Bob Dylan ‘Looking Back’ Volumes 1 + 2 (a WCF copy, #744/5)

An alternate insert for Volume 2 below:

 

 

bobsboots.com comments on Volume 1: “29A  In ’70 or ’71 Zimmerman records released a single LP of record 1 (The Royal Albert Hall show) of 28A. The cover was blank. A color printed insert was a reverse image of the original drawing with song titles added. labels were dark red with songs listed. Matrix : GM LP 744 ”

“29B  In ’70 or ’71 Berkley records released a copy of the 29A LP. They used the same insert on a gatefold cover. The quality, however, was inferior; with many bad presses. Blank labels. Matrix : LP 744″ They must be referring to the folder style re-issue, which I have been dating to ca. 1973/4

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And Volume 2: “30A  In ’70 or ’71 Zimmerman records released a single LP of record 2 (The ’63 & ’66 shows) of 28A. The cover was blank. A color printed insert was an image of the original drawing with song titles added. Labels were dark red with songs listed. This LP was copied and released as ‘While the establishment burns’
Matrix : LP 745 “

“30B  In ’70 or ’71 [ 1973/4] Berkley  records released a copy of the 30A LP. They used a mirror image insert on a gatefold cover.   Blank labels. 
Matrix : GM  745 ”

The ’28 A’ original bobsboots is referring to here, however that is a British version made in 1972, as they say, so how could it have been used tor a 1971 release?

So, let’s go back to the 1970 US original on Zerocks Records, the first time that Dylan’s 1966 Royal Albert Hall recording (actually from Manchester’s Free Trade Hall) was commercially made available in the US. RAH occupies two complete sides, one each per disc to allow stacking on automatic turntables. Another side has the Townhall 1963 concert and the last side has four tracks from the Adelphi in Dublin, also in May of 1966. 

bobsboots hated the artwork but loved the actual records: “Nicely done full printed labels. Good, heavy vinyl…great sound.”

Dittolini and TMOQ (first as the full double album using practically the identical artwork and as the aforementioned single album While The Establishment Burns). HOTWACKS states CBM did as well but this version has never turned up and been recorded in anyone’s research (“Raging Glory” by Dennis R. Liff, “Great White Answers” by Dominique Roques, “Bob Dylan – His Unreleased Recordings” by Paul Cable).

 

 

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GRATEFUL DEAD – AIN’T IT CRAZY (a WCF original?, #743)

The return of the “COMPATABLE (sic) FOR   STEREO” slogan not seen since the 713 – 715 releases.

 

The number of different labels indicates that the producers at WCF must have felt a lot more confident about this new entry into the Dead bootleg pool compared to Live Dead Spring Tour 1971.

Mid-Western USA: Mid-1971 – early 1972

Source: Likely taken from one or several of the April 25 – 29 1971 Fillmore East shows in 1971 (a compilation of these shows was officially released in 2000 as Ladies and Gentlemen… the Grateful Dead. “Ain’t It Crazy” is also known as “The Rub”. Rated as “Exm” in HW.

Here’s a link to locate and listen (and perhaps compare if you own this album) to these recordings: https://archive.org/details/GratefulDead?and%5B%5D=%22Fillmore+East%22+1971&sin=&sort=titleSorter

Plus another link describing the band’s attitude towards bootlegs at the time of this release: http://deadsources.blogspot.de/2013/11/august-26-1971-bootleg-battle.html

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WCF reissued this title ca. 1973/4 in a folder style cover that featured an image of the performers or artist on the back, in this case a Jerry Garcia cartoon. Although now a deluxe printed cover there was a noticeable loss of detail compared to the original slip sheets:

 

 

 

Janis Joplin ‘Get It While You Can’ (a WCF copy, # 740/1)

Another cover nicked from the “ratpack ink.” version (JJ-4). The track list nicked from yet another version, the one with the yellow cover and PVC color, supposed to be the original version:

 

 

 

Mid-western USA: Mid-1971 to early 1972

Source: Soundboard recorded at the Honolulu International Center Arena on 6 July, 1970.

A recording of this caliber was exactly what bootleggers needed following the surge of interest in Janis’ charisma as a live performer following her untimely passing.

