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Tapes in Circulation: The 90s |

Linked items indicate a review and/or setlist are available below.
More information can be found in the Complete
Discography.
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Steve Winwood: Westwood One 'Off the Record' special with Mary Turner,
1990 "Refugees of the Heart" interview; 4 segments on 2 vinyl LPs. Commercials intact.
Steve Winwood: Timothy White's Rock Stars, 1990
Part of an interview with Timothy White, a session with Jim Capaldi on percussion and SW on
piano was recorded at Emerald Sound Studios in Nashville. The version of Don't You Know What
the Night Can Do? benefits from the scaled-down arrangement. It was rebroadcast on Westwood
One Radio Network and is included ona very rare 2 CD set of transcription discs, which include
several other songs performed by SW and Jim.
Steve Winwood: Yokohama Arena, Japan; March 22, 1991 Very good sound taken from TV broadcast of Refugees of the Heart tour.
Steve Winwood: World Music Centre, Chicago; June 15, 1991 Fair sound quality.
Steve Winwood: Waterloo Village, New Jersey, June 23, 1991
With Jim Capaldi, 90 minutes.
Eric Clapton: The Rainbow Outtakes, 1994 Badge (3:24) | Nobody Knows You When You're Down And Out (4:41) (unreleased) | Roll It Over (6:29) | Why Does Love Got To Be So Sad (5:39) (unreleased) | Little Wing (6:12) | Bottle Of Red Wine (4:41) | After Midnight (5:04) | Bell Bottom Blues (5:38) | Pearly Queen (6:46) | Key To The Highway (6:03) | Let It Rain (10:47 | Crossroads (4:41)
This CD consists of 12 tracks from the two Rainbow concerts on 1/13/73. All but two tracks are
the same as those on the Polydor reissue of 1995, except that most are significantly longer.
The two unreleased tracks are outstanding. It's great to hear Winwood doing any Spencer Davis
Group tunes live, especially a relatively obscure one like "Nobody Knows You When You're Down
And Out". His vocal is a bit lame in places, but the song works anyway, and Clapton adds a
touching solo. The frosting on this cake is a smoking rendition of "Why Does Love Got To Be So
Sad", which makes me wonder why Polydor didn't include it on the reissue. Sound quality is
excellent. Highly recommended.
Traffic: Emerald Studio Sessions; 1994
When Winwood was about to release Refugees of the Heart
he recorded an informal promo with Jim Capaldi of some old and new favorites which was probably
broadcast locally in Nashville. The radio show recording, also in circulation on tape, is a
wonderful opportunity to hear Steve "unplugged" and informal. The interview shows him
characteristically modest, and Capaldi seems to take over the story telling gaps, recounting
how they got into Flower Power when a friend returned from the US saying that "something was
afoot on the west coast" and then Steve giggles. But the true gem here is Steve's wonderful
bluesy, stride piano work, very reminiscent of his Spencer Davis Group ballads. Many of the
songs end abruptly, when Steve forgets the lyrics, but nonetheless it's a totally charming
performance. The songs include:
"Valerie",
"I'm A Man",
"Dear Mr. Fantasy",
"No Face, No Name, No Number",
"I Will be Here",
"Don't You Know What The Night Can Do",
"While You See A Chance" (performed a la Ray Charles), and
"Empty Pages".
Capaldi does percussion and background vocals. The tape version also includes the commercially
released recordings of "Don't You Know What The Night Will Do", "Another Deal Goes Down",
"Empty Pages" and "John Barleycorn".
Traffic: BBC Radio One Interviews; May, 1994 Steve and Jim with Johnnie Walker.
Traffic: Minneapolis, May 21, 1994 Opening date of Traffic's 1994 comeback tour. Whole concert on 2 tapes, sound quality very good.
