The Band Trades Note: I am currently not doing any trading or B&Ps. |
|
|
Rick Danko - Hard to Find
Source: fan compilation This is actually a pirate CD, consisting of compiled commercial recordings and shouldn’t be traded. The person who did the compilation did it for himself and the resulting CD has somehow made it into trading circles. Here are his original notes on the songs as well as his motivation for making the CD. Several years ago a CD was "marketed" by Effective Mining called "Hard To Find" which initiated a very successful series. Included were 21 songs from the immense Dylan oeuvre that were issued as B-sides of singles, or on various out-of-the-way CDs or LPs. Technically, this was a pirate CD rather than a bootleg, because it was comprised of officially released material - with the exception of a track or two including the last track, a cut lacking in taste, that was either a trick played by or on the producers of this disc. To own all of this material, the collector would have had to pay significantly more than the cost of the CD, not to mention successfully pursue it all through the varied and unreliable marketplaces for out-of-print material. After Rick Danko passed away, I accelerated ongoing efforts to find all of his officially released material. I imposed on a number of "friends" from the Band website, both new and old, and they all responded very generously to burn CD’s, make tapes, or even lend videos. In collecting these I decided to pay back all of the contributors with a "Rick Danko - Hard To Find" CDr modeled after the Dylan series. It has taken me longer than originally anticipated to produce this, so it comes as a substantially belated thanks to all of you. So here it is. Most, but not all, of the material was officially released, or at least broadcast on radio shows. But a few bootleg recordings slipped in! Some of Rick’s material was released or broadcast on more than one occasion, so there were several versions to choose from. I tried to pick judiciously among the duplicative versions for sound quality or some intangible aspect of the performance. Some items are not up to current standards of sound quality, in addition. I edited a few things - Maybe it’s the perfectionist in me, but I took some liberties with the audio files on more than one occasion, with different degrees of success. Of course in "fixing" some of these, I in more than one case left my own blemishes. You can judge whether the tracks are improved, and whether this was the right thing to do. But please remember I had the best of intentions - - this is no Watkins Glen! At the least, this CD will preclude having to spend a lot of time putting CDs on the stereo to play only the Danko selections, and alternating to different formats, e.g. tape and video. At best it will provide you with material that you previously did not have by one of the greatest voices in rock and roll. Track Details: Hey Kids This is from the "Nelvanamation II" video [1982 - Warner Home Video], which is a children’s animated video from Nelvana studios. The first of the two cartoons contained on the video is entitled "Take Me Up to The Ballgame," and it features music by Rick Danko. The credits say "Songs by Rick Danko; Lyrics: Julia Bourque and Rick Danko; Performed by Rick Danko with Richard Fataar, Ron McRory, and Tommy Stephenson." Brain Wash This was a live performance from around 1978 and was originally broadcast on a radio program called "Innervisions." The program included an extensive interview with Rick and was produced to support the release of "The Last Waltz." A companion program featured an interview with Robbie Robertson. Crazy Mama This is a performance with Rick and Jorma Kaukonen on guitar and was originally broadcast in the mid 1980’s on WDST during a visit with Richard Fusco. The track was rebroadcast on the WDST tribute just after Rick’s death. Rick’s guitar is miked a bit too close, but overall a nice performance from both. Honest I Do This is off the Gene Clark & Friends bootleg. "A Star For Every Stage" [1999 - Massive Attack MA990115]. Richard Manuel is on keyboards, Blondie Chaplin and Gene Clark are on guitar, Michael Clarke is on drums, and John York is on bass. Recorded live May 16, 1985 at 3-T’s, Evansville, IN. Caledonia Mission Levon Helm and Rick at the Lone Star