Santana
Pacific Amphitheatre
Costa Mesa, CA
September 3, 1989
Mike Millard First-Generation Tapes via JEMS
The Lost and Found Mike the MICrophone Tapes Volume 196

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

JEMS 2023 Transfer: Mike Millard First-Generation Cassettes > Nakamichi Cassette Deck 1 azimuth-adjusted playback > Sound Devices USBPre2 > Audacity 3.1 capture > iZotope RX > iZotope RX8 Advanced and Ozone 10 > MBIT+ resample to 16/44.1 > Audacity > xACT 2.50 > FLAC

01 Angels All Around Us > Spirits Dancing In The Flesh
02 For Those Who Chant
03 Batuka > No One To Depend On
04 Bella
05 It's A Jungle Out There
06 Unknown
07 Smooth Criminal
08 Black Magic Woman > Gypsy Queen
09 Oye Como Va
10 Unknown
11 Super Boogie
12 Blues For Salvador
13 Marbles
14 Unknown
15 Savor > Percussion
16 Goodness And Mercy
17 Everybody's Everything
18 Toussaint L'Overture
19 Soul Sacrifice
20 Love Theme from 'Spartacus'
21 Europa (Earth's Cry, Heaven's Smile)
22 Ponta de Areia > Deeper, Dig Deeper > Band Introductions

Known Faults: Oye Como Va: end 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 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

Santana, Pacific Amphitheatre, Costa Mesa, CA, September 3, 1989

Santana and summertime just seem to go together. Mike "The Mike" Millard taped the guitar god four times during a three-summer stretch with this 1989 performance at the Pacific Amphitheatre being the first. Carlos would go on to play the venue three Septembers in a row and Mike was there to capture them all. The 1990 show was previously released as Vol. 90 in the Lost and Found series and the 1991 set can be found on Vol. 164.

1989 was not a big touring year for Santana which may help explain the seemingly experimental nature of the setlist at the Pac Amp which we've done our best to identify. I suspect if you're a Santana purist, this pre "Smooth" era performance is probably more to your liking and it jams out impressively over 140 minutes of music.

Santana was two years removed from his last album, 1987's Freedom, which returned to more of the classic sound of his early work and that musical adventurism seems evident here. "Black Magic Woman" and "Oye Como Va" are of course included, but so too are covers of "It's A Jungle Out There," "Love Theme from Spartacus" and Michael Jackson's "Smooth Criminal."

Mike is in his usual excellent taping position, but much like the other two Santana shows from the Pac Amp in our series, audience involvement is high and you'll hear plenty of it, though largely not to the detriment of the recording but as evidence of why people came back to see Carlos in Costa Mesa three years in a row. Samples provided.

Our transfer comes from first-generation cassettes made by Mike himself for Rob S who was probably at the show but memories are fuzzy and there's nothing wrong with that.

###

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.

Shout outs to Rob S for the transfer this week; Professor Goody for his rapid response on pitch check; and to mjk5510 for the thankless task of sorting out the setlist with a lot of help from Professor Goody on this one, as part of his post-production work.

Next week our march to Vol. 200 will ramp up as we present a few of Mike's favorite bands and some of the best tapes still left in the archive. Stay tuned.

Finally, cheers to the late, great Mike the MICrophone. His work never ceases to impress. May he rest in peace.

BK for JEMS

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