HOW TO DONATE
Our costs will always be there. So readers who can donate towards the cost of the site, please open a Skrill account. Readers who wish to contribute to BigO will now have to use Skrill (click here). We are no longer able to use PayPal to receive donations. Register an account at Skrill. To make a payment, use this e-mail address as recipient’s e-mail address in Skrill: mail2[at]bigomagazine.com. Looking forward to hearing from you.
+ + + + +
JUST TO LET YOU KNOW
To reduce spamming, the BigO website is going through Cloudflare. What it does is scan your browser to ensure the visitor is not a spam. Do not be alarmed as this usually takes only a few seconds. Email us if you still have difficulty accessing the BigO site; or playing or downloading the tracks. If you know a better way of reducing spam, do let us know.
+ + + + +
Click on the panels for a better view or to download jpg artwork.
STYX
Long Beach 1978 [Mike Millard Master Tapes via JEMS, 2CD]
The Lost and Found Mike the MICrophone Tapes Volume 78. Live at the Long Beach Arena, Long Beach, CA; January 27, 1978. Very good audience recording.
Thanks to Mike Millard; Rob, Jim R; Barry G; JEMS; BK; and mjk5510 for sharing the show at Dime.
+ + + + +
Known Faults:
- Born For Adventure: end cut
Welcome to JEMS’ Lost and Found Mike the MICrophone series presenting recordings made by legendary taper Mike Millard, AKA Mike the MICrophone, best known for his masters of Led Zeppelin done in and around Los Angeles circa 1975-77.
Until 2020, the Lost and Found series presented fresh transfers of previously unavailable first-generation copies made by Mike himself for friends like Stan Gutoski of JEMS, Jim R, Bill C. and Barry G. These sources were upgrades to circulating copies and in most instances marked the only time verified first generation Millard sources had been directly digitized in the torrent era.
That all changed with the discovery of many of Mike Millard’s original master tapes.
Yes, you read that correctly, Mike Millard’s master cassettes, long rumored to be destroyed or lost, have been found. Not all of them but many, and with them a much more complete picture has emerged of what Millard recorded between his first show in late 1973 and his last in early 1992.
The reason the rediscovery of his master tapes is such a revelation is that we’ve been told for decades they were gone. Internet myths suggest Millard destroyed his master tapes before taking his own life, an imprudent detail likely concocted based on the assumption that because his master tapes never surfaced and Mike’s mental state was troubled he would do something rash WITH HIS LIFE’S WORK. There’s also a version of the story where Mike’s family dumps the tapes after he dies. Why would they do that?
The truth is Mike’s masters remained in his bedroom for many years after his death in 1994. We know at least a few of Millard’s friends and acquaintances contacted his mother Lia inquiring about the tapes at the time to no avail. But in the early 2000s, longtime Millard friend Rob S was the one she knew and trusted enough to preserve Mike’s work.
+ + + + +
Styx - Long Beach Arena, Long Beach, CA; January 1927, 1978
Following suit after last week’s Volume 77 - Led Zeppelin ‘77, we move to Volume 78 - 1978, and what some might call the sublime to the ridiculous.
Styx was not one of Mike Millard’s favorite bands. It was not one of Jim’s favorite bands. But they recorded this show anyway for reasons Jim amusingly outlines below. We also have some POV from Rob that is worth sharing.
Though Styx may not have Rock and Roll Hall of Fame credibility, they certainly had their moment. As a child of the ’70s and an avid listener to FM rock radio growing up, I turn out to be quite familiar with many of the songs in this set despite not owning a single Styx album. There was no bigger song among the sixth grade girls at my elementary school than “Come Sail Away.”
Listening to Styx’s performance in preparing this show, I was struck by both how well they play their material and how cliche they are as rock band, especially the between-song patter. I also know major tapers didn’t touch groups like Styx, so to have a high-quality audience recording of the band in their prime is going to be exciting for some of you. No judgement here, though maybe a bit of good natured ribbing.
