Tony T.S. McPhee
1973-09-27 ::: Buxton, Derbyshire, East Midlands, England
Playhouse Theatre ::: 22 Saint John's Road ::: M?-AUD

~*~ Mk2 version, carefully remastered fixing various issues, WITH differential EQ & NR ~*~

"Help!" (audience member yelling in "The Hunt" synth set when it first gets a bit weird...)

Set One :::
01-[01:35]. ==Tony intro'd/talk/song intro==
02-[03:46]. Me & The Devil
03-[01:08]. ==applause/song intro==
04-[04:36]. Write Me A Few Short Lines
05-[05:27]. Walkin' Blues
06-[03:22]. ==applause/TS name story/tuning/song intro==
07-[03:44]. Three Times Seven
08-[02:49]. All My Money, Alimony
09-[00:18]. ==applause/tuning==
10-[04:34]. Morning's Eyes
11-[00:54]. ==applause/song intro==
12-[03:06]. Dog Me Bitch

Set Two :::
13-[24:38]. The Hunt//

Total Time ::: 59:58

::: VG AUD tape revived from rough source but listenable (Mk2 version is clearer!). Check samples for or terror trials or transformation anticipation.
::: Warts (yes, a difficult remaster) : Repaired dullspots & dropouts but surely missed some. Some hiss on both Mk1 & Mk2. Mk2 version has very slight NR artifacts but felt they were worthwhile as tape had extreme issues. TS starts some songs in midst of applause from previous song. #08 had some annoying mike noises (some residue still evident). #13 bit of AUD talk in 1st part & tapeflip edit cleaned up & cuts halfway thru (based on 1973-09-18 this is missing 17-20 mins).
CONTRAST CLAUSE: This is the clearer Mk2 EQ+NR version. The Mk1 NO EQorNR is available elsewhere.
::: "The Two Sides Of Tony (T.S.) McPhee", Tony's 1st&only full-length solo album til '91, issued late Sept or early Oct. '73.
::: TS says LP, "should be out about now", so is probably bummed the (presumed)" LP tour" is almost over w/no LP available.
::: Entire "The Two Sides Of Tony T.S. McPhee"LP played here in order from #07 (except "Take It Out" which is not played).
::: UK tour 10 gigs from 16 Sept London to 29th St.Albans. 2 TS sets each nite. No support act. Groundhogs UK tour began in Nov.
::: Groundhogs album "Who WIll Save The World? The Mighty Groundhogs" issued 1972 & "Solid" issued 1974.
::: "The Hunt" supposedly explores Tony McPhee's strong stance against fox & stag hunting.
::: "The Hunt"45 edit 19mins down to 3. Buy one €800 on Discogs or listen free at www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJxnKc5gLlY
::: 2015"The Hunt"remix 45 version for hardcore Hogheads at www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHB7FT1CAFc
::: In case Tony's 20min synth side message wasn't clear enough, the LP cover stated, "Support Hunt Saboteurs".
::: A 2nd"2 Sides"tape 1973-09-18 Birmingham came along with this but is VERY rough. Will try to resuscitate it.
::: If anyone has known gen upgrades of 1973-09-18 or 09-27 or other tour tapes, they'd be GREATLY appreciated!
::: Check out Paul Freestone's 2012 book "Eccentric Man: A Biography & Discography of Tony (TS) McPhee".
::: Discogs lists these name variations: Tony McPhee, Anthony Charles McPhee, Mc Phee, McFree, McPhee, Reverend TS McPhee, T S 'Groundhog' McPhee, T, McPhee, T. Mc Phee, T. McPhee, T. S. Mc Phee, T. S. Mc.Phee, T. S. McPhee, T.S Mcphee, T.S, McPhee, T.S., T.S. McPhee, T.S. Mc Phee, T.S. McPhee, T.S.McPhee, Toni McPhee, Tony, Tony "T.S." McPhee, Tony ´T.S.´ McPhee, Tony 'T.S.' McPhee, Tony 'T.S' McPhee, Tony 'TS' McPhee, Tony "T.S. " Mcphee, Tony "T.S." McPhee, Tony "TS" McPhee, Tony (T. S.) McPhee, Tony (T.S,) McPhee, Tony (T.S.) Mc Phee, Tony (T.S.) McPhee, Tony (T.S) McPhee, Tony (TS) McPhee, Tony Mc Phee, Tony McPhee & Friends, Tony S. Mc Phee, Tony S. McPhee, Tony T.S. Mc Phee, Tony T.S. McPhee, Tony TS McPhee, Torry (TS) Mc Phee, TS, TS McPhee. Are YOU confused yet? Wait until you hear "The Hunt"!

