Mahavishnu Orchestra - Two Good Concerts 1972 (Bootleg)

Size: 388 MB
Bitrate: 320
mp3
Found under my Sofa
Some Artwork

The Mahavishnu Orchestra was the name of two jazz-fusion groups led by John McLaughlin, in 1971–1976 and 1984–1987.

First Mahavishnu Orchestra:
The band's original lineup featured "Mahavishnu" John McLaughlin on acoustic and electric guitars, with members Billy Cobham on drums, Rick Laird on bass guitar, Jan Hammer on electric and acoustic piano and synthesizer, and Jerry Goodman on violin. This first incarnation of the ensemble was a multinational group: McLaughlin is from Yorkshire, England; Cobham from Panama; Hammer from Prague, Czech Republic; Goodman from Chicago, Illinois; and Laird from Dublin, Ireland. This group was considered an important pioneer in the jazz fusion movement. 

Mahavishnu Orchestra Poster 1971

McLaughlin and Cobham met while performing and recording with Miles Davis during the Bitches Brew sessions. McLaughlin was also influenced in his conception of the band by his studies with Indian guru Sri Chinmoy, who encouraged him to take the name "Mahavishnu" which means "Divine compassion, power and justice." or simply "Great Vishnu", an aspect of Vishnu.

McLaughlin had particular ideas for the instrumentation of the group, in keeping with his highly original concept of genre-blending in composition. He particularly wanted a violinist as an integral contributor to its overall sound. As the group evolved, McLaughlin adopted what became his trademark—a double neck guitar (six-string and twelve-string) which allowed for a great degree of diversity in musical textures—and Hammer became one of the first to play a Mini Moog synthesizer in an ensemble, which enabled him to add more sounds and solo more freely, alongside the guitar and the violin.

Their musical style was an original blend of genres: 
they combined the high-volume electrified rock sound that had been pioneered by Jimi Hendrix (whom McLaughlin had jammed with on his initial arrival in New York as part of the Tony Williams Lifetime), complex rhythms in unusual time signatures that reflected McLaughlin's interest in Indian classical music as well as funk, and harmonic influence from European classical music. The group's early music, represented on such albums as The Inner Mounting Flame (1971) and Birds of Fire (1973), was entirely instrumental; their later albums had songs which sometimes featured R&B or even gospel/hymn-styled vocals. 

In the aforementioned two albums, the group goes from an energetic fusion of upbeat genres (a representative example of which is the song "Vital Transformation") to very serene, chamber music-like tunes, such as "A Lotus On Irish Streams," a composition for acoustic guitar, piano and violin, and "Thousand Island Park," which drops the violin and incorporates double bass; or from low-key to extremely busy in a single piece, such as "Open Country Joy."

Mahavishnu & Zappa Poster Advertise 1973

The split of the original line-up:
Due to the pressures of sudden fame, exhaustion and a lack of communication, the original band began to tire as 1973 continued. The stress was further exacerbated by a disastrous recording session (from a personal relationship standpoint) at London's Trident Studios that found some of the players not speaking to others. Their project was never fully completed. The last straw came as John McLaughlin read an interview in Crawdaddy! magazine in which Jan Hammer and Jerry Goodman expressed their frustrations with John's leadership style. 

An effort to fix things back in New York fell short. McLaughlin in the later 1970s stated in an interview in Gig magazine that he would like the album to come out, as he thought it was good. In its place, the live album Between Nothingness and Eternity was released instead, featuring material from the studio album. Almost 30 years later, during the beginning of a renaissance of Mahavishnu's music, the incomplete album from the failed London recording was released as The Lost Trident Sessions.

John McLaughlin (musician):
John McLaughlin (born 4 January 1942, Doncaster, West Riding of Yorkshire, England), also known as Mahavishnu John McLaughlin, is an English guitarist, bandleader and composer. His music includes many genres of jazz, and rock, which he coupled with an interest in Indian classical music to become one of the pioneering figures in fusion.

After contributing to several key British groups of the early sixties and making his first solo record Extrapolation (with Tony Oxley and John Surman) he moved to the USA where he played with Tony Williams's group Lifetime and then with Miles Davis on his landmark electric jazz-fusion albums In A Silent Way, Bitches Brew, A Tribute to Jack Johnson and On The Corner. His 1970's electric band, the Mahavishnu Orchestra, performed a technically virtuosic and complex style of music that fused electric jazz and rock with Indian influences.

The Mahavishnu Orchestra - Photo 1972

Style:
ohn McLaughlin is a leading guitarist in jazz and jazz fusion. His style has been described as one of aggressive speed, technical precision, and harmonic sophistication. He is known for using exotic scales and unconventional time signatures. Indian music has had a profound influence on his style, and, it has been written, he is one of the first westerners to play Indian music to Indian audiences. He was influential in bringing jazz fusion to popularity with Miles Davis, playing with Davis on five of his studio albums, including Davis' first gold-certified Bitches Brew, and one live album, Live-Evil. Speaking of himself, McLaughlin has stated that the guitar is simply "part of his body," and he feels more comfortable when a guitar is present.

