W.O.C.K On Vinyl - The Vampires of Dartmoore: Dracula’s Music Cabinet (1969)

Before things get too serious here at Rock On Vinyl, I thought it might be fun to post a song / album at the end of each month, that could be categorized as being either Weird, Obscure, Crazy or just plain Korny.
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Rare as hen's teeth pseudo-soundtrack originally released on German label Metronome back in 1969. With the likes of  benchmark horror releases such as Polanski's 'Rosemary's Baby' and 'Witchfinder General' released a year before, this superb, creepy, super-sleazy gem fit the zeigeist of that time perfectly! Loaded with horror-heavy, proto hip-hop beats that even the likes of DJ Spinna exploited!  German jazz/library musicians Horst Ackermann & Heribert Thusek’s incredible, dark foray into the world of eerie samples & spine-chilling funk. Electronic effects,screams,moans for your kraut /psych Halloween party!

Dracula’s Music Cabinet was part of a wave of horror-themed novelty albums released in Germany during the late 60s and early 70s, all of which were seemingly inspired by the very type of horror films that Europe was producing at the time, as best exemplified by the work of our own beloved Jess Franco. The liner notes  of the album refer to it as a soundtrack to a nonexistent film, which is pretty much right on the money. Like the soundtracks to many Euro-horror films from the 60s, much of the music on Music Cabinet consists of vaguely psychedelic lounge jazz that in itself doesn’t suggest any traditional kind of horror ambiance at all.

Elsewhere, Cabinet‘s tunes veer toward the sort of jaunty, brass-heavy adventure themes that connoisseurs might associate with the work of Peter Thomas, and, with a track titled “The Fire-Dragon of Hong Kong”, even detour into orientalism. In other words, in a musical sense, the record is thematically all over the map, but all the same might serve as fitting accompaniment to the casual nudity and furtive, drug benumbed stabs at narrative coherence typical of those films that putatively inspired it.

However, where Cabinet‘s makers – session player and library music composer Heribert Thusek, working for hire with radio comedian Horst Ackerman under the name The Vampires of Dartmoore – really put an effort into driving their concept home is in their employment of sound effects and voice, um, artistry. This consists not only of library effects, but also seemingly everything the pair could find in the tool shed or pantry, all layered over the musical tracks alongside an assortment of eccentric vocalizations. This practice leads to creations like the album’s opening cut, “The Torture Chamber of Dr. Sex”, which, if I had to assign a narrative to it, I’d describe as the sound of a man having his legs sawed off in a strip club, and perhaps liking it.

Of course, the two eventually end up going a bit off topic in their use of sound effects, as well. I really couldn’t tell you what, for instance, is meant to be so scary about the sound of cellophane rustling, or the frequent appearance of something that sounds like an electric pencil sharpener – or, for that matter, why a song titled “Dance of the Vampires” would prominently feature a recurring “BOI-OI-OINNG!” sound. Fortunately, there are enough screams and sounds of people falling down stairs or being shot sprinkled throughout to reign us back into Haunted House territory, and by the time we get to the closing cut of the album proper, “Frankenstein Greets Alpha 7”, we’re also treated to the sound of an out-of-control Theremin accompanied by a heavily accented voice shouting “Frankenstein!” at us.

Dracula’s Music Cabinet makes for some pretty hilarious listening, though its reliance on audio gimmickry might somewhat limit its time on your iPod. Many of the underlying musical compositions are plenty enjoyable on their own, and, while it’s all the random moaning and shouting and pencil sharpening that gives the record its uniqueness, it takes a very specific sort to want to subject themselves to repeated listens. [review from savagesaints.blogspot].

OK, so you might think this month's WOCK of Vinyl post really 'sucks', but I reckon The Vampires Of Dartmoore are definitely Weird & Korny making them 'bloody' good candidates for this month's WOCK posting, so bite me !
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Tracklist
01 - The Torture Chamber of Dr Sex
02 - Crime and Horror
03 - The Fire Dragon of Hong Kong
04 - Murder in the Ohio Express

05 - Dance of the Vampires
06 - Hello Mr Hitchcock
07 - The Executioners of Dartmoor
08 - Killer's End
09 - The Soaked Body
10 - A Handfull of Nitro
11 - Dr Caligari's Creeps Cabinet
12 - Frankenstein Greets Alpha 7
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The Vampires Of Dartmoore Link (37Mb) New Link 14/11/2024
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Supertramp - Live (Not Authorised) Bootleg

(U.K 1969–1988, 1996–2002, 2010–present)
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United Kingdom flash-rock aggregation, founder members Davies and Hodgson teaming up after former's band The Joint failed to make impact (another of Davie's groups, Rick's Blues, had included Gilbert O'Sullivan).
Original Supertramp line-up, apart from Davies and Hodgson, featured Richard Palmer (guitar), Dave Winthrop (saxophones) and Bob Miller (drums). They came together in late '60s under sponsorship of benevolent millionaire. First eponymous album released 1970, after which Miller suffered nervous breakdown and was replaced by Kevin Curne, selected from auditions involving some 200 drummers.