Recording Information ::: unknown mono (or VERY narrow stereo) recording equipment -> unknown analog generations -> unknown generation TDK D-90 normal bias cassette -> unknown digital transfer method 2020-08-xx -> 44.10Hz/16bit WAV.

Remastering 2020-08/09 ::: unknown generation 44.10Hz/16bit WAV file -> Audacity [normalisation to remove DC offset, channel/phase alignment, fades, manual one-at-a-time glitch, bump, clap, pop, click, dropout & dullspot repairs, PopMute on some between song clapping, volume adjustments, +2% averaged pitch (speed) fix with single pass after frequency analysis & with pitchpipe verification, low impact notch filters applied at 50/67/100 to reduce hum, with differential equalisation, noise reduction applied to reduce hiss] -> CD Wave (track splits) -> flacs (Trader's Little Helper) -> yr ears. NOTE: If stereo originally it was VERY narrow. Most or all "stereo" imaging on source actually just muffled R channel with MUCH lower freq response (L~8700 vs R~6000). Many issues with both channels when played together, so after remastering used superior Lchan - more stability with rumble & constant cyclical noise issues gone, etc. Freed 2020-09-xx.

Line-up (solo performance) ::: Anthony Charles McPhee aka "Tony T.S. McPhee" - vocals, acoustic guitar (#01-10), electric guitar (#12), Arp 2600 synthesizer & Rhythm Ace drum synthesizer (#13).

Nothing here ever commercially released to my knowledge. If I'm wrong, please advise & I'll take the offending trax offline.

DimeTravel 674 ::: Thanks to the original taper & traders! Thanks to DIMER tsmcphee ('TS Mcphee') for supplying the goods & weighing in on concert info. Sincere thanks to whomever uploads this for me. Thanks to TONY McPHEE for decades of musical enjoyment. ::: Corrections welcome ::: I feel quite fortunate to have seen the Groundhogs play about 5 times, including one TS solo set as an opener, tho' not until the 90s. McPhee's electric guitar style is VASTLY under-rated as it is very unique, with loads of unusual finger manoeuvres & thumb over the top of the fretboard playing - among other things. I only approached him to talk on one occasion, taking the opportunity to ask about Andy Fernbach's fantastic '69 1st solo LP on Liberty, "If You Miss Your Connexion" which I knew Tony had produced & had still never been reissued. TS was hanging out with his pals drinking at a table & seemed quite disinterested in the album & my queries about master tapes & such. STILL never come out on CD AFAIK & only booted on LP once (recently). OK... If you are INTO Tony's first solo LP, this should knock your socks off. Have to say I didn't know if I was ever going to get to hear a live gig from this album tour. I think I landed my copy of the album sometime in 1974 & really played the hell out of the A-side for decades. The 1st 3 lead-off songs, of which live versions all appear here, are quite special & constant in my musical listening repertoire. Also, "The Hunt" aged better for me than expected - it is more accessible here than it was on LP back in the 70s IMO - some MAJORLY excellent, f*cked-up heaviness. While "ahead of its time" is an overused phrase, 'tis appropriate for "The Hunt". Don't forget when you listen to the synth set that the LP wasn't even out yet & it was 1973. Some people in the AUD & some Groundhogs freaks generally must have been VERY confused. I was literally laughing out loud while listening & remastering... & imagining. Probably a lot of dosed freaks there to boot, listening to the baying of the hounds... Listen, enjoy, show appreciation, share, give, spread peace. Yrs truly, Knees

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