There are some... perhaps many... who would argue that an act or artiste recorded live is when their true colours really emerge; no last-chance studio-saloon for overdubbing, re-working those vocal harmonies that went horribly off-key, re-recording a guitar solo because said guitarist was playing with maximum fretwork enthusiasm but minimal concentration by soloing all over the intricate bass-line – thus ruining an otherwise cracking rendition of song Y... and so forth.
Well, that is unless unscrupulous producer Z decides to employ all the gadgets at his or her fingertips that have, far too often over the past few years, turned real live recordings into a travesty bearing the name whereby 'recorded live' actually means it was replicated in the studio but the applause came from the night in question (and very often thats dubbed in too).
So... what do we have here..? Actually, this is as pure as it gets.
Yes, we fixed a couple of things; on one track from the JRB's (now legendary) Marquee appearances, Pete Hunt's bass-drum mic became detached and, quite literally, moved right to left across the stage. Pretty obviously, this rendered the track – as it stood – unusable... but, 'cos the performance was outstanding, how to fix it?
We (that is Jess, self and Richard Whittaker) sat there in the windowless gloom of FX – no one should be under the illusion that studios are all glamour – one Sunday afternoon, chewing on sandwiches, drinking a lot of coffee and scratching our heads. There was a soloution and it was going to take at least three hours: Richard took one, simple, bass-drum 'thud' out of the same song, recorded the previous night, and back into the track we wanted to use. This was done by replacing one note after another. Thud... thud... thud... Was that cheating... nope, we didn't think so.
On another tune we wanted to use, Bruce Roberts' guitar lead wasn't plugged in properly for the first thirty seconds or so; how did we fix that – same methodology. Thank goodness that the multitracks actually survived.
And now ladeeeez and gentlemen..., for your delectation – here is Jess... recorded live as live is...
1. Intro / The Alan Bown – Sourced from the ¼” Master and recorded September 19th 1966 live at The Marquee Club, London… segues into…
2. Reason To Change / The Jess Roden Band – Previously Unreleased, sourced from the 2” Multitrack and recorded May 20th 1976 live at The Marquee Club, London… segues into…
3. It’s Growin’ / The Alan Bown – Sourced from the ¼” Master and recorded September 19th 1966 live at The Marquee Club, London (from the only known Alan Bown club recording, originally issued on Side 2 of the seminal 1966 London Swings | Live At The Marquee LP, the A side featuring Jimmy James & The Vagabonds – although their performance was actually captured on a different night)
4. The Ballad Of Big Sally / The Jess Roden Band – Previously Unreleased, sourced from the 2” Multitrack and recorded November 30th 1976 live at Birmingham Town Hall (from one of the two shows that were recorded – the other being Leicester university – during the last JRB UK tour from which, ultimately, the Blowin’ album was released)
5. You Can Leave Your Hat On / The Jess Roden Band – Previously Unreleased, sourced from the 2” Multitrack and recorded November 30th 1976 live at Birmingham Town Hall
6. Down In The Valley / The Alan Bown – Sourced from the ¼” Master and recorded September 19th 1966 live at The Marquee Club, London
7. Can’t Get Next To You / The Jess Roden Band – Previously Unreleased, sourced from the 2” Multitrack and recorded May 20th 1976 live at The Marquee Club, London (the third and final night of the JRB’s residency at The Marquee that May and on a night when the temperature rose to such a degree that water was running down the walls; a collosal early-Summer thunderstorm broke overhead right as the final notes of that night’s performance played out).
8. Get To Steppin’ / The Jess Roden Band – Previously Unreleased, sourced from the 2” Multitrack and recorded September 18th 1974 live at The Lyceum, London (a Robert Parker tune, ‘Steppin’ was recorded at one of the earliest JRB shows – pre-Billy Livesey joining on keyboards – supporting Georgie Fame’s band at London’s legendary Lyceum)
9. In A Circle / The Jess Roden Band – Previously Unreleased, sourced from the 2” Multitrack and recorded November 20th 1976 live at Leicester University
10. Me And Crystal Eye / The Jess Roden Band – Previously Unreleased, sourced from the 2” Multitrack and recorded November 20th 1976 live at Leicester University
11. You Better Believe It / Jess Roden And The Humans – sourced from the WAV Master and recorded November 1st 1996 live at The Robin, Merry Hill, Birmingham
12. Miss US Dream / The Jess Roden Band – Previously Unreleased, sourced from the 2” Multitrack and recorded November 20th 1976 live at Leicester University
13. The Boomerang / The Alan Bown – Sourced from the ¼” Master and recorded September 19th 1966 live at The Marquee Club, London
14 & 15. All Night Long & Friend Of Mine / The Jess Roden Band – Previously Unreleased encore, sourced from the 2” Multitrack and recorded November 30th 1976 live at Birmingham Town Hall (the penultimate night of their final tour)
(All track selections subject to change and final clearances. Recording dates listed have been sourced from tape box information).
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2 comments:
There's something very satisfying - akin to archaeology perhaps - with being able to repair something with segments of what already exists, keeping it 'real'. I've done something similar myself, where an intro began and some one at the desk wasn't paying attention! - luckily, the intro section repeated later on (when the guy had woken up) and I dropped it into the beginning - saved! I can imagine your satisfaction when you'd pieced these gems together.
How and when can you pre order or order the package
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