+ + + + +
Rob had a few thoughts on this subject:
“Thank God Mike didn’t devote his life to recording _____ (Styx in this case). Imagine the later tours: instead of ARMS and Robert Plant shows, we could have all those Damn Yankees and Dennis DeYoung solo tours to listen to. My finger cannot hit the OFF button fast enough when the opening strains of “Babe I’m Leaving” escape my truck radio speakers (almost as quick as the warcrime that is the “Kars for Kids” commercial, if you are unlucky enough to know that one). Fortunately, I veered off into the Dead in the late ’70s, so I wasn’t too affected. I’ll admit to owning Grand Illusion, but Mr Roboto was the death nell for me and these guys.
My understanding is that Styx’s sound system was supposed to be unbelievable, per my friends like Deb. I missed this show, but did see them later in October 1978 with The Cars as the opener. When we were leaving The Forum, Deb got hit by a car crossing Manchester and we spent a few hours in the hospital. Shocker: Alcohol was present.”
Not sure how we made it to 25.
Here’s what Jim R recalled about why he and Mike saw Styx at the Long Beach Arena:
“True confession time: I went to the 1/27/78 Styx concert with Mike. I found the ticket stub confirming it. On the back it says we sat 10th row. The front says Balcony.
What I recall is a ticket scalper friend named Tony Peters was a big fan of Styx and wanted Mike to tape it for him. Tony had recently opened a storefront and had a few security guards in his hip pocket. Therefore, it would be prudent to stay on Tony’s good side. Mike told Tony we were not fans and did not plan to go. The only way we would go was with free tickets for both of us.
Tony being cheap only wanted to get Mike a single ticket, but Mike insisted on two since he needed my help. Lucky me. The balcony tickets got us in the door and Tony’s security friends moved us up to the 10th row. What I remember about the show was the main guy in the band had this “look at me I’m a rockstar” body language the entire night. Kind of a turn off. I did not take pictures. A side note regarding Tony Peters: We always called him Peters, he hated that and asked several times for us to call him Tony. So naturally, just to be ornery, we continued to call him Peters. Just to bug him a bit. Mike and I got a chuckle out of it.”
+ + + + +
JEMS is proud to partner with Rob, Jim R, Ed F, Barry G and many others to release Millard’s historic recordings and to help set the record straight about the man himself.
We can’t thank Rob enough for reconnecting with Jim and putting his trust in our Millard reissue campaign. He kept Mike’s precious tapes under wraps for two decades, but once Rob learned of our methods and stewardship, he agreed to contribute the Millard DATs and cassettes to the program. Our releases would not be nearly as compelling without Jim’s memories, photos and other background contributions. As many of you have noted, the stories offer an entertaining complement to Mike’s incredible audio documents.
Styx was pitch-approved by our pal Professor Goody and mjk5510 overlooked his personal feelings about the band to take this one over the finish line. Thank you to both of them.
Finally, cheers to the late, great Mike the MICrophone. His work never ceases to impress. May he rest in peace.
BK for JEMS
+ + + + +
Lineage:
AKG 451E Microphones (CK-1 cardioid capsules) > Nakamichi 550 Cassette Recorder
Transfer: Mike Millard Master Cassettes > Yamaha KX-W592 Cassette Deck > Sony R-500 DAT > Analog Master DAT Clone > Focusrite Scarlett 6i6 > Sound Forge Audio Studio 13.0 capture > Adobe Audition > iZotope RX8 > iZotope Ozone 8 > Audacity > TLH > FLAC
Click on the highlighted tracks to download the MP3s (320 kbps). As far as we can ascertain, these tracks have never been officially released on CD.
Please Do Not Hammer The Links. Due to the size of some of the files, please be very patient when downloading the tracks. It could be that the server was very busy. The tracks should still be around. Please try again later.
Kindly email us if you encounter persistent problems downloading the files. Also email us if you have any rarities you’d like to share with our readers.
Disc 1
Track 101. The Grand Illusion 6:07
Track 102. Lorelei 6:10
Track 103. Mademoiselle 5:01
Track 104. Fooling Yourself 5:34
Track 105. Suite Madame Blue 9:26
Track 106. Crystal Ball 6:37
Track 107. Light Up 5:45
45 mins
Disc 2
Track 201. Lady 4:51
Track 202. Man In The Wilderness 6:48
Track 203. Come Sail Away 9:26
Track 204. Midnight Ride 12:17
Track 205. Miss America 7:05
Track 206. Born For Adventure 6:42
48 mins
Click here to order Styx releases.