Old scans.

These are from the 'nine man jam' on July 13, 1969.

Nice to see you too, Steve!

Zappa.

Just to illustrate my earlier post on Zappa and LZ at Bath in 1970.... A poster: Led Zeppelin at Bath: Frank Zappa and the Mothers:

This will have been at the Bath Festival on June 28, 1970, the only occasion that I can remember. Zeppelin had already become very big by that time, and they were headliners. They also took a lot of money for performing there, which may have annoyed some people. I wasn't aware that Frank had ever said that, and would very much like to know where that quote comes from. I doubt the comment fully reflects what he thought of LZ, or of Jimmy's playing in particular. One of the world's renowned Zappa freaks, Ben Watson, notes an ambiguity in Zappa's views on LZ; and he kept coming back to them in one way or another. I tend to think he's right on that. - That said, Jimmy might actually agree with that comment, but I certainly don't.....

Saw Ólöf Arnalds, Sigur Rós and Björk on Saturday. Free outdoors concert in support of Icelandic nature, 30,000 people in attendance. Certainly a very memorable day, and I liked Sigur Rós's set.

I'm seeing this only now, but thanks a lot, Steve.

I believe you just missed them, Nine - they played at MoMA a couple of days ago. They're indisputably a very talented band, but I've never really seen them as my cup of tea. I did go see them many years ago when they released Ágætis byrjun - and if you like that Sigurrós kind of sonic atmosphere you wouldn't have been disappointed. They do deliver live. I understand they have been changing their sound a little now, faster chord changes, more acoustic material, etc. so I'm curious.

Björk and Sigurrós will be giving a free outdoors concert on June 28. I'll be there.

- and in the exact same minute, too.

What a coincidence that was ally!

Well, I was right. It's from when Richard Cole married his former wife, Marilyn, at Caxton Hall in 1974.

I've never seen that photo before, thanks for posting. My first guess would be that it's taken in 1974.

Last two gigs were Bob Dylan on May 26, and Wayne Shorter on May 24. Shorter's band was absolutely incredible. They stringed all the songs together and played for about 80 mins straight, really complicated music too - many moments of sheer beauty. I hope to get a recording of that concert soon. Bob Dylan's band was good, a strong mixture of country, rockabilly and blues - they played Memphis Minnie's Levee - but on the other hand the folk roots of Dylan don't come through very much, at least arguably. Dylan's voice has never been strong, and certainly hasn't improved with age - but, as ever, it still works.

I have a Firm bootleg called Royal Darkness, supposedly from Montreal 1985. The artwork is absurd in that it has a picture of Jimmy playing with Led Zeppelin in 1977, but I've also seen info that the bootleg actually isn't Montreal 1985, but Cleveland on May 11, 1986 - and that it's a pretty good version of that show in fact. Can anybody confirm this? And could somebody post a complete list of The Firm's tour dates, especially in 1986?

Joni is an amazing artist, and this article is interesting in that it gives a different perspective than you usually get. Thanks for posting!

Growing up I heard mostly classical music in my parents' house. I liked it, and when I got into rock music at the age of 10, I was still often listening to classical music. I've never seen a reason to stop doing that, and still love both classical music and different varieties of popular music. So I guess prog was an obvious thing for me to get into, and I did, very early. Gabriel and early Collins-era Genesis was and remains my fave prog band, with Gentle Giant not too far behind. Focus was another band I used to like a lot, but when I listen to them now their legacy seems not as fertile as I used to think. As for ELP, I used to listen to them quite a bit as a kid, until I was about 17 or 18. Never got all their albums, but did have Tarkus, Pictures at an Exhibition, Brain Salad Surgery, Welcome Back My Friends, Works I and Works II. Eventually I thought it was just too much pomp, meaning that given how immensely talented players they all were (and are), I thought by comparison their music lacked a more genuine sense of purpose, and their mode of expression just seemed too focused on sheer technicality of playing. That more or less is how I still see them. To me Brain Salad Surgery is their finest moment. I think Mussorgsky's piece just sounds better when played by an orchestra, or on two pianos. But the cover of Ginastera's Toccata was a much better idea, and it still sounds great. They included a good live version of that on Welcome Back My Friends, too. Emerson's virtuosity just comes into its own there - everything falls into place.

Robert's sense of humor once again, and in this case nobody needs to wonder much what he means. Thanks Steve!

You're welcome.

I'll look into that Swan, thanks.

A great Rory Gallagher bootleg from The Venue, London, in 1979.

Will do!

Ah, I see. I never got 66 to Timbuktu. I'd love to hear these old tracks. By the way, is that a good Korner compilation, Sunray?