Rolling Stones
Memorial Coliseum
Los Angeles, CA
October 19, 1989
Mike Millard Master Tapes via JEMS
The Lost and Found Mike the MICrophone Tapes Volume 215
1644 Edition
Contrast Clause: 2496 Edition here:
[
www.dimeadozen.org]
Recording Gear: AKG 451E Microphones (CK-1 cardioid capsules) > Nakamichi 550 Cassette Recorder
JEMS 2023 Transfer: Mike Millard Master Cassettes > Nakamichi Cassette Deck 1 azimuth-adjusted playback > Sound Devices USBPre2 > Audacity 3.1 capture > iZotope RX > iZotope RX8 Advanced and Ozone 10 > MBIT+ resample to 16/44.1 > xACT 2.50 > FLAC
01 Continental Drift
02 Start Me Up
03 Bitch
04 Sad Sad Sad
05 Undercover Of The Night
06 Harlem Shuffle
07 Tumbling Dice
08 Miss You
09 Ruby Tuesday
10 Angie
11 Rock And A Hard Place
12 Mixed Emotions
13 Honky Tonk Women
14 Midnight Rambler
15 You Can't Always Get What You Want
16 Little Red Rooster (with Eric Clapton)
17 Before They Make Me Run
18 Happy
19 Paint It Black
20 2000 Light Years From Home
21 Sympathy For The Devil
22 Gimme Shelter
23 Band Introduction
24 It's Only Rock 'n' Roll (But I Like It)
25 Brown Sugar
26 (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction
27 Jumpin' Jack Flash
Known Faults:
-None
Introduction to the Lost and Found Mike the MICrophone Series
Welcome to JEMS’ Lost and Found Mike the MICrophone series presenting recordings made by legendary taper Mike Millard, AKA Mike the MICrophone, best known for his masters of Led Zeppelin done in and around Los Angeles circa 1975-77. For the complete details on how tapes in this series came to be lost and found again, as well as JEMS' long history with Mike Millard, please refer to the notes in Vol. One: [
www.dimeadozen.org].
Until 2020, the Lost and Found series presented fresh transfers of previously unavailable first-generation copies made by Mike himself for friends like Stan Gutoski of JEMS, Jim R, Bill C. and Barry G. These sources were upgrades to circulating copies and in most instances marked the only time verified first generation Millard sources had been directly digitized in the torrent era.
That all changed with the discovery of many of Mike Millard’s original master tapes.
Yes, you read that correctly, Mike Millard’s master cassettes, long rumored to be destroyed or lost, have been found. Not all of them but many, and with them a much more complete picture has emerged of what Millard recorded between his first show in late 1973 and his last in early 1992.
The reason the rediscovery of his master tapes is such a revelation is that we’ve been told for decades they were gone. Internet myths suggest Millard destroyed his master tapes before taking his own life, an imprudent detail likely concocted based on the assumption that because his master tapes never surfaced and Mike’s mental state was troubled he would do something rash WITH HIS LIFE’S WORK. There’s also a version of the story where Mike’s family dumps the tapes after he dies. Why would they do that?
The truth is Mike’s masters remained in his bedroom for many years after his death in 1994. We know at least a few of Millard’s friends and acquaintances contacted his mother Lia inquiring about the tapes at the time to no avail. But in the early 2000s, longtime Millard friend Rob S was the one she knew and trusted enough to preserve Mike’s work.
The full back story on how Mike’s master tapes were saved can be found in the notes for Vol. 18 Pink Floyd, which was the first release in our series transferred from Millard’s original master tapes:
[
www.dimeadozen.org]
[
www.dimeadozen.org]
Rolling Stones, Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, CA, October 19, 1989
This week we arrive at the sixth and final recording Mike "The Mike" Millard made of The Rolling Stones' 1989 Steel Wheels tour. The previous five can be found on Lost and Found series Vols. 197 (LA October 18), Vol. 173 (LA October 21), Vol. 40 (LA October 22), Vol. 108 (Oakland November 4) and Vol. 142 (Oakland November 5).
This run of six shows in a little over two weeks is arguably the peak of Millard's late period, which runs from 1988 to 1994. After taking a nearly four-year hiatus, he began taping again at a frequency that matched or exceeded his '70s heyday, culminating in his complete coverage of the band's California shows.
All six of Millard's Stones recordings from 1989 are excellent, especially given the scale of the stadiums in which he was working. At this point, Mike's friend and LA ticket broker legend Graham was getting Millard exactly the seats he desired for nearly every show, which no doubt helped him crack the code on getting recordings up to his standards in these huge venues.
As I've written before about setlists on the 1989 tour, it is impressive in its scope and scale, and marked the first time the Stones pulled out deep cuts that would have seemed unthinkable in the '70s and '80s, like "Paint It Black" and "2000 Light Years From Home." They also give contemporary material like "Mixed Emotions," "Undercover Of The Night" and "Harlem Shuffle" its due.
All of the aforementioned songs fare well here in a strong second-night set, the highlight of which is a guest appearance by Eric Clapton who plays guitar on another never-thought-they'd-play-it-again oldie, "Little Red Rooster." You can hear someone in the crowd starting shouting "Eric! Eric!" as he takes the stage.
Mike makes another excellent stadium pull this night and with a bit of mastering lift, the result is a well-balanced and full fidelity recording. Samples provided.
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JEMS is proud to partner with Rob, Jim R, Ed F, Barry G and many others to release Millard's historic recordings and to help set the record straight about the man himself.
We can’t thank Rob enough for reconnecting with Jim and putting his trust in our Millard reissue campaign. He kept Mike’s precious tapes under wraps for two decades, but once Rob learned of our methods and stewardship, he agreed to contribute the Millard DATs and cassettes to the program. Our releases would not be nearly as compelling without Jim’s memories, photos and other background contributions. As many of you have noted, the stories offer an entertaining complement to Mike’s incredible audio documents.
The JEMS honor roll this week includes Rob S who did our transfer and scans, Professor Goody who sorted out pitch and mjk5510 who handled post production and cover art.
Finally, cheers to the late, great Mike the MICrophone. His work never ceases to impress. May he rest in peace.
BK for JEMS