1960s:
From a family of musicians (his mother being a concert violinist), McLaughlin studied violin and piano as a child and took up the guitar at the age of 11, exploring styles from flamenco to the jazz of Django Reinhardt and Stéphane Grappelli. He moved to London from Yorkshire in the early 1960s, playing with Alexis Korner and the Marzipan Twisters before moving on to Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames, the Graham Bond Organisation (in 1963) and Brian Auger. During the 1960s he often had to support himself with session work which he often found unsatisfying but which enhanced his playing and sight-reading.

McLaughlin moved to the U.S. in 1969 to join Tony Williams' group Lifetime. A recording from the Record Plant, NYC, dated 25 March 1969, exists of McLaughlin jamming with Jimi Hendrix. McLaughlin recollects "we played one night, just a jam session. And we played from 2 until 8, in the morning. I thought it was a wonderful experience! I was playing an acoustic guitar with a pick-up. Um, flat-top guitar, and Jimi was playing an electric. Yeah, what a lovely time! Had he lived today, you'd find that he would be employing everything he could get his hands on, and I mean acoustic guitar, synthesizers, orchestras, voices, anything he could get his hands on he'd use!"

The Mahavishnu Orchestra - 1972

He played on Miles Davis' albums In A Silent Way, Bitches Brew (which has a track named after him), On The Corner, Big Fun (where he is featured soloist on "Go Ahead John") and A Tribute to Jack Johnson. In the liner notes to Jack Johnson, Davis called McLaughlin's playing "far in." McLaughlin returned to the Davis band for one night of a week-long club date, recorded and released as part of the album Live-Evil and of the Cellar Door boxed set. His reputation as a "first-call" session player grew, resulting in recordings as a sideman with Miroslav Vitous, Larry Coryell, Joe Farrell, Wayne Shorter, Carla Bley, the Rolling Stones, and others.

1970s:
He recorded Devotion in early 1970 on Douglas Records (run by Alan Douglas), a high-energy, psychedelic fusion album that featured Larry Young on organ (who had been part of Lifetime), Billy Rich on bass and the R&B drummer Buddy Miles. Devotion was the first of two albums he released on Douglas. In 1971 he released My Goal's Beyond in the U.S., a collection of unamplified acoustic works. Side A ("Peace One" and "Peace Two") offers a fusion blend of jazz and Indian classical forms, while side B features melodic acoustic playing McLaughlin on such standards as "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat", by Charles Mingus whom McLaughlin considered an important influence. My Goal's Beyond was inspired by McLaughlin's decision to follow the Indian spiritual leader Sri Chinmoy, to whom he had been introduced in 1970 by Larry Coryell's manager. The album was dedicated to Chinmoy, with one of the guru's poems printed on the liner notes. It was on this album that McLaughlin took the name "Mahavishnu".

In 1973 McLaughlin collaborated with Carlos Santana, also a disciple of Sri Chinmoy, on an album of devotional songs, Love Devotion Surrender, which featured recordings of Coltrane compositions including a movement of A Love Supreme. McLaughlin has also worked with the jazz composers Carla Bley and Gil Evans.

McLaughlin's 1970s electric band, the Mahavishnu Orchestra, included violinist Jerry Goodman, keyboardist Jan Hammer, bassist Rick Laird, and drummer Billy Cobham. They performed a technically difficult and complex style of music that fused electric jazz and rock with Eastern and Indian influences. This band helped establish fusion as a new and growing style. McLaughlin's playing at this time was distinguished by fast solos and exotic musical scales.

The Mahavishnu Orchestra's personality clashes were as explosive as their performances, and consequently the first incarnation of the group split in late 1973 after two years and three albums, including a live recording entitled "Between Nothingness and Eternity". 

In 2001 the "Lost Trident Sessions" album was released; recorded in 1973 but shelved when the group disbanded. McLaughlin then reformed the group with Narada Michael Walden (drums), Jean-Luc Ponty (violin), Ralphe Armstrong (bass), and Gayle Moran (keyboards and vocals), and a string and horn section (McLaughlin referred to this as "the real Mahavishnu Orchestra"). This incarnation of the group recorded two more albums, Apocalypse with the London Symphony Orchestra and Visions of the Emerald Beyond. A scaled-down quartet was formed with McLaughlin, Walden on drums, Armstrong on bass and Stu Goldberg on keyboards and synthesiser, which generated a third "Mahavishnu 2" recording in 1976 largely due to contractual obligations, Inner Worlds.

Equipment:
♦ Gibson EDS-1275 – McLaughlin played the Gibson doubleneck between 1971 and 1973, his first years with the Mahavishnu Orchestra; this is the guitar which, amplified through a 100-watt Marshall amplifier "in meltdown mode," produced the signature McLaughlin sound hailed by Guitar Player as one of the "50 Greatest Tones of All Time."

♦ Double Rainbow doubleneck guitar made by Rex Bogue, which McLaughlin played from 1973 to 1975.

♦ The first Abraham Wechter-built acoustic "Shakti guitar," a customised Gibson J-200 with drone strings transversely across the soundhole.

♦ He has also played Godin electric/MIDI guitars, one of which can be seen on the Eric Clapton's Crossroads Chicago 2007 DVD.

