Santana
Pacific Amphtheatre
Costa Mesa, CA
September 15, 1990
Mike Millard Master Tapes via JEMS
The Lost and Found Mike the MICrophone Tapes Volume 90
1644 Edition

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

JEMS 2021 Transfer: Mike Millard First-Generation Cassettes > Nakamichi CR-7A (azimuth adjustment; Dolby On) > Sound Devices USBPre 2 > Audacity 2.0 capture > iZotope RX8 > iZotope Ozone 8 > convert to 16/44 > Audacity > TLH > FLAC


01 Spirits Dancing In The Flesh
02 The Healer (John Lee Hooker cover)
03 It's A Jungle Out There
05 Somewhere In Heaven
05 We Don't Have To Wait
06 Little Wing (Benny Rietveld Bass Solo)
06 Black Magic Woman/Gypsy Woman
07 Oye Como Va
08 Mandela
09 Blues For Salvador
10 Choose
11 She's Not There (Zombies cover)
12 Toussaint L'Ouverture
13 Soul Sacrifice
14 Europa (Earth's Cry, Heaven's Smile)
15 Jin-go-lo-ba

Known Faults:
-None

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 15, 1990

We've made it all the way to 1990 and the 90th volume of the Lost and Found series. Ten weeks from now we'll hit 100, which is nothing short of amazing, considering that when we started this series, there were only 30 or 40 known Mike Millard recordings. Vol. 100 will be a special one indeed, but Vol. 90 is nothing to sneeze at: Santana at the Pac Amp in Costa Mesa.

Carlos was on tour in support of Spirits Dancing In The Flesh, released in June. The album was co-produced with Vernon Reid from Living Colour and has more of a modern, hard rock vibe. That being said, the set only dips into the album for the title track and "Jin-go-lo-ba," leaving plenty of room for Santana classics which is what the crowd was there to hear. The big ones like, "Black Magic Woman and "Oye Como Va," are well rendered and The Zombies cover of "She's Not There" is welcome.

Given those hits and a late summer crowd at an outdoor venue, this is a noisy and boisterous audience, especially for a Millard tape. Mike's recording is excellent, full fidelity and relatively close, but in it's raw form you'd know it is an audience recording. We took steps to address the worst offenders, and through the magic of iZotope RX, we've seamlessly removed 99.9% of the most annoying whistlers and screamers making this an exceptionally enjoyable capture. Samples provided.

1990 was another busy year for Mike, with at least 20 shows captured, including multi-artist bills like the Christic Institute Benefit concerts with Bruce Springsteen, Bonnie Raitt and Jackson Browne, and the Dallas Taylor benefits with CSNY, The Desert Rose Band and Don Henley. Throw in a few opening band sets and Mike easily recorded 30 artists in 1990.

###

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.

Once again it was Rob who made the excellent transfer you're about to hear, with pitch support from our ally Professor Goody and post-production and cover art by the esteemed mjk5510.

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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