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This broadcast continues our journey to the Rockin’ Seventies….

The Doors – 1970.08.31 – Isle of Wight Festival [SBD]

The Doors were an American rock band formed in 1965 in Los Angeles, with Jim Morrison (vocals), Ray Manzarek (keyboards), Robby Krieger (guitar), and John Densmore (drums).  The band took its name from the title of Aldous Huxley’s  book The Doors of Perception.  This comusic. rock ncert is at the Isle of Wight Festival, Aug 1970.  For three straight years, from 1968 to 1970, the Isle of Wight, a small island just off the south east coast of England, was the site of major rock festivals attracting some of the biggest names in rock music.  The 1970 Isle of Wight Festival attracted over 600,000 people, making it the largest concert held to that point.  The massive nature of the event also meant that it would be the last such show on the Isle of Wight for over 32 years.  In 1971, the British Parliament passed the “Isle of Wight Act” preventing gatherings of more than 5,000 people without a special permit.  The 1970 Festival lasted from 26-30 Aug, with the biggest names performing on the last two days. The Doors‘ whole show was played in almost total darkness as Jim Morrison refused to have spotlights on the band.  Another note about this concert.  The date of this show is often listed as Aug 30 or 31, but research seems to indicate that Aug 29 is the correct date.  Check out this great sounding soundboard recording of the sound of rock as it moved into a new decade.

Grand Funk Railroad – 1974-06-02 – LA Forum [SBD]

The band was formed in 1969 by Mark Farner (guitar, vocals) and Don Brewer (drums, vocals) from Terry Knight and the Pack, and Mel Schacher (bass) from Question Mark and the Mysterians.  After receiving recognition at the 1969 Atlanta Pop Music Festival, they were signed by Capitol Records.  Between 1970 and 1974, Grand Funk Railroad score 8 consecutive top ten albums (7 studio and 1 live) on the Billboard charts, including We’re An American Band, which went to #2 in 1973.  They also had two #1 singles, We’re an American Band and Locomotion – as well as a #3 hit in Some Kind Of Wonderful.  During the band’s heyday, the general perception was that, although the critics hated them, audiences loved them.  This soundboard recording, one of the very few around, catches them with Craig Frost on keyboards (since he was added in 1972).  This was recorded at the LA Forum on 2 Jun 1974, and is a dvd rip.

The Guess Who – 1974-05-05 – Ambassador Theater, St. Louis, MO – KSHE [FM]

The Guess Who traces its roots back to a band formed in 1958 in Winnipeg by Chad Allan originally called Allan and the Silvertones. In 1962, this was changed to Chad Allan and the Reflections.  At this point the band members were:  Chad Allan (lead vocals and guitar), Bob Ashley (keyboards), Randy Bachman (guitar), Jim Kale (bass) and Garry Peterson (drums).  In 1965, the band changed its name to Chad Allan and the Expressions.  It was in 1965 that they scored their first hit, released under the psuedonym Guess Who?, hoping to mask their identities and create mystique.  However, even after they revealed that they had released the song, the DJ’s continued giving credit to “Guess Who?“, forcing yet another name change.  This is from the end of their Spring 74 tour, and one of the last tours containing the classic (and best) lineup, before guitarists Kurt Winter and Donnie McDougall departed (or were fired from) the band.  Even though a bass amp fries early on, forcing Burton Cummings to adlib a bit, this is by far one of the best Guess Who bootlegs that I’ve ever heard containing many of their classics, including a 20 minute rockin’ American Woman – Truckin’ – No Sugar Tonight medley.   As mentioned earlier, due to the mishap with the bass amp, Artificial Flowers and Sour Suite were played as solo piano pieces by Burton.

Led Zeppelin – 1975-02-13 – Nassau Coliseum, Nassau, Long Island NY [SBD]

Led Zeppelin was an English rock band formed in London in 1968 by Jimi Page (guitar), Robert Page (vocals), John Paul Jones (bass and keyboards) and John Bonham (drums).  The band’s heavy, guitar-driven sound was deeply rooted in psychedelics and blues and  earned them recognition as the forefathers of heavy metal.  This concert was a soundboard recording at the Nassau Coliseum on 13 Feb 1975.  When Led Zeppelin launched their North American tour, it had been almost 2 years since their last tour, the longest break from performing that the band had taken at that point in their career.  The tour had a bit of a rocky start, as guitarist Jimmy Page was suffering from a broken finger that forced him to use a three finger playing technique during many of the early shows.  In addition, Robert Plant got a bad case of the flue early in tour, causing the cacellation of one show and negatively affecting his singing during several others. The band also needed to work out the kinks associated  with incorporating new material from their soon to be released Physical Graffiti.  When they reached NY in Feb, however, the band seemed to have overcome all these issues, playing as powerfully as they ever had.