♦ John currently is endorsed by PRS guitars.

Mahavishnu Orchestra - "Whiskey a Go Go"
Los Angeles, California FM broadcast
1972-03-27 (1st set)

• John McLaughlin: guitar
• Jan Hammer: keyboards
• Jerry Goodman: violin
• Rick Laird: bass
• Billy Cobham: drums

01. John talks, meeting of the spirits 15:25
02. Miles beyond 15:03
03. The dance of Maya 12:48
04. Band intros 1:02
05. A lotus on Irish streams 9:44
06. The noonward race 19:39

Mahavishnu Orchestra - "Nothingness Tour"
Montreal, Canada 1973-07-13

• John McLaughlin (guitar)
• Jerry Goddman (violin)
• Jan Hammer (piano, moog)
• Rick Laird (bass)
• Billy Cobham (drums)

07. Introduction 0:56
08. Meeting of the Spirits 14:32
09. Miles Beyond 12:20
10. Stepping Stones 3:13
11. Sister Andrea 9:31
12. Dream 25:18
13. I Wonder, Awakening (beginning) 05:43
14. Awakening (Part 2) 00:43
15. Awakening (Part 3) 04:51
16. Awakening (Part 4) Conclusion 06:51
17. Meeting of the Spirits 12:41

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The Mahavishnu Orchestra - Advertise Poster

Kenny Loggins with Jim Messina - Sittin' in (Great Rock US 1972)

Size: 91.3 MB
Bitrate: 256
mp3
Ripped by: ChrisGoesRock
Artwork Included
Source: Japan 24-Bit Remaster

Sittin' In is the first album by singer-songwriters Loggins and Messina, released in 1972.

It began as a solo album by Kenny Loggins; Jim Messina was with Columbia Records, serving as an independent producer when he met Loggins. In the course of producing Loggins' work, Messina provided backing vocals and guitar, leading to the album's full title, Kenny Loggins with Jim Messina Sittin' In.

This debut album was credited to Kenny Loggins with Jim Messina because the project had begun as a solo record by Loggins being produced by Messina. By the time it was finished, however, Messina had written or co-written six of the 11 songs, contributed "first guitar," and shared lead vocals on many tracks. Messina's "Nobody but You" and "Vahevala," co-written by Loggins' second cousin, Dave Loggins, were the singles chart entries, but today everybody remembers the album for Loggins' "House at Pooh Corner," which had earned Loggins his record contract, and "Danny's Song," which Anne Murray took into the Top Ten the following year. The only thing wrong with this record is that it was too perfect -- with their infectious blend of country, folk, rock and Caribbean music, L&M started out at the top of their game, and although they were able to match some of the material and performances on later records, the team never got any better than this.

History:
Jim Messina, formerly of Poco and Buffalo Springfield, was working as an independent record producer for Columbia Records in 1970 when he met Kenny Loggins, a little-known singer/songwriter who was signed to ABC-Dunhill.

The two recorded a number of Loggins' compositions in Messina's home living room. When Columbia signed Loggins to a six-album contract (with the assistance of Messina), recording began in earnest for Loggins' debut album, with Messina as producer. Messina originally intended to lend his name to the Loggins project only to help introduce the unknown Loggins to Messina's well-established Buffalo Springfield and Poco audiences. 

But by the time the album was completed, Messina had contributed so much to the album - in terms of songwriting, arrangement, instrumentation, and vocals - that an "accidental" duo was born.
Their debut album was released November 1971 as Sittin' In. The album's first single release, the Caribbean-flavored "Vahevala" (or "Vahevella"), found top 3 success on WCFL on 18 May 1972.

Although the album went unnoticed by radio upon release, it eventually gained traction by autumn 1972, particularly on college campuses, where the pair toured heavily. Loggins' and Messina's harmonies meshed so well that what was begun as a one-off album became an entity unto itself. Audiences regarded the pair as a genuine duo rather than as a solo act with a well-known producer. Instead of just continuing to produce Loggins as a sole performer, they decided to record as a duo – Loggins & Messina.

"When our first album, 'Sittin' In,' came out, we started receiving a lot of excitement about the music and good sales," Messina recalled in 2005. "We had a choice. It was either I now go on and continue to produce him and we do the solo career or we stay together and let this work. For me, I did not desire to go back out on the road. I had had enough of that, and I wanted to produce records. But Clive Davis (then president of the record company) intervened and said, 'You know, I think you'd be making a mistake if you guys didn't take this opportunity. Things like this only happen once in a lifetime. It may merit you sleeping on it overnight and making a decision that will be in your best interest.' He was absolutely correct. Kenny made the decision as well. It delayed his solo career, but it gave him an opportunity, I think, to have one."

Over the next four years they produced five more original albums, plus one album of covers of other artists' material, and two live albums. They sold 16 million records and were the most successful duo of the early 1970s, surpassed later in the decade only by Hall & Oates.