At least four other different versions of this recording were released around this time on bootleg vinyl and have been discussed previously in this post.

 

 

‘LIVE DEAD SPRING TOUR 1971’ (a WCF original, # 739)

 

Upper mid-Western USA: 2nd half of 1971 / early ’72

A “medium rare” title that seems to have been pushed to the side by superior titles taken from radio broadcasts. It only seems to exist with a red slip sheet and b&w labels as shown.

Source: New Expo Convention Center, Milwaukee, WI on  21 March, 1971

https://archive.org/details/gd71-03-21.aud.cotsman.12074.sbeok.shnf

 

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For deeper reading on the topic of Dead live shows/taping/bootlegs there is no better place than this blog: 

http://lostlivedead.blogspot.de/2016/03/bootleg-grateful-dead-lps-east-and-west.html

Here’s an excerpt that is of particular interest:

“It seems like Dead bootleg LPs started popping up on the east coast in 1970 and 1971, probably after the Great White Wonder got written about in Rolling Stone in late 1969. But Dead bootlegs seemed to really start taking off in 1971, which is not coincidentally when the band themselves moved from being primarily an underground phenomenon into a band that played arenas in most parts of the country. I’m really fascinated by this period in Dead fandom, as the band was exploding but before the term “Deadhead” came into common use with the release of Skullfuck in October ’71 and before all the Deadhead norms of tape-trading and folklore became fixed parts of the world around the band. When Dead freaks were Dead freaks

Going by coverage in the [NYC underground newspaper] East Village Other, it seems like Dead bootlegs really exploded on the east coast the summer right before that. One show that was especially popular was from the KSAN broadcast of the October 4th, 1970 show at Winterland, the night Janis Joplin died. That sold especially well, since it came from an FM recording and sounded great, which was a pretty standard bootleg procedure even today with the new wave of bootleg LPs that have appeared with the so-called vinyl revival. Since the Dead and their friends really pioneered the act of live concert broadcasts (as you’ve pointed out!), you can maybe blame that aspect of bootlegging on them, too, sorta. A lot of the early bootlegs were totally white label, with no identifying information at all, so it’s only later that we’ve been able to identify them.

And the spring or summer of ’71 was when Marty Weinberg put out his first bootleg LP, too. Marty was the inventor of really high quality Dead concert taping. He was a brainiac boy genius who went to Bronx High School of Science and was a teenage member of the Audio Engineering Society, among other cool things. But he’d sneak a mono Uher into the Fillmore East and position himself on Garcia side. His techniques were actually pretty different from what tapers developed later, but his tapes became legendary among east coast Deadheads. The guitarist in the earliest Dead cover band I know about (John Zias from Cavalry) told me Marty’s tapes sounded dosed. But most of Marty’s friends didn’t own reel-to-reels, so he made an LP of his favorite jams from the fall of 1970, mostly from the Capitol Theater in Port Chester and some from the Fillmore East, and pressed up 500 copies, gave half away, and sold the other half. He never repressed it, but Marty’s LP got play on New York radio stations, and he was invited to appear as a guest on Bob Fass’s Radio Unnameable on WBAI, the hippest radio show in the city, where the Yippies first came together and Bob Dylan took calls on the air a few times.”

V.A. ‘WOODSTOCK NATION’ (a WCF original, # 738) + Canned Heat ‘THE REAL FUTURE BLUES ALBUM’

A. The original version, ca. 1971:

 

It’s almost shocking how much information there is on the back insert compared to the usual WCF modus operandi of “you got the song titles, what more do you want?”. There is just one issue here, while the title alludes to this possibly being a recording from Woodstock, it certainly fooled HOTWACKS, this is from a different festival recorded nine months later and I have a strong feeling that the producers knew this.