Frank Farrell came in on bass for second album, Indelibly Stamped (1971), allowing group's original bassist Hodgson to switch to lead guitar. However, interest in album was negligible and the band faded following a particularly disastrous Norwegian tour.
Currie, Palmer and Winthrop split, to be replaced by Benberg, formerly of Bees Make Honey, and Helliwell and Thompson from Alan Bown Set.
Eventual breakthrough came with Crime Of The Century in 1974, a semi-concept affair which was immaculately produced by Ken Scon. It also yielded 1975 hit "Dreamer". 1976 album Crisis? What Crisis?, another Scott production, followed closely format set by predecessor and attained similar degree of chart success.
Even In The Quietest Moments (1977) saw the band gradually refine their style for the more commercial 'Breakfast In America' in 1979.
[extract from The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Rock, edited by Michael Heatley, Carlton Books, 1994]

Producing three hit singles, the album has sold in excess of 18 million copies to date. A live album followed, before more up tempo and R&B influenced 'Last Famous Words' (1983) which reached the Top 5 in the US and UK. Subsequent releases have been sporadic and inconsistent.
Here is a show that was part of the Super Golden Radio Shows series and this one is number 8. I believe the concert took place in London on March 9th 1975 at the Hammersmith Odeon and was just before the release of Supertramp's second album "Crisis What Crisis" .
For some inexplicable reason, some pieces are amputees: this is the case, for example, "Bloody Well Right", the solo piano introduction is shortened by almost a minute. To compare with the official version of this concert, released in 2003 under the title "Is Everybody Listening?" (Ignore the indication of the cover of the latter, which incorrectly states "Ohio in 1976" as a source of recording, while musicians Supertramp themselves have confirmed that this was the concert at Hammersmith from 9th March, 1975) [extract from ace.bootlegs.free.fr]

About the concert (interview with John Helliwell)
Supertramp took to the stage of London’s Hammersmith Odeon the next month on March 9th. The gig was a last minute add-on to the end of the tour and has become famous or rather perhaps infamous as an illegal bootleg beloved amongst Supertramp fans. It was also briefly commercially released in 2001 as “Is Everybody Listening”. For some bizarre reason the original bootleg erroneously gave the venue for this show as Cleveland, Ohio rather than London, England, a mistake which the 2001 commercial release unfortunately replicated on its own cover notes.
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Be that as it may, the recording presents a highly dynamic live band, tearing through many of the current Crime of the Century AND future Crisis? What Crisis? numbers.
Moreover, it’s heartwarming evidence of a zany, and firmly tongue in cheek Helliwell MC, whose pithy wit has delighted Supertramp audiences the world over. He can be heard welcoming the Hammersmith audience thus:
“Thanks man.... Good evening. Welcome to my show and I'd like to do another one now. This is from my album. I shall be supported by Rick and Roger on vocals on this one. This is called .... Ooh another thing. We've got a little guest vocal group tonight. These are "The Trampettes" and they'll be appearing at the end of this number. They're pretty cool so don't applaud too much. This is "Hide in Your Shell"...
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Later on, when a lone heckler in the crowd continued to push his luck too far, our man confidently halted proceedings to have a word with him thus:
Ooh we've got the chap from "rent-a-mouth” here tonight [crowd and Dougie laugh and cheer] Yeah... anyway to continue... Hey listen. To get on 'ere you need some material and the only material you've got is that shitty suit you're wearing [huge crowd applause].
John ‘fessed up to this put down of put downs being borrowed from the old bass player in The Alan Bown. Whatever, it swiftly did the job and elicited a huge cheer from the giggling crowd. The heckler was heard no more.

The same recording has further evidence of his great wit and also perhaps personal disregard for safety. During this tour, he’d had a specially wired up jacket made, encrusted with fairy lights to give that special “glow in the dark” effect. He can be heard instructing Irish roadie Norman Hall to “Turn me on man” at which point Norman dutifully plugged him into the mains electricity! Twinkling in the darkness, he accompanied himself on the piano and generally hammed it up whilst singing “The Alphabet Song” (A You’re Adorable) but on other nights would occasionally swap this for “Little Sir Echo” a song he’d had taught to him by his uncle in his childhood days. [taken from johnhelliwell.com]
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This post consists of an MP3 rip (320kps) taken from CD and includes full album artwork. I like this bootleg, I like it a lot. The sound quality is A+ and I am amazed at how similar their stage performance sounds to that captured on their studio recordings. There is a 50-50 split of tracks from their 'Crime Of The Century' and 'Crisis? What Crisis?' albums, with a taster from their later album 'Quietest Moments' entitled "From Now On".
As mentioned above, the track listing on this Australian AMCOS Bootleg matches that listed by Ace Bootlegs entitled '1976 Crisis Tour' and indicates it was recorded at the Hammersmith Odeon on March 9th, 1975. Of course, this doesn't make sense as their Crisis What Crisis tour didn't officially start until November of 1975 (see Bob Siebenberg's Website). It should also be noted that this is not the full concert listing, and there are other bootlegs available with the full show (see Ace Bootlegs).
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Track Listing

01. Bloody Well Right (5:15)
02. School (5:39)
03. Sister Moonshine (5:29)
04. Hide In Your Shell (6:35)
05. A Soapbox Opera (4:34)
06. From Now On (6:56)
07. Just A Normal Day (4:03)
08. Ain’t Nobody But Me (4:53)
09. Rudy (7:26)
10. Dreamer (3:14)
11. Crime Of The Century (5:29)
12. If Everyone Was Listening (4:01)
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Supertramp are:
Rick Davies (Piano, Fender Rhodes Piano, Keyboards, Harmonica, Lead vocals)
Roger Hodgson (Keyboards, Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Lead Vocals)
John Anthony Helliwell (Keyboards, Saxophone, Clarinet, Backing Vocals)
Dougie Thomson (Bass guitar)
Bob C. Benberg (Drums, Percussion)
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Supertramp Live Link (146Mb)  Link fixed 18/10/2024
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Various Australian Artists - The GTK Tapes Vol 1 & 2 (1994)