Their work was covered by other artists such as Lynn Anderson who recorded "Listen to a Country Song" released in 1972 and reached #3 on the charts, and perhaps most notably Anne Murray, who reached the U.S. top ten with "Danny's Song" in early 1973 and the U.S. top twenty with "A Love Song" in early 1974. A greatest-hits album, The Best of Friends, would be released a year after the duo had separated. The later studio albums often found both Loggins and Messina more as two solo artists sharing the same record rather than as a genuine partnership. As both Loggins and Messina noted in 2005, their collaboration eventually became more a competition - a frequent, almost-inevitable dynamic of show business duos.
Never really a team of true equals due to the "teacher/apprentice" nature of their music experience levels, the pair had by early 1976 quietly but amicably parted to pursue solo careers, following the release of Native Sons. Messina found solo success elusive, but Loggins went on to become one of the biggest hitmakers of the 1980s.

The two reunited in 2005 to choose tracks for an expanded compilation album of singles and album cuts The Best: Sittin' In Again, which proved successful enough for them to embark on tour together. Their successful "Sittin' In Again" tour was launched in mid-2005 and played out the remainder of the year. They also released an album that year of the tour. "Every couple of years we'd talk about it, but I was having too much fun as a solo artist," Loggins said that summer. "It was very rewarding for me, and I wasn't ready to share the reins. I still had a lot of stuff to do on my own, to prove myself and to express myself, in a way that wouldn't have fit in with Loggins & Messina."

The two were pleased enough to consider future Loggins and Messina projects and the two also toured in 2009. "Like most relationships, we were a moment in time," Loggins said. "It's just really fun to be able to go back and celebrate that and just sort of really honor each other as grown men, in a way we never really did back then. We were young and competitive and didn't realize that it wasn't necessarily all about getting your way, but you learn that if you grow up."

Their backing band changed from album to album, with the core members listed below. Many albums featured backing members who were well known in their own right, John Townsend and Ed Sanford, later of the Sanford & Townsend Band ("Smoke from a Distant Fire"), contributed vocals and songwriting to the Native Sons, their final studio album. 

Kenny Loggins and Jim Messina were the most successful pop/rock duo of the first half of the '70s. Loggins was a staff songwriter who had recently enjoyed success with a group of songs recorded by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band when he came to the attention of Messina, a record producer and former member of Buffalo Springfield and Poco. Messina agreed to produce Loggins' first album, but somewhere along the way it became a duo effort that was released in 1972 under the title Kenny Loggins with Jim Messina Sittin' In. The album was a gold-seller that stayed in the charts more than two years.

Loggins & Messina In the next four years, Loggins & Messina released a series of gold or platinum albums, most of which hit the Top Ten. They were all played in a buoyant country-rock style with an accomplished band. Loggins & Messina (1972) featured the retro-rock hit "Your Mama Don't Dance." Full Sail (1973), On Stage (a double live album, 1974), and Mother Lode (1974) all hit the Top Ten. So Fine was an album of '50s cover songs. The pair's last new studio album, Native Sons, came out at the start of 1976.

The Best of FriendsLoggins & Messina split for two solo careers by the end of that year, their early catalog completed by a greatest-hits album, Best of Friends, and a live record, Finale. The duo reunited in 2005 and hit the road for a summer tour while the compilation The Best: Sittin' in Again was arriving in stores. The tour itself was documented on Live: Sittin' in Again at Santa Barbara Bowl, which appeared late in the year. [Wikipedia & AMG]

Discography:
1972  Sittin' In
1972  Loggins and Messina
1973  Full Sail
1974  On Stage (Live)
1974  Mother Lode
1975  So Fine
1976  Native Sons
1976  The Best of Friends (Compilation)

Personnel on this album:
• Kenny Loggins - vocals, guitar, harmonica
• Jim Messina - vocals, guitar

Additional personnel
• Lester "Al" Garth - violin, recorder, saxophone, steel drum, backing vocals
• Michael Omartian - concertina, keyboards, steel drum
• Jon Clarke - horn, oboe, saxophone, steel drum
• Larry Sims - bass guitar, backing vocals
• Merel Bregante - drums, backing vocals
• Milt Holland - percussion

01. "Nobody But You" (Jim Messina) – 3:00
02. "Danny's Song" (Kenny Loggins) – 4:16
03. "Vahevala" (Dan Loggins, Dann Lottermoser) – 4:47
04. "Trilogy: Lovin' Me/To Make a Woman Feel Wanted/Peace of Mind" (Loggins, Messina, Murray MacLeod) – 11:13
05. "Back to Georgia" (Loggins) – 3:19
06. "House at Pooh Corner" (Loggins) – 4:25
07. "Listen to a Country Song" (Messina, Al Garth) – 2:49
08. "Same Old Wine" (Messina) – 8:17
09. "Rock 'n' Roll Mood" (Loggins, Michael Omartian) – 3:04

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Various Atrist - SNACK - Part of Benefit Concert 1975-03-23 (Bootleg)

Bob Dylan & Neil Young at Bill Graham's SNACK 1975

Size: 244 MB
Bitrate: 320
mp3
Found in, i don't know
Some Artwork Included

We turn our thoughts to March 23, 1975, when Bill and BGP, with just a month’s notice, organized an all-star “benefit extravaganza” to raise funds needed by San Francisco public schools faced with fiscal cutbacks, in order to continue after-school sports and other extra-curricular activities. Entitled S.N.A.C.K. Sunday (“Students Need Activities, Culture and Kicks”), the event was held at the 60,000-seat Kezar Stadium, with tickets priced at $5.