Traffic: Concord, California, June 1, 1994 Pearly Queen | Medicated Goo | Here Comes a Man | Some Kind of Woman | Every Night, Every Day | Rock 'n Roll Stew | (Sometimes I Feel So) Uninspired | Nowhere is Their Freedom | 40 Thousand Headmen | Empty Pages | Low Spark | Glad | Freedom Rider | Light Up Or Leave Me Alone | Dear Mr. Fantasy | John Barleycorn | Gimme Some Lovin' Screen shot for the entire show, pretty good quality, although the shooting of the screen, of course, gets grainy and the colors aren't always great. 2 hours 10 minutes By: Dave V
Traffic: Shoreline Amphitheatre: June 4, 1994 Pearly Queen | Medicated Goo | Here Comes a Man | Some Kind of Woman | Every Night, Every Day | Rock 'n' Roll Stew | (Sometimes I Feel So) Uninspired | Nowhere Is There Freedom | 40,000 Headmen | Empty Pages | Low Spark of High Heeled Boys | Glad/Freedom Rider | Light Up or Leave Me Alone | Dear Mr Fantasy | John Barleycorn | Gimme Some Lovin'
Traffic: Shoreline Amphitheatre: June 4, 1994 Pearly Queen | Medicated Goo | Here Comes a Man | Some Kind of Woman | Every Night, Every Day | Rock 'n' Roll Stew | (Sometimes I Feel So) Uninspired | Nowhere Is There Freedom | 40,000 Headmen | Empty Pages | Low Spark of High Heeled Boys | Glad/Freedom Rider | Light Up or Leave Me Alone | Dear Mr Fantasy | John Barleycorn | Gimme Some Lovin'
Traffic: San Diego, CA; June 6, 1994
Pearly Queen, Medicated Goo, Here Comes A Man, Some Kinda Woman, Every Day Every Night, Rock 'N' Roll Stew, Sometimes I Feel So Uninspired, Nowhere Is Their Freedom, 40000 Headmen, Empty Pages, Low Spark Of high Heeled Boys, Glad, Freedom Rider, Light Up Or Leave Me Alone, Dear Mr. Fantasy, John Barleycorn, Gimme Some Lovin'. 2 CDs,
Complete show from the "Far From Home" tour.
Traffic: Las Vegas, June 14, 1994 Audience recording of entire gig, supporting the Grateful Dead. Apparently recorded outdoors during high winds.
Traffic: Performing Arts Center, Saragtoga NY; July 31, 1994 Pearly Queen, Medicated Goo, Riding High, Walking In The Wind, Rock 'N' Roll Stew, Mozambique, Rainmaker, Empty Pages, Low Spark Of high Heeled Boys, Glad, Freedom Rider, Light Up Or Leave Me Alone, Dear Mr. Fantasy, John Barleycorn, Gimme Some Lovin'. 2 CDs
Beautiful audience recording (complete show). Nice versions of
Walking In The Wind and Rainmaker not found on the other shows I have from
this tour.
Traffic: "Woodstock II" Saugerties, NY; August, 1994 Pearly Queen (5:13) | Medicated Goo (5:37) | Rock 'n' Roll Stew (6:13) | Mozambique (5:22) | The Low Spark Of High Heeled Boys (11:13) | Glad / Freedom Rider (10:35) | Empty Pages (4:28) | Light Up Or Leave Me Alone (12:40) | Dear Mister Fantasy (7:28) | Gimme Some Lovin' (6:33) For those who saw the Traffic tour in 1994, this disc will bring back some pleasing memories. Only one complaint here - but it's a big one. There is only one track from the "Far From Home" album. The band plays an inspired version of "Mozambique" but that's it. No singles, nor songs such as "Riding High" and "Holy Ground," which were added late in the tour, are included. Perhaps this is an abbreviated version of the set, but it is 75 minutes and it would seem unlikely the band played longer on this date. The recording is seamless and there are no breaks between songs so it appears this is the entire show. Nonetheless, what is here is rewarding. The show opens with the band's two opening staples - "Pearly Queen" and "Medicated Goo." If those two songs sent a message, it was a clear one that this would be a concert in which Winwood would be up front playing a lot of guitar. And that, in addition to the chemistry of the personnel, was the attraction of this tour. Winwood's guitar playing is at its best, showing off his inventiveness and feel, which, it seems, have been forever overlooked. The band plays in a wonderful groove throughout, in no small part due to Jim Capaldi's solid drumming and Walfredo Reyes' creative percussion work. This is perhaps one of the funkiest Traffic ensembles with Rosko Gee on bass. Mike McEvoy's versatility reminds us that this is Traffic and everyone plays everything, and Randall Bramblett adds the breathe and airiness, which made Traffic's sound so distinctive in the late '60s and early '70s and illustrates it is hardly dated.
The band chooses the "Welcome To The Canteen" arrangement of "Gimme
Some Lovin'" to close the show, and it shows off the group's strengths: a
burning groove, layered with soulful singing and extraordinary playing.
The product is Italian in origin
and though a mishmash, the packaging is done very professionally with
some interesting photos from the
Cottage days to publicity stills for this tour. There is one
misidentification of McEvoy for Winwood. Highly recommended and apparently
still quite available.
The re-formed Traffic lineup of 1994 was greeted with generally overwhelming reviews by the US
press, while their British counterparts decided to go for a rather amateurish hatchet job. The
rendition of Low Spark here goes a long way to putting the record straight, featuring superb
solos from SW on piano and Randall Bramblett on sax. Heavily bootlegged from the Pay-Per-View
US TV broadcast.
The Traffic 2-CD bootleg has the following tracks (not in order): "Pearly Queen", "Glad",
"Freedom Rider", "The Low Spark Of High-Heeled Boys", "Medicated Goo", "Light Up Or Leave Me
Alone", "Rock And Roll Stew", "Dear Mr. Fantasy", "Gimme Some Lovin'", "Empty Pages", and
"Mozambique". The second disk consists of show from the Traffic tour in 1975, and includes
"John Barleycorn", "Shoot Out At the Fantasy Factory", "Who Knows What Tomorrow May Bring",
"Rainmaker", and others.
