Rehearsals provide some fantastic boots, for many reasons.  First, they're always well recorded, because they're taken off the soundboard by the road crew. That means that the signal goes directly from the mixer, which puts all the instrument and microphone signals together in the proper proportion, to the recorder. This gives better quality, of course, than a microphone sitting somewhere in the audience an untold (usually) distance away. The music is interesting as well, because you are hearing the artists try out ideas that they may or may not use in concert. Some things sound cool, others sound half baked, but the fun is in listening to the idea develop. You also get to hear some of your faves screw up royally, which, of course, is what rehearsal is for. That is why they record themselves- to hear what they did with an audience's ear, and pick out the things that don't work BEFORE doing an actual performance.

In this case, the rehearsal recording is the only way to hear this particular band lineup, because it never happened onstage. David Bowie had tapped an unknown guitar talent named Stevie Ray Vaughn to play guitar for his "Let's Dance" album, which did very well in the stores. Stevie, at the time, was also in the process of recording an album- the second recorded, but the first to actually be released. He agreed to tour with Bowie, but then dropped out. Some sources say that he needed to tour for his own album, released just a few months after "Let's Dance".  Others cite "disputes". Either way, SRV was replaced, and went on tour with Double Trouble instead.

Now, on the surface, Bowie and SRV go together like ham and chocolate. Listening to the discs, you can spot several instances where Stevie's style simply wasn't appropriate to the song. Examples include "Heroes", where he tried to play Robert Fripp's part without the Frippertronics, and "Station to Station", where Bowie HAD to long for Carlos Alomar. However, he did sound good on a lot of songs, especially those written with a bluesy style in mind, or those re-arranged to fit him. This week I will share one of the latter.

TVC15 is one of my favorite Bowie tunes, and I like this version because it's very different from any other I've heard. This song normally has a honky-tonk sound to it, but this version is very bluesy, and lets SRV cut loose for a couple blues riffs. It's a fun listen, and an interesting glimpse into the band that never happened.

Here's David Bowie with Stevie Ray Vaughn playing TVC15 on April 27, 1983

Congrats to jollykay for figuring it out! The full show is already on its' way!

Next week: What's that smell like fish, oh baby?

I was heading into one of the prettier stretches of road in my biweekly travels - the Rio Grande Gorge southwest of Taos- when I heard the news that Pink Floyd founder Syd Barrett had died. His music and that of his band have meant a lot to me since I discovered it in high school, and the news startled me. I just turned off the radio and let "Lucifer Sam" and "Interstellar Overdrive" run through my head.

Nat has a link to the details. I'll just pay tribute to Syd with pictures and songs. They tell one of rock music's most poignant stories.

The first cut comes from Pink Floyd's first recording session. They recorded two songs, the first being blues standard "King Bee". The other was called "Lucy Leave" and was the first Syd Barrett composition to be recorded. These were made into acetates, but never officially released. Here you hear a fresh, strong Syd, ready to take over the world with his new band.

Here's The Pink Floyd Sound "Lucy Leave" recorded Oct. 1965

The next song is from one of Syd's last shows with the Floyd. His bizarre behavior had become a massive stumbling block for the rest of the band, and they were at this point wondering what to do about him. This performance occurred shortly before Dave Gilmour was asked to join the band to form a short-lived 5 piece arrangement. Syd was out of the band within 3 months of this recording.

Syd definately doesn't have the energy he had in Lucy Leave, but this song, Jugband Blues, doesn't require it, and Syd pulls it off with a twist in the middle that differs from the LP version. I listen to the lyrics and wonder if Syd didn't have a better understanding of his imminent insanity than people think.

Here's The Pink Floyd "Jugband Blues" Dec. 20, 1967

The next is a Syd Barrett solo tune, done for the BBC. It's called Dominoes, and showcases a far more tentative Syd than before. David Gilmour played bass for a lot of Syd's solo outings, but I can't be sure he plays here.

