Merl Saunders and Friends
Wetlands Preserve
New York, NY
5/10/1990

Soundboard -> unknown DAT recorder -> DAT dub received in trade approx 1993 (seemingly low DAT generations) @ 16/48

DAT playback:  Sony R-500 -> Sound Devices 722 digital input (@24/48)

Mastering:  Soundforge Pro 10.0c - *All file manipulation in Soundforge done at 24 bits*.  Applied volume normalization, and a touch of "Clip peak restoration" at the very beginning of the show to deal with some overloaded samples.  Sample rate conversion 48khz to 44.1khz using iZotope 64-Bit SRC set higher than "Highest Quality" setting w/anti-alias filter.  Then dithered to 16 bits using using iZotope MBIT+ with Ultra noise shaping, with high dither settings.  Tracked in CDWav.

Set 1
1.  My Problems Got Problems
2.  Boogie On Reggae Woman
3.  banter - Merl thanks us, promotes Blues From The Rainforest project
4.  Blues From The Rainforest
5.  High Heeled Sneakers
6.  The Jealous Kind
7.  banter - dedication to Bill Graham
8.  After Midnight
9.  banter - setbreak announce

Set 2
1.  band intros / tuning
2.  Expressway To Your Heart
3.  You Can Leave Your Hat On
4.  Do I Move You?
5.  banter - meeting Willie Dixon
6.  Built For Comfort
7.  banter - inviting up Warren Haynes
8.  Sugaree *
9.  band intros
10. Hey Mona *+
(the encore was John Popper's solo rendition of "The Star Spangled Banner" on harmonica, but is not on the recording).

The Band:
Merl Saunders - organ, vocals
Steve Kimock - guitar
John Popper - harmonica
Harvey Brooks - bass
Christopher Parker - drums
Sammy Figureoa - percussion
Ray Chew - other keyboards

* = w/Warren Haynes on guitar
+ = no lyrics

Merl dubbed this lineup his "New York Rainforest Band"

There are random bursts of minor feedback at various points in the first set -- luckily they aren't too bad so I didn't worry too much about filtering them out.  Merl's vocals are pretty low in the mix for the first vocal tune (S1T2) until they get turned up afterwards (I was there and I distinctly remember his vocals being far too low for way too long!  You can hear him say "Can you hear me?" as he addresses the crowd in S1T3, and we all yelled back "NO!").  There is some slight distortion on the bass guitar in S2T2.  I also did a good bit of work getting the volume levels right for the beginning of the show, as they were overloading for the first few seconds of the song during some percussion hits (and I used SoundForge 10's "clip peak restoration" tool to remedy about 8 brief overloaded peaks in the very beginning of the 1st song) then suddenly dropped a lot, and then dropped again later in the song.  This should all be nicely smoothed out at this point.

Taper Notes:
Talk about history....this show that I'm putting out as BARN128 is deep for me.  To start with -- it was my first time seeing both Merl Saunders and Steve Kimock.  But more importantly -- this was my first time ever going to Wetlands.  I'd been hearing about Wetlands for quite a while before this....At the time I was still a student (a sophomore at Rutgers University), living in New Brunswick, NJ.  I had gotten in the habit of reading The Village Voice each which, which they gave away for free at our Student Center (yes, this was back when The Voice actually cost $1 I think), and included a section with listings for all of the NYC clubs -- Wetlands, Knitting Factory, Tramps, Irving Plaza, etc.  Each week I scanned the Wetlands ad with anticipation.  And on this week they listed "Merl Saunders and his friends".  Well, ask any Deadhead who Merl's best friend was -- and of course the answer would be "Jerry Garcia!"  So, sitting around with Al, who at the time was one a housemates' boyfriend (yes, I lived in an off-campus house with 10 people), our 20 year old brains were like "We need to be at this!" on the chance we might get to see Jerry sit-in at a tiny place.  (Of course the nearly 42 year-old me knows better than to think Jerry would have dropped-in anywhere!)   So he picked us up tickets for us and we trained into NYC.

