19 YEARS OLD
AND AS SWEET
AS SHE COULD BE
ALL DRESSED UP
LIKE A DOWNTOWN
CHRISTMAS TREE
This Rod Stewart/Faces
concert
is the third of many
previously unknown,
unattributed and/or
uncirculated
Millard recordings
provided to JEMS
by Jim R,
who was Mike’s
partner in crime
for many years.
“I am the one who pushed
Mike in the wheelchair,”
Jim writes.
“Mike and I attended
at least 200 concerts
after meeting at a
Yes show in 1974.
I feel lucky to have had him
as a best friend
during that time.”
Jim helped Mike
smuggle in gear,
stymie security
and score the
best seats for taping,
all while shooting
photographs himself
at most of the shows
Mike recorded.
Beyond concerts,
he was a frequent guest
at the Millard
dinner table
in the ‘70s and ‘80s
The Faces
at The Forum
on March 5, 1975
was a significant event
in that it was
the first
Mike Millard recording
using a Nakamichi 550
with AKG mics.
It became the new
Gold Standard
for tapers during
that era.
Let me take you back.
Keep in mind this is
over 44 years ago...
It was early March
and So Cal was buzzing
with anticipation for
several
Led Zeppelin shows
in the area starting with
San Diego on
March 10
and Long Beach
March 11 and 12.
I got a phone call from
Mike saying,
"You have got to come over
and check this thing out.
It's a monster.”
I asked, “What is it?”
Mike said to just come over.
I jumped in my car
and drove over
to his house
we lived about
15 minutes apart
at the time
I went into his room
and on a table was
the Nak 550.
Next to it was his
previous Sony deck;
the new Nak
was 2-3 times bigger.
I looked at Mike
and asked,
"How are we going
to get this in?”
The next thing that
was said was,
“We have got to try it out.”
Mike not only purchased
the Nak 550
but also
AKG 451-E mics
to go with it.
As luck would have it,
Rod Stewart and The Faces
were playing The Forum
in the next day or so.
This would be a
perfect dress rehearsal
for the upcoming
Zep shows.
We scored a couple
last-minute tickets
in Loge 11,
Row K,
about
15-20 rows back
and 11 rows
off the floor.
They were not the
usual primo seats
in the first 5 rows
in the middle,
but they would do just fine.
The show was great.
It was high energy
and a lot of fun.
Ronnie Wood
was still playing
lead guitar.
Soon thereafter
he would join
the Rolling Stones
filling the spot vacated
by Mick Taylor
after he quit
in late ’74.
Mike bought the Nak
that March because
of the upcoming
Led Zeppelin shows.
He wanted the
best quality he could get.
Nakamichi had an
excellent reputation of building
"near reel-to-reel quality"
cassette decks.
At the time,
Nakamichi’s home decks
in the states were
the Nak 700,
which retailed for $700,
and the Nak 1000,
which ran a grand.
That was a ton of
money back in 1975.
Mike's Nak 550 cost him
either $500 or $550,
plus the AKGs
were a few
hundred as well.
Throw in the
power supplies
and cabling,
and this was a
sizable investment.
With
"Faces 1975”
a new era of recording
was born,
and the quality that
we know from
Mike Millard began.
This recording has
up-close sound,
so much so that I presumed
some of the guitar
must have been leaking
onto the tape
from the stage amps,
but Jim notes they were
sitting in loge seats
on the side,
nicely aligned
with the PA.
For a first attempt
on a brand new
tape deck,
Mike must have been thrilled
with the results,
as his recording
is bright,
lively and captures
the spirit of
The Faces
very well indeed
TRACKLIST
01 It’s All Over Now
02 Take a Look at that Guy
03 (I Know) I’m Losing You/Drum Solo
04 Bring It On Home To Me/You Send Me
05 Sweet Little Rock & Roller
06 I’d Rather Go Blind
07 Too Bad
08 Every Picture Tells a Story
09 Angel
10 Stay With Me
11 Gasoline Alley
12 I Can Feel the Fire
13 You Wear It Well
14 Maggie May
15 Twistin’ the Night Away
16 We’ll Meet Again
.jfif)
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