Sporthalle "Progressive Pop Festival '70" (M2-AUD)
01 (6:15) :: ...Elemental Child
02 (7:26) :: Jewel
03 (3:43) :: Organ Blues
04 (8:28) :: Summertime Blues
05 (2:34) :: Hot Rod Mama
06 (3:44) :: Debora
07 (5:26) :: Pavilions Of Sun
08 (2:35) :: One Inch Rock
09 (3:56) :: By The Light Of A Magical Moon// (cuts)
Total Time ::: 44:08
::: EXC on stage stereo miked recording with some hiccups. Check samples for individualised experiential estimations or for what those Merry Pranksters told me they took for daily maintenance doses, "laughers - only 70 mics!" (true story).
::: Warts: 1st 12 seconds mono as only one channel existed. Some volume fluctuations (mostly fixed). Taper turned off deck between songs. Right channel had some issues in some parts - details below. Many dropouts fixed but some were not repairable. You will hear some unfixable problems in "Organ Blues".
::: NOTE : if you want an almost absolutely flawless recording, copy the left channel out for mono 2 channel playback. It is nearly perfect (but you lose the very cool wide stereo effect, so it's not recommended).
::: "Progressive Pop Festival '70", aka "Kölner Festival" April 3rd & 4th, 1970. Poster online if you look.
::: Other acts (according to 2 websites - some of these were no-shows & some unlisted ones probably played) : Procol Harum / Kinks / Chicken Shack / Nice / Colosseum / Deep Purple / Yes / T-Rex / Soft Machine / Eire Apparent / East of Eden / Jeronimo / Livin' Blues / Facts of Life / Ekseption / J.C. Heavy / Mighty Baby / Barclay James Harvest / Circus / Jess & James / Sam Apple Pie / Steamhammer / Novak´s Kapelle / Scratch.
::: This recording hails from Brinkhoffs' collection. If you knew him, remember him while yr rockin'!
::: AUD recordings circulate of some other bands including the excellent East Of Eden set DIMED by Brinkhoffs hisself.
::: Thanks to DIMER badpainter for songlist help.
::: Two weeks after the release of "A Beard Of Stars" album & back when T. Rex was still exploding under the Tyrannosaurus Rex moniker.
Recording Information ::: SOURCE: unknown WDR-FM reel to reel tape recorder (probably a Uher Report) with unknown microphones placed on stage -> master stereo "audience" reel.
Playback 1980 ::: master stereo "audience" reel on Braun TG 60 -> 1st generation 7.5 ips reel on Revox A77.
Playback circa 1988(?) ::: 1st generation 7.5 ips reel on Revox A77 -> 2nd generation Maxell XLII-90 cassette, Dolby B on (unknown cassette recorder).
Playback 2012-12-04 ::: 2nd generation Maxell XLII-90 cassette on Nakamichi 680ZX cassette deck, Dolby B on, azimuth & pitch adjusted for individual recording, heads cleaned & demagnatized -> Sony Linear PCM Recorder PCM-M10 (LPCM 44.10kHz/16bit WAV files) -> computer -> Audacity (normalisation to remove DC offset, channel/phase alignment, fades &/or glitches, dropout repair, manual one-at-a-time bump-pop-click repair, volume adjustments, NO equalisation) -> CD Wave (track splits) -> Trader's Little Helper -> yer ears. First uploaded week of 2013-02-04.
Mastering notes ::: Overall, the LEFT channel was in VERY good shape. Dropouts & volume fluctuations were basically ALL fixable. The RIGHT channel was fine in many places & completely messed up in a couple of songs, particularly "Organ Blues". Something in the recorder or cables was shorting out - only in that channel. However, after working at a pace of about an hour for every 15 seconds, I was able to repair much of it, to the point there are just some very brief rough spots. There is no cross channel patching possible. As noted above, for audio purists, bothered by even minor, brief imperfections, a mono left channel to both channels for a listening copy will lose the wonderful stereo but offer an extremely clean listen. Your call. More work could be done but after a full week, I'm done in!
Line-up ::: Marc Bolan - acoustic & electric guitars, organ, vocals // Mickey Finn (Michael Norman Finn) - drums, tablas, percussion, Moroccan Clay drums(?), finger cymbals, vocals.
Nothing here ever commercially released to my knowledge. If I'm wrong, please advise & I'll take the offending trax offline.
BRINKHOFF's NOTES (from East Of Eden upload, but directly applicable to this recording):
- when i was studying in aachen in 1980, i used to bump into one of these wild poets / rimbaud / doors / patti smith loveable loonies that would be selling bootleg books and records (hi dirk !!!).
- we got to know each eather better and he mentioned a crazy friend of his who taped tons of stuff in the early 1970s.
- as i expressed SERIOUS interest, he somehow managed to borrow a bag full of small uher reels which he gave to me saying that they would have to be returned within 24 hours.