Anyone who has actually been to Wetlands knows that it was not easy to find -- it was in a strange neighborhood near the Holland Tunnel that at the time was mostly a warehouse-y district (though now it's part of the super swanky neighborhood known as "Tribeca" [standing for the "Triangle Below Canal"]....and of course we wandered around trying to find it before finally getting there.  Of course EVERYTHING at Wetlands ran super late, so we had no issue making the show.  This was, by the way, in the era before they turned the kitchen to the left of the stage (where they sold burritos and Ben & Jerry's Peace Pops) into the backstage area, so the band had nowhere to go between sets, except downstairs into the lounge to mingle among the fans.

Though Jerry was apparently not in the house on this night, Merl's "Friends" were still pretty special.  I was in a tiny room with Merl playing and GETTING DOWN onstage (like he always did!), John Popper playing for the entire show, Warren Haynes (who I did know from seeing the Allman Brothers the previous summer) during the 2nd set (I was in awe of being in the same small room with him at the time!), and a bunch of other great musicians, including Steve Kimock, who I didn't really get to know more about until a number of years in the future.

This show featured, musically, a number of classics I was familiar with from some of the Jerry & Merl (and "Legion Of Mary") live recordings I had -- including "Expressway To Your Heart", "Boogie On Reggae Woman", "High Heeled Sneakers", "My Problems Got Problems", and "You Can Leave Your Hat On"; other covers I was well familiar with "After Midnight", "Sugaree", "Hey Mona"; and funky/bluesy covers that I wasn't previously familiar with -- "Built For Comfort", "Do I Move You?", "The Jealous Kind".  But the centerpiece of the show is surely Merl's recent composition "Blues From The Rainforest" from his just-released album (that this show was sort of a party for) -- it's a musical tour-de-force that takes the listener on a journey.  Apparently this album went on to be a huge hit for Merl, topping the "New Age" music charts.  I'm not quite sure what New Age music is (or was?) or if there's even such a chart anymore...

Back to this recording, I actually did tape this show on cassette back in the day, but my original cassettes were somehow misplaced.  Luckily a few years later this show magically turned up on a tape list from SOMEONE (I can't recall who) who I was arranging a DAT tape trade with, and voila -- hole in my collection filled....and with a nice soundboard recording.  While generally I prefer a quality audience recording, the mix in the venue on this night was poor at best, and I was never happy with my original recording -- so this version holds up better.  The only drawback is that John Popper came out and played a solo encore of "The Star Spangled Banner" on harmonica, and it's not on the recording at all.  :(

Anyway this was a historic night for me, and the music holds up very well 22 years later.  I saw Merl Saunders probably 15 more times until he took ill and then passed on a few years back, so I'll have a lot more Merl in the BARN series for you all eventually!

Enjoy!

