Johnny Winter, Muddy Waters & James Cotton – Live at the Music Hall, Boston, MA – February 26, 1977

https://we.tl/t-4VIKq9yLtv

If I had to choose the very best shows from the hundreds or thousands of hours of live music in my collection, this show would easily make the top 10. Johnny Winter, Muddy Waters & James Cotton broadcast live on WBCN in Boston, promoting Muddy’s then newly released ‘Hard Again’ album. This is a raucous, high energy affair and you can hear that these gentlemen are elated to be on stage together. This show is an absolute blast to listen to!

Click the links above to download this show from WeTransfer. Unzip > Import to iTunes (or your preferred music player) > Enjoy!

Willie Nelson & Leon Russell – Live at the Capitol Theatre, Passaic, NJ – April 1. 1979

https://we.tl/t-qGiLKI5Ych

I’m happy to share with you one of the very best shows I’ve come across in my years of collecting live music. Willie Nelson & his band with Leon Russell recorded and broadcast live by WNEW-FM in New York City. This was received as an unmarked bonus disc in a CDR trade I made around 2001 or 2002. I can’t even remember what else I traded for at the time but I wasn’t particularly a fan of Willie Nelson’s music. This show quickly made me one. Willie & his band crank out one song after another, pausing only once for introductions. Leon Russell fits right in on the piano and is featured on vocals during the middle of the set. This is Willie’s show though and you can hear that the audience is absolutely pumped to be hearing this high energy concert.

There are lots of tunes about drinking so pour yourself a drink or four while listening to this fantastic set!

Click the links above to download this show from WeTransfer. Unzip > Import to iTunes (or your preferred music player) > Enjoy!

Hi, Folks.

If you’ve enjoyed any of the music I’ve provided since 2015, please consider a donation to help me pay for the fees and equipment costs associated with keeping this blog up and running. You can find me on Venmo at @Matt-Frawley. That’s me in the picture playing the red keyboard.

Thanks for you support,

Matt

Misty In Roots – Live at the Paris Theatre, London, England – May 11, 1983

https://we.tl/t-9c7AOXVYHA

One of the most overlooked groups in Reggae, Misty In Roots recorded several sessions for BBC Radio in the 1970s and 1980s. This session features the band in fine form, showing off their exquisite melodies and harmonies throughout.

Click the links above to download this show from WeTransfer. Unzip > Import to iTunes (or your preferred music player) > Enjoy!

It’s difficult to come up with anything that hasn’t already been written about Chick Corea’s passing and the mark he made not only on Jazz but on Rock and World Music as well. Whether he was performing in a trio setting with his ‘Akoustic Band’ or firing out synth leads or funky chords on the Fender Rhodes opposite Al DiMeola’s scorching guitar in Return To Forever, Chick Corea’s playing was unique, lively and beautiful.

My first exposure to Chick’s work was listening to the 1972 Return To Forever album on ECM in my college library. His latin tinged octaves on the Fender Rhodes sounded so festive over Airto Moreira’s airy drumming and Flora Purim’s haunting vocals. It was some of the most beautiful music I’ve ever heard and still is to this day.

I’d like to present as a tribute to Chick Corea, two of my favorite shows of his from my collection:

Return To Forever – Live in Gothenburg, Sweden on January 22, 1975

https://we.tl/t-3HnMkNCdzD

Here we have Return To Forever shortly after Al Dimeola was recruited and the band is positively smoking, funky and tight as hell. Fusion didn’t get much better than this. Missing their reunion shows in 2008 is one of my greatest musical regrets.

Chick Corea Akoustic Band – Live in Belgrade, Yugoslavia on October 1, 1987

https://we.tl/t-YXpQIuOiKJ

Chick joined up with Dave Weckl and John Pattitucci from his ‘Elektric Band’ for dates in 1986 and 1987 before releasing the Chick Corea Akoustic Band album in 1989. Piano trios are usually always at least easy on the ears but there’s something that always grabs me about this show when I put it on that makes me listen all the way through.

Click the links above to download these shows from WeTransfer. Unzip > Import to iTunes (or your preferred music player) > Enjoy!