Here's Syd Barrett "Dominoes" Feb. 16, 1971

After a couple albums and many lost recording sessions, Syd was no longer able to work in the music business. He retired to live with his mom and paint, while the band he named went on to superstardom.

The last selection is a Sydless Pink Floyd, singing a song about- and to- Syd at the Oakland Coliseum Arena. It's a song I'm sure is on all four of their minds this week. It's called "Wish You Were Here".

Here's Pink Floyd "Wish You Were Here" May 9, 1977

Fare thee well, Syd. Shine on.

Cheezy has a nice tribute to Syd as well.

The previous post has spawned a discussion of sorts about legends. It's been said that the assignment of that term to a particular individual is subjective, and that's certainly true. I think that the statement "So and so is a legend in his field" can be rationally debated, however, and here are some guidelines I use in making that distinction.

First, the person must excel in the mechanics of his/her field. If that is physics, the "legend" must be in the forefront, developing theories that are beyond the norm for physicists. Albert Einstein would be a physics legend. If that field is guitar, the "legend" must first be a virtuoso. Being a star isn't enough- any half-baked jerk with a horseshoe up his ass can be a star. William Hung proved that. Being a star that plays guitar isn't enough - Bruce Springsteen is a guitar player, not a guitar legend. People rave about his songs and his performances, not his guitar licks. To be a guitar legend, one must be better than excellent at PLAYING THE GUITAR. The Boss is good - not extraordinary.

Added to that, this virtuosity must be inarguable. In other words, a non-fan should feel obligated to give credit. There are people who may not be Eric Clapton fans, and feel that he is overrated. If they said, however, that Clapton couldn't play guitar to save his soul, they'd get little support, even from other non-fans. Even someone who doesn't care for Clapton's songs and style have to credit his ability and status. Same for Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, and Hendrix. By the same token, I would say "I don't care for Springsteen's music or his style, but he's definately become a rock legend in his own right."

To be considered a legend also takes time. You may be a virtuoso, but will you last? Will you leave your mark? Will you make a difference? Time is the factor, as Mark noticed, that made Stevie Ray Vaughn a "future" legend in 1983- you can't become a legend the same year your debut album is released. To reach legendary status, you have to either excel in your field for 25+ years, or burn brightly in that field before an untimely death.

Finally, I consider it a factor that the true "legend" crosses genres. If people who don't normally pay attention to what you do have heard of you, you may be a legend. People who didn't listen to blues still listened to Stevie Ray. People who don't like country can still recognize- and respect- Johnny Cash. I have no interest in baseball, but I know the names Ruth, DiMaggio, Stengel, Mantle, and Mays. Legends all.

So you can see why, according to my system, Kurt Cobain falls short. His appeal was certainly not cross-cultural. I don't know anyone that liked Nirvana who wasn't predisposed to like hard rock. Anyone who isn't so disposed dismissed them offhand, without feeling obligated to respect their ability. Furthermore, he was by no means a "virtuoso". This is not subjective. You may like a musician's style, but that does not make that person a virtuoso. For instance, I like Lou Reed and Ian Hunter, but neither has virtuoso status as guitarists. That comes from the respect of other guitarists, something that Stevie Ray Vaughn had in spades.There will never be a book called "How to play guitar the Kurt Cobain way." However, a book called "How to play with guns the Kurt Cobain way" might clear some of the algae out of the gene pool.

I HAVE heard it claimed that Cobain had a profound impact on his fans. I've even heard him called "The voice of a generation", although that makes me think that the generation in question must have suffered from various congenital defects (although to be fair, my generation's biggest protest song was Sammy Hagar's diatribe against the national speed limit). I think it cheapens the idea of a legend when it's applied to someone too weak to keep living, though. Especially someone with a wife and kid, and everything in his favor. Pussies can't be legends.

All that said, I have SLOWLY come around to liking SRV. There are still a lot of blues guitarists that I personally prefer.

But there is no doubt that he is a guitar legend.

