John Prine
KWST-FM
Los Angeles, CA
and
The Roxy
West Hollywood, CA
November 17, 1975
JF Archive Series Vol. 20 via JEMS

Taper: JF

Source: unknown recorder > unknown microphone (mono)

JEMS 2018 Transfer: first-generation reel from JF�s master cassettes > Otari 5050 mkII azimuth-adjusted transfer > USBPre 2 > Audacity 2.0 capture (16/44) and pitch adjustment > IZotope RX 6 and Ozone 6> Audacity (track split, volume smoothing, edit) > FLAC

Folder number 1: John Prine live at KWST-FM, Los Angeles, CA

01 Interview
02 Maureen, Maureen
03 Interview
04 Angel From Montgomery (sung to the melody of Roy Acuff's 'The Precious Jewel')
05 Interview
06 Untitled song (parody of Jackson Browne's 'For a Dancer')
07 Interview
08 Middleman
09 Interview

Folder number 2: John Prine live at The Roxy, West Hollywood, CA

01 Spanish Pipedream
02 The Torch Singer
03 The Accident (Things Could Be Worse)
04 A Hard Rain That's Fell on There (parody of Bob Dylan's 'A Hard Rain's Gonna Fall')
05 Illegal Smile
06 The Great Compromise
07 Sam Stone
08 Way Down
09 Dear Abby
10 Rocky Mountain Time
11 Living in the Future
12 Maureen, Maureen
13 Hello in There
14 Christmas in Prison
15 Great Rain
16 Middleman
17 The Late John Garfield Blues
18 Saddle in the Rain

THE JF BACKSTORY

JEMS loves a vintage taper series and we're pleased to continue this one from the archive of our friend JF, who taped in and around Southern California in the '70s and Boston in the '80s. He frequented smaller venues, like the Troubadour and the Roxy, leaving arenas to others and leaning more towards the folksier, jazzier and eclectic sides of rock.

Most of his '70s tapes were made on what I would describe as the kind of large, rectangular, portable, C-cell powered cassette recorder that my family and surely many others had in the '70s, either a Panasonic or a Sony. While I used ours to record myself, my friends and my sister around the house, the teenage JF figured: Why not try taking it into concerts?

I only learned what recorder JF used after I had heard some of his tapes and I have to say I was mildly shocked. Given the gear, his tapes are surprisingly clear. And make no mistake, this was an early era for audience recording, part of the first wave spurred on by of the vinyl bootleg revolution.

For further details and backstory on JF, his tapes and the extraordinary lost Van Morrison performances from 1975 that started the series, please refer to the notes in Vol. Three:

http://www.dimeadozen.org/torrents-details.php?id=524853

Volume 20 of the series presents two recordings JF made himself on cassette before archiving to reel and re-using the cassettes as was his cost-saving practice in his youth.

John Prine had come to LA for a solo acoustic show at the Roxy. The day of that appearance, he appeared with DJ Richard Kimball on KWST to promo the show, giving an interview and performing a few songs. In terms of a compelling time in Prine�s career, it is hard to argue with this one. During the KWST set he plays �Angel From Montgomery� and mentions that Bonnie Raitt had only recently covered it. He also plays a humorous ode to Psycho star Anthony Perkins and says he had just seen the movie Jaws which didn�t scare him at all.

JF recorded the stereo radio appearance in mono, but the quality is otherwise quite good and the appearance charming.

From there we move to the full show later that same evening at the Roxy, where Prine is equally amusing telling and singing stories. If you�ve heard JF�s other tapes from the era at the Troubadour, that�s the reference quality here. Samples provided.

We believe both of these Prine recordings to be uncirculated.

Bringing yet another JF Archive title to you on JEMS' behalf is frogster, who we thank for production support. A nod as well to mjk5510, who assisted in pitch adjustments.

Our heartfelt thanks goes to JF, who reached out on DIME (you could be next!) and offered us his archive, which had been sitting in boxes, 6000 miles away from where he lives today, for 20+ years. Like so many early tapers, he had great stories to tell and the memories flooded back as we sorted through tapes. We are pleased to be able to bring his work to all of you. Please let him know through your comments that you are, too.

BK for JEMS

Over the years, JEMS has collaborated with JF for the distribution of his collection through DIME.

JF�s collection has yielded upgrades and low-generation recordings of prolific rock and roll artists like The Kinks (Vol. 14 here http://www.dimeadozen.org/torrents-details.php?id=593917) as well several previously uncirculated and undocumented recordings of Van Morrison (JF's volumes 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 12, 15 & 16)

But as BK notes above, JF was very interested in folk music and this torrent is great proof of that.

For the first time on DIME (and on the internet for that matter), JEMS is proud to release two previously uncirculated John Prine shows that happened the same day, just a few hours apart.

The first part of the torrent is a small intimate show by John with DJ Richard Kimball on KWST radio to promote the later show at the Roxy.

Although the radio transmission was originally in stereo, most of JF's reels are in mono; but do not hesitate, the quality is excellent in spite of that. Samples provided.

This small radio session provides us with a bit of the humorous touch that we know of Prine (and perhaps some didn't know), but even more interesting is the fact that this recording provides us with the first (and perhaps only existing) example of John singing "Angel from Montgomery� to what seems to be the melody of Roy Acuff's "The Precious Jewel.�

The KWST session also provides us an early version of "Maureen, Maureen" (also featured in the show at the Roxy), which was first released in 1983.

But, in my opinion, the most interesting (and also funny) inclusion is track six, which is an "untitled" song, an obvious parody of Jackson Browne's 'For a Dancer.�

DIME member jddpro was kind enough to contact Reeda Buresh of the John Prine Shrine, probably one of the biggest experts among Prine fans, and she told him that John once referred the untitled song as "The Sha-La-La Song.� So that could be the (un)official title.

The second part of the torrent is the show that was promoted in the earlier KWST radio session.

Just like the radio show, this show also gives us an example of the humourous side of John, but also gives us more early and undocumented versions of some songs.

"Living in the Future", featured in the recording, was first released in 1980 with one additional verse; "Great Rain" was first released in 1991 - 16 years after this concert took place - with one additional verse.

It's believed that this concert features the only live version of the song "Way Down" in circulation.

And lastly, as if a single parody was not enough, in this show John also delights us with another. The song in question is track four, which John named "A Hard Rain That's Fell on There,� an obvious parody of Bob Dylan's �A Hard Rain's Gonna Fall.�

According to the rules of DIME, multiple recordings of a single artist in a single torrent can be uploaded in very specific circumstances.

Since both shows happened the same day and the filesize of these mono recordings is small, we decided that it was best to keep them together. Both shows happened the same day and we think they complement each other very well since the first one promotes the second.

For convenience, each show is in its respective folder and both folders are sequenced, so folder 1 corresponds to the KWST radio show and folder 2 to the concert at The Roxy. Both folders include the date and their respective venue, in case that after downloading, you decide to share them separately.

Special mention to DIME member jddpro for his help in identifying the titles of the songs and for providing very important information, as well as going further and contacting Reeda Buresh herself for verification. His collaboration was crucial in the preparation of this torrent.

Thanks as always to JF for his kindness in allowing JEMS to share his recordings. Also, in the same way, I thank BK for his cordial attentions and for always allow me to work on such important recordings and give them the final touches.

frogster