Maria McKee
Karen, Göteborg, Sweden, November 6, 1993
Pre-FM complete show

DAT>CD-R>FLAC

Disc One
1. East of Eden
2. I Can't Make It Alone (Goffin/King cover)
3. My Lonely Sad Eyes (Van Morrison cover)
4. I'm Gonna Soothe You
5. Am I the Only One (Who's Ever Felt This Way?)
6. Shelter
7. Panic Beach
8. My Girlhood Among the Outlaws
9. This Property Is Condemned
10. Free Money (Patti Smith cover)

Disc Two
1. When You Were Mine (Prince cover)
2. Pills (New York Dolls cover)
3. Why Wasn't I More Grateful (When Life Was Sweet)
4. Sister Anne (MC5 cover)
5. Ways to Be Wicked
6. Soap, Soup and Salvation
7. You Gotta Sin to Get Saved
8. Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye (The Casinos cover--written by John D. Loudermilk)
9. Nobody's Child
10. Has He Got a Friend for Me?

In celebration of today's release of her fine new album Peddlin' Dreams, I offer the best recording I know to capture Maria McKee's underappreciated brilliance. This show is towards the very end of 1993's You Gotta Sin to Get Saved tour and was recorded by Swedish radio; 14 songs were later broadcast. Great as that b-cast was, it omitted six songs--"Am I the Only One," "My Girlhood Among the Outlaws," "This Property is Condemned," "Why Wasn't I More Grateful," and crucially two further amazing covers: Prince's "When You Were Mine" and the New York Dolls' "Pills." Years later, a tape of the full concert surfaced and was traded among the handful of Maria collectors still going strong after all these years, but has surely never circulated beyond that small but devoted clan.

What you get here is not only Maria at the top of her game, playing the best of her own material and that of Lone Justice, but for my money some of the most inspired cover song choices I have heard any artist ever perform. At this risk of over-hyping this, I'll quote from a friend of mine and a diehard Maria supporter who sent me the following notes (edited) after receiving a copy of this show:

"Absolute killer is right. I have completely regained my enthusiasm for Maria because of this. For me, it rivals the best Dylan and Stones live shows: raw; out-of-control; dangerous; vital; alive. The whole section starting with "Girlhood" through "Grateful" & "Sister Anne" is just simply outstanding rock 'n' roll. Love the way she keeps at the last verse in "When You Were Mine" until she gets it right--and then, almost on a dare, does "Pills"--giddy herself (it seems) with the out-of-control, WTF attitude that doing the song represents. "Free Money," surrounded as it is by other tours-de-force, I don't know, words fail, it raises the hair on the back of my neck and brings tears to my eyes because of the sheer beauty and power of it. I doubt Patti Smith herself could do a better version."

If you've ever been a fan of Maria, you owe it to yourself to grab this one. If you're not but you're in the mood for adventure and perhaps a very pleasant surprise, give it a whirl.

BK

******

Tracks re-named, tags added, seeded on dime by araslim (Dave Lieben, dlieben@yahoo.com) Nov. 6 2009