As far as unofficial recording goes, we are living in a golden age. Not only are more bands willing to let people patch in to the soundboards, but stealth recording is much easier than it used to be. This is because the new digital recorders are smaller and can record for much longer than the old tape units, and with the better microphones available these days, they can give great quality.

The "stealth recording" era really began in the early 70's, when tape decks became managably small, but many enterprising souls made do with the old reel-to-reel jobs. One fellow I read about got some great Pink Floyd tapes by going to the shows in a wheelchair, with the deck mounted under the seat!

As I've demonstrated, however, it doesn't have to be a stealth recording to count - it just has to be unreleased. That means that recordings from radio and TV make the rounds, as well. That also means that my little hobby can reach much further into the past than the 70's. One of my oldest boots, in fact, is from 1954.

I gave a clue to this week's feature, along with a contest. The clue was "The most recognizable voice of the 20th century". The contest was a copy of the full show to the first person to guess who that was. Well, no one came close, because everyone was thinking of people who could have been recorded from the audience on the sly. As the General Practitioner said to the Gynecologist, "You've got to think outside the box."

What voice, known to people of all generations, could possibly be as instantly recognizable as the gravelly tones of Louis Armstrong?

You don't have to be a jazz fiend to recognize ol' Satchmo (short for Satchel Mouth). In fact, if you don't know Louie's voice, I HAVE to ask when you left your home in the rainforest. Louie was not only a distinctive voice- his style literally re-wrote the book on singing. I find it impossible to sing along with him on a song I know, but have never heard him do before. He'll leave me in the dust with some ingenious phrasing that would never have occured to me in a million years, and you know he did it off the cuff! What's more, once you've heard Louie sing it HIS way, any other way seems just moronic. As evidence, I point toward two "must have" jazz discs. First, check out the tune called "Cottontail", as well as the rest of The Great Summit between Louie and Duke Ellington. I love this disc so much that when a 2 disc "Complete Sessions" version was released, I bought that, too. The other is called Louis Armstrong meets Oscar Peterson, his magnificent teaming with the piano great. The entire disc is a gem, but the tracks "Let's Fall in Love", "Blues in the Night", and "Let's Do It" will put the hurts on anything you thought was great singing before that. You should get these both immediately. Go ahead, I'll wait.

But he wasn't JUST a singer, he was a world class trumpet man as well. His style with the horn was every bit as distinctive as his vocals. I can identify Louie's horn in a song I've never heard, just from the way he plays it. No one else, even his imitators, had Louie's "in your face" style of playing. He always blew bright and strong, with powerful, slow notes that got his point across with no questions. Even his melllow, sweet songs were that direct- but no less sweet for that.

Louis cut his jazz teeth in the early days of the Jazz Era with King Oliver's band, and swung his way though that and the "Big Band" era. By 1954, though he was still a popular act (for the older set), his Dixieland style was about as "in" as the Lindy. In fact, the "hipsters" of the time looked down on Louie as a washed up old Uncle Tom. Of course, most of those "hipsters" were shooting heroin, stupidly thinking that it would make them sound like Charlie Parker.  Louie left a legacy that few others can even come close to touching, and thankfully lived to see that fact appreciated.

This week's selection comes from UNC at Chapel Hill on May 8, 1954. While Louis and his band play a fantastic set, it is a little short on the vocal genius that I extolled. The cut I chose, "A Kiss to Build a Dream On", is oh so sweet, however, and demonstrates both his voice and horn style.

Who can deny that the world is just a slightly better place for having Louie's beautiful music in it?

Click here for Louie Armstrong asking for A Kiss to Build a Dream On.

Next week: In 1983 a future guitar legend rehearsed with a famous singer for a world tour he never played on. Who can name them both?