Robert Palmer – Live at the Savoy-Tivoli in San Francisco, CA, April 6, 1976

A fine show from back in the days when Robert Palmer wore his preferences for Funk, Reggae and Soul on both sleeves. Palmer’s first tour of the United States in 1976 brought him to San Francisco, where he performed four shows in two days at the Savoy-Tivoli. KSAN-FM broadcast this set on the 6th and it ended up being one of the station’s most acclaimed broadcasts. The song selection and tight-as-hell backing band make this a can’t-miss show.

Click the link below to download this folder from WeTransfer. Unzip > Import to iTunes (or your preferred music player) > Enjoy!

https://we.tl/t-0VgdmENLof

Little Feat – Live at the Auditorium Theatre, Rochester, NY – October 18, 1975

I give you another old favorite from my collection, Little Feat at the pinnacle of the Lowell George era playing an outstanding set in Rochester, NY. I believe this was the very first show I ever traded for on CDR back in the late ’90s and it still gets plenty of play time all these years later.

The band is at their tight and funky best here. Lowell George and Bill Payne particularly shine with powerful slide guitar and keyboards, respectively. If you haven’t sampled Lowell George era Little Feat, do yourself a favor and grab this. You won’t be disappointed.

Click the link below to download this folder from WeTransfer. Unzip > Import to iTunes (or your preferred music player) > Enjoy!

https://we.tl/t-phswUGOWxk

Sting w/Jerry Garcia – Live At RFK Stadium, Washington DC – June 26, 1993.

Sting and his excellent band (Dominic Miller on guitar, Vinnie Caliouta on drums and David Sancious on keys) opened for The Grateful Dead during their Spring tour in 1993. This is another classic set recorded by a member of The Grateful Dead’s lighting crew from the soundboard, at RFK Stadium in Washington DC. Jerry Garcia would often sit in on a song or two during these opening sets and he obliges here, adding some beautiful flourishes to ‘Walking On The Moon’ and some gutsy blues licks to ‘Consider Me Gone.’

I’ve had this set in my collection since about 2003 and it’s another favorite of mine. I find it particularly fun to listen to while driving…fast!

Click the link below to download this folder from WeTransfer. Unzip > Import to iTunes (or your preferred music player) > Enjoy!

https://we.tl/t-lDHlnlRNPX

The Grateful Dead at the Huntington Civic Center, Huntington, WV on April 16, 1978.

I don’t typically include the music of The Grateful Dead or Jerry Garcia Band here as it’s readily available on many other blogs and trading sites. However, I rediscovered this show recently and remembered that it was one of my prized ‘import’ (bootleg) CDs back in the ’90s (a 2CD set titled ‘For The Faithful’ purchased at Second Coming records in Cambridge, MA for about $40).

The first set of this show is one of the very best of any year you’ll find. Take a listen and you’ll hear tight and focused renditions of just about every song played. The closing ‘Scarlet > Fire’ is a top shelf version. The second set, while not as exploratory as others, is also very well played with prime versions of ‘Estimated Prophet’ and ‘Iko Iko.’

If you’re in the mood for some vintage Dead that’s more about straight up rock and roll versus exploring the outer limits or improvisation, give this show a try.

Click the link below to download this folder from WeTransfer. Unzip > Import to iTunes (or your preferred music player) > Enjoy!

https://we.tl/t-kwsek598Ya

I’m happy to share one of my very favorite shows from my collection, Herbie Hancock and the Headhunters at the Jazz Workshop in Boston, MA on November 13, 1973. This blazing, hour long set was broadcast on WBCN-FM in Boston and features the group shortly after the release of their classic ‘Headhunters’ album. 3 of the 4 tracks from that album are played here, along with ‘Butterfly’ which would appear on their following release, Thrust, in 1974.

I’ve long cherished this recording since receiving it in a CDR trade back in 2000. The interplay featured here is truly cosmic, particularly on ‘Sly’ and ‘Butterfly’ which find the group occasionally drifting off into weirdness hardly related to the song structure only to come crashing back together in perfect time like they shared one brain. It’s truly mind blowing stuff and I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Click the link below to download this folder from WeTransfer. Unzip > Import to iTunes (or your preferred music player) > Enjoy!

https://we.tl/t-YNIsk161OE