Objectively speaking, these guys may not have rocked as hard as anybody else of their era, but hands down nobody had a more majestic sound. And nobody ever achieved such a seamless mashup of Ray Charles and J.S. Bach.
That whole bootleg pictured above, BTW, is astounding. I've got a link for it somewhere; be nice to me and I'll find it and post it later today.
5 comments:
Thank you!!! I'm a Procol Harum 'originalist' for this lineup. If you can please find the rest, please post! I'm especially interested to hear a Repent Walpurgis version with the all star line up.
Mark
I'm not at my home computer, so I can't find the link right this second....
I should have it up by afternoon, however.
Whiskey Train!!!!
This bootleg surfaced in mid 1996. It was done by the short-lived Third Eye label and is the standout of their second batch of releases. Only complaints are that the cover photo is not from the time of the show and the date and venue given is incorrect [I think]. But that is minor quibbling.
The same label also released a Terry Reid bootleg at this time which, despite iffy sound, included amazing material from 1969 to the mid 1970's that every fan should own. It astonished me that a Terry Reid bootleg existed. And, truthfully, that was reason enough for me to snag it in 1996.
Regarding the Procol Harum Easter Island boot, the packaging states it was recorded 1969-03-15 at the Fillmore East on Easter Sunday. The band undoubtedly played the Fillmore East on that date. However, Easter was on April 6 that year which is when PH played the Fillmore West. So .... who knows.
Regarding the last five songs from the Troubadour 1969-04-01, I don't remember the band playing there, but that doesn't mean they didn't. Maybe it was some kind of showcase. If the date's right, it was a Tuesday night. By Thursday of that week they were at the Fillmore West for a 4 night run.
Generally artists who played the Troubadour during this time did five or six night stands. So again ... who knows.
Regardless it's a damn fine bootleg of 1969 PH material and that's what really matters.
Even though a Salty Dog was already in the can, Juicy John Pink is the only preview from the Fillmore show. And Crucifixion Lane from the "Troubadour" set.
When I saw them with Santana and Kaleidoscope on this Spring tour they did The Devil Came from Kansas. But it was mostly stuff from the 1st two LP's. Great bill and superb shows. I went both nights. Sandy says they did A Salty Dog, but I don't remember it that way.
After Home came out, PH played the Swing in San Bernardino with Leon Russell and Blodwyn Pig opening. The place wasn't even half full. Nevertheless, it was a tremendous show top to bottom. Leon was added to the bill due to lagging ticket sales. Go figure.
It was hot as Hades that day so Sandy and I went to Huntington Beach that afternoon with some college guys we were seeing. They were in a band called Filthy Isaac and the Search For Sanity.:) We persuaded them to take us to the PH show by prick teasing them all day at the beach. It was shameless.
When we got to the show the two cute guys from Smokestack Lightnin', whom Sandy and I had been seeing intimately, were in the crowd. Cruel as it was, we ditched the guys we came with.
After the show, the four of us jumped in the fountain in front of the Swing to cool off. Then we bought a dozen T-Bone steaks and spent rest of the weekend at their place. When we weren't eating our meat caveman style, we spent our time frolicking in bed.
We smoked what was left of our ball of black tar opium. Sandy and I scored it during a Terry Reid gig at the Whisky the week before. We never had tried it before. One hit and we were in love with the stuff. It was way better and different than hash.
That shit was great for super dreamy sex. Amazingly yummy. Made the guys better than they already were in bed too. A definite plus all the way around.
I vividly remember the music for these Epicurean festivities included Cosmo's Factory, The James Gang Rides Again, John Barleycorn, Dave Mason's Alone Together and Grand Funk's Closer to Home. All were fairly new albums at this time and are seared into my brain and Kundalini, as you can only begin to imagine.
Another thing I remember about that weekend is that a blonde girl dropped by to visit the guys. She said she used to date Dennis Wilson and was bummed that he was getting re-married. She didn't stay long even though we offered her steak and opium.
I told the guys that they should name their next album "Steak,Opium and Statutory Rape". There was no next album. A pity.
Vickie Rock off to see the other Brother of the Feather at the Satellite.
Oh, here's something else for everyone to miss. An early Smokestack Lightnin' garage single from late 1966.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHA5L5mWrlE
The flip-side is Crossroads. I saw theses guys open for the Seeds and Buffalo Springfield that year at different shows. They were dynamite live. And not too shabby in the sack. Ubiquitous L.A. Band 1967-1970.
The January 1969 LP has its moments. Me and Sandy were there when George Rodriguez shot the cover. His late brother was a Whisky regular who literally and completely lived for the scene. When I think back on the Whisky in those days I think of him, Sugar Bear, Arthur the doorman, the Tiger Beat girls, Elmer and how we got into all the shows free. Good fuckin' times.
About a decade ago George gave me the Genie the Tailor sign from when she operated out of the Whisky. It was among his late brother's stuff and he figured I would appreciate it and care for it. He was sooo right.
http://i1282.photobucket.com/albums/a535/VanessaStone/To%20the%20Nth%20Degree/SmokestackLightninbillboard1968_zps76b5604c.jpg
Vickie Rock makin' a late night run to WalMart for some cheap summer tops and such.
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