Well, here is a beauty!
I originally intended to organise commercially releasing this on vinyl but like so many things ... it never happened.
This is the MASTER TAPE - there is no safety copy in existance
THIS IS NOT A COMMERCIAL RELEASE - CALL IT A BOOTLEG IF YOU LIKE
I am really hoping someone will really look after this, pull off the material and transfer to other media for historical/archival purposes
Even better, someone could licence the material and issue some "new" The Gordons vinyl!
Sure, it's not your ideal "master tape" material, but there was no DAT available or a better multi-track so a good ol' cassette had to do.
Transfer it off the tape (it would be wise to anyway) - have it professionally edited/mastered and let the rest of NZ enjoy these recordings
This is extremely valuable Gordons performing live and its damn fine music!
Recorded at Billy The Club (and possibly Last Resort) and this was the time that the band was also working with Sausage Studios to put together the album that never came to be.
I am not at liberty to say how this recording came to be BUT it is not some dodgy recording at the gig by someone with a portable cassette recorder and microphone!
It has been taken from the mixing desk, the various inputs are quite balanced (vocals, guitar, percussion) MOST of the time (see running sheet notes) and the sound quality is very good.
The recording has the occasional "glitch" where the sound op hit the wrong fader/button, for example at times the drums come right up in level and then go back to normal or in one song, for a few seconds ONLY the kick drum can be heard - this is raw live recording!
The Gordons - Live Gig(s) Wellington 1984 (5th July 1984)
Recorded onto TDK SA90 media
Tape media is in excellent condition, .
Recorded both sides of the tape, Side A run time approximately 45 minutes & Side B run time approximately 26 minutes followed by some commercial (poor quality) recordings of Lou Reed and Deep Purple
Live performances complete with some audience interaction!
Over 70 minutes of fantastic The Gordons - outstanding songs
Some feedback/pickup buzz at times - see the running sheet for details
Not edited, complete with inter-song guitar tuning & chit-chat
Test cassette machine: Nakamichi DR8
Prior to testing, tape was repacked (FF - RW - FF - RW) to ensure even tape loading. This is vital for cassette tapes that have been unplayed for considerable periods of time.
Sound quality is very good - no tape drop outs and frequency range is VERY GOOD
So what's on this tape then?
MASTER TAPE - The Gordons Live Wellington 1984
Notes:
Where I don't know the name of the song, I have included some of the lyrics heard - as was The Gordons style, there is a lot of lyric repetition in their songs
Some comments have been made about inter-song sounds, noise etc
After listening over and over to the song Transmission (Joy Division) I now do not think this was The Gordons doing a cover version! It is definitely live and has that "unpolished" feel to it but the overall "live" sound isn't quite the same as the previous songs from The Gordons. Another band around at the time, but I don't think they were gigging live in 1984 was Vietnam, strongly influenced by Joy Division but I don't think it's them either.
So here we go with roughly 72:30 minutes of The Gordons playing live in Wellington 1984
MASTER TAPE - I BELIEVE THIS IS THE ONE AND ONLY RECORDING OF THIS CONCERT
Side A
00:05 ~ 02:15 Not sure of the song title but the words Bridesmaid Again are dominant!
02:30 ~ 14:05 Again not sure of the song title, very long duration at almost 12 minutes. Lyrics goes something like this "Down On Her - The Flesh - Have You Got Yourself A Drink Cause You Gonna Need A Miracle - Here In The Flesh - Here In The Physical" at 06:05 6:10 06:15 the audio suddenly becomes “Thin” for a couple of seconds then suddenly again at 0650 ONLY the drums can be heard (vocals/guitars disappear) for a duration of 3 seconds. At 09:13 ~ 09:15 the audio goes "Thin" again - NONE OF THESE ARE TAPE ISSUES, THE SOUND ENGINEER WAS MESSING AROUND!
12:48 ~ 14:05 inter-song interval with low level feedback, guitar buzz
14:05 ~ 19:00 QUALITY CONTROL "Check Check Check What Shall We Move We Watched Her Move Quality Control Watch Every Move Check Check Check" at 16:05 the kick drum suddenly bursts onto the scene, level is much higher than the vocals or guitars and gradually it becomes just KICK ONLY! until 16:42 when the mix goes back to normal
19:00 Audience whoops and shouts their appreciation. Someone shouts “faster!” then guitar amp buzz and again someone shouts out “No slow stuff” followed by guitar tuning
20:53 ~ 24:41 JOKER
24:41 Vocal from band member "put another string on mate"
25:00 ~ 33:02 RED LINE "We're Having The Time Of Our Lives On Channel 9 See The Red Line" at 27:22 the audio goes "thin" for just 1 second and then again the same thing between 30:33 ~ 30:35 and again at 33:02
33:12 ~ 38:05 MARTYRS DAY (Song title is announced at the end of play) "Have You Read The Paper The're Making Plans For You - Keep The Truth Away From You
38:38 ~ 45:30 MACHINE SONG "You Walk Along Like Machines You Got To Worship Your Dreams"
45:30 more guitar tuning, guitar amp buzz
END OF SIDE A
Side B
00:10 ~ 04:14 ADULTS AND CHILDREN
04:14 guitar buzz and guitar tuning
5:00 ~ 09:34 Not sure of the song title "When I Dream This Is ???? Time I Don't Want To Know In My Head Slipped Me Into A Dream Of Overload This Is ???? Time And I Don't Want To Go
09:50 ~ 11:50 background noise, guitar tuning again
11:50 ~ 15:51 Long instrumental intro into the next song, again I am not sure of the title - :Crazy Freak Crazy Freak Crazy Freak Stuck In Their Own Tree (or is it Street)
15:51 Guitar tuning with guitar amp buzz
16:48 ~ 23:15 I think this is called REACTOR - "These Isotopes Can Outlive You And Me 25 Thousand Years ...Put On Your Weetbix at 22:20 the level of the drums suddenly increases again (in relation to the other instruments and vocals)
23:15 ~ 26:39 Another song which I am not sure of the title " Why Should I Compromise Paradise ... See The Ships ... See Yourself
I think this is the end of The Gordons performance ....
At 26:39 someone says "Awesome Thanks We'll See Ya"
27:00 Transmission (Joy Division) - I do NOT think this is The Gordons doing a cover, the song is live and not "big stadium" but it doesn't sound quite like The Gordons, the vocal level is much higher and the drumming feels different. Its a damn fine "cover" in any case! Another band around Wellington at this time was Vietnam and they were influenced by the likes of Joy Division but I don't think they were doing live gigging around town in 1984 although they did enter Battle Of The Bands in that year.
That's about it, a ton of great live raw music from The Gordons way back in '84
