The fan recording of a concert is really an extension of taking snapshots of your heroes. Back in the 60s and 70s recordable media was just making its way into households as a consumer electronic device, either an expensive reel-to-reel deck or a convenient cassette recording deck. Just imagine sneaking one of those into a concert these days. More likely, the stealth recorder of choice today would be a mini-disc recorder or your handphone. Small enough to fit your pocket. But Michael Millard was different. He arrived early at concerts near his home, pulled out a wheelchair from the boot of his car and proceeded to wheel himself into the arena as an invalid. He managed to secure front row "seats", almost always front and center. Hidden underneath his wheelchair was a Nakamichi stereo cassette deck hooked up to two high-quality AKG mics. Security guards in those days were probably unaware of such goings on. His recordings were much sought after for their quality - capturing the expanse of the stage plus the great ambience of the halls. His close proximity eliminated any echo from his recordings. All the instruments recorded right off the front speakers. But Millard had a habit of marking his tapes when he copied them for another collector or fan. He would, for instance, lower the levels when transferring the audio to a VHS tape or lower the volume in mid-song when making a cassette copy. It has been said he detested bootleggers who pressed up his recordings onto vinyls or CDs to sell. To that end, he kept a log of all the trades he made with clear indications of what markings he did to the tapes. That way, he knew which of his trades were sent to bootleggers. He worked as a custodian in a public school. In a fit of depression, he committed suicide in 1990. His friends say he destroyed all copies of his Led Zeppelin recordings. These are what are now being traded back and forth. Millard was active from 1974 to the 80s and was said to have taped shows by Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Yes, The Rolling Stones, The Who, Jethro Tull and even Kansas. To date, we have never found a copy of his Who or Tull recordings. The non-Zeppelin masters are known to be in possession of Millards family. Hopefully, someday they will be shared again. This bootleg is VERY desirable as it is one of very few FULL 1975 concert boots available. It contains the best-existing versions of Dick Parry performing a saxophone solo in "Echoes" and the prototype "Raving and Drooling" and "You've Gotta Be Crazy", which would eventually become "Sheep" and "Dogs" respectively. After You Gotta Be Crazy, Dave Gilmour says "It was a cruel song.... But fair. The next tune we're going to do for you is another new number, it's called 'Shine On You Crazy Diamond'. It has something to do with Syd Barrett who some of you might remember..... & some of you probably won't." Simply one of the best performances from the 1975 US tour, here in far superior quality to any other bootleg available for this show. The first set is especially scintillating, and Rog's rant at security at the end of that set is priceless. Even the sax version of Echoes (which generally I am not a fan of) works beautifully here. If one were to pick out, say a half-dozen must-have Floyd ROIOs, this would be on my list. CD1 01 - Raving And Drooling 02 - You Gotta Be Crazy 03 - Shine On You Crazy Diamond I-V 04 - Have A Cigar 05 - Shine On You Crazy Diamond VI-IX CD2 01 - Speak To Me 02 - Breathe 03 - On The Run 04 - Time 05 - The Great Gig In The Sky 06 - Money 07 - Us And Them 08 - Any Colour You Like 09 - Brain Damage 10 - Eclipse 11 - Echoes Setlist: Recorder Check by Mike Millard Tuning and Intro Raving And Drooling (prototype to "Sheep" two years before it hit Animals-different lyrics) Tuning and Intro You Gotta Be Crazy (prototype to "Dogs" two years before it hit Animals-different lyrics) Tuning and Intro Shine On You Crazy Diamond (parts I-V) Have A Cigar Shine On You Crazy Diamond (parts VI-IX) Speak To Me Breathe On The Run Time The Great Gig In The Sky Money Us And Them Any Colour You Like Brain Damage Eclipse Tuning and Intro Echoes Type &fmt;=18 at the end of the URL for high quality sound and pix!

• published: 14 Nov 2008
• views: 3307