1. Debbie Harry - Singer for the rock band Blondie.
2. Gloria Steinem - Writer and publisher.
3. Lauren Hutton -  Formerly yummy actress.
4. Carol Cleveland - Comedienne, best known as the "7th Python".
5. Susan Sullivan - Actress, best known as Kitty on "Dharma and Greg. "
6. Dr. Polly Matzinger - World famous immunologist. There can't be many.
7. Sherilynn Fenn - Best known for "Twin Peaks". The tv show, that is.
8. Kimba Wood- Federal Judge.
9. Dale Bozzio- Zappa/ Missing Persons singer, nude model.
10. Julie Cobb - Actress/Yeoman, daughter of Lee J. Cobb.
11. Kathryn Leigh Scott - Vampiric beauty from "Dark Shadows".
12. Jackie Zeman - "General Hospital" regular.
13. Katy Mirza - Hell, who cares what else she can do?

Well, O'Tim has joined me in my fiendish ways, by craftily snagging a membership at Dime-A-Dozen, the best (and hardest to join) of all the download sites I frequent! It's good to have a future trading partner here in Blogovia. You will soon, no doubt, hear him raving and drooling over the musical pulchritude to which he is now exposed!

Meanwhile, the Pink Floyd download site Yeeshkul is reborn today, with a new tracker and plenty of membership availability. Anyone who wants to build an unofficial Pink Floyd collection will do well there.

I have also found a new place for the Deadheads to download their boots. Lossless Legs seems to be picking up in the absence of the Music Never Stopped Project. You don't have to be a Deadhead,, though..... I just saw some Koko Taylor, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and Black Crowes for DL there, among others!

Viva la revolucion!!

You may have noticed that my taste in music so far runs toward songs with long instrumental passages. Virtuosity is, indeed, the key to my attention. I have great admiration for those who perfect that which I have never had the patience or discipline to even really begin. For that reason, and the fact that I have little patience with cliche'd lyrics, few of my favorites frequent the Top 40.

So why is Blondie at the Apollo Theatre in Glasgow on December 31, 1979, one of my most frequently rotated boots? Because this was a farooking great band, that's why. While they weren't doing anything in King Crimson's league, they had catchy songs that weren't too simple to sound smart, and they played them very tightly. Debbie Harry gets the credit for the band's success, and while she was a good singer with all that a pubescent male could want (click here for proof), she would have been a flash in the pan without a solid band behind her.

Besides, this was New Year's Eve, the last night of the 70's. The joint was crackling, and that energy shines like a diamond. The crowd was hot, the band was tight, and this recording is one hell of a party disc.

While my need for virtuosity has made me shy away from a lot of pop music, it's made me run from most punk. The main (well, only) exception is the Ramones. Most punk bands wanted to be taken seriously, but didn't deserve to be. They could hardly play their instruments at all, but I was supposed to buy this as "rebellion against corporate rock" instead of the lazy ineptitude it sounded like. I was supposed to care about their "political message", even when it was just a bunch of whining. And to top it off, I'm close minded and brainwashed because I think a band should be more than that.

 The Ramones stand out because I didn't need to take them seriously. They didn't care that one song sounded a lot like the rest, they just cranked it out. They didn't have a "message". They sang about girls, drugs, and hanging out. I could just enjoy the energy, a cathartic release when I felt like belting someone. I don't listen to them often, but every once in awhile I have a "Ramones mood." So I have their show from the Palladium in NYC, New Year's Eve 1979. A few hours after and an ocean away from Blondie's ringing in of the new year.

So this week I have a double header - the songs that each of these bands were playing closest to the falling of the ball, as well as I can determine. Enjoy, and Happy New Year!!!

Click here to hear Blondie do "Sunday Girl" with a Scottish twist at Glasgow's Apollo Theatre on Dec. 31, 1979.

Click here to hear the Ramones ask the crowd at NYC's Palladium "Do You Wanna Dance?" on the same night.

Next: The most recognizable voice of the 20th century.

