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www.thetradersden.org]
Downloadlin: [
we.tl]
valid 7 augustus
Rolling Stones
The Forum
Inglewood, CA
July 9, 1975
Mike Millard Master Tapes via JEMS
The Lost and Found Mike the MICrophone Tapes Volume 231
Recording Gear: AKG 451E Microphones (CK-1 cardioid capsules) > Nakamichi 550 Cassette Recorder
JEMS Transfer: Mike Millard Master Cassettes > Yamaha KX-W592 Cassette Deck > Sony R-500 DAT > Analog Master DAT Clone > Audacity 3.1 capture > iZotope RX > iZotope RX8 Advanced and Ozone 10 > MBIT+ resample to 16/44.1 > xACT 2.50 > FLAC
01 Introduction
02 Honky Tonk Women
03 All Down The Line
04 If You Can't Rock Me > Get Off Of My Cloud
05 Star Star
06 Gimme Shelter
07 Ain't Too Proud To Beg
08 You Gotta Move
09 You Can't Always Get What You Want
10 Happy
11 Tumbling Dice
12 It's Only Rock 'N' Roll
13 Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker)
14 Fingerprint File
15 Angie
16 Wild Horses
17 That's Life
18 Outta Space
19 Brown Sugar
20 Midnight Rambler
21 Rip This Joint
22 Street Fighting Man
23 Jumpin' Jack Flash
24 Sympathy For The Devil
Known Faults:
-All Down The Line: gap in DAT source about a minute in
-You Can't Always Get What You Want: splice
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.thetradersden.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.thetradersden.org]
Rolling Stones, The Forum, Inglewood, CA, July 9, 1975
Mike "The Mike" Millard kicked off his Nakamichi-AKG era with The Faces and Led Zeppelin in March 1975, but the Rolling Stones' five-show stand at the Forum in July of the same year was equally significant. He and Jim R recorded four of the five nights and those recordings have been in circulation for many years. But due to overlaps with official releases, the Lost and Found series has only featured one of those recordings to date, Volume 117 from July 11, until now.
You can feel the excitement in the air that Jim R describes below on Mike's recording, which does bear the characteristics of a tape made from the front row. While it is very good right from the start, the sound quality does get sharper as the show progresses. We did a bit of work to pull Mick's vocals up which is one of the issues when you are seated closer to the stage than the PA. I've always believed the Stones' 1975 shows to be the start of them losing their sonic edge, but there's still a lot to love about the guitar tone here which rings through loud and clear. Samples provided.
Standouts in the set for me are "Star Star" and "Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker), along with the casual way they roll from "Rip This Joint" into "Street Fighting Man."
The source tape for this show is Rob S's DAT transfer of Mike's master cassettes done in the early 2000s. Fortunately, the azimuth alignment on that original cassette to DAT dub was good and we're getting consistent fidelity throughout the show.
As was the norm on the 1975 tour, keyboardist Billy Preston performs two songs in the set, "That's Life" and "Outta Space."
Here's what Jim had to say about the the Stones' opening night in Los Angeles in 1975:
I went with Mike Millard to the Rolling Stones concert on July 9, 1975, opening night at the Fabulous Forum in Inglewood, CA and the first of five shows overall.
As usual, Mike drove with the ice chest full of Heinekens for the after-show toast and recording demo. This gig was in the midst of the glorious wheelchair era where cameras were let in. Heck, they still allowed flash photography.
Although this show was 49 years ago, there are parts of it that I remember like it was yesterday.
As soon as we walked inside the venue, what we saw was one of my most vivid memories, that being the stage setup. It was lotus-flower shaped, kind of like a star, where the points of the star would raise and lower. They also removed the scoreboard and hung tapestry from the ceiling. Mick called it a "Chinese Restaurant." As soon as we saw the stage design we knew that this was a special run.
But my number one memory from opening night is that Mike recorded from the front row on the floor. Yes, we did it again, just like Zep a few months earlier. We had seats in Row B but there were no Row A seats in front of us. This is because we were located between the middle star and the star to the right. The number of chairs in a row were staggered to fit between the stars.
Mike took one look at me and said he was going for it, i.e. taping The Stones from the front row on the floor at The Forum. High risk, high reward. The entire show was a high-energy party scene and we got away with taping it. I swear Mick must have a vertical leap of 3-4 feet. At the end of the show, as the band was walking off, I got a hand slap from Mick. So cool.
The chaotic scene on the floor wound up playing into our hands and helped us pull off taping from such a conspicuous location. Security guards were a mere few feet away, but their attention must have been drawn to commotion elsewhere for much of the show. Keep in mind Mike's microphones were in his hat, and when standing (which was often) the mics would be at eye level with the guards. In addition, Mike had to visually monitor the Nak's input level meters, plus handle tape flips. All this in front of the bruising security guards.
A note about photographing the Stones, particularly Mick. He and the gang were in constant motion; keeping them in my camera frame was a challenge, then I had to manually focus and set the exposure. It was quite a bit more challenging back then than today with modern DSLRs. Just my two cents.
I hope you enjoy the sights and sounds of this special night. Hats off to my buddy Mike. Pun intended.
RIP Mike and Charlie.
###
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.
Thanks this week to Rob S for his original transfer and later DAT rip; Jim R for his photos and notes; Professor Goody for giving us the right direction on pitch adjustments; and to mjk5510 for taking care of post-production and creating our CD-friendly artwork.
Finally, cheers to the late, great Mike the MICrophone. His work never ceases to impress. May he rest in peace.
BK for JEMS