(Various Australian Artists 1969-75)
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"GTK is a pleasant little island in an ocean of A B.C" declared former This Day Tonight production assistant Ric Birch when he became, in August 1969 the youngest producer of a national television program in Australia. It was more than pleasant - it was truly revolutionary. In a country where 'pop music1 was dismissed by the mass media as a sort of teen disease useful only for scandal headlines, this perfectly positioned ten minute stab - at 6 30pm, just before Bellbird, four nights a week -abruptly introduced middle Australia to an emerging rock counter-culture, without a screaming girl in sight.
GTK did not dispense the hits of the day, nor. with any great frequency, the hit acts. Certainly the nightly viewers -always devoted and dismayed in equal parts - were served up the readily familiar likes of Zoot, Axiom, Doug Parkinson In Focus, Autumn, Jeff St John, Sherbet, Country Radio, the La De Das, Blackfeather, Billy Thorpe, Chain, Hush, Max Merritt & The Meteors, Russell Morris, Daddy Cool, Spectrum, and Flake, but they were also exposed to new, challenging contemporary acts such as Company Caine, Captain Matchbox, Pirana, Tamam Shud, Bakery, Sun, Third Union Band, Syrius, Glenn Cardier, Kahvas Jute. Band of Talabene No Sweat, Gungan Dim; Mother Earth, Human Instinct, Langford Lever, Duck, Jeannie Lewis, Friends, Wendy Saddington (RIP 21-06-2013), Wild Cherries, Band of Light, Gary Young's Hot Dog, Moonstone, Mighty Kong, Home, Buffalo, King Harvest, Headband and Carson
And the music was just part of it. In between the exploratory sounds were interviews, reports and, sometimes, just meandering snatches which brought long haired freaky people into the nations lounge rooms - dancers, poets, film makers, photographers, fashion designers, painters, actors and suffers.
It has to be said that there was a deathly seriousness about much of it. A rock-is-art stance which set itself in opposition to the bubblegum, teen idol face of the 'pop scene1 The counter-culture was too young and too self-conscious to trust itself with levity, so a certain ponderous tone was inevitable
If you make allowance for that, the GTK years - to late 1970 under Birch and from January 1971 to November 1975 under producer Bernie Cannon, with odd episodes produced by Bruce Wilson, Albie Thorns and Bernard Eddy -constitute the most precious and astonishing repository of rare (often pncelessly so) Australian rock recordings by the most important OZ Rock acts of an era when a once totally derivative music scene took a bold leap into the unknown.
"I lived the whole thing" recalls Cannon "It wasn't a job it was a way of life and I think that the people who watched it every night understood that it had the strongest impact upon country kids because it was really their only contact with what was going on. Under Cannon, GTK continued to offer the unexpected and the imaginative and the store of rare performances grew. There wasn't a rule that you couldn't come on and plug your new hit but my policy I suppose like Ric's, was if you couldn't cut it live you couldn't appear. We tended to get more serious bands and they often played things from their sets that they didn't have to hassle with at eight o'clock on Monday morning when most musicians can't talk let alone play. I think that most of the bands we used really appreciated the freedom to let loose a bit and do things they certainly couldn't do on happening '71. I suppose they were also aware that television at that time didn't have the technical capacity to reproduce them to record standard and maybe some of them didn't want to risk playing their swish new single live for us!"
Tony Romeril, leader of often-used GTK band Autumn concurs "Bernie always wanted to be one step ahead to be original and give the bands and the song some space. But, no it wasn't always easy when you were in your van going off to the Gore Hill studios at 7AM after finishing your last set at Whisky Au Go Go at 3 AM'"
The first two volumes of The GTK Tapes contain a wonderfully diverse array of repertoire - experimental blows, convenient covers, works in embryo, fave raves and songs that would have been recorded if the band had managed to stay together. The common factor is that none of the tracks (save Doug Parkinson In Focus' Do Not Go Gentle, which turned up on the Stone film soundtrack performed quite differently by Doug) are songs officially recorded by those acts. They all would have been welcome recordings at the time had they eventuated but almost a quarter of a century down the line they are still valid and fascinating representations of Oz Rock in between the screams and international recognition
[Linear notes by Glen. A Baker]
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Review From Rolling Stone magazine - December, 1994
by Bruce Elder 
ONE OF THE MOST CHALLENGING questions about rock releases is: "Does history have any inherent interest or merit, or should all music be evaluated on the quality of songs and musical performances
There is, for example, no doubt that these two releases are important historical documents, GTK (which stood for "Getting to Know") pre-dated Countdown and was a brief, nationwide, 10-minute spot at 630pm, four nights a week. It was positioned just before the ABC soapie Bellbird and lasted from 1969 to 1975. Because it tended to feature alternative acts, and because it often recorded performances, the GTK Tapes have become a fascinating social document of the outer reaches of pop and rock in those years.
The question in 1994 is — does anybody really care? Glenn A. Baker can write sleeve notes declaring that the GTK Tapes "constitute the most precious and astonishing repository of rate (often pricelessly so) Australian rock recordings ever uncovered , but this begs the questions: Priceless to whom? and precious to whom? Mr Baker may feel that the Zoot performing Lennon and McCartney's I'm Only Sleeping is beyond his financial resources, but it is hard to imagine many others in Australia who would bid such an item into some imaginary financial stratosphere
It is true that, if you are interested in rock musk in Australia between 1969 and 1975, these two CDs are valuable documents. That, however, presupposes that in 1994, you think lots of basic blues and R&B, cover versions of the Beatles and the Rolling Stones (there are six on the two CDs) and believe extended guitar and drum solos are relevant and interesting.
This was not a great period for music It was too self-consciously arty, the clothes were immeasurably silly (bell bottoms et al), the uniform was long hair and beards, and, disturbingly, few of the musicians from the era have any kind of career left in 1994.
It is hard to find genuinely exciting and extraordinary performances on these two CDs. Most of the covers sound like very mediocre versions of the originals. The La De Das version of Chuck Berry's "Around and Around" is pedestrian and a shadow of the Rolling Stones' incomparable version, which they are clearly trying to imitate. Blackfeather's version of "Gimme Shelter" is more impressive. Autumn's version of Neil Young's "The Loner" is surprisingly good.
Some of the originals are obviously derivative of overseas styles. The Tamam Shud track, "America", sounds so much like early Jethro Tull it is almost uncanny. It's just missing the flute. Similarly, the end of Wind Cherries' "God (Guitar Overdose)" sounds like something Pink Floyd rejected around the Saucerful of Secrets period.
Of the others, who but a philistine locked in a terminal timewarp would really want to hear Doug Parkinson crucifying Dylan Thomas' beautiful "Do Not Go Gentle", with a raucous rock/R&B version of the poem, which culminates in a truly awful drum solo. And does anyone really need six versions of the GTK theme?
For many people, rock musk is the soundtrack to their adolescence. This music was the soundtrack for an awful lot of rather hip, plugged-in baby-boomers. To those outside the demographic, these recordings will only have them scratching their heads in disbelief and saying, "That's what those old hippies meant when they said you had to be there.
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When I came across this review in Rolling Stone, I was outraged. Mr. Elder may write for Rolling Stone, but his review clearly shows an immature lack of appreciation of earlier periods of music and fashion. I would guess that he was probably a young journalist who couldn't see past his nose let alone two decades.
I would suggest that you have a listen to these historical recordings and I like Glenn A Baker think that they are priceless gems which truly document the roots of our wonderful Aussie Rock.
The post itself was sourced from the Midoztouch website (with thanks to the original uploader) and are MP3 rips (320kps) taken from CD.  Full album artwork and booklets are included.along with scans of the offending magazine article. If you enjoy these recordings and want more, then you can grab the next two volumes (Vol.3&Vol.4) on my blog also.

