Little Feat & Friends
1977-06-10^
"Midnight Special"
Music Center Auditorium, Ahmanson Theatre Complex
Burbank, California, USA

NBC television broadcast audio, 13:38, A
^ Pre-recorded for syndicated TV broadcast; first aired June 11, 1977.

Contrast Clauses and Caveats:

This is a different version than the many other sources of this broadcast out there.
To my ears this pre-broadcast version does not suffer from the typical television
broadcast audio which is intentionally compressed for vocal clarity. The audio here
has a sweet and warm (and not fuzzy) analog sound and great care was taken during
the conversion, downsampling and dithering stages of the transfers to ensure these
qualities were retained.

It is unlikely that anyone has heard every version of this recording: It was "Don
Kirshner's Rock Concert" [DKRC] and later, the "Midnight Special" [MS], that we watched
on Fridays starting at midnight. And those programs were re-broadcast liberally over a
wide geographic area and taped by many. But I can say this version sounds better than
those I have obtained preciously, except one.

The other version that sounds this great is the FM version from "ABC in Concert". The
"ABC In Concert" and "In Concert" were a series of syndicated monthly radio programs
and TV specials promoting DKRC and MS by airing excerpts. The broadcasts were picked
up by subscribing ABC network stations and affiliates. The FM broadcast is shorter as
it does not contain teh partial 'Rock and Roll Doctor' that is on the video and here
in this audio variant where it is, unfortunately and perfunctorily, cut by the end of
the program.

I had been hoping to get access to the unedited, per-broadcast footage or rushes, but,
alas, settled for what I could get. Which version and variant is best is a choice you
can make, but I best emjoy the rich sound of this one and the FM is close if not its equal. If
you have this audio program already, dL at your discretion. If not... Get it.

Enjoy, plaz.


RECORDING INFORMATION

Source: NBC TV Studios, NYC, broadcast archives database
	Courtesy fiendish featfreak and friendly popdart

Lineage: 2" VTR Master Reel > edited 1" Station Reel > S-VHS-NTSC video tape >
	 wav(24/48) > thumb drive > sneaker net * > HD > e-trade > restore >
	 downsample to 16/44.1, track > flac(8)

Note: Tracks are numbered according to the order of their appearance in the
DKRC episode which may differ from the order of the source recordings which
have breaks between each take and track.


SET LIST

01 Dixie Chicken* (3:33)
07 Old Folks Boogie (3:49)
12 Rocket in My Pocket (4:16)
17 Rock and Roll Doctor [nc] (1:57) {fades to cut when credits stop rolling}

LITTLE FEAT

Lowell George - vocals, slide and rhythm el-g, percussion
Paul Barrére - guitar, vocals
Bill Payne - keyboards, piano, vocals
Kenny Gradney - bass, vocals
Richie Hayward - drums
Sam Clayton - congas, percussion, vocals

* with Special Guests (performers for the same episode, on 'Dixie Chicken')
Emmylou Harris (voc)
Bonnie Raitt (voc, g)
Jesse Winchester (voc, g)


plaz's post audio restoration:
- corrected DC offset errors
- notch filter centred at 15.675 kHz to attenuate TV broadcast pilot tone
- swapped channels
- repaired clicks and a few brief gain drops
- slight EQ for bass and brilliance
- phase offsets corrected for each track
- cross-faded applause between the takes (to let it flow)
- Tracked, tagged and packed for TTD.

A No-Tish Surlok Home Production (2020). All rights denied.
* Thanks to popdart for a copy of his freaky deaky sneaker source

The video of the entire "Midnight Special" episode is still seeding on TTD:
Midnight Special 1977-06-10 Various Artists (NTSC)...
http://www.thetradersden.org/forums/showthread.php?t=143103&highlight=1977-06-10

Sharing the dope for TTD's faithful, Little Feat fiends, fans and friends. Pass it on.

Posted to TTD on January 16, 2020, by plaz.
