Bonnie Raitt
Irvine Meadows
Irvine, CA
October 20, 1991
Mike Millard Master Tapes via JEMS
The Lost and Found Mike the MICrophone Tapes Volume 195
1644 Edition

Recording Gear: AKG 451E Microphones (CK-1 cardioid capsules) > Nakamichi 550 Cassette Recorder

JEMS 2022 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 > Audacity > xACT 2.50 > FLAC

01 Sugar Mama
02 Love Letter
03 Something To Talk About
04 Tangled And Dark
05 Your Good Thing (Is About To End)
06 Come To Me
07 Band Introduction
08 I Can't Make You Love Me
09 All At Once
10 Nick Of Time
11 Not The Only One
12 Papa Come Quick (Jody And Chico)
13 Senorita
14 Thing Called Love
15 Good Man, Good Woman
16 Three Time Loser
17 Have A Heart
18 A Big Hunk O' Love
19 Sweet And Shiny Eyes (with Dan Cook)
20 Angel From Montgomery (with John Prine)

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: http://www.dimeadozen.org/torrents-details.php?id=500680.

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:

http://www.dimeadozen.org/torrents-details.php?id=667745&hit=1
http://www.dimeadozen.org/torrents-details.php?id=667750&hit=1

Bonnie Raitt, Irvine Meadows, Irvine, CA, October 20, 1991

This week through the magic of bootlegging we get to sit side by side with Mike "The Mike" Millard as he captures a marvelous performance by Bonnie Raitt.

Raitt's 56 date Luck Of The Draw tour across North American represents the peak of her concert popularity. She was riding high on the back-to-back success of two albums. In 1989, Raitt released Nick Of Time, which would go on to win three Grammys including Album of the Year. She followed that two years later with Luck Of The Draw, which would prove to be even more commercially successful than its predecessor. I was pleasantly surprised to learn Luck Of The Draw sold over seven million copies in the US after peaking at No. 2 on the Billboard album chart. The album also spawned the hit singles "Something To Talk About" and "I Can't Make You Love Me.

The Irvine Meadows show is closing last night of the 56 date tour, and at the end of the show Raitt acknowledges as much to the crowd and expresses her gratitude to the band and the fans.

Given all that, her tour-capping Irvine performance becomes something of a quintessential document of this period of her career. She is playing with complete command and that uncanny Raitt mix of passion and ease. We're fortunate that Millard was sitting in his sweet spot in the Orchestra section, Row D, putting him just a few rows back of the PA and stage.

To my ears, the result is right up there with Mike's finest work and could be a top ten in terms of his best audience recordings. He and his Nakamichi 550 and AKG 451e mics are getting IT ALL. This recording offers uncanny richness and fidelity. Every instrument is right there and the mix seems ideal. I know we've said this before, but if there was ever a tape to put forth as the proof of audies being superior to a straight soundboard recordings, this Bonnie Raitt capture would make an extremely strong case. Samples provided.

Given this is the final show of the leg, the encore includes a bit of hijinks between Bonnie and her crew including a water fight and the unexpected appearance of stage manager Dan Cook posing as WIllie Nelson on "Sweet And Shiny Eyes" which Raitt laughs her way through. Opening act John Prine joins Bonnie for his classic "Angel From Montgomery" providing a poignant end to a wonderful performance.

###

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.

Team JEMS continues to come through week after week as we continue the march to our next milestone of 200 releases. Should be fun. Thanks this week to Rob S for the transfer, Professor Goody for the quick turn on pitch prescription and mjk5510 for his stalwart post production efforts and always welcome artwork.

Finally, cheers to the late, great Mike the MICrophone. His work never ceases to impress. May he rest in peace.

BK for JEMS

Images for all shows as well as full size images for this show.

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