Bob Dylan at Bill Graham's SNACK 1975

The day featured appearances by Marlon Brando and Willie Mays, among other celebrities; a one-time-only collaboration of Bob Dylan, The Band and Neil Young; and performances by Santana, Jefferson Airplane, Jerry Garcia and Friends, Joan Baez, The Doobie Brothers, and others. The event raised more than $200,000, enough to fund San Francisco after-school programs for an entire year.

Bill was quoted at the time as saying, “We make our living from the youth of San Francisco. This is one of the ways we hope to thank them.”

S.N.A.C.K. Sunday stands as a precursor to multiple-star, mega-benefit concerts that would raise funds for various causes in years to come.

S.F. SNACK Benefit Concert
Kezar Stadium, San Francisco, CA
1975-03-23

Disc 1
Neil Young, Bob Dylan & The Band:
This was a one time only mixture of Dylan/Band/Young.  The appearance of Neil Young and company was merely rumored and Dylan's performance was a complete surprise. Completely unrehearsed, some of this music is great.  Dylan debuts I Want You live, but unfortunately he can't be heard for most of the song. Mostly what we hear is Rick Danko shouting the chorus. Hearing the Band without Robbie Robertson is weird at first, but Ben Keith makes up for it very nicely. The oddest thing on this tape is the Helpless/Knockin' medley where Dylan substitutes "knockin' on the dragon's door" for "knockin' on heaven's door". I have no idea what he meant by it! The entire set is approximately 45 minutes.

♦ Neil Young (piano, guitar)
♦ Tim Drummond (guitar)
♦ Ben Keith (pedal steel guitar)
♦ Levon Helm (drums)
♦ Garth Hudson (keyboards)
♦ Rick Danko (bass)

01. Are You Ready For The Country 04:14
02. Ain't That A Lot Of Love 04:48
03. Looking For A Love 04:01
04. Loving You Is Sweeter Than Ever 04:07
05. I Want You 03:54
06. The Weight 04:59
07. Helpless / Knockin on Dragon's Door 04:29
08. Will The Circle Be Unbroken  03:55

Disc 2
Jerry Garcia & Friends:
The Interview section, with Jerry, was done before the show on 3/23 and, while he mentions Crosby as being with the band, he never showed! The "aircheck" segment is a recording of 3/21/75 which was a "practice session" for the SNACK show and DOES feature Crosby, although his inputis fairly negligable.

This was the first time that Blues For Allah was performed live.

♦ Jerry Garcia - Guitar
♦ Phil Lesh - Bass
♦ Keith Godchaux - Organ
♦ Bill Kreutzman - Drums
♦ Micky Hart - Drums
♦ Bob Weir - Guitar
♦ Merle Saunders - Organ
♦ Ned Lagin - Organ
♦ David Crosby - Guitar

01. Interview With Jerry Garcia by James Cameron 09:26

Jerry Garcia & Friends
02. Intro By Bill Graham 00:40
03. Blues For Allah (sans vocals) 09:08
04. Milking The Turkey 06:51
05. Drums 03:25
06. Milking The Turkey 09:31
07. Blues For Allah Intro Theme Jam 03:15
08. Crowd & DJ Talk 00:57
09. Johnny B Goode 04:10

Practise
1975-03-21
10. Milking The Turkey/Blues For Allah/Slipnot Theme/Jam 16:28
11. King Solomon's Marbles Jam (2) 01:02
12. Milking The Turkey Theme Jam 05:17
13. Blues For Allah Intro Jam 02:21

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Neil Young at Bill Graham’s SNACK 1975

Jerry Garcia at Bill Graham’s SNACK 1975

Genesis - A Classic Broadcast Revisited Montreal 1974 (Bootleg)

Size: 258 MB
Bitrate: 320
mp3
Found in OuterSpace
Some Artwork Included

The story of Genesis really is a tale of two bands with virtually identical lineups. The first era of Genesis ran from 1968 to 1975, with Peter Gabriel serving as lead vocalist. The second lasted from 1975 to 1996, during which drummer Phil Collins assumed the departed Gabriel’s duties as singer and frontman. Both phases are distinct, with the Gabriel-era Genesis tending toward epic-scaled progressive rock with a distinctly eccentric British cast, while the Collins-fronted edition moved in a more contemporary and commercial direction. 

But to say that one period was “prog” while the other was “pop” oversimplifies the situation, doing an injustice to the often sprightly melodies of the former and the continued musical depth of the latter. With Gabriel’s and Collins’ voices sharing certain characteristics of tone and timbre, the transition was, in fact, less jarring than might be supposed.   

