Long Beach Arena
Long Beach, CA
September 26, 1977
Mike Millard Original Master Tapes via JEMS
1644 Edition
The Lost and Found Mike the MICrophone Tapes Volume 22
Recording Gear: AKG 451E Microphones (CK-1 cardioid capsules) > Nakamichi 550 Cassette Recorder
JEMS 2020 Transfer: Mike Millard Master Cassette > Nakamichi CR-7A (azimuth adjustment; Dolby On) > Sound Devices USBPre 2 > Audacity 2.0 capture > iZotope RX6 > iZotope Ozone 6 > Audacity > TLH > FLAC
01 Firebird Suite
02 Parallels
03 I’ve Seen All Good People
04 Close To The Edge
05 Wonderous Stories
06 Colours Of The Rainbow
07 Turn Of The Century
08 Tour Song: Long Beach
09 And You And I
10 Going For The One
11 Flight Jam
12 Awaken
13 Starship Trooper
14 Roundabout
Known Flaws:
-None
Intro 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 further details on how tapes in this series came to be lost and found again, as well as JEMS' history with Mike Millard, please refer to the notes in Vol. One: http://www.dimeadozen.org/torrents-details.php?id=500680
Until this year, 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 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 long 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.
Here is Rob’s account of how Millard’s master tapes were saved:
After Mike left us, I visited his mom Lia occasionally, usually around the holidays. She’d talk about the grandkids and show me pictures. She had no one to help out around the house so I did some minor improvements like fixing a kitchen shelf that collapsed and another time a gate that hadn’t worked for years.
After a few visits, I explained to Lia how the tapes were metal, up to 25 years old already and would eventually deteriorate. She agreed to let me take the tapes and make copies. We went into Mike’s bedroom and it was exactly like I remembered it when I was there years before. I loaded up every tape I could find and went to work copying them. Oldest first, some requiring “surgery.”
Months later when I was done copying, I compared what I had copied to a list Mike had compiled of his masters and realized there were many shows missing. I returned the tapes and asked Lia if we could see if there were any more somewhere else in the house. We went into a back bedroom and found a bunch of boxes filled with more original master tapes. I loaded them up, thanked Lia and left. This was the last time I would see her. I copied the rest of the tapes and stored the masters in a cool dry place until late last year when Jim R. reached out. We had known each other through Mike. After speaking with Jim and later BK who had tracked him down, I knew their partnership was the “right way” to get this music out to everyone who wanted it. I’m sure Mike would agree.
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Initially, Rob copied a large batch of Millard’s master cassettes to DAT and returned them to the house. The second time around, he was given a large portion of the cassette collection, different from what he had copied to DAT.
The first round of DAT transfers features some of Millard’s most famous recordings of Led Zeppelin, ELP, the Rolling Stones and Jethro Tull. The second traunch of actual cassette masters includes his captures of Yes, Genesis, Peter Gabriel, Rush and Pink Floyd.
As exciting as it is to access Millard’s masters of the shows we know and love, there are many new recordings in both batches from artists like Elton John, Queen, Thin Lizzy, Eric Clapton, The Who, the Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney, Fleetwood Mac, Tom Petty, Guns N’ Roses, Linda Ronstadt, David Bowie, the Moody Blues, U2 and more.
Even with an information gap in the mid ‘80s (when Millard was surely taping but there is no tape or written evidence as to what he captured), we have confirmed nearly 300 shows Millard did record. Of those, there are master cassettes for approximately 100 shows, DATs off masters of another 75 and first generation analog copies for 30-35. Collectively, that nearly quadruples the number of extant Millard recordings.
Our original master tapes series began with Pink Floyd, which you can find here:
http://www.dimeadozen.org/torrents-details.php?id=667745&hit=1
http://www.dimeadozen.org/torrents-details.php?id=667750&hit=1
Yes, Long Beach Arena, Long Beach, CA, September 26, 1977
We continue our series with another one of Millard’s most famous and beloved recordings, Yes at the Long Beach Arena 1977. Mike was a major Yes fan, recording them 12 times between 1974-1980 and making many marvelous tapes, but this one stands out for its closeness, clarity and a kind of deep saturation to the recording that puts it among his very best.
The 1977 US tour was dubbed Yesshows, Donovan was the opening act and the tour was in support of the album Going For The One released in July 1977. The live set featured all five songs from the album, plus classics like “Close To The Edge,” “I’ve Seen All Good People,” “Starship Trooper” and of course “Roundabout.”
Rick Wakeman was back on keyboards and he seemed to energize the band as performances from this tour have long been considered fan favorites. The playing here, captured so spectacularly by Millard, is breathtaking at times and if you’re a fan of Chris Squire you’re going to love this.
Millard’s recording has been around for years with at least four different versions in common circulation, making this release akin to the first master tape in our series, Pink Floyd Los Angeles ’75. Some of the circulating versions of Long Beach ’77 claim to be DAT sources directly off Mike’s master cassettes. We can’t confirm or deny those lineages and previous efforts do sound excellent, but we think the direct azimuth-adjusted transfer from the master is just that much clearer and full fidelity. Samples provided.
Here’s what Jim R recalled about that show:
Mike and I together attended the Yes concert at the Long Beach Arena on September 26, 1977. I pushed Mike in the wheelchair. We sat 7th row center on the floor, toward the back of our desired "sweet spot".
Yes was one of our favorite bands of all time (Rob included) and deserves to be at the forefront of releases of newly discovered Millard master recordings. Mike and I attended every Yes show we could. In fact, I met Mike at a Yes concert at the same venue, Long Beach Arena, back in March of 1974. And here we were 3 1/2 years later.
Mike and I also attended and recorded the two previous shows at The Forum a couple days before, on the 23rd and 24th. The band seems to be a little tighter on this night, possibly because of playing in a smaller venue. At the time, the Long Beach Arena sat about 3000-4000 fewer than the Forum.
As usual the sound quality at the venue was excellent. Yes used Clair Brothers, a premier sound company.
What made this tour special was the return of Rick Wakeman to the band. The previous tour in 1975 had Patrick Moraz on keyboards—sorry Pat but you do not cut it. I'm sure many Yes fans agree with this statement.
I took photos at the show, but the pictures were damaged just like Fleetwood Mac pictures taken less than a month before included in our previous volume. Same Kodak lab. We restored the Yes images as best we could. In a couple of the group shots you can see how the stage layout is reflected in Mike's stunning artwork on the cassette spines. A masterpiece. This kind of elaborate artwork is something Mike did often early on.
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JEMS is thrilled to partner with Rob, Jim R and Barry G 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. Rob kept these precious tapes under wraps for two decades, but once he learned of our methods and stewardship, he agreed to contribute the Millard DATs and cassettes to the program.
Our series would not happen without the support of our post-production lead mjk5510, whose essential work is the backbone of all JEMS projects.
In these difficult times we will attempt to accelerate our release schedule (which had been every other week) to put more music in your hands and ears while we are bunkered in. Please stay positive, help your neighbors, help strangers and let’s get to the other side of this intact.
Finally, cheers to the late, great Mike the MICrophone. May they rest in peace. Can’t wait to hear the heaven tapes someday.
BK for JEMS
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