PAUL McCARTNEY - Hollywood, CA 2007

Nope, I wasn't there. I live about four blocks away from Amoeba Music in Hollywood, and I missed this historic in-store performance, supposedly the only one McC has ever done (at least back in the U.S.S.A.) I tried and failed, bet and lost...I also happen to have a job, which disqualified many people from even having a prayer of getting in. This thing was all about who could stand to wait in line longest, and for most that meant at least a couple of days baking in the summer sun. For me, not so much...

Plus, I've had the pleasure of seeing McC four times, twice at the Staples Center here and twice at the blessed Bridge School Benefit Concert up in Mountain View.

Anyway, some kind folks at KCRW-FM caught the history on tape for everyone who isn't Ringo, Jeff Lynne, Joe Walsh or anyone among the lucky 300 or so who managed to squeeze in.

PAUL McCARTNEY
Amoeba Music - Hollywood, CA - June 27, 2007 (FM)
DOWNLOAD 1 / DOWNLOAD 2

PINK FLOYD - Oakland, CA and Boston, MA 1977

Apologies for the weeks-long absence; too busy at work for tuneage. I shall make it up to you by posting the two absolute, paws-down best boots from Pink Floyd's hallowed Animals tour during that long-ago and far-away summer of '77. (They sure liked their firecrackers back then...)

What do you get for pretending the danger's not real? I'll let you answer and speak no more on the matter. Download these pups and double-dog dig 'em!

PINK FLOYD "Animal Instincts"
Oakland Coliseum - Oakland, CA - May 9, 1977 (AUD)
DOWNLOAD 1 / DOWNLOAD 2 / DOWNLOAD 3 / DOWNLOAD 4

PINK FLOYD "The Perfect Day"
Boston Garden - Boston, MA - June 27, 1977 (AUD)
DOWNLOAD 1 / DOWNLOAD 2 / DOWNLOAD 3

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN & THE E STREET BAND - Milan, Italy 2007

Leaving work now, gotta be brief. Bruce Springsteen's Magic is the Album of the Year, possibly his best ever, and IMHO one of the best ever recorded. That's how much I love the thing. "Girls in Their Summer Clothes" and "I'll Work for Your Love" might be the Boss' most staggering one-two punch since "Thunder Road" led into "Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out."

Today I present the best all-around boot so far from the still-rockin'-along-and-goin'-strong Magic Tour (which I hope to catch here in SoCal sometime this spring.) It's a perfect-quality audience recording; they're all talkin' Italian and stuff! And those gnocchi-eatin' freakazoids seem to adore Magic as much as I do, given how they sing along to every new song and know every word, despite English being their second language. That's, like, amore. It's a magical show. Presto!

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN AND THE E STREET BAND
Forum di Assago - Milan, Italy - November 28, 2007 (AUD)
DOWNLOAD 1 / DOWNLOAD 2 / DOWNLOAD 3 / DOWNLOAD 4

Get to Work! All of You!

The song of the 21st century...



...sounds even better in Russian...



I can't wait 'til we're all singing it in Chinese!

PINK FLOYD - Boston, MA 1975

HAPPY 2008, first off, to all earth rawkers up in this bitch. Let's make the new year a righteous one, or else what's the point?

I'll get it started right with the best known recording from Pink Floyd's 1975 U.S. tour. We begin with two early versions of the Animals tracks "Sheep" (here titled "Raving and Drooling") and "Dogs" (here, "You've Got to Be Crazy"). Then it's three tracks from the then-new Wish You Were Here (including all of "Shine On You Crazy Diamond") followed by the entirety of Dark Side, and a giant slab of "Echoes" to top it all off.

It's an exquisitely atmospheric audience recording, which means ballsy stage sonics spiced with beer-bashed mooks tossing firecrackers. Sorta like "The Daahk Side o' the Depaahted."

PINK FLOYD
Boston Garden - Boston, MA - June 18, 1975 (AUD)

DOWNLOAD 1 / DOWNLOAD 2 / DOWNLOAD 3 / DOWNLOAD 4