Vol 1. Track Listing
01 - GTK Theme (Sherbet)
02 - I'm Only Sleeping (The Zoot)
03 - Do Not Go Gentle (Doug Parkinson In Focus)
04 - Sweet Little Angel (Carson)
05 - 1967 (Company Caine)
06 - GTK Theme / America (Tamam Shud)
07 - GOD / Guitar Overdose (Wild Cherries)
08 - GTK Theme / Country Lady (Freshwater)
09 - Gimme Shelter (Blackfeather)
10 - Around And Around (La De Das)
11 - My Boogie (Healing Force)
12 - Over The Ocean (Ticket)
13 - Gassin'/ GTK Theme (Pirana)

GTK Tapes Vol 1 Link (143Mb)

Vol 2. Track Listing
01 - GTK Theme (Sherbet)
02 - The Loner (Autumn)
03 - Midnight Train (Flake)
04 - Celest Atlantis (Flying Circus)
05 - Same Old Country Song (Axiom)
06 - Honky Tonk Women (The Cleves)
07 - GTK-Theme-Strawberry Fields (Syrius)
08 - Tomorrow Never Knows (Blackfeather)
09 - Bye Bye Blackbird (MsAskills Marauders)
10 - Flip Flop and Fly (Company Caine)
11 - Caroline-GTK Theme (Doug parkinson and Focus)

GTK Tapes Vol 2 Link (150Mb)

Budgie - Let The Bird Out Of It’s Cage (2004) Bootleg

(U.K 1971 - Present)
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Although Budgie have got back on track and played some concerts in the last decade, it is still very difficult to find bootlegs of these concerts, usually because they are played in small venues packed with just a few people. On this one, Budgie played for an audience of about 300 people at the Roxy Theatre in Northampton PA USA. The sound is perfectly audible and has an almost perfect quality, except for some distortions in the heaviest parts. As for the songs played, there is a selection that goes from their debut album until 'Nightflight', and at that time they hadn't prepared anything new.
Although the date listed on the Artwork Cover says 23rd March, 2004, one of  Budgie's Fan Club Websites lists the gig as being 23rd April, 2004.

I'm inclined to believe the the Fan Club website, as they also list the previous gig being played at Sunken Gardens, San Antonio, TX, USA on the 20th April 2004. So I think this was a typo on the part of the original uploader.

With respect to the line-up, this is a rarity being the only bootleg that I'm aware of which features Simon Lees on guitar. So the line-up is, on the bass and vocals, as always, the original member of Budgie - Burke Shelley alongside Steve Williams - the drummer who was onboard since 'Bandolier', released in 1975 - and of course Simon Lees on guitar.

This bootleg is nothing short of brillant. The track listing for this gig covers all the standard tracks like "Breadfan", "Turn To Stone" and "Panzer Division Destroyed" but there is one special gem included that doesn't normally turn up on  live bootlegs - "Black Velvet Stallion". Lees sound affects at the start of this mystical power ballad are awesome, and only serves to reaffirm why he was chosen to fill the shoes of John Thomas, after Andy Hart's short stay.