When I was in high school, I ate, drank, and breathed Pink Floyd. Oh, sure, I listened to a lot of other bands and was a verifiable FM AOR (Album Oriented Rock) junkie, but Floyd was by far my fave. I was once told by my physics teacher in a discussion of music that I could expect my tastes to change as I mature, and that I wouldn't be listening to Pink Floyd in 20 years. He was right about my tastes evolving, but he was dead wrong about the Floyd.

In fact, since I started downloading this stuff, I listen to a wider variety of their music than ever before. It seems that most of their shows since 1970, and many earlier shows, are available in some form or another. If you listen to enough of it, it becomes evident that the representation this band's music got in official releases borders on criminal negligence.

This cut from one of their sessions with John Peel illustrates my point. John Peel was a British radio personality that had a unique idea. He had weekly live studio performances with a wide variety of bands, both great and small. His show ran for ages and exerted a huge influence, bringing obscure bands out into the light of day. Peel favored bands that defied the norm, although he had the major acts as well, and many bands have released their Peel sessions officially.

Pink Floyd did many sessions with Peel, the final one taking place at the Paris Theater in London on September 30, 1971. If this had been officially released, it would be one of their best albums.

Since I've discovered the underground Floyd, the 1969 to 1971 era has become my favorite part of their history. At this time the band was stretching their blues roots into long, highly improvisational compositions. Listening to the shows in this period one hears a wildly different band, one that seems to let the songs flow and evolve as they will. After Dark Side of the Moon was released in 1973, a lot of that improvisational spirit had fallen to the wayside. If the only Pink Floyd you know is from "Dark Side" or later, you will hardly recognize the band you here hear.

This is a gorgeous tune called Fat Old Sun which started off that final Peel session. It's quite a bit different from the version on the Atom Heart Mother album, and also a far cry from the one they played at the previous session one year earlier, being almost 3 times longer than either of those. If you can, listen with headphones while watching a beautiful sunset. If not, listen with headphones while kicking back and imagining one. Enjoy.

Pink Floyd - Fat Old Sun- 1971/09/30 - Paris Theatre, London

And here's an interesting interpretation of some Floyd covers.

Next: The last night of the 70's.

1) Bananas - First and foremost. If you sit near me and peel one of those damn things, I'm out of here. Proof of God's fallibility.

2) Menudo - It has guts in it. I don't do guts. Take out the guts and you have posole, which I'll eat right up.

3) Just about any kind of melon - They're not as bad as bananas but there's still something wrong with them.

4) Lamb heads - I mention this because the grocery store in my old neighborhood stocked them on a regular basis.

5) Liver and onions - It amazes me that people can go to a retaurant, where they can order anything they want, and choose THIS. Most eventual matricides begin with liver and onions.

6) Pineapple on pizza - I LOVE pineapple. I LOVE pizza. They DON'T belong together. No. It's just WEIRD.

7) Cauliflower - How does anyone get past that smell?

8) Sauerkraut - Ditto.

9) Cottage cheese - When milk does that at home, we throw it out. If it does it somewhere else, we pay for it and eat it with a slimy piece of melon......

10) Lima beans - Gee, how did those never grow on me?

11) Peeps - Those nasty little marshmallow chicks with neon glitter on them that they sell every Easter,  and make 3 Easters before. Even as a child with a sweet tooth, I couldn't hack those. Paula makes me think of the damn things almost every day.

12) Anything from the vietnamese restaurant on the corner which happens to occupy one half of a very small building. The other half is a vietnamese emissions tester. Carbon Monoxide on rice noodles, anyone?

13) My words - Nuff' said.

In the comments of my last post, Ruth (and who knows, possibly others) was concerned about the legal status of my music trading hobby. This is absolutely understandable, considering all the press about Napster and all the lawsuits flying about. It made me laugh, however, thinking about "stealing" from the Grateful Dead, a band that actually sold special tickets for people that wanted to record the shows and trade them freely!

Here is an article from the LA Times about the trading scene.I'm sure it will put any lingering doubts about the music that I'm posting to rest.

Now that that's put to bed, who'd like to do some trading?