop-soul sound of "Jolie," then straight country with a blues tinge on "Blind Baby." John Prine's grim and uncompromising "Sam Stone" gets an extraordinary performance, but the real surprise is the presence of Sam Cooke's Soul Stirrers-era gospel classic "Touch the Hem of His Garment" -- the latter is one of a pair of Cooke songs (the other is "A Change Is Gonna Come") that one would not expect any white artist to try and cover, much less do well, but Kooper does it justice and then some, and this track alone is worth the price of the album. 

The album benefits from the fact that Kooper had spent a good chunk of the prior year working with the Atlanta Rhythm Section (which appears here) as well as discovering Lynyrd Skynyrd. Naked Songs may have been intended mostly to get him out of his Columbia contract, but it proved a highlight of his career as well as his last new recording for four years. Naked Songs was reissued in Japan in 2003 in a mini-LP jacket format in state-of-the-art 24-bit digital audio

01. "(Be Yourself) Be Real" – 3:26
02. "As the Years Go Passing By" (Don Robey) – 6:03
03. "Jolie" – 3:48
04. "Blind Baby" – 3:07
05. "Been and Gone" (Annette Peacock) – 2:35
06. "Sam Stone" (John Prine) – 4:41
07. "Peacock Lady" – 3:22
08. "Touch the Hem of His Garment" (Sam Cooke) – 4:04
09. "Where Were You When I Needed You" (Irwin Levine, Kooper) – 3:12
10. "Unrequited" – 2:52

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Netherland Single 1973

Fleetwood Mac - Then Play On (Great Blues Album UK 1969)

Size: 107 MB
Bitrate: 256
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Source: Japan SHM-CD Remaster

Then Play On is the third studio album by blues-rock band Fleetwood Mac, first released in September 1969. It was the first of their original albums to feature Danny Kirwan and the last with Peter Green. Jeremy Spencer did not feature on the album apart from "a couple of piano things" (according to Mick Fleetwood in Q magazine in 1990). The record, appearing after the group's sudden success in the pop charts, offered a broader stylistic range than the classic blues of the group's first two albums. The title is taken from Duke Orsino's opening line, "If music be the food of love, play on," from William Shakespeare's comedy play Twelfth night.

This was the band's first release with Warner/Reprise after being lured away from Blue Horizon and a one-off with Immediate Records. Forty years on, Fleetwood Mac remain with Warner. The album, which at its original UK release had an unusually long running time, has been released with four different song line-ups.

The painting used for the cover of the album is "Domesticated Mural Painting", by the English artist Maxwell Armfield. It was featured in the February 1917 edition of The Countryside magazine, which states that the mural was originally designed for the dining room of a London mansion.

This Peter Green-led edition of the Mac isn't just an important transition between their initial blues-based incarnation and the mega-pop band they became, it's also their most vital, exciting version. The addition of Danny Kirwan as second guitarist and songwriter foreshadows not only the soft-rock terrain of "Bare Trees" and "Kiln House" with Christine Perfect-McVie, but also predicts Rumours. That only pertains to roughly half of the also excellent material here, though; the rest is quintessential Green. 

The immortal "Oh Well," with its hard-edged, thickly layered guitars and chamber-like sections, is perhaps the band's most enduring progressive composition. "Rattlesnake Shake" is another familiar number, a down-and-dirty, even-paced funk, with clean, wall-of-sound guitars. Choogling drums and Green's fiery improvisations power "Searching for Madge," perhaps Mac's most inspired work save "Green Manalishi," and leads into an unlikely symphonic interlude and the similar, lighter boogie "Fighting for Madge." A hot Afro-Cuban rhythm with beautiful guitars from Kirwan and Green on "Coming Your Way" not only defines the Mac's sound, but the rock aesthetic of the day. 

Of the songs with Kirwan's stamp on them, "Closing My Eyes" is a mysterious waltz love song; haunting guitars approach surf music on the instrumental "My Dream"; while "Although the Sun Is Shining" is the ultimate pre-Rumours number someone should revisit. Blues roots still crop up on the spatial, loose, Hendrix-tinged "Underway," the folky "Like Crying," and the final outcry of the ever-poignant "Show Biz Blues," with Green moaning "do you really give a damn for me?" Then Play On is a reminder of how pervasive and powerful Green's influence was on Mac's originality and individual stance beyond his involvement. Still highly recommended and a must-buy after all these years, it remains their magnum opus.

Personnel
♦ Peter Green – vocals, guitar, harmonica, six string bass, violoncello on "Oh Well, Pt. 2"
♦ Danny Kirwan – vocals, guitar
♦ John McVie – bass guitar
♦ Mick Fleetwood – drums, percussion
♦ Jeremy Spencer – piano on "Oh Well" (Pt.2)
  Additional Uncredited Personnel
♦ Christine Perfect – piano
♦ Big Walter Horton – harmonica

01. "Coming Your Way" (Kirwan) – 3:47
02. "Closing My Eyes" (Green) – 4:50
03. "Showbiz Blues" (Green) – 3:50
04. "My Dream" (Kirwan) – 3:30
05. "Underway" (Green) – 2:51
06. "Oh Well" (Green) – 8:56
07. "Although the Sun Is Shining" (Kirwan) – 2:31
08. "Rattlesnake Shake" (Green) – 3:32
09. "Searching for Madge" (McVie) – 6:56
10. "Fighting for Madge" (Fleetwood) – 2:45
11. "When You Say" (Kirwan) – 4:22
12. "Like Crying" (Kirwan) – 2:21
13. "Before the Beginning" (Green) – 3:28

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