Scott

Here's a rundown of all of my previous BARN archival releases (all can be found on archive.org except as noted):
BARN1 - Col Bruce Hampton and the Code Talkers at Bret & Joyce's wedding 9/17/2005
BARN2 - Col Bruce Hampton and the Aquarium Rescue Unit (w/guest Warren Haynes for all of set 2) Wetlands 11/20/1993
BARN3 - moe. Wetlands 7/8/1995
BARN4 - Dan Bern Bottom Line 7/31/1998 (late show)
BARN5 - moe. Birch Hill 10/31/1996
BARN6 - moe. Maxwells 1/20/1996
BARN7 - Dan Bern Central Park Summerstage 9/19/1997
BARN8 - Dan Bern, Bottom Line 8/1/1998
BARN9 - moe. Bayou 4/5/1997
BARN10 - moe. Irving Plaza 4/4/1997
BARN11 - moe. AKA 9/7/1995
BARN12 - Yolk AKA 9/7/1995
BARN13 - Robert Walter/Johnny Vidacovich/James Singleton/Donald Harrison Preservation Hall 4/30/08
BARN14 - Phish Las Vegas, NV 10/31/1998 (on bt.etree.org)
BARN15 - Phish Great Went @ Loring AFB, Limestone, ME 8/16/1997 (on bt.etree.org) - by request
BARN16 - Phish Great Went @ Loring AFB, Limestone, ME 8/17/1997 (on bt.etree.org), includes orchestra set - by request
BARN17 - Phish Red Rocks Amphitheater, Morrison, CO, 8/4/1996 (on bt.etree.org) - by request
BARN18 - Phish Red Rocks Amphitheater, Morrison, CO, 8/6/1996 (on bt.etree.org) - by request
BARN19 - Phish Red Rocks Amphitheater, Morrison, CO, 8/7/1996 (on bt.etree.org) - by request
BARN20 - Phish Red Rocks Amphitheater, Morrison, CO, 8/5/1996 (on bt.etree.org) - by request
BARN21 - God Street Wine, Irving Plaza, NYC 6/24/1993
BARN22 - Leftover Salmon, Wetlands, NYC 10/1/1994
BARN23 - Anders Osborne, Manny's Carwash, NYC 11/5/1997
BARN24 - Anders Osborne, Manny's Carwash, NYC 11/6/1997
BARN25 - moe. Pool Party, Morganville, NJ 6/2/1996
BARN26 - Widespread Panic, Stone Pony, Asbury Park, NJ 11/7/1992 (on bt.etree.org)
BARN27 - Stew ["Passing Strange"], The Turning Point, Piermont, NY 4/6/2003 (on bt.etree.org. dimeadozen.org)
BARN28 - Stew ["Passing Strange"], Joe's Pub, New York, NY 5/22/2003 (on bt.etree.org)
BARN29 - Percy Hill, Lion's Den, NYC 3/16/1996
BARN30 - Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, Irving Plaza, 8/3/1995
BARN31 - Percy Hill, Wetlands, NYC 6/8/1996
BARN32 - Bad Livers, Mercury Lounge, NYC, 11/15/1999 (opening for Leftover Salmon)
BARN33 - Bad Livers, Mercury Lounge, NYC, 11/16/1999 (opening for Leftover Salmon)
BARN34 - G. Love And Special Sauce, Central Park Summerstage, NYC 6/18/1995
BARN35 - The Band, The Great Lawn, Central Park, NYC 5/16/1993 (on dimeadozen.org)
BARN36 - The Band, Mountain Stage Radio broadcast, Charleston, WV, recorded 4/4/1996 (on dimeadozen.org)
*** Start of New Orleans Jazzfest Appreciation mini-series (note that BARN13 technically belongs in this series) ***
BARN37 - Ivan Neville's Dumpstaphunk, Tipitina's, New Orleans, LA, 5/5/2008
BARN38 - Steve Kimock Band, Tipitina's, New Orleans, LA, 5/6/2001 (2AM show)
BARN39 - The Funky Meters, Tipitina's, New Orleans, LA, 5/6/2001 (11PM show) (on bt.etree.org)
BARN40 - Anders Osborne, Tower Records instore, New Orleans, LA, 5/7/2001 (on bt.etree.org)
BARN41 - Joe Krown Trio w/Walter "Wolfman" Washington, Russell Batiste + special guest Mike Gordon, Tipitina's, New Orleans, 5/5/2008
BARN42 - Russell Batiste and Friends, The Howlin' Wolf, New Orleans, 5/1/2008 (on bt.etree.org)