Traffic: Brentwood, September 9, 1994 Very good audience DAT recording. Whole concert on 2 tapes. Also features Holy Ground from Manchester and Birmingham.
Traffic: Jones Beach, Long Island, New York, September 10, 1994 Pearly Queen | Medicated Goo | Riding High | 40,000 Headmen | Some Kind of Woman | Mozambique | Rock n' Roll Stew (Steve sings) | Empty Pages | Low Spark | Glad | Freedom Rider | Light Up or Leave Me Alone (Steve Sings) | Dear Mr. Fantasy | Gimme Some Lovin' Active camera work, not always good. The cameraman and his parter are audible at several points and a bit rude, but for the most part, it's a high quality copy. 1 hour, 45 minutes. I think Jim was under the weather this show (the last of the U.S. tour), as he didn't do any singing and his intro of SW was very hoarse, which may explain the short set-list. By: Dave V
Steve Winwood: Jools Holland Hootenanny, London; December 31, 1994 New Years Eve TV show; excellent stereo. Steve backed by The Jools Holland Rhythm and Blues Orchestra. "I'm a Man" and "Something Is Wrong With My Baby" with Ruby Turner.
Steve Winwood: Nile Rogers and Very Special Guests, Tokyo, April 1996 Recorded in Japan as part of the JT Super Producers '96. Nile Rogers is best known for his work with Chic, Sister Sledge, and an incredibly long list of production credits including David Bowie, Diana Ross, Madonna, Paul Simon, and loads of other big names. Nile was most importantly featured on guitar on SW's biggest solo hit, "Higher Love". The special guests at this gig included SW, Simon LeBon, Slash from Guns 'n' Roses, Sister Sledge, and Chic. Fine performances were given by all the artists. SW was featured on 3 tracks:
A special mention should be made at this juncture of Bernard Edwards, the highly accomplished Chic bass player who died shortly after the gig. His distinctive style was a memorable sound on Chic and Sister Sledge, as well as notable sessions for other artists.
Steve Winwood: VH1 Concert: Take It To the Bridge, London, April 30, 1997 I'm a Man | Roll With It | (interview section) | Spy In the House of Love | Gotta Get Back to My Baby | Higher Love | Just Wanna Have Some Fun | Keep On Running | Gimme Some Lovin'
Cassette and videotape versions, both recorded off the telly. Excellent quality. The version
of "Roll With It" is especially sprightly, jazzy, and enjoyable.
Steve Winwood: Jools Holland Later, May 17, 1997 Spy In the House of Love | Angel of Mercy | Keep On Running
Evidently part of a larger show with other guests, the cassette includes only SW's part of the
show. Very good quality, but SW seems less enthusiastic than on other concurrent shows.
Steve Winwood: BBC Music Live '97 from the Manchester Opera House, May 22, 1997 I'm a Man | Roll With It | While You See a Chance | Family Affair | Freedom Overspill | Just Wanna Have Some Fun | Keep On Running | Higher Love | Gimme Some Lovin'
Unusual in that it does NOT include the first single from Junction 7, 'Spy in the House of
Love'. Great bass-y version of Roll With It. Probably recorded from the radio, sound quality
very good.
Steve Winwood: Lorelei, St. Goarshausen, Germany, June 22, 1997 I'm a man | Roll with it | Freedom overspill | Spy in the house of love | Gotta get back to my baby | Can't find my way home | The low spark of high heeled boys | Glad | Family affair | Just wanna have some fun | Higher love | Back in the high life again | Gimme some lovin'
Total time: 90 min
Line-up:
It is a
pretty representational recording of Steve's recent on-stage performances.
In other words, it's pretty darned good! He seemed to be a more animated
performer during his "Refugees of the Heart" tour -- more into the music
than what he has shown on stage since -- but this is still a better
performance than 95 percent of the other live acts making the rounds these
days. Hope the cassette version is equally good.
Latin Crossings: Shepherd's Bush, London, July 24, 1998 Hot Sauce | Sandunga | Higher Love | Para Los Rumberos | Low Spark | Piccadillo | Closely Dancing | Be Bop | Tito | I'm a Man | Oye Como Va
Audience recording, lots of extraneous noise
U2: Duets, date unknown
This features U2 singing with someone else or with a group of other artists on each song. One
song is Dylan's "Its All Over Now Baby Blue" performed by U2 accompanied by Bob Dylan, Van
Morrison, Chrissie Hynde, Elvis Costello, Kris Kristofferson, and Steve Winwood.
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Page created May 29, 1997. Last updated April 9, 2002. Copyright |