Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe
Greek Theatre
Los Angeles, CA
September 7, 1989
Mike Millard First-Generation Tapes via JEMS
The Lost and Found Mike the MICrophone Tapes Volume 206

Recording Gear: AKG 451E Microphones (CK-1 cardioid capsules) > Nakamichi 550 Cassette Recorder

JEMS 2024 Transfer: Mike Millard First-Generation Cassettes > Nakamichi RX-505 azimuth-adjusted playback > Sound Devices USBPre2 > Audacity 3.1 capture > iZotope RX > iZotope RX9 Advanced and Ozone 9 > MBIT+ resample to 16/44.1 > Audacity > xACT 2.50 > FLAC
01 Young Person’s Guide To The Orchestra
02 Time And A Word >
03 Owner Of A Lonely Heart >
04 Teakbois
05 Clap
06 Mood For A Day
07 Wakeman Solo
08 Long Distance Runaround
09 Bruford Solo
10 Birthright
11 And You And I
12 I've Seen All Good People
13 Close To The Edge
14 Themes
15 Brother Of Mine
16 The Meeting
17 Heart Of The Sunrise
18 Order Of The Universe
19 Roundabout
20 Starship Trooper

Known Faults:
-None

Introduction to the Lost and Found Mike the MICrophone Series

Welcome back to JEMS’ Lost and Found Mike the MICrophone series presenting recordings made by legendary taper Mike Millard, AKA Mike The Mike, best known for his masters of Led Zeppelin done in and around Los Angeles circa 1975-77. For the complete details on how tapes in this series came to be lost and found again, as well as JEMS' long history with Mike Millard, please refer to the notes in Vol. One: [Link]

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 1993.

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.

The full back story on how Mike’s master tapes were saved can be found in the notes for Vol. 18 Pink Floyd, which was the first release in our series transferred from Millard’s original master tapes:

[Link]
[Link]

Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe, Greek Theatre, Los Angeles, CA, September 7, 1989

It's another companion week in the Lost and Found series as we release Mike Millard's recording of the second night of Anderson Bruford Wakeman and Howe performing at the Greek Theatre in support of their self-titled album. Millard's tape of the first night can be found on Vol. 89 of the series, which took a patch from this recording to fill in the missing intro and first three songs of that show missed by a late arrival.

Mike the Mike's 9/7/89 recording is complete and an excellent audie similar in quality and closeness to his first night pull, benefitting from the terrific acoustics of the famed outdoor venue. Between "Teakbois" and "Clap" there is audience chatter as someone is jockeying their way into the aisle (and maybe even noticed Millard's microphones though it is hard to make out exactly what's said).

As we wrote in Vol. 89, the Greek dates were among the first few shows after Tony Levin was forced to drop off the tour following a reported bout of food poisoning. He was replaced by Jeff Berlin, with whom the band quickly rehearsed in San Diego at the start of September. Picking up the bass parts for any band would be challenging enough, but replacing Chris Squire's original parts on the Yes material is truly daunting. Perhaps hardcore fans feel otherwise, but listening to this show, Berlin acquits himself nicely.

Our source tapes for this one come from a set of first-generation cassettes made by Millard for Barry Goldstein who was kind enough to loan us his tapes to transfer. One can't but help be impressed by the quality of Millard's original recording and the dub he made and labeled for Barry. Samples provided.

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JEMS is immensely proud to partner with Rob, Jim R, Ed F, Barry G, Jim Ri 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.

As noted above, it was Mike's friend Barry Goldstein who shared this and in fact all of his first-gen Millard tapes with JEMS for that we are deeply grateful. We've started another series of Barry's own masters which are historic treasures in their own right and worth searching for. Of late, Barry is having a pretty rough go of it, so if you are so inclined, I know how much it would mean to him to read comments from the folks who have benefitted so much from his trust and generosity. Thanks as always to Jim R, Rob S, Jim Ri, Ed F and everyone else who has given their tapes to us. Professor Goody tuned this puppy up and helped smooth out some bumpy level changes. As always, mjk5510 applied his masterful finishing touches and designed the artwork.

Finally, cheers to the late, great Mike the MICrophone. His work never ceases to impress. May he rest in peace.

BK for JEMS