The group’s initial core – singer/flute player Peter Gabriel, keyboardist Tony Banks, bassist/guitarist Michael Rutherford and guitarist Anthony Phillips – came together at the Charterhouse school in 1966 under the name the Garden Wall. The group’s demo tapes caught the attention of pop producer and songwriter Jonathan King, who suggested the band change its name to Genesis. The group went through several drummers before settling on Phil Collins, who joined in 1970. In fact, Collins was not on Genesis’ debut album, From Genesis to Revelation, released the previous year. Another lineup change saw Phillips replaced by guitarist Steve Hackett.   

Genesis - Italy Single 1974

The lineup of Gabriel, Banks, Rutherford, Hackett and Collins remained intact for the first half of the Seventies. During that period, they recorded a series of endearingly eccentric albums, including Trespass, Nursery Cryme, Foxtrot and Selling England by the Pound. Gabriel’s vivid imagination concocted such fanciful narratives as giant hogweeds overrunning the planet and an eavesdropping lawn mower elating old folks’ teatime gossip. “The Musical Box,” one of Genesis’ early master-pieces, spun a Dorian Gray-style tale of murder, reincarnation and desire. The strange, sidelong epic “Supper’s Ready” was the highlight of Foxtrot.   

Genesis didn’t hit the charts in America until 1973, when their sixth album, Selling England by the Pound, rose to Number 70 on the coattails of such established prog-rock successes as Yes, Jethro Tull and the Moody Blues.   

In concert, Gabriel brought Genesis’ songs to life with a series of theatrical guises donned for every song. He’d appear as a giant sunflower in “Willow Farm” and a glowing-eyed extraterrestrial in “Watcher of the Skies.” His stagecraft became the visual focus of Genesis’ live shows; the other members would position themselves in an inconspicuous semicircle toward the back of the stage.   

In 1974, Genesis unveiled The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, a conceptual double album with an elliptical story line about Rael, a New York street kid, and his quest for spiritual self-discovery. Instead of the usual lengthy epics, there were 23 songs strung across Lamb’s four sides. A six-month tour followed, filled with intricate staging that included 2000 slides and a host of special effects. It was a spectacle on par with anything attempted in the world of rock to that point, and in its wake, an exhausted Gabriel announced he was leaving the band.   

Ironically, though they fretted about continuing without him – and auditioned 400 replacements before deciding Collins was up to the task – Genesis’ most successful days lay ahead of them. The four-man lineup released a pair of delightful albums, A Trick of the Tail and Wind and Wuthering, that mined the same rich vein of British whimsy and musical inventiveness for which Genesis had been known. Following the 1977 release of a double-live album, Seconds Out, Steve Hackett departed. He was not replaced, and Genesis acknowledged the attrition in their numbers by titling the next album And Then There Were Three....   

Genesis - Brazil EP 1974

Something wholly unexpected happened at this point: Genesis began having hits. They first cracked the U.S. Top 40 with “Follow You Follow Me,” from And Then There Were Three... Tapping into the streamlined sound of the New Wave movement of the Eighties, Genesis found a way to incorporate pop hooks and artful concision into their work, and the four studio albums they released in the Eighties – Duke (1980), Abacab (1981), Genesis (1983) and Invisible Touch (1986) – generated 10 Top 40 hits. Invisible Touch became one of the biggest albums of the Eighties, launching five major hits: “Invisible Touch” (Genesis’ first and only Number One single), “Throwing It All Away” (Number Four), “Land of Confusion” (Number Four), “Tonight, Tonight, Tonight” (Number Three) and “In Too Deep” (Number Three). After Hackett left, Genesis added guitarist Daryl Stuermer and drummer Chester Thompson to their touring lineup.   

Collins had become the extroverted frontman and undisputed sparkplug of Genesis. Away from Genesis he launched a highly successful solo career that culminated with the phenomenal success of his third album, No Jacket Required (1985), which sold more than 12 million copies and stayed atop the album charts for seven weeks. Banks and Rutherford released solo projects, including Rutherford‘s band Mike + the Mechanics, but none of them matched Collins’ commercial heights.   

Genesis reconvened in the Nineties for one more album (We Can’t Dance, 1991) and world tour before Collins decided to leave for good. Now they were down to two, but Genesis didn’t break up. Recruiting a new vocalist, Ray Wilson, they recorded the 1997 album Calling All Stations. And then Genesis did go silent– until 2007, that is, when Phil Collins, Tony Banks and Mike Rutherford reunited for the first time in 15 years for a highly successful world tour. 

Genesis - "A Classic Broadcast Revisited" 
University Sports Centre - Montreal 
Quebec April 21, 1974 

Genesis: 
♦ Peter Gabriel - Lead Vocals, Flute and Percussion
♦ Tony Banks - Keyboards, 12 String and Backing Vocals
♦ Mike Rutherford - Bass Guitars, Bass Pedals, Guitars and Backing Vocals
♦ Steve Hackett - Lead Guitars and Effects
♦ Phil Collins - Drums, Percussion and Backing Vocals

Disc 1
01. Watcher Of The Skies 8:54
02. Story Of Britannia 1:45
03. Dancing With The Moonlit Knight 8:51
04. Story Of Romeo And Juliet 1:59
05. The Cinema Show 11:18
06. I Know What I Like 6:29
07. Story Of Five Rivers 1:25
08. Firth Of Fifth 10:01
09. The Story Of Henry And Cynthia 1:52
10. The Musical Box 11:03
11. Horizons 2:13

