What's the most incredible bootleg you've ever heard?

[Jahn]

Disclaimer - in no way should this thread condone pirated material, ripping profit from musicians, etc - and neither should this thread point to bootleg sources and sellers.


In your misguided youth (current or past) what bootleg really blew your mind, to the point you wished they had a pro release of it - or the bootleg was so great they probably couldn't have captured it better professionally if they tried.

In my mind, it was back in '93, the Reading Festival when New Order played. I think they've only released one track from this concert officially - on their box set, "Retro." If they were going to pick just one track, they really should have chosen "Temptation" - I've never heard such a relentless souless electronic attack. Quincy Jones once said that New Order was an amazing band, because it could perform within the context of such a rigid premise yet transcend it. The "Electronic Ecstacy" bootleg CD of this concert captures that moment perfectly - this was their last concert before they broke up to pursue solo efforts. At the time no one knew if they would ever play together again, so it was a really meaningful night in alot of ways. I wish I was there, but the bootleg was the next best thing - and the fidelity was amazing too, the bootleg was a soundboard rip so everything was crystal clear.

I grew up on nasty vinyl bootlegs (probably some of them are quite rare at this point) and this CD was the first bootleg I heard that was of such great quality. Everything about this bootleg defined the perfect bootleg for me - more than rare studio demos, outakes, live tracks, radio shows, etc.

How about you all?

 

[ilikemonkeys]

without question: Grateful Dead May 8th 1977

Its a free lossless download.

Grate setlist and perfect recording.

Nothing better!


here's a link: link to internet archive>>>>

enjoy,

BILL

 

[chadbang]

"Metal Legs" (live in Irvine) or "Rotoscope Down" (live at the Record Plant in LA), two legendary (especially the later) Steely Dan bootlegs -- in their prime with Jeff "Skunk" Baxter on guitar and Michael McDonald singing backup.

 

[chadbang]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ilikemonkeys without question: Grateful Dead May 8th 1977 Its a free lossless download. Grate setlist and perfect recording. Nothing better! here's a link: link to internet archive>>>> enjoy, BILL

IMO, there's no such thing as a bad Grateful Dead bootleg.

 

[ilikemonkeys]

Quote:

IMO, there's no such thing as a bad Grateful Dead bootleg.

Right on m'brother.

200 shows and counting.

B

 

[gloco]

um...

I like a lot of them.

Some standouts:

Dave Matthews Band: Oct 6, 1994, soundboard, 2 cds. The band is very upbeat and the fact that there's only a handful of people at the beginning of the show adds some interesting snips from dave. Great setlist doesn't hurt and pretty solid dsbd also helps.

talking heads (1979 i think), prefm from reel tape. Incredible sound from this era, the band sounds very raw and again, the sound quality just blows my mind.

Smashing Pumpkins: June 28, 1997@Roskilde Festival. Exceptional sound quality (other sites claim this is a radio broadcast). The band is just perfect, hitting every note and Billy's vocals are right on target (albeit slightly buried in the mix at times). Very airy recording and killer setlist.

There's quite a few Oasis shows i hold in high regards, mostly from 1994-1996 era of concerts. One standout: Glastonbury 1995 is a fantastic show with which features great sound quality for a radio broadcast and a killer setlist. The band's performance is top notch to boot.

There's countless Iron Maiden shows that are fantastic. Most metal bands fall off the map but this band has been very consistent when it comes to putting on a great live show.

Over the years i have gone from preferring soundboards to radio broadcasts and especially audience recordings. Some taper rigs offer some incredibly sound quality, just look at the slew of radiohead shows recorded with dpa mics.

Personally, i own over 1500 live recordings and the practice of trading, downloading and listening turned me onto taping as well. Archive.org is a great site to obtain live recordings that are allowed by the artist.

 

[tyrion]

I remember when we used to listen to bootleg Dead shows on cassettes. Some of them were so bad but we just kept listening

 

[Megaptera]

There's a bootleg of Ani DiFranco playing somewhere in, I don't know, Sweden maybe -- it's just labelled "Europe '99". I don't think it's technically a real bootleg, just audio ripped from a television broadcast of the show that I've never been able to track down, since the copy I have has an interview with her (though the interviewer is not speaking English).

It's Ani at the peak of her Living in Clip stage. The sound quality is very good (not surprisingly, given its source), and the performance is excellent. The first I heard of this particular recording was actually at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston -- they had an Art of the Guitar exhibit a few years ago, and had a selection of clips of the century's most influential (or most something, I don't remember) guitarists. They had a clip of Ani playing Jukebox from this show, and I could not rest until I found the entire performance. Very good stuff.

 

[Head Creep]

I'm not much of a bootleg person, but the one I do like is Apocalypse Now by White Zombie. Much better quality recording than the two others I've heard, and a good set list. I just wish the Las Vegas Live recording was better, since it has them doing a cover of Black Sabbath's Children of the Grave.

 

[dabblerblue]

There's one in particular I loved, but I can't remember where or when it was recorded!

All I do remember is that it's a Cure bootleg of the band in a hotel bar, having fun and singing around the bar's crappy little synth.

The bootleg features a number of amusing little ditties, including Robert Smith singing Lovecats to the theme of The Love Boat!

 

[bong]

hey jahn. i'm a big New Order fan and have that same bootleg, it's called "Electronic Ecstasy" and was sourced either from the soundboard itself, or is a digital copy of the master tapes. the 1993 Reading Festival concert was broadcasted, but from what i've read, the broadcast differs from the "Electronic Ecstasy" bootleg. that said, this bootleg sounds great! it surpasses one of New Order's official live release in performance and sound quality, the BBC Radio 1 Live at Glastonbury 1987 CD. the band was really tight and agressive, and this performance deserves it own release. two tracks appeared on the Retro box set, "Regret" and "As it is When it Was."

other of my fave bootlegs, most sound like official releases:
Blur - Brixton Academy, London, 1997-12-11 ("Art School Rocks in Feedback Frenzy" bootleg)
Catherine Wheel - Bowery Ballroom, NYC, 2000-07-11
The Cure - Washington DC, 1984-11-15 ("Cold" bootleg)
The Cure - Wembley Arena, England, 1991-01-19
The Cure - Killburn National Ballroom, England, 1992-05013 (And Dreams Come True in '92" bootleg)
The Cure - Paris, France, 1996-10-15
The Cure - The Vic, Chicago, 2000-02-25
New Order - Studio 54, Barcelona, Spain, 1984-07-07 ("Ceremony" on Retro
note: this one contains some of the best live New Order performances, amazing versions of "Ceremony," "Hurt," "Lonesome Tonight," and an awesome segue of "Everything's Gone Green" into "Temptation." the sound quality on this bootleg surpasses the source taken for Retro, which includes "Ceremony" from this show.
New Order - Salle Du Baron, Orleans, France, 1985-12-13
New Order - C.N.D. Festival, Glastonbury, England, 1987-06-19
note: this is the full show, not just the nine tracks that was officially released from the BBC, which is strange because the three of the four tracks that were left out, "Ceremony," "Subculture," "Sunrise," are amazing.
New Order - Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre, Irvine, California, 1989-06-16
Radiohead - Goffertpart, Nijmegen, Holland, 2000-09-16
Ride - T&C Club, London, 1991-03-08
note: this was a BBC radio 1 transcript, and was one of Ride's classic performances. since it was officially mixed by the BBC, it sunds pristine.
Ride - Slim's, San Francisco, 1992-05-23
Suede - Glastonbury Festival, 1993-07-?? ("Suedemania" bootleg)
Suede - Warehouse, Toronto, Canada, 1995-02-17 ("Cover Me" bootleg)
Suede - Reading Festival, England, 1998-08-22
Suede - Bennicassim Festival, Spain, 1999-08-07
Suede - Paradiso, Amsterdam, Netherlands, 2002-08-10

 

[sandeep]

Quote:

Originally Posted by chadbang "Rotoscope Down" (live at the Record Plant in LA)

That place has pumped out some awesome bootlegs. The Wailers set from Sausalito on 10-31-73 is one for the books, I'd say. But then again, I'll take any bob marley set that I can get

 

[NightWoundsTime]

I was big into treeing, vining, weeding, etc for a while and have around 100 shows. Biggest share is King Crimson, but from there I have pretty much one show by every band I like, and grabbed some other stuff to scope out new bands. It's always nice to be able to spend a couple hours experiencing a live show.

I'd say my absolute favorite came from a show I actually attended and tracked down the recording nearly a year later. It was King Crimson on July 29th 2001 in St Petersburg Florida. That set graces my cd player quite often.

 

[zowie]

Dylan - Witmark Demos.

 

[zotjen]

Prince - Small Club