Lees joined Budgie in February 2003 and recorded seven songs with the band which would later appear as bonus tracks on four of Budgie's remastered albums.  During 2005 and 2006, he co-wrote and recorded the Budgie album 'You're All Living in Cuckooland' (2006), with bassist and singer Burke Shelley at his studio in Cardiff. Lees played classical guitar on "Black Velvet" for the remastered Budgie album, 'If I Were Brittania I'd Waive the Rules'. He eventually left Budgie in July 2007, and was replaced by current axeman Craig Goldy (see above)

There are a few drop outs here and there in the show, but overall the quality of the recording is Soundbaord standard.
The rip is in MP3 format (320kps) and full artwork is included. This gig was recorded at the Roxy Theatre in Northampton PA USA in 2004 and was one of their last gigs in the US before heading off to Poland.  For a full tour listing by Budgie with Simon Lees as their axeman, see Budgie's Fan Club Website
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Track Listing
CD1
01 - Intro (4'33)
02 - Panzer Division Destroyed (7'35)
04 - Gunslinger (6'26)
05 - Crime Against The World (5'57)
06 - I Turned To Stone (6'38)
07 - Black Velvet Stallion (9'10)
08 - In For The Kill / Rape of the Locks / Guts / (12'14)
09 - Nude Disintegrating Parachutist Woman (3'32)
10 - Zoom Club (7'37)
CD2
01 - Napoleon Bona Part One - Part Two (10'13)
02 - Parents (2'56)
03 - Breadfan / Guitar Solo / Whiskey River / (12'19)
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Budgie were
Burke Shelley (Vocals, Bass)
Simon Lees (Guitar)
Steve Williams (Drums)
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Budgie Live Link (213Mb) New Link 24/10/2015
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Black Sabbath - Live In Australia, Brisbane (25-04-2013) Bootleg

(U.K 1968–2006, 2011–Present)
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Over the past four decades, there have been various Black Sabbath lineups, and Ozzy Osbourne has also had a successful solo career since the release of 1980's Blizzard of Ozz. There was an attempt in 2001 by the original members to record an album with producer Rick Rubin but it came to nothing. Now, sufficient water has passed under the bridge to make them (minus Ward due to contractual wrangles) eager to make it work. It still felt, Rubin has said, "like being in a cage with a lion, keeping them calm", but the results, they agree, were worth it. Their new album '13' sounds more like Black Sabbath than any album since 1973's 'Sabbath Bloody Sabbath' (and my personal favourite by far). Osbourne says 13 is the most important record of his career. 

It’s hard to imagine that nearly forty years have passed since the founders of heavy metal, Black Sabbath, graced our fine shores. Whilst Sabbath reunions themselves are somewhat of an event in themselves, the fact that they’ve finally made it Down Under this time around is nothing short of a miracle.
Sabbath have just completed multiple shows in all major cities around Australia during April and May and I have managed to source an A+ bootleg of the Brisbane Concert, held on the 25th April at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre.
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Gig Review 1
by Jody MacGregor

Jody MacGregor spends a night in the company of a cackling, cuckooing paranoid Ozzy Osbourne at Black Sabbath’s first Australian show since 1974.
I almost didn’t go to see Black Sabbath. What if Ozzy Osbourne is the same mumbling shambles on stage he was in The Osbournes? What if he’s back on the drugs and drifts through the night in a half-aware haze? What if my precious youthful memories of listening to Sabbath and being disaffected are tainted forever?
I shouldn’t have worried. From the opening of "War Pigs" on wards he sings exactly like you want him to. He cackles like a witch with a mouth full of baby fingers and he says “Oh Lord Yeah” like Ozzy Osbourne says “Oh Lord Yeah!”
The tightness of the rest of the band is less surprising, though still impressive. Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler have been doing this forever, and Tommy Clufetos has drummed for Ozzy’s solo tours enough to be down with all this stuff (he’s not the guy who drums on their new album though: that’s Brad Wilk from Rage Against the Machine).

  “Ozzy cackles like a witch with a mouth full of baby fingers.”

During "Into the Void" Ozzy dunks his entire head in a bucket of water, which he’ll later pour over the Songs from their first two albums get the most play, although they pull one or two from all over the place. "Snowblind" from Black Sabbath Vol. 4 (“Here’s a song about something we don’t do anymore because we’re too fucking old!”) gets an outing, and so do two new songs from 13. Both fit seamlessly alongside the classics, even though Ozzy briefly forgets the name of the second one.
"Fairies Wear Boots" sounds ridiculously heavy, everything crashing together like pealing church bells. Ozzy takes a deserved break after that for an instrumental version of "Symptom of the Universe". Nice as it would have been to have original drummer Bill Ward be part of this line-up, having a younger man on the team comes in handy when he plays a lengthy drum solo so the older men can finish off a cup of tea backstage. The crowd are into it, shouting every time Clufetos raises his sticks as if he’s finished before bringing them back down for another bash.

The full band return for "Iron Man", which is obviously loved, but so are lesser numbers like "Dirty Women". Somebody even throws a bra on stage during that one, which Ozzy gleefully puts on, first on his chest and then wrapped around his head like Princess Leia’s buns. When he says “I want to see ’em!” again I’m pretty sure he’s still talking about our hands in the air, but one lady in the crowd gets her breasts out anyway.

They save "Paranoid" for the encore because of course they bloody do, and it’s amazing because of course it bloody is. I’m ashamed to have doubted.

Gig Review 2
by Andrew McMillen

There are surprisingly few frills to tonight’s stage production. At the back, a giant video screen is intercut by what might be intended to be spiderwebs. A smaller video screen sits beneath the tall drum riser. There's coloured lights and strobes. No pyrotechnics. Two men perched up in the rafters ensure that twin spotlights remain on the singer at all times. A handful of cameramen track the players for the big screen, alongside occasional file footage of atom bombs exploding and some sort of cheesy-looking undead. There's no shortage of religious iconography: crosses etched into the guitarist’s fretboard, a big gold bastard hanging from his neck. One of his guitar straps bears his surname in bold font. As if everyone in this room doesn't already know it.

To think that an industrial accident nearly robbed us of one of the finest and most original guitarists of all time. Tony Iommi doesn't do much more on stage than eke out riff after evil riff, custom thimbles fitted snugly over the tips of his stumpy middle fingers, occasionally peering over his blue specs and throwing up the horns to his disciples in the front row. I'm seated on his side of the stage, so I've got nearly two hours to watch closely. He gives off an avuncular air of quiet confidence, and wears his smart leather jacket throughout. I've seen a few guitarists in my time, but this man is in a class of his own. The singer occasionally prostrates himself before Black Sabbath’s sole continual member; he refers to him as “the real ‘Iron Man’”, and waves his arms in that classic we-are-not-worthy pose.

Indeed Ozzy Osbourne is as enthusiastic as any 64 year-old on the planet. The close-up camera shots show him reading from a teleprompter, straining to recall which syllables to place the emphasis on. Who gives a good goddamn shit, though? That he's still living and breathing without the help of machines is commendable, especially since he was back on the sauce and blow as recently as last February. This crowd loves him for the caricature he has long been. How many musicians can throw their lives open to the fickle, vain world of reality television and still command respect like this man? Which other 64-year old singer’s rider includes a bucket of water – regularly used to dunk one’s head into, and/or throw onto the front rows – black nail polish, and waterproof eyeliner?

Geezer Butler is an unassuming bassist if ever there was one, yet he’s stacked every song so full of clever, tricky phrasing that he rarely has time to look up and acknowledge that he’s playing to a full room of 13,000. Tom Larkin – drummer of touring support act Shihad – was spot-on when he described Butler’s dextrous playing as “wrestling his bass like it’s a live eel”. (Worth noting: Shihad were strong earlier, their set a half-hour of power consisting of songs spanning 1993 –'Factory', 'Screwtop' – to 2002’s 'Comfort Me'.)

Behind the kit is not founding stickman Bill Ward but a skinny workhorse named Tommy Clufetos. He's a flashy player, too – arms raised high at every opportunity, emphasising each cymbal crash – probably owing more to the occasion of playing with these three legends than musical necessity. He's smooth, though, no doubt. His drum solo is backed by the most intense multi-colour strobe light display I've ever experienced. Epileptics beware.

The song selection and set structure is immaculate, though the two tracks from their forthcoming album 13 go down like the proverbial zeppelin. Hardcore fans will find it tough to bitch about the breadth of material covered, all performed with verve and precision. If a weak link must be nominated, it’s Osbourne's wavering octaves and drill-sergeant demeanor. Students of their 1998 live album Reunion have already heard every bit of stage banter in his repertoire. (The setlist isn’t dissimilar, either.) I would've thought that there’s only so many times a crowd could be asked to SHOW ME YOUR FUCKIN' HANDS! before the novelty wore off, but this lot are a dedicated and willing bunch. 39 years between Australian tours speaks for itself, I suppose. And if there's one man in metal worth showing your hands to, it's Mr Osbourne.
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This post consists of an MP3 rip (320kps) of a soundboard recording taken from their Brisbane show (sourced from Musictravellerstwo.blogspot with thanks) along with full album artwork (thanks to LiborioFriki).  Most of the concert photos depicted in this post were sourced from Charly Cameron with gratitude. The quality of this recording is outstanding and the band was certainly on fire this night. This is a 2CD set.

Remember Me !

Black Sabbath Brisbane set list
01 - War Pigs
02 - Into the Void
03 - Under the Sun
04 - Snowblind
05 - Electric Funeral
06 - Black Sabbath
07 - Behind the Wall of Sleep
08 - N.I.B.
09 - End of the Beginning
10 - Fairies Wear Boots
11 - Symptom of the Universe (Instrumental)
12 - Drum Solo
13 - Iron Man
14 - God Is Dead?
15 - Dirty Women
16 - Children of the Grave
Encore:
17 - Paranoid (with “Sabbath Bloody Sabbath” intro) 
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Black Sabbath Link (237Mb) New Link 17/12/2023

The Beatles - Rare Beatles (1982)

(U.K 1960-70)
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This album was released in 1982 on the Phoenix label. A ten track stereo vinyl LP compiling live recordings made at Hamburgs Star Club in December 1962, it is housed in a picture sleeve with a tinted colour version of a classic Dezo Hoffmann photograph, making it look almost like a bootleg - however this is an official release.
The album collects some recordings made by Ted Taylor at the Star Club in Hamburg, probably in December 1962. These recordings were made on a portable machine, so the sound quality is somewhat mediocre.
There were two releases: one in the UK and one in France; this is the UK release from January 22, 1982. There are ten songs, none of which were written by any of the Beatles themselves (ie.all covers) and were recorded at the Star Club in Germany.
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The Beatles first visited West Germany in late 1960 when the group's line-up was still John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Stuart Sutcliffe (who was to die tragically young) and drummer Pete Best. Playing in Hamburg either made or broke every Liverpudlian beat group that worked there but it was soon obvious to everyone that this was one group which would be going places. After returning to Liverpool in early 1961 to do a residency at the now-legendary Cavern Club, the Beatles made a second trip to Hamburg in April 1961 during which visit they recorded several titles with Tony Sheridan for a German Record Company. It was during one visit to Hamburg that these tapes originated and, as luck would have it, although Ringo Starr did not officially join the group until August 1962, which was just about the time the Beatles were having their first recording sessions for EMI, he happened to be 'sitting in' for Pete Best on the very night that Ted Toylor decided to make some recordings with his portable machine.