Disc 2
01. The Battle Of Epping Forest 12:47
02. The Story Old Michael 3:02
03. Supper's Ready 24:37
04. CHOM-FM Radio Intro/Station Identification/Sign Off 0:48

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Part 2: Link
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Genesis - Billboard Magazine Advertising 1973

The Beatles - Swedish Radio Show, 1963-10-24 (Bootleg)

Size: 75.8 MB
Bitrate: 320
mp3
Found in OuterSpace
Artwork Included 

The Beatles became a sensation in the U.K. in 1962-63, about a year or more before anyone in the U. S. knew much about them.  However, before that, the Beatles had honed their craft playing in nightclubs and other gigs dating to the late 1950s.  Known by earlier names such as The Quarrymen, Johnny & the Moon- dogs, and the Silver Beatles, they played a variety of venues, with some alternating personnel during those early years.  

In Hamburg, Germany, and Liverpool, Eng- land, from about 1960 on, they worked hard and steadily in nightclubs, putting in long hours, improving their stage act, increasing their range of music, and writing their own songs.  They were a cover band as well, as most English rock bands then were.  They offered their own versions of Buddy Holly, Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Carl Perkins, Larry Williams, and others.  

By late 1961, they were playing to packed houses at the Cavern nightclub in Liverpool, England where they were discovered by their manager-to-be Brian Epstein in November 1961.  Epstein did a wardrobe and style make-over on them, cleaning them up for the music industry.  By May 1962, after being rejected by a number of U.K. record labels, they signed a deal with EMI, then the U.K.’s leading music company.

During 1962, their songs began hitting the British Melody Maker music chart and others.  “Love Me Do,” a Lennon/McCartney compo- sition, reached No. 21 in the fall that year, and their first No. 1 hit came with “Please, Please Me” on February 22, 1963.  At about this point, what came to be known as “Beatlemania” began to take hold in the U.K.  Their first U.K. album was titled Please Please Me, released in April of 1963.  Within four weeks it would be the No.1 U.K. album, remaining in that position for 30 weeks, followed by their second U.K. album, With the Beatles.  From then on, there came a string of No. 1 Beatles’ hits and No. 1 albums until the group broke up in 1969-1970.

The Beatles - US Single 13 Jul 1964

In the American music industry, however, there was an initial hesitancy about the Beatles, as some record executives and DJs, especially in 1963, didn’t think that British acts generally would do well in America.  That perspective would soon change.

What follows below is a timeline marking the rise of Beatles’ music and appearances in the U.S. during 1963 and 1964, along with a few photos, anecdotes, and sidebar stories.  It is not a complete and comprehensive treatment of the Beatles’ activities during these years, nor is it meant to be.  There are entire books and websites devoted to that topic, some of which are noted in “Sources & Additional Information” at the end of this article.  What is offered here, hopefully, is a representative sampling of activity in those first two “Beatles-in-America” years, mixing in music history, business developments, and news-of-the-times – plus one or two stories that may be new to many readers.

January 1963
George Martin of EMI in London sends a copy of “Please Please Me” to U.S. subsidiary Capitol Records, urging executives there to distribute Beatles’ songs in the U.S. They decline, saying: “We don’t think the Beatles will do anything in this market.”  Lesser known labels then begin picking up Beatles’1963 songs for U.S. release.

25 Jan 1963
Vee-Jay record label of Chicago obtains a contract to release limited number of Beatles records in the U.S. for a limited time period.

25 Feb 1963
“Please Please Me”/ “Ask Me Why” released as single on Vee-Jay label.  The song is played on Chicago’s WLS radio station where it reaches No. 35 on WLS music survey in March, but does not chart nationally; not on Billboard.

The Beatles - US Single 25 Jan 1964

27 May 1963
“From Me To You” / “Thank You Girl” released as a single by Vee-Jay, but is barely visible; No. 116 on August Billboard chart, drops off thereafter.

16 Sept 1963
“She Loves You” / “I’ll Get You” released in U.S. by Swan Records, a Philadelphia label, but does not chart on Billboard.

31 Oct 1963
American TV variety show host, Ed Sullivan, traveling to London, has his arrival delayed at London Heathrow Airport by a screaming crowd of teens welcoming the Beatles home from a tour of Sweden.  Sullivan has his first thoughts of booking these rising British music stars with strange haircuts – perhaps as novelty act.

11-12 Nov 1963
Beatles manager Brian Epstein travels to New York and persuades Ed Sullivan to book the Beatles for an unprecedented three consecutive appearances on Sullivan’s much-watched Sunday evening variety show – February 9th, 16th and 23rd, 1964.  CBS-TV gets one year’s exclusive rights to the Beatles’ U.S. television appearances.

15 Nov 1963
Time magazine take notice of the “Beatlemania” craze sweeping England and the Beatles’ command performance for British royalty in London.

16 Nov1963
CBS News bureau London – at the suggestion of Beatles’ manager Brian Epstein – sends a news crew to the British seaside resort of Bournemouth where they film a Beatles concert, thousands of screaming fans, and a few Beatles’ comments on camera.  This film clip is later sent to New York.

