Elton John
Universal Amphitheatre
Los Angeles, CA
October 6, 1979
Mike Millard First-Generation Tapes via JEMS
The Lost and Found Mike the MICrophone Tapes Volume 179

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

JEMS 2023 Transfer: Mike Millard First-Generation Cassettes > Nakamichi RX-505 (azimuth adjustment) > Sound Devices USBPre 2 > Audacity 2.0 capture 2496 > iZotope RX10 > iZotope Ozone 8 > MBIT+ resample to 1644 > Audacity > TLH > FLAC

01 Your Song
02 Sixty Years On
03 Daniel
04 Skyline Pigeon
05 Take Me To The Pilot
06 Rocket Man (I Think It�s Going To Be Long, Long Time)
07 Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me
08 Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
09 Roy Rogers
10 Candle In The Wind
11 Ego
12 Where To Now St. Peter?
13 He'll Have To Go
14 Elton's Song
15 I Heard It Through The Grapevine
16 Funeral For A Friend >
17 Tonight
18 Better Off Dead
19 Idol
20 I Think I�m Going To Kill Myself
21 I Feel Like A Bullet (In The Gun Of Robert Ford)
22 Scott Joplin Intro > Bennie And The Jets
23 Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word
24 Mama Can�t Buy You Love
25 Part-Time Love
26 Crazy Water
27 Song For Guy
28 Saturday Night�s Alright For Fighting > Pinball Wizard
29 Whole Lotta Shakin� Goin� On >
30 I Saw Her Standing There >
31 Twist And Shout >
32 Crocodile Rock >
33 Back In The U.S.S.A. (Back In The U.S.S.R.)

Known Issues: 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 Mike, 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

Elton John, Universal Amphitheatre, Los Angeles, CA, October 6, 1979

Our recent theme of companion titles continues with this week's release: Elton John performing the final night of a ten-show stand at the Universal Amphitheatre. The Back In The U.S.S.A. tour saw John perform solo for the first time in years, joined later in each set by percussionist Ray Cooper. Interestingly, Elton had not played Los Angeles since he wrapped his 1975 West Of The Rockies tour with two legendary nights at Dodger Stadium. This is the companion to Vol. 153 in our series, which presented the September 26 show, the fourth show in the stellar run.

The set lists between the two shows are similar, but Mike "The Mike" Millard is in a superior taping position on October 6 and his work on night ten doesn't have the minor technical issues that we had to fix on Vol. 153. The result is an outstanding capture of an outstanding show, one of Millard's best Elton recordings and surely among the best captures of the tour. Samples provided.

A recording of this show is available for streaming on YouTube but a quick comparison suggests it is an alternate pull, which leads us to believe this may be the first time Mike's recording of the October 6 show has ever circulated.

As we wrote in Vol. 153, if you're a deep Elton fan, there is so much to like about the deep cuts in the setlist and the spirit of the overall performance. We're thrilled we were able to expand our Millard archive to include this historic recording.

Here's what Jim R recalled about Elton John's closing night at the Universal Amphitheatre 1979:

Mike and I saw Elton John at the Universal Amphitheater on Oct 6, 1979, where we sat in row F of the Orchestra Pit. Obviously great seats. It was the final night of a ten-night stand at Universal. We also attended the show on September 29, where we sat in the first row behind the Orch Pit. See Vol 153.

For this show we sat in the sixth row on the left side directly in front of Elton's piano bench, perfect seats. With Elton you have to pick and choose your seat location wisely. We learned this over the course of seeing Elton several times leading up to this tour. In those days, his piano was on the left side of the stage. If you got seats close up on the right, all you would see is the piano and his feet, maybe the top of his head if he stood up. Not good. But Mike and I played it smart for this show.

With Universal being near Hollywood, the LA ticket brokers controlled most of the choice seats for this run. Even with ten concerts, choice seats were expensive. As such, we could only afford to go to two shows. Elton had loads of devoted fans, many of whom would go multiple times, so they scooped up a lot of the good seats increasing ticket demand.

Elton John was performing solo and with percussionist Ray Cooper instead of a full band, so Mike and I were thinking, "How is this going to work?" They pulled it off. Ray Cooper was quite the entertainer. He and Elton were playing off each other and their banter was quite funny at times. The arrangements had a different sound to them too but it worked.

The stripped-down approach allowed Elton's piano-playing skills to be on full display. If memory serves, Ray Cooper did not appear until well into the set during "Funeral For A Friend."

Despite going to two shows, I only shot a couple rolls of 36 slides total, keeping a low profile so Mike would not get busted.

I hope you enjoy the sights and sounds of this one.

Cheers to my buddy Mike. RIP.

###

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.

Our copy of this essential Elton John recording is again courtesy of Jim Ri and we're deeply grateful to him for sharing his first-generation, Millard-dubbed cassettes of several of Mike's shows we were missing. Professor Goody took care of pitch check and mjk5510 handled post production and artwork. Much appreciated across the board.

Finally, here's 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: