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Old 04-11-2015, 05:40 AM
lazy poker lazy poker is offline
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Join Date: May 2014
Location: Lahr (Germany)
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Default unreleased "blues jam @ chess" acetates

hi, folks!

i don't know if this has ever been discussed here on the board (couldn't trace it):

in my "archives" i rediscovered a cassette with an "alternate" (sort of) version of "blues jam at chess", which i aquired some 30 years ago. with the release of "the complete blue horizon sessions" most of this cassette's contents have lost their relevance. BUT . . . there are still some stones left unturned these days!

the sound quality is admittedly far from what one could wish for: dropouts, cuts, slightly varying volume level, sound and even tape speed don't really increase the listening experience (no first generation tape). a few of these tracks, though, are STILL UNRELEASED the way they appear here! originally they must've been taken from early acetates of the sessions, as crackles from the records are clearly evident in places. but neglecting all that, one is rewarded with some unedited original versions of these recordings!

i tried to share the most interesting parts on youtube (i'm pretty old-fashioned and i don't have a soundcloud account or something like that), resulting in the audio being instantly muted as soon as soon as i had uploaded it! (why me? other people uploading endlessly hq audio stuff without being bothered at all! boo-hoo! any ideas on effectively solving that problem, anyone? maybe, if you are capable of handling that, i might provide you with the mp3 files, so you can find a way of sharing this with all interested parties out there . . . feel free to pm me)

anyway, here's a short run-down of the tracks diverging from their officially released versions:

1. WATCH OUT - start sadly missing, but there are 2 choruses here that had ended up on the cutting room floor for the released version. not that they would reveal too much musical genius or brilliance, and the reasons for their later omission are rather clear (in the first vocal chorus, for instance, mike vernon obviously had forgotten to open peter green's vocal mic in time. so if you ever wondered why peter started singing with the SECOND verse - here's the answer.). but, hey - it was a jam session, so what the f"*k?
2. SOUTH INDIANA (TAKE 2) - here with a false start that had also been cut out.
3. RED HOT JAM (TAKE 1) - there's an incomplete rehearsal before the actual take 1 of this. the officially released track is a crossfaded combination of that rehearsal and take 1. here both parts appear in their entirety.
4. UNTITLED INSTRUMENTAL - end part of a probably impromptu jamming while mike vernon put on another tape reel (i suppose) and thus only cut in.

and of course there's more of the chat and banter inbetween the tracks, though i haven't taken the time for an examination as to the detailled extend of that.

as already mentioned, this is a tape copy (3rd or 4th generation, i suppose) and thus not directly taken from the acetates, but the acetates are definitely the original source.

now, YOUR opinion on this is very welcome!
martin

p.s. or has anybody got a cleaner / better quality version of this stuff? then lemmie know!

Last edited by lazy poker; 04-11-2015 at 07:28 AM.. Reason: adding info
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