The Beatles In Hamburg

No matter how many thousands of words were written about the Beatles, the only way for anyone to appreciate their full appeal is to listen to the music. It explains everything. The Beatles' music has managed to span every generation and as ambassadors of pop, no one is likely to beat them. The Star Club recordings tell all. The music is raw, vital and exciting and goes a long way to demonstrating why John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr become such musical legends. The humor, the sheer talent and the audience excitement almost hits you in the eyes...
Until now these tapes have been heard by no more than a handful of people but it is right that these Hamburg moments should be shared with the millions of Beatles fans worldwide. Four years ago the respected British pop musk magazine Melody Maker reviewed the Hamburg tapes as they were in their original state and declared that the music neither injured the reputations of the artists or insulted the intelligence of the listeners. The writer declared that the recordings were a "unique and important announcement" of the most musical unit of the lost decade. More than that they are history and provide the best insight into the early life of the Beatles which most people had thought lost for good.
[Sleeve notes by Chris White London, March 1977]
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The Star Club Recordings
The first release of tapes from The Beatles German stage show recorded 31st December 1962.
These tapes were recorded by Adrian Barber on a mono Grundig reel-to-reel tape recorder using a hand-held microphone. He had been asked to make recordings by Ted "Kingsize" Taylor, a Liverpool singer who sung with the Dominos. Once the Beatles has some commercial success, Taylor offered these tapes to Brian Epstein, but Brian would only offer as much as ?20 for them as he felt they had no commercial value. Little did Brian realise, but the tapes did in fact legally belong to Parlophone anyway, as they had been made AFTER the signing to E.M.I. of their contracts, but there was some confusion over the date of recording of the tapes. Although, once again, listening to them, it was clearly December 1962 ... John mentions Christmas between songs, and Buddy Holly's "Reminiscing" had only just been released in late 1962.

They then lay in derelict offices until 1972 when they were found under piles of rubbish by Allan Williams who had managed the Beatles before Brian. Williams offered the tapes to George and Ringo for $5,000, but at that time Apple were going through financial difficulties so they too turned them down.
.After spending $50,000 on cleaning up the sound, and transferring them to 16-track tapes, Williams found a buyer and the first release was in Germany. Immediately the Beatles sued, but lost the case because the judge ruled that the tapes were of historical interest, they were not trying to fool anyone by pretending it was a new release (the records clearly stated "old recordings"), and, the Beatles should have sued earlier and not left it until a release was imminent.

33 songs are apparently on the tapes, but 26 only appeared on the release. But the U.K. version of this album (and German version) had 4 tracks different to the U.S. version, which of course meant that the four "missing" songs in the U.K. often turn up as long lost rarities. The missing four were :
"Where Have You Been All My Life"
"Sheila"
"I'm Gonna Sit Right Down And Cry Over You"
"Till There Was You".
Two other tracks were alternate versions of "To Know Her Is To Love Her" and "Roll Over Beethoven", which obviously weren't required as the best versions were used.
This means one track is left, "My Girl Is Red Hot" which has never appeared anywhere !

Unfortunately, the finished article caught the Beatles just as they were about to release "Please Please Me" in Britain, and clearly the thoughts were on home. Their lack of enthusiasm comes across in the introductions and comments between the songs and of course the recording quality is still very poor.
BUT this is an essential historic document.
In 1981, after the Lingasong release was deleted, the rights to the tapes were again sold and again were treated to a further re-mix providing a bit clearer sound yet again. But the new owners Audio-Fidelity spoilt re-releases with cheap packaging and labelling errors. The pictured sleeve is the original release on Bellaphone catalogue number BLS 5560 as this came out one month earlier and I had already purchased this version. The first C.D release was 16th December 1985, all 30 tracks on Overseas Records, catalogue no. 38CP-44 [extract from Graham Calkin's Beatles Pages, 2006]

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This post consists of an MP3 rip (320kps) taken from my near mint vinyl and includes full album artwork plus label scans. Although the quality of the recording is average, one must keep in mind when these tapes were made and the limitations of the recording equipment at that time.
If you haven't heard any early Beatles material before, then this album is a great place to start, with all tracks being covers by artists that the Fab Four looked up to when they were starting out.

Track Listing
01. Be-Bop-A-Lula
02. Long Tall Sally
03. Your Feets Too Big
04. Im Gonna Sit Right Down And Cry Over You
05. Where Have You Been All My Life

06. Sheila
07. Hallelujah I Love Her So
08. Till There Was You
09. Kansas City/Hey Hey Hey Hey
10. I Remember You

The Beatles:
John Lennon: vocals, electric guitar, acoustic guitar
Paul McCartney: vocals, bass guitar
George Harrison: vocals, electric guitar, acoustic guitar
Ringo Starr: vocals, drums

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Rare Beatles Link (52Mb)  New link 16/12/2023
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The Beatles - Live At The Hollywood Bowl (1977)

(U.K 1960-70)
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So much has been said and written about the Beatles -- and their story is so mythic in its sweep -- that it's difficult to summarize their career without restating clichés that have already been digested by tens of millions of rock fans. To start with the obvious, they were the greatest and most influential act of the rock era, and introduced more innovations into popular music than any other rock band of the 20th century. Moreover, they were among the few artists of any discipline that were simultaneously the best at what they did and the most popular at what they did. Relentlessly imaginative and experimental, the Beatles grabbed a hold of the international mass consciousness in 1964 and never let go for the next six years, always staying ahead of the pack in terms of creativity but never losing their ability to communicate their increasingly sophisticated ideas to a mass audience. Their supremacy as rock icons remains unchallenged to this day, decades after their breakup in 1970.

The Beatles' only official live album was recorded over three nights at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, in 1964 and 1965. George Martin had originally wanted to record The Beatles' concerts at New York's Carnegie Hall on 12 February 1964, during their first US visit. Although Capitol Records agreed, he was denied permission by the American Federation of Musicians.