Source: Kickapoo Creek Rock Festival, May 30, 1970, in Heyworth, IL

“Despite the title and all the confusion it has caused, this LP was actually recorded the following year at the Kickapoo Creek Festival. There was an interview with the bootlegger available online a while ago. I haven’t been able to find it recently. In it he states that 37 reels were recorded from the soundboard, and that most or all of the reels were stolen. He did state that the album was produced in somewhere between 500 and 2000 copies, many of which did not come out. The remainder of the Canned Heat session was put out in Amsterdam under the title The Real Future Blues. A photo of that original is also attached. Of interesting note is that all known copies of Ted Nugent listed as being from Woodstock are just copies of this album. He never performed at Woodstock.” (thanks to Doinker for the images & background info)

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B. The first Reissue

“BANANAZ are BLACK.” is this an insider joke or a reference to the yellow PVC version of this release shown here (NR-1202)?

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The Canned Heat tapes pressed onto vinyl – if you have any further detail regarding this release, please leave a comment:

LP with blank white labels, matrix: SD 8476 / 8477

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Plus the gold/yellow wax copy NR-1195:

Better quality images needed.

Just one performance on side 2: A 16:30 minute version of “So Sad”.

A total of five Canned Heat songs are available spread across both releases.

 

THE WHO ‘INSTANT PARTY’ (# 736, WCF copy of a pirate) + M-171

I have only found this with this red slip sheet.

 

USA: 1971

A copy of the first Who underground/pirate release (not a bootleg as usually stated, as all tracks were taken from officially released UK 7″‘s) from 1971, the M-171 version of INSTANT PARTY:

Creating cover art by simply gluing two labels on, quite primitive but also quite intriguing, giving it an instant ‘test pressing’ look.

It does remind me of the April 1970 STONED AGAIN (RS-121 or 722 or 727) album I had shown in this previous post.

Track list:

A 1. I Can’t Explain & a 2. Bald Headed Woman: Likely taken from the US DECCA 45 from 1965
A 3. I’m A Man: Album track taken from My Generation
A 4. Daddy Rolling Stone: B-side to Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere in several countries but unreleased in the US in 1971
A 5. Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere: Likely taken from the US 1965 7″
A 6. Shout And Shimmy: B-side to My Generation 45 in several countries but not the US
A 7. Waltz For A Pig (instr.) credited to “The Who Orchestra” but none of them play on it, which becomes very apparent once played. Supposed to be Ginger Baker, Jack Bruce and Dick Heckstall-Smith: B-side to Substitute on the US ATCO 45 (also in other countries)

B 1. Substitute: A-side to A 7.
B 2, Instant Party (Circles): The original B-side of Substitute, which had its title changed and was then withdrawn due to their legal issues when the band broke their contract with Shel Talmy. thewho.info does not list a US release for this despite what the song’s wikipedia page claims.
B 3. Heat Wave; Album track from A Quick One
B 4. & B 5. The Last Time & Under My Thumb: This 1967 45 did not see a US release until many years later.
B 6. & B 7. Batman & Barbara Ann: From the Ready Steady Who EP – released in Canada but not the US – (which was probably also the source for Instant Party (Circles)).
B 8. Dogs: June ’68 single, not released in the US (perhaps due it only reaching # 25 in the UK

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A large number of these tracks repeat on the other Who pirate WCF did: THE WHO UNRELEASED (27)

 

JAMES TAYLOR ‘TAILOR MADE’ (WCF copy, # 733/4) + TMI version; “Isn’t it nice to be home again” (Rubber Dubber) plus ‘a KING and two JAMES’ (RI 3273)

Another singer songwriter whose success led to a number of bootlegs in 1971 was James Taylor.

Compared with the label below, we can see a discrepancy that the insert claims “Steamroller Blues” was moved to the end of side A, yet the label doesn’t list it. This may just be a case of WCF not bothering to correct TMI’s running order. Please leave a comment if you can confirm the correct running order on the discs.

