April 1, 1978Rockland CC
Suffern, NY
USA
Recording Equipment: Internal Mic - Sanyo tape deck - Alesis TapeLinkUSB - Audacity - WAV
Taper: Lostbrook
Mastering: CQ
01 Introduction
02 Eleventh Earl Of Mar
03 In The Cage
04 Burning Rope
05 Ripples
06 Deep In The Motherlode
07 The Fountain Of Salmacis
08 Down And Out
09 One For The Vine
10 Squonk
11 Say It's Alright Joe
12 The Lady Lies
13 Cinema Show
14 Afterglow
15 Follow You Follow Me
16 Dance On A Volcano
17 Los Endos
18 I Know What I Like
Tapers Story:
I first became enchanted by live performances after talking my way into the taping of
Dick Cavettís 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 didnít 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 ñ 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 ñ 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 ìsouvenirs.î 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 ìbulgeî 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.
Iím 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 ñ K, M, E, and B ñ 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 donít 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