BARN43 - Global Noize, The Howlin' Wolf, New Orleans, 5/1/2008 (on bt.etree.org)
BARN44 - Deep Banana Blackout, The Howlin' Wolf, New Orleans, LA 5/6/2000
BARN45 - Bela Fleck And The Flecktones, The Saenger Theater, New Orleans, LA 5/5/2000
BARN46 - Medeski Martin And Wood, The Saenger Theater, New Orleans, LA 5/6/2000 (on bt.etree.org)
BARN47 - String Cheese Incident, The Saenger Theater, New Orleans, LA 5/5/2000
BARN48 - Soulive, House Of Blues Parish, New Orleans, LA 5/5/2001
BARN49 - String Cheese Incident, Cajun Queen Riverboat, New Orleans, LA 5/3/2000
BARN50 - New Mastersounds, House Of Blues Parish, New Orleans, LA 5/2/2008
BARN51 - Funky Meters, Bonnaroo, Manchester, TN 6/13/2003 (on bt.etree.org)
BARN52 - George Porter And The Runnin' Pardners, Village Underground, NYC, 5/19/2001
BARN53 - Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Tramps, NYC 10/29/1993 late show
BARN54 - The Meters, Tramps, NYC 5/15/93 late show (on dimeadozen)
BARN55 - The Meters, Tramps, NYC 10/29/93 late show (on dimeadozen)
BARN56 - Wild Magnolias, Wetlands, NYC 2/10/2000 (on bt.etree.org)
*** end of New Orleans Jazzfest Appreciation mini-series ***
BARN57 - Blues Traveler, Livingston Gym @ Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ 4/17/1993
BARN58 - Phish, Greek Theatre, Los Angeles, CA, 10/29/1998 (on bt.etree.org)
BARN59 - Jazz Is Dead, Bottom Line, NYC 2/7/1998 (late show only) (on bt.etree.org)
BARN60 - Grateful Dead, Cal Expo Amphitheatre, Sacramento, CA 5/27/1993
BARN61 - The Dude Of Life (w/Trey Anastasio and Jon Fishman for entire show, plus Page McConnell for a bunch), Wetlands, NYC 2/5/1994 - on bt.etree.org
BARN62 - ALO, High Sierra Music Festival Main Stage, Quincy, CA 7/3/2005
BARN63 - Leo Kottke & Mike Gordon, High Sierra Music Festival Main Stage, Quincy, CA 7/3/2005 (on bt.etree.org)
BARN64 - Dan Bern, The Bottom Line, NYC 11/11/1998
BARN65 - Galactic, Knitting Factory, NYC 10/18/1997 (on bt.etree.org)
BARN66 - Bruce Hornsby, Paramount Theater, NYC 12/7/1993 (on bt.etree.org)
BARN67 - God Street Wine, Irving Plaza, NYC 8/26/1993
BARN68 - Warren Haynes Midnight Southern Jam - Wetlands, NYC 8/5/1993 (on bt.etree.org)
BARN69 - Dave Matthews And Friends (Trey Anastasio, Tim Reynolds, Tony Hall, Brady Blade, Ray Paczkowski) Bonnaroo 6/11/2004 (on bt.etree.org)
BARN70 - Rana at Bret & Joyce's wedding, Whitehall, NY 9/17/2005
BARN71 - Soulive - Baby Jupiter, NYC 6/11/1999
BARN72 - Chris Barron, Nightingale Bar, NYC 7/14/1997
BARN73 - Chris Barron, Nightingale Bar, NYC 11/17/1997
BARN74 - George Porter's 60th Birthday w/PBS and friends, Blender Theater, NYC 12/29/2007
BARN75 - Jennifer Hartswick Band with special guest Trey Anastasio, Lion's Den, NYC 11/7/2003 (on bt.etree.org)
BARN76 - moe., Gathering Of The Vibes, Seaside Park, Bridgeport, CT 6/20/1999
BARN77 - Project Logic, Gathering Of The Vibes, Seaside Park, Bridgeport, CT 6/20/1999
BARN78 - Phish - Beacon Theater, NYC 4/13/1994 (on bt.etree.org)
BARN79 - Phish - Beacon Theater, NYC 4/14/1994 (on bt.etree.org)
BARN80 - Phish - Beacon Theater, NYC 4/15/1994 (on bt.etree.org)
BARN81 - The Recipe, Wetlands, NYC 11/12/1999
BARN82 - Ominous Seapods, Wetlands, NYC 6/4/1999
BARN83 - Coby Brown Group, Wetlands, NYC 11/12/1999 (on bt.etree.org)