Matrix / Runout: 734-A / B / C / D

Side A: Sweet Baby James (3:00) / I Feel Fine (3:08) / Hey Mister, That’s Me Up On The Juke Box (3:30) / Sunny Skies (2:46) / Chili Dog (1:51)
Side B: Riding On A Railroad (2:40) / Conversation (1:38) / Places In My Past (2:09) / You Can Close Your Eyes (2:25) / Soldiers (1:12) / Going To Carolina In My Mind (3:33) / Long Ago And Far Away (2:32)
Side C: Country Road (4:51) / Fire And Rain (3:46) / Sixteen Candles (1:46) / Love Has Brought Me Around (2:59) / Oh, Don’t You Know (2:42)
Side D: Steamroller Blues (5:08) / Come On Brother, Get On Up And Help Me Find The Screw (4:08) / The Promised Land (3:36) / Isn’t It Nice To Be Home Again (0:41) / “On Campus TV Special”: Fire and Rain; Country Road; Oh Susanna;  Sweet Baby James (9:30)

Track lengths, except for the very last item added to side D, which first appeared on the TMI Records version, are taken from “Isn’t it nice to be home again” and may not be accurate for the WCF copy.

Source: Live At The Anaheim Convention Center, Anaheim, CA, 21 March 1971; except for the On Campus special, Nashville Ryman Auditorium, broadcast 17 February, 1971.

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The Original by Rubber Dubber (71-014), likely the follow up to their famous Neil Young double and likely their final product. RD was raided in L.A. on September 9th & 14th ’71. This makes me wonder how fast their “recording to vinyl” cycle was; if it was fast, i.e. a release soon after the concert date, were there any other projects they did not get around to release or had they stopped for the time being? If it was slow, it would have meant that this had a street date closer to the summer of 1971.

In addition, unlike the earlier Rubber Dubber titles, no ‘white stamped cover’ version of this release seems to exist despite someone connected to the label claiming that those were always done first.

Above: The inner gatefold right panel text. Below, the photo on the opposite side:

 

 

HOTWACKS claims that Rubber Dubber also released this as TAILOR MADE but I believe they are mistaken.

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The first copy on this no label name outfit:

This was likely the first version moving the position of “Steamroller Blues” to the end of side A and adding the “On Campus” TV broadcast capture. WCF and CBM’s copy originate from this version (alternatively, CBM copied WCF’s copy).

A nice gesture among bootleggers: TMI thanking Rubber Dubber on the back cover.

Matrix / Runout: TMI-A / B / C / D

This was a short lived 1971 bootleg label that emphasized the quality of their cover art, down to what looks like gold-foil stickers.

Their only other titles I am aware of are Janis Joplin – GET IT WHILE YOU CAN (JJ-4)

and Carole King – FIT FOR A KING (KK-1/2):

This version is known as the “Sound Underground” version, due to the name used on the back and the labels. It’s the same recording as California Concert on Carnaby/CBM and HOTWACKS states: “Also available as Fit For A King (Sound Underground). On this label S1 is better quality [than on Carnaby/CBM].

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The CBM copy named IN DISNEYLAND (3272/3)

CBM seems to have only done a limited run of this title in 1972 (number-wise, it preceded their version of Cat Stevens – CATNIP, which in contrast they must have pressed a few thousands of). popsike recorded just three past auctions for this title. That being said, while researching if I can find better images I came across a website offering a copy for an incredible $150).

It is a lot more common as this tripe set on their early sub label Carnaby Records. It combines the JT Anaheim 71-03-21 recording with Carole King’s CALIFORNIA CONCERT

Matrix: RI 3272/3

The artwork uses elements of the IN DISNEYLAND and CALIFORNIA CONCERT inserts (or maybe it’s the other way around). Produced with Carnaby Records labels that are either half red & white or orange. Tries to pass itself off as a UK product with a Newcastle, England address but it was made in the US.

Below: The original version, the later reissue with pirate logo on the insert and labels is more common, of the Carole King album, showing the link between Carnaby Records and CBM:

 

 

HOTWACKS claims a CBM version named LIVE AT THE ANAHEIM CONVENTION CENTER exists, apparently with an insert listing track lengths. Does this really exist or is it another HW mistake?

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The Dittolino Discs single album version “FIRE & RAIN” with incorrect track list for side two

Apparently, the B-side does not have the five songs originally on side 3 of the double albums but the side two tracks (starting with “Riding On A Railroad”).

Matrix: TM-1-A / B

“Steamroller Blues” closing side A pointing back to the deluxe cover versions with TMI matrix.

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As always, any confirmations, corrections and general comments are welcome.