Robert Hunter & Comfort
1977-10-18 San Rafael, California Front Street recording studio (M?-ST)
"Alligator Moon" unissued album __ title track rough mix __ entire album side
"Alligator Moon" (suite)
01. Part A)__ Mesa Linda
02. Part B)__ Domino, Cigarette & Melina
03. Part C)__ Domino
04. Part D)__ Blue Note
05. Part E)__ New East St. Louis Blue
06. Part F)__ Cigarette
Total Time ::: 18:53
::: EXC quality studio recording. Check samples for instant amping.
::: Warts: Ain't many. Surely missed a dropout or dullspot, or two. Part A fades in a second late.
::: Album noted online as recorded in 1978, but taping started in 1977 & continued in '78.
::: Some info at http://www.deaddisc.com/disc/Alligator_Moon.htm
::: More info at http://lostlivedead.blogspot.de/2011/10/december-5-1977-keystone-palo-alto-palo.html
::: REALLY fine, tho' the suite is a tad unfinished in spots. lostlivedead.blogspot quotes former Comfort keyboard player Richard McNees, "I think there needed to be corrections to everyone's vocals" (which Hunter also mentions somewhere) & "there is hole at the end of "The Blue Note" where the tone of the piece really shifts".
::: "Promontory Rider", "Hooker's Ball" & "Drunkard's Carol" were officially released as "Alligator Moon" album trax on the 1984 Robert Hunter Relix Records "Promontory Rider" compilation LP (& on CD in '89). Put them together with this & you have 3/4ths of the lost album! SURELY someone has the only missing 2 songs "She Gives Me Love" & "Jesse James" (studio versions). PLEASE... We've been waiting more than 35 years! For that matter, one STRONGLY suspects ole Bob Hunter DID record a studio version of "Eagle Mall Suite" a couple of years later (regardless of what deaddisc.com says to the contrary) & that's one kettle o' fish I'd surely like to fry. What's in YOUR closet?
::: For Corry342 & Rob Berger & all you hardcore Hunter freaks out there. Hope it's music for ears & not just bytes for drives.
Recording Information ::: studio stereo mixdown master reel -> 1 or 2(?) analog tape generations -> 2nd or 3rd(?) generation Maxell XLII-S 90 cassette, Dolby B on. (My source kindly ran a copy for me while he had the source tape borrowed - lineage was Nakamichi 480 no Dolby source tape -> Nakamichi BX-300 Dolby B on).
Playback 2015-04-xx ::: low generation Maxell XLII-S 90 cassette on Nakamichi 680ZX cassette deck, Dolby B on, azimuth adjusted for individual tape, heads cleaned & demagnetized -> Sony Linear PCM Recorder PCM-M10 (LPCM 44.10kHz/16bit WAV files) -> computer -> Audacity [normalisation to remove DC offset, channel/phase alignment, fades, manual one-at-a-time glitch, bump, pop, click, dropout & dullspot repairs, volume adjustments, -.3% pitch (speed) fix with single pass after frequency analysis & with pitchpipe verification, NO equalisation] -> CD Wave (track splits) -> flacs (Trader's Little Helper) -> yr ears. First uploaded week of 2015-04-25.
Line-up (developed from "Promontory Rider" comp: liners. #9 confirmed & likely it's the same on all other trax except #8) ::: Robert Hunter - guitar, vocals // Marleen Molle - vocals // Kathleen Klein - vocals // Kevin Morgenstern - electric guitar // Richard McNees - keyboards // Larry Klein - electric 6-string bass // Rodney Albin - Vina, violin, mandolin? // Pat Lorenzano - drums. (#8 Hunter solo - guitar, vocals).
Nothing here ever commercially released to my knowledge. If I'm wrong, please advise & I'll take the offending trax offline.
DimeTravel 110 ::: Thanks to the original taper & traders! ::: Corrections welcome ::: Well, well... these notes look easy? Seems to have taken close to 6 hours for research & massage. And then there's the audio transfer & restoration - another real time clincher. Ain't we all certifiable?! All in good fun tho' & I do love Mr Hunter & Comfort ~ like sucking the honey right outta the comb. If you got yr "Promontory Rider" comp handy, you really can go for a nice 1/2 hour of the (almost) intended "Alligator Moon" album - after all these years... Here's some info to help you put things together. Complete unissued album track order & writing credits according to deaddisc.com with some timings & guesswork added. Corry342 points out that, although the suite is featured as the A-side on the deaddisc notes, in those days a suite was more apt to end being what carried side B of the platter.
Side A: [18:53] :::
01.[4:24]- Mesa Linda (Hunter)
02.[1:31]- Domino, Cigarette & Melina (Hunter/Morgenstern)
03.[4:02]- Domino (Hunter/Morgenstern)
04.[2:55]- Blue Note (Hunter/McNees)
05.[1:25]- New East St. Louis Blue (Hunter/McNees)
06.[4:36]- Cigarette (Hunter/McNees)
Side B: [19:00?] :::
07.[?:??]- She Gives Me Love (Hunter) _PROBABLY 4-6 minutes_
08.[1:03]- Drunkard's Carole (Hunter)
09.[2:45]- Hooker's Ball (sub-titled "Walking The Block") (Hunter)
10.[?:??]- Jesse James (Hunter/Melton) _PROBABLY 5-6 minutes_
11.[4:44]- Promontory Rider (Hunter)
--A slightly short album clocking in at about 38 minutes - but groovy enuf for a 70s slab o' wax.
--Noted online that some trax are Hunter & Comfort, & some solo, but 'twas to be a Comfort album & I suspect #8 was the only solo song.
--Produced by Bob Matthews & engineered by Betty Cantor-Jackson.
--Hunter, in a 1981 Ken Hunt "Dark Star" mag interview (by way of lostlivedead.blogspot), stated the real reason the album never come out is because he'd played the record for Barry Melton, who, "fell asleep"!
Regardless of old Barry (worth a laugh anyway), I think it's just fine & dandy - certainly an important missing piece of the puzzle & it oughta jiggle a few noodles. The mix will sound familiar to Deadheads in place. Listen, enjoy, show appreciation, share, give, spread peace. Yers truly, Knees
Support the artist! http://www.roberthunter.org
Do whatever you want with it except sell it, 'cause that ain't cool!