BARN84 - The Big Wu, Wetlands, NYC 11/12/1999
BARN85 - Moon Boot Lover, Wetlands, NYC 6/5/1999
BARN86 - Percy Hill, Wetlands, NYC 6/5/1999
BARN87 - Miracle Orchestra, Wetlands Lounge, NYC 6/5/1999
BARN88 - Jiggle The Handle, Wetlands, NYC 6/5/1999
BARN89 - Jiggle The Handle, Wetlands, NYC 10/2/1998
BARN90 - Lake Trout, Wetlands Lounge, NYC 6/5/1999
BARN91 - Olu Dara, Bell Atlantic Jazz Festival, South Street Seaport Atrium, NYC 6/6/1999 (on bt.etree.org / www.dimeadozen.org)
BARN92 - Donna The Buffalo, Wetlands, NYC 11/12/1999
BARN93 - Radiators (w/Merl Saunders sit-in), Irving Plaza 10/8/1998
BARN94 - Tiny Lights, Wetlands, NYC 8/18/1993
BARN95 - Tiny Lights, Wetlands, NYC 1/5/1994
BARN96 - Radiators, Irving Plaza, NYC 11/14/1997
BARN97 - Radiators, Manny's Carwash, NYC 5/30/1998
BARN98 - The Wood Brothers (w/Medeski, Wolleson, and special guest Amos Lee), Bowery Ballroom, NYC 5/17/2008 - on bt.etree.org
BARN99 - Pieta Brown, Bowery Ballroom, NYC 5/17/2008 - on bt.etree.org
BARN100 - Jeff Buckley, CBGB's 313 Gallery, NYC 12/18/1993 - on dimeadozen
BARN101 - Tiny Lights, CBGB's 313 Gallery, NYC 12/18/1993
BARN102 - Tiny Lights, The Lion's Den, NYC 2/18/1994
BARN103 - Tiny Lights, Club Sine', NYC 2/3/1994
BARN104 - Ha Ha The Moose (moe. side project), BB Kings, NYC 11/23/2001
BARN105 - Medeski Martin & Wood, Hilton Hotel Ballroom, NYC, 4/29/2005 - on bt.etree.org
BARN106 - Tiny Lights, The Court Tavern, New Brunswick, NJ 11/24/1993
BARN107 - Tiny Lights, Knitting Factory, NYC 10/26/1994
BARN108 - Tiny Lights, Mercury Lounge, NYC 7/13/1994
BARN109 - All God's Children, The Lion's Den, NYC 2/18/1994
BARN110 - Dan Bern, Bottom Line 1/2/1999 (w/Moxy Fruvous guesting in the late show)
BARN111 - Moxy Fruvous, Bottom Line 1/2/1999 (w/Dan Bern guesting in encore)
BARN112 - Peter Rownan's Reggaebilly!, High Sierra Music Festival, Quincy, CA 7/6/2002 (on The Trader's Den)
BARN113 - Conehead Buddha, Wetlands, NYC 10/2/1998
BARN114 - Conehead Buddha, Tramps, NYC, 2/12/1998
BARN115 - Conehead Buddha, The Lion's Den, NYC 7/2/1998
BARN116 - Frogwings (w/special guest Warren Haynes), Wetlands, NYC, 2/9/1999 on bt.etree.org
BARN117 - All God's Children, Jack's House Party, Long Valley, NJ 9/4/1994
BARN118 - God Street Wine, Irving Plaza, NYC 10/9/1993
BARN119 - David Bromberg, Tarrytown Music Hall, 10/15/1999 (on bt.etree.org / www.dimeadozen.org)
BARN120 - The Concept w/George Porter, ?uestlove, Ivan Neville, Eric Krasno, Bill Summers, Casey Benjamin, BB King's, NYC 9/26/02 (on bt.etree.org)
BARN121 - Percy Hill, The Lion's Den, New York, NY 7/13/1996
BARN122 - Spin Doctors, The Wetlands, 9/27/1995
BARN123 - Aquarium Rescue Unit, The Wetlands, NYC, 3/4/1994
BARN124 - Allman Brothers Band, Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Morrison, CO 8/3/1996 (not publicly posted due to ABB trading policy)
BARN125 - Spin Doctors, Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Morrison, CO 8/3/1996
BARN126 - Col. Bruce Hampton and the Fiji mariners, Wetlands, New York, NY 9/2/1994
BARN127 - Phil Lesh and Friends, Irving Plaza, New York, NY 5/21/2002
BARN128 - Merl Saunders and Friends, The Wetlands, New York, NY 5/10/1990

Recorded by unknown

Transferred (11/6/2011), mastered, and tracked (4/10-4/11/2012) by Scott Bernstein
