Yes
The Forum
Inglewood, CA
September 24, 1977
Mike Millard Master Tapes via JEMS
The Lost and Found Mike the MICrophone Tapes Volume 225
1644 Edition

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

JEMS 2024 Transfer: Mike Millard Master Cassettes > Nakamichi RX-505 (azimuth adjustment; Dolby On) > Sound Devices USBPre 2 > Audacity 2.0 capture > iZotope RX10 > iZotope Ozone 9 > convert to 16/44 > Audacity > TLH > FLAC

01 Firebird Suite
02 Parallels
03 I've Seen All Good People
04 Close To The Edge
05 Wonderous Stories
06 Colours Of The Rainbow
07 Turn Of The Century
08 Tour Song
09 And You And I
10 Going For The One
11 Flight Jam
12 Awaken
13 Starship Trooper
14 Roundabout

Known Faults: Cut at the end of "Awaken"

Introduction to the Lost and Found Mike the MICrophone Series

Welcome to JEMS’ Lost and Found Mike the MICrophone series presenting recordings made by legendary taper Mike Millard, AKA Mike the MICrophone, 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 1992.

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]

Yes, The Forum, Inglewood, CA, September 24, 1977

Happily we are not done yet with Mike "The Mike" Millard's treasure trove of Yes recordings.

We've written at length about the bands he loved most and Yes is definitely on his Mount Rushmore, having taped them 14 times from 1974 to 1991 and that doesn't count two ABWH gigs.

Not just taped them, but taped them brilliantly. Save for a missed encore on his March 18, 1974 capture also from The Forum (Volume 39 in the Lost and Found series), Mike's canon of Yes recordings might represent his best collective work of any band, both in terms of quality and completeness. By the way, that missing encore from that Forum '74 gig just might show up soon in another on-going JEMS' series and the show doesn't end the way you presume it does.

Yes toured behind the album Going For The One in 1977, and Mike and Jim caught three shows over four days. The first night in Inglewood on September 23 was released on Vol. 143, while Long Beach September 26 came out four years ago on Vol. 22. Given there are multiple versions of those two shows in circulation per Forgotten Yesterdays, this September 24 Forum show is the least-common of Millard's '77 Yes recordings.

The notes for the one version available to download on Forgotten Yesterdays suggests the quality is "quite good" but "maybe not as good as night one." We're happy to report that this fresh transfer of Millard's original master cassettes is as good as night one or even better. There are moments where the quality is fairly mind-blowing in closeness and richness. How those AKG microphones, that Nakamichi tape deck and TDK tapes captured this much musical information is astonishing. Mike was in a great taping location and the mix and sound from the PA was sublime. Samples provided.

Here's what Jim R recalled about Yes at The Forum in 1977:

Mike and I attended the Yes concert at The Forum on September 24, 1977. I pushed Mike into the arena in the wheelchair. We sat in the second row on the floor, one row closer than our perfect third row position inside our desired "sweet spot." But we were dead center, down to the seat number. Do you get the sense that we were very picky with our seat locations? You bet we were. By 1977 we had the ticket industry mastered.

We also saw the first night at The Forum, but unfortunately at both shows we had a real rowdy crowd around us. Do the math: sitting second row on the floor we had maybe only 10-12 seats in front and around us (out of 18,000), but a few of them were hooting and hollering all night. As he did the previous evening, Mike was throwing pennies at offenders to send the message to be quiet but it did little good. Fortunately, the mastering wizards are able to suppress most of the crowd interference.

This tour was the Yes' last to feature the typical stage at one end of the floor. In 1978, the "In-The-Round" stage set up began. Mike and I much preferred the end-stage set up as we always scored great seats. The "In-The-Round" configuration brought the distant seats much closer to the stage, but for Mike and I, it meant half the band always had their backs to us.

Mike and I attended every Yes show we could as they were one of our (Rob S included) favorite bands of all time. In fact, I first met Mike at a Yes concert at the Long Beach Arena in March of 1974 and here we were three and a half years later taping together.

As usual, the sound quality at The Forum was excellent. Yes used Clair Brothers, the premier sound company in the day. Both nights offered excellent PA sound in which to pull a great recording.

What also made this tour special was the return of Rick Wakeman to the band. The previous tour in 1975 had Patrick Moraz on keyboards. Sorry Pat, but you do not cut it. I'm sure many Yes fans agree with this statement. The return of Wakeman likely contributed to the rowdy nature of the audience.

I took photos at the show, but the pictures were damaged by the Kodak lab. I restored the Yes images as best as I could.

Enjoy the show, Yes fans. Mike and I sure did.

Rest in Peace Mike, Alan and Chris.

###

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

Jim R took some outstanding photos that appear on this week's cover art, designed by JEMS' post production cleaning czar mjk5510. Thanks to both of them and to Professor Goody for checking the pitch.

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

BK for JEMS