The New Barbarians
The Forum
Inglewood, CA
May 19, 1979
Last four tracks from San Diego Sports Arena May 22, 1979
Mike Millard First Generation Tapes via JEMS
The Lost and Found Mike the MICrophone Tapes Volume 76

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

Transfer: Mike Millard First-Generation Cassettes > Nakamichi RX-505 (azimuth adjustment; Dolby On) > Sound Devices USBPre 2 > Audacity 2.0 capture > iZotope RX8 > iZotope Ozone 8 > convert to 16/44 > Audition (Pitch Bender and alignment) > CD Wave > ffmpeg > FLAC

Inglewood May 19
01 Sweet Little Rock 'N' Roller
02 Buried Alive
03 F.U.C. Her
04 Mystifies Me
05 Infekshun
06 Rock Me Baby
07 Sure The One You Need
08 Lost & Lonely
09 Breathe On Me
10 Love In Vain
11 Let�s Go Steady
12 Apartment No. 9
13 Honky Tonk Women
14 Worried Life Blues
15 I Can Feel The Fire
16 Come To Realise

San Diego May 22
17 Am I Grooving You?
18 Seven Days (Bob Dylan cover)
19 Before They Make Me Run
20 Jumping Jack Flash

Known Faults: Millard-made hybrid of two recordings; see other notes below

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 MICrophone, 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 1992.

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

The New Barbarians, The Forum, Inglewood, CA, May 19, 1979 and San Diego Sports Arena, May 22, 1979

The New Barbarians was the short-lived Rolling Stones spinoff group fronted by Keith Richards and Ron Woods. They played 20 dates in 1979, the first two of which were court-ordered charity concerts tied to the sentence Richards received after being arrested for heroin possession.

Woods used the tour to perform a lot of the songs from his recent solo album Gimme Some Neck, while Richards took vocals for some choice covers and a few Stones songs thrown in for good measure. The pair were backed by bassist Stanley Clarke, Ian McLagan on keyboards, Stones saxophone ally Bobby Keys and Meters' drummer Joseph Zigaboo Modeliste.

The result was a spirited if druggy/drunky affair, but with the Stones off the road for another two years, New Barbs was the closest you were gonna get.

Given their deep affection for the Stones, it was no surprise Mike and Jim were there and up close. Jim took some great photos which you'll see in the cover art and Mike was recording from his sweet spot. While most of the recording is quite excellent, it does seem Mike was having technical issues on the night.

There's a tape alignment or microphone positioning issue during the first song, "Sweet Little Rock and Roller," that takes a few minutes to rectify. You'll hear the point where everything straightens out and the sound grows from good to quite excellent for the bulk of the show through "Come To Realize." But at that point, something happens to Mike's tape, as on this first generation copy Mike made for Ed F, he switches to his own San Diego recording for the last four songs to complete the show.

Mike's tape list has entries for both New Barbarians shows in Inglewood and San Diego, but doesn't give a duration or any sense if they are complete. He rates each excellent, though clearly The Forum recording is closer and superior to San Diego.

It seems safe to assume Millard had issues at the end of the Forum show (perhaps foreshadowed by the problems in the first song) and he filled out the set with San Diego. We presume there is a full San Diego recording, but we don't have it. We also know Mike recorded opening act Bob Welch both nights which we are also hoping to find.

But don't be put off by any of that: the bulk of the Forum show is captured in great Millard quality, and San Diego, while inferior, is still very good. Considering the other recordings of The Forum are considerably weaker quality, his first-gen hybrid edition is still a major find. Samples provided.

Here's what Jim R recalled about the New Barbarians at the Forum:

I attended the New Barbarians concert with Mike Millard at The Forum on May 19, 1979. We sat in the 5th row on the floor, to the left of center. We also attended the San Diego show three days later--it was recorded as well.

Mike and I being HUGE Stones fans had to see Brother Keith along with Ronnie Wood, Bobby Keys, Ian McLagan and of course Stanley Clarke on bass.

The concert was loose and fun, and the crowd got pretty rowdy at times. With a smattering of Stones tunes in the setlist, the shows kinda gave us our Stones "fix" between tours.

I hope you enjoy the recording and my pics.

###

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.

The first-generation source had some challenge and Professor Goody gave this one some extra TLC, for which we thank him. Cover art and post-production finishing come from the talented mjk5510. The Millard Lost and Found series has delivered for over 52 straight weeks and I'm here to tell you there is NO WAY that happens without mjk5510's stamina and commitment to the work.

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.

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