As the effects of Beatlemania became all pervasive, the label decided to release a live album to capitalise on The Beatles' US success. During their first full American tour Capitol agreed to record the group's concert at the Hollywood Bowl on 23 August 1964. George Martin was at the venue, working with Capitol Records' producer Voyle Gilmore on the recording. The concert was seen by 18,700 people.

    "George Martin made such a speech. It sounds like he changed it but I doubt it. There's not much he could do. It was recorded on three-track machines with half-inch tapes. The Hollywood Bowl has a pretty good stereo sound system so we plugged our mikes right in there. I didn't do an awful lot. There wasn't much we could do. They just played their usual show and we recorded it. It wasn't that bad. I kept thinking, 'Maybe we'll get permission to release the tapes.' So I took them back to the studio and worked on it a while. I worked on the applause, edited it down, made it play and EQd it quite a bit.  

The Beatles heard it and they all wanted tape copies. I had five or six copies made and sent over. That's where the bootlegs must have come from. We had a system at Capitol and we knew where all our copies were. The Beatles said they liked the tapes, that it sounded pretty good, that they were surprised but they still idn't want to release it.
I thought the first concert was a little better than the second. I don't know if I would have put them together like they did because doing it that way they have sacrificed an album. They really could have made two albums".  [Voyle Gilmore 1977]


The album
Although they had hoped the 1965 recordings would be better than the previous year's, Capitol decided that the quality was insufficient for release. The tapes remained in the record company vaults for several years, and in 1971 were given to Phil Spector to see if an album could be prepared. However, Spector's work came to nothing, and the tapes remained unreleased for several more years.

"Capitol called me a few months back and asked if I could help find the tapes in the library and, of course, I knew right where they were. They wanted to get permission to put them out and thought it would be useful if George Martin was involved, since he knew the boys and had made all their other records".  [Voyle Gilmore, 1977]

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In the mid-1970s Capitol president Bhaskar Menon gave George Martin the tapes and asked him to compile an official live album. Although impressed with The Beatles' performances, he found the sound quality disappointing. Nonetheless, in January 1977 he began working with studio engineer Geoff Emerick to clean up the master tapes and assemble a set of songs for release.

    "Bhaskar Menon, the president of Capitol Records, is an old friend of mine. He mentioned these tapes to me and asked whether I would listen to them because capitol was thinking of releasing an album. My immediate reaction was, as far as I could remember, the original tapes had a rotten sound. So I said to Bhaskar, 'I don't think you've got anything here at all.'
    There have been an awful lot of bootleg recordings made of Beatles concerts around the world and they've been in wide circulation. But when I listened to the Hollywood Bowl tapes, I was amazed at the rawness and vitality of The Beatles' singing. So I told Bhaskar that I'd see if I could bring the tapes into line with today's recordings. I enlisted the technical expertise of Geoff Emerick and we transferred the recordings from three-track to 24-track tapes. The two tapes combined 22 songs and we whittled these down to 13. Some tracks had to be discarded because the music was obliterated by the screams." [George Martin]

The recordings were transferred to 24-track tapes to be edited, filtered and equalised. No redubbing of voices or instruments took place. Eventually an album was assembled consisting of recordings from all three Hollywood Bowl concerts.

Six songs were included from the 23 August 1964 concert tapes: Things We Said Today, Roll Over Beethoven, Boys, All My Loving, She Loves You and Long Tall Sally.

Due to an error, the tracklisting for The Beatles At The Hollywood Bowl lists all the recordings as dating from 1964 or 30 August 1965. However, three of the songs - Ticket To Ride, Dizzy Miss Lizzy and Help! - originated from 29 August 1965. Unfortunately a technical fault left Paul McCartney's vocals and introductions inaudible during the first four songs of the first 1965 show, rendering a substantial portion of the recordings unusable.

Five songs from 30 August 1965 appeared on The Beatles At The Hollywood Bowl: Twist And Shout, She's A Woman, Dizzy Miss Lizzy, Can't Buy Me Love and A Hard Day's Night. The album version of Dizzy Miss Lizzy was a composite edit incorporating parts of the 29 and 30 August performances.

Some of The Beatles' on-stage announcements were inconsistent when presented in album form. A Hard Day's Night and Help! are both referred to as their latest albums, owing to the different recording dates.  [extract from beatlesbible.com]
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This post offers two choices for download. Nevertheless, both contain MP3 rips (320kps) from my Near Mint Vinyl and full album artwork for both LP and CD.  Alternative covers are also included (see below)
The first post consists of two MP3 files, each taken from a side of the album without track breaks. Because each song runs into the next, with some banter by the boys in between, the full atmosphere of the recording is retained.
The alternative post consists of separate MP3 files for each of the songs, however, the breaks are not always seamless, and therefore the concert atmosphere is somewhat disjointed in this version.
Either way, this is a classic recording of the Fab Four in their hey day, when Beatlemania was at its peak.
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Tracklisting 
Side A
01 - Twist And Shout

02 - She's A Woman
03 - Dizzy Miss Lizzy
04 - Ticket To Ride
05 - Can't Buy Me Love
06 - Things We Said Today
07 - Roll Over Beethoven 
Side B
08 - Boys
09 - A Hard Day's Night
10 - Help!
11 - All My Loving
12 - She Loves You
13 - Long Tall Sally

The Beatles were:

John Lennon: vocals, electric guitar, acoustic guitar
Paul McCartney: vocals, bass guitar
George Harrison: vocals, electric guitar, acoustic guitar
Ringo Starr: vocals, drums

The Beatles Live - Side A / B (80Mb) New Link 12/04/2025

The Beatles Live - Separate Tracks (80Mb) New Link 26/06/2022
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