Mid-late Nov 1963
Brian Epstein phones Capitol Records president Alan Livingston over label’s refusal to distribute Beatles songs in America.  Epstein urges Livingston to listen to the U.K. single, “I Want To Hold Your Hand,” while mentioning the Beatles’ upcoming 1964 Ed Sullivan Show appearances as a big opportunity for Capitol.  Livingston later agrees to spend $40,000 for Beatles promotion, equal to about $250,000 in today’s money.

The Beatles - US Single 1964

18 Nov 1963
NBC’s evening news program, The Huntley-Brinkley Report, airs a four-minute segment on the Beatles.

22 Nov 1963
U.K. album, With The Beatles, is released in the U.K., rising to No. 1 on the British album charts and remaining there for 21 weeks. With The Beatles becomes the Beatles’ first million-selling album in Britain, and the second album of any kind in Britain to sell one million copies, the first being the South Pacific soundtrack.

22 Nov 1963
The “CBS Morning News With Mike Wallace” runs a story on the Beatles for the network’s morning news show. CBS planned to repeat the segment that evening on Walter Cronkite’s newscast.  However, that day, in mid afternoon, Walter Cronkite was breaking the tragic news to a shocked nation that their President, John F. Kennedy, had been shot and killed while visiting Dallas, Texas.

29 Nov 1963
The Beatles’ single “I Want To Hold Your Hand” is released in the U.K. and immediately hits No. 1 on the British pop charts.

29 Nov 1963
Radio station KIOA in Des Moines, Iowa begins playing “I Saw Her Standing There” from a Drake University student’s copy of Beatle’s U.K. album, Please Please Me, and a few days later, “I Want to Hold Your Hand,” from a U.K. Beatles’ single  

1 Dec 1963
The New York Times Sunday Magazine, runs a story on “Beatlemania” in the U.K.

The Beatles Swedish - Info

4 Dec 1963
Capitol Records issues a press release announcing that it will begin selling the Beatles’ first U.S. 45 rpm single, “I Want To Hold Your Hand,” on Monday, January 13th, 1964.

10 Dec 1963
A four-minute CBS film segment on The Beatles that had been pre-empted by the JFK tragedy is aired on Walter Cronkite’s  CBS Evening News. 

17 Dec 1963
Radio disc jockey Carroll James at Washington. D.C. station WWDC, plays rare U.K. copy of  “I Want to Hold Your Hand” on the radio after 15-year-old girl from Silver Spring, MD wrote to him  requesting Beatles music after seeing the CBS-news segment.  James arranged to have an airline stewardess buy a U.K. copy of the Beatles’ latest single in London.  Listeners phone in repeatedly to request the song.

18-19 Dec 1963
Capitol Records threatens to sue WWDC to stop playing song, but then reverses itself and decides to rush-release “I Want To Hold Your Hand,” previously scheduled for  January 13, 1964.  Christmas leave is canceled at Capitol Records, as pressing plants and staff gear up for rush release.

23 Dec 1963
Capitol Records issues a memo to its sales people and regional managers across the country, outlining an extensive “Beatles Campaign” using various promotional items – from major music magazine trade ads and a fake tabloid Beatles newspaper (reprinted in the thousands), to Beatle buttons, Beatle stickers, Beatle wigs, and a battery-powered, “Beatles-in-motion,” bobble-head-like, window display for music stores.

26 Dec 1963
Capitol Records begins distributing “I Want To Hold Your Hand” to radio stations in major U.S. cities where it is played regularly.  With teens home for Christmas-New Years break, radios get full-time use, and the record begins selling like crazy.  In New York City, 10,000 copies are sold every hour.  In the first three days, 250,000 copies are  sold. Capitol was so overloaded it contracted Columbia Records and RCA to help with the pressings.

28 Dec 1963
The New Yorker magazine publishes a Brian Epstein interview; regarded as first serious article in U.S. about the Beatles and their manager.

29 Dec 1963
New York city radio station WMCA joins others  broadcasting “I Want To Hold Your Hand.”  Back in London, meanwhile, Sunday Times critic Richard Buckle praises the Beatles as the greatest composers since Beethoven.

30 Dec 1963
A two-page ad from Capitol Records pitching the Beatles’ recordings runs in Billboard and Cash Box music industry magazines.  Bulk reprints of these ads have already been distributed to Capitol’s sales agents for use with radio stations and in enlarged, easel-scale size for use in music store displays across the country.


The Beatles - 'Swedish Radio Show' 
Karlaplans Studio, Stockholm 
Sweden 1963-10-24

01. Swedish announcer intro
02. I Saw Her Standing There
03. From Me To You
04. Money
05. Roll Over Beethoven
06. You Really Got A Hold On Me
07. She Loves You
08. Twist And Shout

*Bonus Tracks*
The Beatles - 'Blackpool Night Out'   
ABC Theatre, Blackpool 
England 1964-07-19

09. A Hard Day's Night
10. Things We Said Today
11. You Can't Do That
12. If I Fell
13. Long Tall Sally

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"Them" Article 30 April 1966