Neil Young
Greek Theatre
Los Angeles, CA
August 20, 1989
Mike Millard First-Generation Tapes via JEMS
The Lost and Found Mike the MICrophone Tapes Volume 157

Recording Gear: AKG 451E microphones (CK-1 cardioid capsules) > Nakamichi 550 cassette recorder

JEMS 2022 Transfer: Mike Millard First-Generation Cassette made for Ed F > Nakamichi RX-505 (azimuth adjustment) > Sound Devices USBPre 2 > Audacity 2.0 capture 2496 > iZotope RX8 > iZotope Ozone 8 > MBIT+ resample to 1644 > Audacity > TLH > FLAC

01 My My, Hey Hey (Out Of The Blue)
02 Rockin' In The Free World
03 Someday
04 Sugar Mountain
05 Hangin' On A Limb
06 Helpless
07 Pocahontas
08 Crime In The City
09 Four Strong Winds
10 Too Far Gone
11 Roll Another Number (For The Road)
12 This Note's For You
13 The Needle And The Damage Done
14 No More
15 After The Gold Rush
16 Heart Of Gold
17 Ohio
18 Rockin' In The Free World
19 Powderfinger

Known Faults:
-Rockin' In The Free World (T18): start slightly cut

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

Neil Young, Greek Theatre, Los Angeles, CA, August 20, 1989

This week, another fine recording from Neil Young's 1989 A Solo Acoustic Evening tour, which, despite the tour name, saw Young joined by Ben Keith and Frank Sampedro. It's the companion to Volume 45 of the Lost and Found series, a slightly shorter set at the Pacific Amphitheatre in Costa Mesa two days prior. The Greek adds "Someday," "Hanging on a Limb" and "Four Strong Winds" to the setlist, but loses "This Old House" from Costa Mesa.

The show was well reviewed by the Los Angeles Times: "Young turned in a solo acoustic set that was everything a longtime fan could want: great new songs, old favorites, an encore featuring backup vocals from his old pals David Crosby and Graham Nash. Young charmed the audience from the git-go with his winning performing style-he was so damned casual that were it not for his ferocious intensity, you'd think you'd stumbled onto an impromptu rehearsal."

Oddly there is no sign nor sound of Crosby or Nash on the tape.

One of those new songs was Neil's instant classic "Rockin' In The Free World," which he premiered in February 1989 at a show in Seattle and would not be officially released until October 1989 on Freedom. Clearly Young was enamored with his new composition, which explains why he plays it twice in the Greek set (the song also appears twice on Freedom).

The Greek setlist includes several other songs from the still-to-be-released Freedom including "Hangin' On A Limb," "Too Far Gone," "No More" and the epic "Crime In The City," which is one of the highlights here.

The rest of the 19-song set is largely comprised of crowd-pleasing Young classics, including a fine encore performance of "Powderfinger."

This first-generation cassette was made by Mike for Ed F and MM did some tight edits to fit the full show onto a single SA 90. We're not sure exactly where Millard sat, but he seems to be close to the PA with only modest levels of audience interference, especially given the consistent woo-hoo factor at most Young shows. The singalong sounds like it is behind him, right where you want it. As acoustic, audience recordings of Young go, this is an excellent one. Samples provided.


###

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.

We always want to give credit where credit is due. Thanks to Ed F for loaning us his copy of the show, Professor Goody for making sure the pitch was on and mjk5510 for his peerless post-production and artwork support.

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: