Edgar Winter Group
Long Beach Arena
Long Beach, CA
October 14, 1975
+ Two Bonus Tracks from Climax Blues Band's opening set
Mike Millard Master Tapes via JEMS
The Lost and Found Mike the MICrophone Tapes Volume 94
1644 Edition

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

JEMS 2021 Transfer: Mike Millard Master Cassettes > Nakamichi Cassette Deck 1 azimuth-adjusted playback > Focusrite Scarlett 6i6 > Sound Forge Audio Studio 13.0 capture > Adobe Audition > iZotope RX8 > iZotope Ozone 8 > MBIT+ resample to 16/44.1 > Audacity > TLH > FLAC

01 Introduction
02 Let's Do It Together Again
03 Rock And Roll, Hoochie Koo
04 Cool Dance
05 Shuffle Low
06 Devil With The Blue Dress On
07 Don't Every Say Goodbye
08 Frankenstein
09 Just Another Punk
10 Free Ride
11 Keep Playin' That Rock 'n' Roll
12 Tobacco Road
13 Undercover Man
14 Goin' To New York (Climax Blues Band Opening)
15 All The Time In The World (Climax Blues Band Opening)

Known Faults:
-Goin' To New York: joined in progress

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 1993.

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

Edgar Winter Group with Rick Derringer, Long Beach Arena, Long Beach, CA, October 14, 1975

From a rare Millard DAT master last week (U2 San Diego 1992) to a classic analog master this week. We're back in 1975, the first year Mike recorded with his legendary AKG + Nakamichi cassette rig. This time he was on site to capture the Edgar Winter Group with Rick Derringer. That pairing had released an eponymous album in 1975, though the tour drew on more familiar material for the most part, notably hits like Derringer's own "Rock And Roll, Hoochie Koo" and Winter's massive "Frankenstein," which Derringer produced.

It seems unimaginable now that there were instrumental pop hits in the '70s, but it happened several times in many genres. Astonishingly, "Frankenstein" actually topped the Billboard Hot 100 in May 1973 as the biggest song in the country. It is surely one of the most unlikely hits of all time, though to be fair, its hooky melody is an undeniable earworm.

Mike and Jim were seated in the fourth row, dead center for this one and the result is something special. There is a case to be made that of all the fantastic Mike the Mic recordings, his work in the Long Beach Arena might be his very best.

Like previous volumes of Black Sabbath and Jefferson Starship recorded in the same venue the same year, his capture of Edgar Winter Group is quite astonishing. I'm running out of adjectives to describe Mike's work but to my ears, this one is as close, clear, rich and full as any tape he ever made.

While he is recording from his sweet spot, the other factor surely at play here is volume. I sometimes wonder if audiences were quieter and more respectful in the '70s or if the shows were so fucking loud, no one bothered to talk.

Regardless of your interest in Edgar Winter or Rick Derringer, I'd encourage any of fan of Millard's work to download this show for quality alone. It is the shit. Samples provided.

Rather unusually, Mike also recorded just under ten minutes of the opening act, Climax Blues Band, at the start of tape one. Mike rarely recorded opening acts and there are few other examples of him recording openers on the same tape as the main show. Perhaps he was enjoying their set and decided to record the last nine minutes. Perhaps he got there late but had wanted to record them all along.

Given that Climax does an encore song, rare for an opening act and suggesting they were extremely well received, our guess is Mike liked what he heard and grabbed the last bit of their set. We've added the song and half Mike did record of CBB to the end of this release as bonus tracks.

Here's what Jim R recalled about Edgar Winter Group with Rick Derringer at the Long Beach Arena:

I attended the Edgar Winter concert with Mike Millard. It was at the Long Beach Arena on Oct 14, 1975. We sat in our sweet spot, 4th row center. Great sound as expected.

Our equipment was easy to get in. Long Beach Arena was never as tight as The Forum, plus, to be honest, Edgar Winter is not a big name, therefore, less security than a big act. He did put on an entertaining show with Rick Derringer in tow, I give him credit for that.

You may ask, why did we go to Edgar Winter Group at all? The answer is simple. A female friend of Mike's was a total fan and wanted a recording. So the rest is history.

I hope you enjoy the sights and sounds. Cheers to my buddy Mike.

###

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.

Shoutouts this week to Professor Goody for pitch analysis, Rob for the transfer, Jim for the photos and ticket stub, and to mjk5510 for figuring out the setlist, handling post-production and contributing excellent 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

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

Images for this show: