Previous installments:
John Hartford comes on around 8:15 and plays like a real pro on banjo, guitar, and fiddle for about an hour, it seems. Norman Blake (guitar), Tut Taylor (dobro), Vassar Clements (fiddle) and Doug Dillard (banjo) join in as the set moves forward. I am not quite sure what all's being played, nor by whom, for the encores. See my notes below.
Update: I have now listened to both the "Debbie reels" version and the Kuykendall version, as the latter has been gently edited by PB at the (now defunct - RIP) Steam Powered Preservation Society. The Kuykendall source is less complete but better sounding. See the extensive notes below. I am leaning toward the idea that the Debbie materials indeed do come from cassette masters, while the Kuykendall tapes are indeed from reels. There is still much to unravel here. Anyway ...
~~~~~
Golden State Country Bluegrass Festival
Marin County Veterans' Auditorium Building and Grounds
San Rafael, CA
<--Ramblin' Jack Elliott precedes-->
John Hartford & Friends
Sunday, April 28, 1974 ca. 20:15
Source: "Debbie reel 4/27/74" CD 4 of 4
Provenance: unknown sbd recording (?maybe MSC > C?) > reel
Transfer: AKAI GX 636 playback > Apogee mini ME @ 24/96 > Apogee Mini DAC (monitoring/mastering) > lynx one soundcard > wavelab 5.0 > CD, by Matt Smith.
Lossless encoding: EAC > CDWave > TLH (FLAC level 8).
Tagging: Foobar 2000.
(17 tracks, 59:51)
--John Hartford (banjo)--
GSCBF-1974-04-28-2015-Hartford-t01. % ambient noise % [0:38]
GSCBF-1974-04-28-2015-Hartford-t02. //Old Joe Clark [#6:28] [0:08]
GSCBF-1974-04-28-2015-Hartford-t03. Up on the Hill Where They Do the Boogie [5:20] [0:16]
--John Hartford (guitar)--
GSCBF-1974-04-28-2015-Hartford-t04. tuning and talk [1:30]
GSCBF-1974-04-28-2015-Hartford-t05. Turn Your Radio On [7:34] [0:10]
GSCBF-1974-04-28-2015-Hartford-t06. Good Old Electric Washing Machine [2:12] [0:20]
--John Hartford (fiddle)--
GSCBF-1974-04-28-2015-Hartford-t07. tuning, false start & talk to soundman [0:43]
GSCBF-1974-04-28-2015-Hartford-t08. Skippin' in the Mississippi Dew [5:01] [0:07]
GSCBF-1974-04-28-2015-Hartford-t09. Boogie [3:15] ->
GSCBF-1974-04-28-2015-Hartford-t10. Jelly Bean Psychedelic Song [1:10] [0:18] %
--John Hartford (??instrument??); enter Norman Blake (guitar), Tut Taylor (dobro), Vassar Clements (fiddle)--
GSCBF-1974-04-28-2015-Hartford-t11. Steam Powered Aereoplane [7:12]
GSCBF-1974-04-28-2015-Hartford-t12. call out Doug Dillard, tuning [2:43]
--John Hartford (??instrument??); Norman Blake (guitar), Tut Taylor (dobro), Vassar Clements (fiddle); enter Doug Dillard (banjo)--
GSCBF-1974-04-28-2015-Hartford-t13. Wheel Hoss [2:05] [0:08]
GSCBF-1974-04-28-2015-Hartford-t14. encore calls [1:05]
--encore (note: 2x fiddle, dobro, banjo, guitar, bass)--
GSCBF-1974-04-28-2015-Hartford-t15. tuning, talk (1) [1:42]
GSCBF-1974-04-28-2015-Hartford-t16. Peacock Rag [2:08] [0:15]
GSCBF-1974-04-28-2015-Hartford-t17. Foggy Mountain Breakdown [6:03] [1:13] %
Notes:
! % = tape discontinuity; # = truncated timing; // = cut song
! GSCBF-1974-04-28-2015-Hartford-t02 OJC cuts in with hot levels, adjust in first 0:12.
! GSCBF-1974-04-28-2015-Hartford-t15 (1) JH: "This is the California Chapter of the Dobrolic Plectral Society, which is an organization founded by Tut Taylor in Georgia to honor the dobro."
<--Ralph Stanley and the Clinch Mountain Boys follow-->
~~~~~
Golden State Country Bluegrass Festival
Marin County Veterans' Auditorium Building and Grounds
San Rafael, CA
<--Ramblin' Jack Elliott precedes-->
John Hartford & Friends
Sunday, April 28, 1974 ca. 20:15
Provenance: "master sbd reel" (a.k.a. Kuykendall source)
Source: "SBD: MR > DAT > Echo Mia > Cool Edit > CDWave > Philips CDRW804 > EAC > WAV > SHN."
Transfer: "PB" of thespps.org: received shns > wavs > joined wav (shntool) > tracking (Total Recorder Pro 6.1) > SBE fixed (shntool) > flac(6) (Flac frontend 1.7.1 / flac 1.1.2a) > tagging (Foobar2000 Live Show Tagger).
This info file by JGMF.
10 tracks, 43:44
[MISSING: Old Joe Clark]
hartford1974-04-28t01. //Up On The Hill Where They Do The Boogie [#4:58] [1:45]
hartford1974-04-28t02. Turn Your Radio On [7:28] [0:12]
hartford1974-04-28t03. Electric Washing Machine [2:10] [1:02]
hartford1974-04-28t04. Skippin' In The Mississippi Dew [5:23] [0:18]
hartford1974-04-28t05. Boogie [3:05] ->
hartford1974-04-28t06. Jelly Bean Psychedelic Song [1:09] [0:05] %
hartford1974-04-28t07. Steam Powered Aereo Plane * [7:05] %
hartford1974-04-28t08. Wheel Hoss ^ [2:08] [0:07] % (1) [0:54]
--Encore--
hartford1974-04-28t09. Peacock Rag ^ [2:05] [0:16]
hartford1974-04-28t10. Foggy Mountain Breakdown// ^ [#3:31]
Notes:
! % = tape discontinuity; # = truncated timing; // = cut song
! * with Blake, Taylor & Clements
! ^ with Blake, Taylor, Clements & Dillard
! This fileset calls the event the "First Annual Golden State Bluegrass Festival." GSCBF is technically correct, though the program does call it the first annual.
! This source definitely sounds better than the "Debbie reels" source, less hiss. The Debbie source is also more present in the L channel than this one, which seems to have a more balanced, centered sound. This could well be from master reels for all I know, though I am slightly dubious about that. It certainly looks for all the world like this is a 7.5 ips reel side (note the proximity to 45 minute total time). The "Debbie reel" source, of course, clocks in at 60 minutes. The big differences are the start (7:30 or so more on Debbie) and the end (3:45 or so more on Debbie). There a few more minutes missing here between the Doug Dillard call onstage and the start of "Wheel Hoss", and another 1:45 or so (encore calls from the crowd) between Wheel Hoss and Peacock Rag. That probably accounts for the lion's share of the time difference, though this source makes the Debbie tape (with its possible cassette gen) feel like it's running a bit slow. I suspect that, as Matt Smith's genealogy for the Debbie reels suggests, they may be sourced from cassettes. I.e., the Debbie reel source for this Hartford set probably lived on a 60-minute cassette at some point, perhaps even from the master. The patterns of recording discontinuities don't match this perfectly (the Debbie source seems to start with 35 continuous minutes of tape, whereas we'd expect 30 at a time from 60-minute cassettes), but everything else points in this direction.
! hartford1974-04-28t01 Up on the Hill comes in about 21 seconds into the song.
! hartford1974-04-28t01 Note that the time between Up on the Hill and Turn Your Radio On is identical here and on the Debbie tapes. Same between Washing Machine and Skippin'.
! hartford1974-04-28t04 Haven't figured out the time difference between the two versions of "Skippin' In The Missippi Dew" ... this one is about 15 seconds longer, and I don't hear a splice in the Debbie version. I am sure I am missing something.
! hartford1974-04-28t08 (1) JH: "This is the California Chapter of the Dobrolic Plectral Society, which is an organization founded by Tut Taylor in Georgia to honor the dobro."
! hartford1974-04-28t10 Foggy Mountain Breakdown cuts out @ 3:31 ... ouch!
<--Ralph Stanley and the Clinch Mountain Boys follow-->
THESPPS INFO FILE BELOW:
John Hartford & Friends
First Annual Golden State Bluegrass Festival,
Marin County, CA
04/28/74
John Hartford - guitar, banjo, fiddle
Norman Blake - guitar
Tut Taylor - dobro
Vassar Clements - fiddle
Doug Dillard - banjo
1. //Up On The Hill Where They Do The Boogie
2. Turn Your Radio On
3. Electric Washing Machine
4. Skippin' In The Mississippi Dew
5. Boogie >
6. Jelly Bean Psychedelic Song (break?)
7. Steam Powered Aereo Plane*
8. Wheel Hoss^
9. Peacock Rag^
10. Foggy Mountain Breakdown//^
* with Blake, Taylor & Clements
^ with Blake, Taylor, Clements & Dillard
Original Source: SBD: MR > DAT > Echo Mia > Cool Edit > CDWave > Philips CDRW804>
Recieved as CDA audio. EAC > WAV > SHN
(1) JH: "This is the California Chapter of the Dobrolic Practoral Society, which is an organization founded by Tut Taylor in Georgia to honor the dobro."
ReplyDeleteFor what it's worth, this should read "Dobrolic Plectral Society," which was an inside joke name for the band that recorded the classic John Hartford Aereo-Plain album. Other than Tut Taylor, almost all dobro players use finger picks. Tut played with a pick, which is also called a plectrum, thus the "Plectral" portion of the name.
Fixed, thank you!
DeleteCame to this site for info on Garcia and the GASB. Stumbled across info on Hartford's Aereo Plane band, which is another of my all time favorites and a something of a mystery regarding live performances.
ReplyDelete