It was the opening night of Yes’ three-night-stand at Madison Square Garden, and the crowd was ready. Rick Wakeman was back, and two weeks before the concert, the band had released Going for the One. I had already traveled to see Yes in Philadelphia on August 2 and 3 with two of my friends, and was now back on home ground, every bit as excited as if I hadn’t seen them yet. I had perfect seats – third row, between Anderson and Howe. I had friends all over the arena, and my Sanyo tape deck was ready for action. It had already produced two nice tapes from Philadelphia, and I knew how to time the tape-flips. The set list was more than we could have asked for. The older songs were celebrations, and the new material was stunning, especially Turn of the Century and Awaken. The only distracting chatter was during Close to the Edge, when we squeezed an extra person in our row. When you’re 19 and a pretty girl asks to share your seat, it’s hard to say no. It sure annoyed the photographer behind us though! My only friend to appear on this tape is Laurie. For her assistance with the tapes that night, and for her friendship those crazy years, I dedicate this tape to her, wherever she may be.
August 5, 1977
Madison Square Garden
New York, NY
USA
Recording Equipment: Internal Mic - Sanyo tape deck - TDK SD C90 - Alesis TapeLinkUSB - Audacity - WAV
Taper: Lostbrook
Mastering: CQ
1.01 Cheers (1.43)
1.02 Firebird Suite (3.01)
1.03 Parallels (6.26)
1.04 I've Seen All Good People (7.22)
1.05 Close To The Edge (20.54)
1.06 Wonderous Stories (4.58)
1.07 Colours Of The Rainbow (0.51)
1.08 Turn Of The Century (8.58)
2.01 And You And I (10.05)
2.02 Flight Jam (3.29)
2.03 Awaken (18.11)
2.04 Starship Trooper (14.48)
2.05 Roundabout (11.30)
2.06 Yours Is No Disgrace (17.12)
Tapers Story:
I first became enchanted by live performances after talking my way into the taping of
Dick Cavett’s Woodstock Show on August 18, 1969 at WABC studios in New York. This was
quite an accomplishment for an eleven-year-old without a ticket. My first major concert
was The Rolling Stones at Madison Square Garden on July 25, 1972. I was so impressed with
the enormity of that event that I jumped at the chance to acquire some of the vinyl bootlegs from the Exiles on Main Street tour. These recordings surely planted a seed in my mind, but unfortunately, I waited over 25 concerts before attempting my first recording in late 1975. Over the next ten years, I recorded approximately 125 concerts in the New York City area. In 1985, I moved to Virginia and recorded sporadically, accumulating a few dozen shows in the Washington DC area over the next 15 years.
My motive for taping has always been selfish. I simply wanted to enjoy the performances over and over again. I didn’t realize that I was recording both musical and personal history or that I was witnessing the high-water mark of progressive music. I thought it would last forever, but in the back of my mind, I must have known that I had something special. With one or two exceptions that I later regretted, I refused to trade tapes. Very few friends were ever given copies. I have never considered selling them – I have too much respect for the artists. I protected my tapes for decades, never knowing what to do with them as they sat dormant on a shelf. In 2010, I found the time to make digital transfers of my tapes and rediscovered the amazing moments I had recorded. I also found an answer: I needed to get these tapes to my friends that were with me, whose history I had also captured, and to others who would appreciate this collection.
My equipment was low-tech but yielded surprisingly good results. Almost all of my recordings prior to 1989 were made with the built-in condenser mic on a Sanyo desktop cassette recorder (model unknown). When the unit began to fail in 1977, I replaced it with what I thought was a better recorder, but the tapes were distorted. I quickly purchased a new Sanyo that was identical to my first and never again attempted an upgrade. In 1989, I bought a smaller, Walkman-type unit – a Panasonic RX-SR29, which performed nicely with its condenser mic. I was never interested in producing soundboard-quality tapes, and was almost always happy with my “souvenirs.” I used TDK tapes initially, then Maxell.
Recording a concert was always an adventure. Through trial and error, I arrived at the following procedure: To get past the ticket-takers, I wore loose pants and stuffed the recorder down the front where the odds of being frisked were minimal. I wore a loose t-shirt or sweatshirt to cover the “bulge” and held my breath. The dead batteries and cheap tape I kept in the recorder were occasionally confiscated, but my friends were already
inside with the real supplies. Once inside, I would meet my friends and exchange the batteries and tape. We had excellent seats for many concerts, but that put us in close proximity to ushers and stage security. We needed to be in a constant state of vigilance, and we were also busy with the timing of the tape-flips. I would occasionally take photographs with a cheap camera, which gave me additional equipment to juggle. Without fail, someone in my row would be in the wrong seat, and an usher would have to sort it out. It was all I could do to keep the recorder hidden without covering the microphone. It was always chaotic, but the reward was great as we listened to the concert again on the way home.
I’m indebted to all those who assisted and inspired me along the way: Gary, Steve, and Paul/Rich, Rob, and Paul/John, Sue, Al, and Rich/Jody, Laurie, Danny, and Martha/Geri and Allison/Howie and Linda/Kathryn. Thanks to Mike for all of his efforts. Most of all, thanks to my family – K, M, E, and B – for their support and patience.
You are cordially invited to enjoy these time capsules. There is always room for one more in our row, but if we are loud or talkative, please don’t judge us too harshly. We were swept away by the magic of the moment, and we hope you will be too.
Lost Brook
January 2011
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