- it took me a long time to borrow a revox and transfer some of the reels. just wish i'd have had more time ... never managed to copy all of it - what a shame!!!
- been trying to re-borrow the reels for ages, but ...
- the last time i took drugs, i tried to eat an airport. well, ...
CoolSonics 213 ::: Thanks to the original taper & trader! This copy came from DIMER Brinkhoffs, who left this mortal coil some weeks ago. He is sorely missed. I imagine he would be pleased with all the effort I put into restoring this recording, especially the right channel, as it was somewhere DEEP in fucked-up-ville, only recoverable by the wonders of modern computer technology. ::: Corrections welcome ::: My guess is more than a few of you are going to stub your proverbial aural toes upon laying yr eyes & ears on this glistening bunch o' bytes. Brinkhoffs dug this outta the ether long ago & traded it with me & I enjoyed it on many the occasion - most often in the car while driving 25,000 miles a year for work - what else ya gonna do but feed yr ears & stomach. It's easy to see why Brinkhoffs liked this tape. It has shades of Pink Floyd all over some of the songs - check out "Organ Blues" for example, or the Barrett-esque vocals in "Jewel", or. It was not easy getting thru the work on this at times, too many memories.
This recording was a massive revelation for me when it first showed up. I got into Tyrannosaurus Rex at a very early age, circa 1970. As strange as it was, there was some heavy magic in there. Among many other things weird, I bought the Warner/Reprise Loss Leader LPs as they came out & was listening to some demented sounds along with my more "normal" pop & folkrock musical musical mix - like Beefheart / Zappa / Wild Man Fischer / Lord Buckley / The Fugs, etc. When "A Beard Of Stars" hit the cutout bins almost immediately after release in the USA, complete with the bonus 45, how could I resist the cool gatefold cover & the 59 cent price sticker, and the music was wonderfully but acceptably strange. One of our friends even had the Marc "Beard Of Stars" look down pat. Then, over the next couple of years, there was simply the rock star glam vibe that developed, T. Rex fit right into our lifestyles, alongside Bowie, Rundgren, Roxy Music & Mott The Hoople, affecting our way of dressing & sense of cool. I am still rather unapologetic about it. Pics of Marc hung on the wall. "The Slider" came out & we were mind-boggled. He was pretty over the fashion/glam top, but what the hell, song after amazing song with killer sound & guitar. One of the ones I really regret never getting to see live.
This tape arrived at a time before the mega release flood of all things Bolan, and there were few live recordings that seemed to actually give you a feel for what it was really like. This recording WILL give you some serious insight into the breakthru period, from tabla acidfolkfreak to electric guitar mayhem with tinges of pop thrown into the mix. Aside from the many BBC sessions (though lots are still missing), we simply haven't heard many live gigs at all from this era, when you'd think people would have been going for it. Not much around to compare it to, the Lyceum, Brondby Club, Café au Gogo & others are mostly of challenging listenablility & mostly from the earlier Steve Peregrine Took era. There is something around from June 1970, from London I believe, but of somewhat questionable quality as I recall. I think about the closest thing there has been is the "BBC Radio 1 Live in Concert" release from January 1970, but fortunately, while this set is somewhat similar in parts, it also features some different songs & arrangements, with this short-lived Finn duo period having reached some further developed stagelife 3 months on. Not to mention that it is simply not as smooth, slick & tame as the BBC gig, this one gets REALLY far out there - check out "Summertime Blues" with some volume. Even old "Windmill Pete" would feel Marc done it proud & it should leave some people gasping in disbelief - truly out of this world! My feeling is that this recording is in many ways quite unique & special & as about as close as you will ever get to the real exerience. Get out your freak flags, wave them *h*I*g*H* & see what you think. If it ain't already on yr shelf, consider it a gift from Brinkhoffs & CoolSonics to yr ears. Enjoy.
Kudos to Zongo for life support, Lochner for mikes&more & Fast Freddie for runnin' Video Dick's Record Emporium with the bathroom office full of tape decks. Thanks to Hanwaker (few among us can keep his pace). Mountains of gratitude to Davmar, D.White, Sanchez, Elliot, The Florida Kid, Kloiber, Zingg, JTW, Bershaw, Boston Gold, Dixon, Moore, Gough & SO many more for all that collecting & sharing... Royal thanks to The Man In The Palace, Doc Tinker, Brinkhoffs, Barely Eatin', Reel Master Gaule, Parrish & all the traders who housed me thru my music acquisition & travel years. Hats off to Brother Kent, Uncle Jake, Little Queenie (& her neighbor Frank) & his honor Ptomaine Thomas. Glasses raised to Byron for musical horizon expansion & much obliged to J & Thurston for keepin' my concert fires burnin' since my continental shift. Thanks to the Mods for keepin' DIME alive. Enjoy, share, give, spread peace. Yers truly, Knees