James Maddock
World Cafe Live
Philadelphia, PA
Nov. 13, 2009

Excellent audience recording


**mp3 samples provided (as always) in the Comments section**



Here's a great-sounding show sent to me by fellow DIME member imageman2005, who deserves a round of applause for this fine recording.


Per npr.org (Source: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=120352427):

"Back in 1999, James Maddock — then the lead singer of the band Wood — looked like he was on the verge of worldwide fame. The group's debut album, Songs From Stamford Hill, was showcased on popular TV dramas such as Dawson's Creek, while Wood was touring with the likes of Paula Cole and Train. Now, at the end of the next decade, Maddock is back as a solo artist."

Note: NPR offers a streamed version of this concert at the website listed above, but it's not the "complete" show (as they claim) since it excludes the two encore songs that are included here.


Now I have to confess I'd never heard of James Maddock nor his previous band, Wood. However, I always enjoy checking out new artists (at least "new" to me)...and this guy was a nice surprise.

Maddock's squarely in the "singer-songwriter" category, and since I enjoy other singer-sngwriter types like Graham Parker and John Hiatt, I figured I'd check him out. In some songs, I'd say Maddock's vocal delivery is reminiscent of Bruce Springsteen...but having said that, I wouldn't necessarily label him a Springsteen clone; besides, he's not from the Jersey shore like The Boss...Maddock hails from Leicester, U.K.

With the exception of "Stay You", each of the songs from this show are from his recent album "Sunrise on Avenue C" which was released on Aug. 11, 2009. "Stay You" can be found on Wood's 1999 release "Songs from Stamford Hill" (along with a previous version of "Straight Lines").

If you're the curious type, do yourself a favor and check out this guy's show. You may find yourself pleasantly surprised like I was.


Setlist:
01. Announcer intro
02. Chance
03. Stay You
04. Stars Align
05. Straight Lines
06. When The Sun's Out
07. Sunrise On Avenue C
08. Prettier Girls
09. Hollow Love
10. Fragile
11. Dumbed Down

Running time: Approx. 57 minutes

Note: Tracks 10 and 11 were the encore (not recorded by npr.org).


Lineage:
Edirol R-09 (with Sony mic ecm cs10) > WAV > Audacity** > CD Wave (for tracking) > Nero wave editor** > FLAC FrontEnd (SB-aligned) > FLAC

** Editing (of WAV files):
1) On the source file, the right channel's volume was appreciably higher than the left channel's volume--and exceeded peak volume level--so using Audacity, I lowered the volume in the right channel by -2dB. Some clipping resulted, but trust me, it sounds MUCH better now. No volume adjustment was made to the left channel.

2) Used Nero's wave editor to add a small fade-in on the first track and a small fade-out on the last track.

3) The female announcer was difficult to hear in Track 01, so using Nero's wave editor I increased the volume by +5dB in two sections (0:41-0:59, and 1:05-1:32) so that she's more audible.



If you like the show, please post a comment on the show's board. It takes a lot longer to record and share a show than it does to download one. And once again please consider thanking imageman2005 for recording and sharing this nice show with all of us.


Recorded and generously donated by imageman2005,
prepared and uploaded on DIME by TheCommish
November 2009