Café, from around 1992, with Sredni Vollmer on harmonica. Broadcast on the WDST tribute just after Rick’s death. Raining In My Heart From the album "Ringo Starr: Ringo Starr and his All-Starr Band" [1990 - Rykodisc RALP-10190] which includes tracks from the 1989 tour. Rick sings this Buddy Holly song, which also appears on the "Bring It On Home. Vol. 2" CD. Backing musicians: Clarence Clemons - saxophone; Levon Helm - drums; Dr. John - keyboards; Jim Keltner - drums; Nils Lofgren – guitar; Billy Preston – keyboards; Ringo Starr – drums; and Joe Walsh - guitar/vocal. Christmas Must Be Tonight This recording is from a solo show on 12/18/87, in Washington, DC. Blue Tailed Fly This track is from Part 1 of a two-volume CD set of excerpts from Happy and Artie Traum’s ‘87-88 radio show called "Bring It On Home" [1994 - Sony/Legacy JK 52997-2]. The show was produced at WAMC in Albany, NY. Garth Hudson backs Rick on piano. Harmony vocals are provided by Amy Fradon, Leslie Ritter, Happy Traum and Mark Rust. Happy Traum – banjo; Cindy Cashdollar –dobro; Larry Packer – fiddle; and Frank Campbell - bass. Mystery Train This is also from Part 1 of "Bring It On Home." Rick plays acoustic guitar and is accompanied by Sredni Vollmer on harmonica and harmony vocal. Cheaters Never Prosper This track is from the "Nelvanamation II" video. A fair amount of editing was applied to this track to take out a voice over. Blind Willie McTell This performance was originally broadcast on WDST in the early to mid 1990’s during an interview with David Dowd. The track was rebroadcast on the WDST tribute just after Rick’s death. Bring It Home - Jam This track is from Part 1 of "Bring It On Home." Credits are Artie and Happy Traum with Rick on guitars and vocals; Warren Bernhardt on piano; Cindy Cashdollar on dobro; Larry Packer on fiddle; Sredni Vollmer on harmonica; Scott Petito on bass: Mike DeMicco on electric guitar; and additional vocals by Ami Fradon and Leslie Ritter. Blue River This performance was from the same interview as the one in which Blind Willie McTell was performed. Twilight A compilation of live performances [1999 (originally 1989) - The Best of Mountain Stage Volume I - Blue Plate Music 514 494-21 from broadcasts on the Mountain Stage radio program on National Public Radio contains this track. Garth Hudson is on keyboards; Rick is on electric guitar; Andy Robinson is on drums; John Kessler is on bass, and Tommy Spurlock does a tasteful solo on slide guitar. Sip The Wine The Acoustic Cafe Radio Show was recorded on December 6th. 1999, and is Rick’s final recorded performance. Acoustic Cafe is a nationally syndicated radio program. Accompanying Rick is Aaron Hurwitz. One Too Many Mornings The House of Blues has put out several anti-tribute collections. This track is from "Tangled up in Blues: Songs of Bob Dylan." The Band’s contribution was apparently newly recorded for this CD. The line-up is Rick on bass, Levon Helm on drums and harmonica, Garth Hudson on Hammond B3 organ, Jim Weider on guitar, Richard Bell on electric piano, Randy Ciarlante on congas, and Derek Trucks on slide guitar. When You Awake The "Classic Albums - The Band" [1997/98 – Rhino/WEA SCDR-4048; US box set with VHS video and CD] video was originally broadcast in an abbreviated form on VH1. Several other versions of differing lengths are available in the States, Europe and the UK. Rick Danko plays acoustic guitar and sings solo "When You Awake" and "Unfaithful Servant’’ in the studio. The whole of "When You Awake" survives the editors’ scissors. It Makes No Difference The E-town Broadcast in 1999 contained performances by Rick Danko and Natalie Merchant. It was originally taped at the Broadway Theater at UPAC in Kingston NY on September 24, 1999. In addition to Rick, Garth Hudson, Aaron Hurwitz, Marie Spinoza, and Eric Anderson provide back up. We’ll Find A Way This track is also from the "Nelvanamation II" video. If I Had A Hammer Another track from the E-town Broadcast, this one was used in the closing minutes. A voice over was edited out of the audio with a not-too-smooth edit in, but its at least as good as the edit on "Don’t Ya Tell Henry" from "Crossing the Great Divide." This is a prime example of Rick’s high lilting voice, and I love the back up by Natalie Merchant. |
|
|
last modified: 04/08/2006 10:36 AM
|