Bob Dylan
Pacific Amphitheatre
Costa Mesa, CA
July 31, 1988
Mike Millard Master Tapes via JEMS
The Lost and Found Mike the MICrophone Tapes Volume 148

Recording Gear: AKG 451E microphones (CK-1 cardioid capsules) > Uher CR240 cassette recorder

JEMS 2022 Transfer: Mike Millard First-Generation Cassette made for Ed F > Nakamichi RX-505 (azimuth adjustment) > Sound Devices USBPre 2 > Audacity 2.0 capture 2496 > iZotope RX8 > iZotope Ozone 8 > MBIT+ resample to 1644 > Audacity > TLH > FLAC

01 Subterranean Homesick Blues
02 Absolutely Sweet Marie
03 Masters Of War
04 Driftin' Too Far From Shore
05 Simple Twist Of Fate
06 Highway 61 Revisited
07 Song To Woody (acoustic)
08 Mr Tambourine Man (acoustic)
09 Barbara Allen (acoustic)
10 Girl From The North Country (acoustic)
11 I Shall Be Released
12 Silvio
13 Like A Rolling Stone
14 The Times They Are A-Changin'(acoustic)
15 To Ramona (acoustic)

Known Faults:
-Barbara Allen: start cut
-Final song of the night, "All Along The Watchtower," is missing

Introduction to the Lost and Found Mike the MICrophone Series

Welcome to JEMS’ Lost and Found Mike the MICrophone series presenting recordings made by legendary taper Mike Millard, AKA Mike The Mike, best known for his masters of Led Zeppelin done in and around Los Angeles circa 1975-77. For the complete details on how tapes in this series came to be lost and found again, as well as JEMS' long history with Mike Millard, please refer to the notes in Vol. One: http://www.dimeadozen.org/torrents-details.php?id=500680.

Until 2020, the Lost and Found series presented fresh transfers of previously unavailable first-generation copies made by Mike himself for friends like Stan Gutoski of JEMS, Jim R, Bill C. and Barry G. These sources were upgrades to circulating copies and in most instances marked the only time verified first generation Millard sources had been directly digitized in the torrent era.

That all changed with the discovery of many of Mike Millard’s original master tapes.

Yes, you read that correctly, Mike Millard’s master cassettes, long rumored to be destroyed or lost, have been found. Not all of them but many, and with them a much more complete picture has emerged of what Millard recorded between his first show in late 1973 and his last in early 1993.

The reason the rediscovery of his master tapes is such a revelation is that we’ve been told for decades they were gone. Internet myths suggest Millard destroyed his master tapes before taking his own life, an imprudent detail likely concocted based on the assumption that because his master tapes never surfaced and Mike’s mental state was troubled he would do something rash WITH HIS LIFE’S WORK. There’s also a version of the story where Mike’s family dumps the tapes after he dies. Why would they do that?

The truth is Mike’s masters remained in his bedroom for many years after his death in 1994. We know at least a few of Millard’s friends and acquaintances contacted his mother Lia inquiring about the tapes at the time to no avail. But in the early 2000s, longtime Millard friend Rob S was the one she knew and trusted enough to preserve Mike’s work.

The full back story on how Mike’s master tapes were saved can be found in the notes for Vol. 18 Pink Floyd, which was the first release in our series transferred from Millard’s original master tapes:

http://www.dimeadozen.org/torrents-details.php?id=667745&hit=1
http://www.dimeadozen.org/torrents-details.php?id=667750&hit=1

Bob Dylan, Pacific Amphitheatre, Costa Mesa, CA, July 31, 1988

The Never Ending Tour began in the Golden State in June 1988, but it didn't come to Southern California until this show at the Pac Amp in July. Mike "The Mike" Millard famously recorded Dylan in 1978 and 1979, but was on hiatus when Dylan came back around in 1986 with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, making this his first Dylan show in seven years. This set is also only the third show Mike recorded once he returned to taping (he did Steve Winwood and Sting the prior week), after hitting pause on his hobby in December 1983.

The start of the Never Ending Tour was an exciting time for Dylan fans, as his new band offered a more direct, scaled down sound and Bob was exploring his catalog and mixing up the setlist. 

Listening to this show during mastering, I was struck that Dylan's voice doesn't sound all that different in 1988 to what it sounded like when I saw him at Pantages in June, at least in terms of tone, but his vocal energy has dropped considerably. He sounds positively nimble here, working through an appealing set that is low on rarities but high on broad appeal.

Our copy of the show comes from Ed F who reports that he loaned Mike his Uher 240 cassette deck to record the show, albeit with Millard's go-to AKG 451E microphones.

Jim R reminds us that the Uher was smaller than Mike's Nakamichi 550 and therefore a bit easier to get into shows. In fact, Ed's Uher was used to capture one of Dylan's shows at Universal Amphitheatre in 1978 (Vol. 4 of the Lost and Found series). Jim adds that Ed and Mike debated Nak vs. Uher, with Mike strongly supportive of his deck, which lends credence to the idea that perhaps Millard's Nak was not fully up and running post sabbatical and he needed to borrow Ed's deck. The Uher is no slouch and Mike makes a very good recording of Dylan's set, with a few audience interactions to deal with. Samples provided.

The final song of the night, "All Along The Watchtower" isn't on Ed's copy, most likely because it wasn't dubbed as a single song on a second tape as opposed to it going unrecorded, but we're grateful for what was preserved. Lossless Bob lists two recordings of this show; not out of the question Mike's has circulated before, but this should be an upgrade to any prior version.

Is it just me or does the breakdown in "Silvio" sound an awful lot like the one in "Going To A Go-Go"?

###

JEMS is proud to partner with Rob, Jim R, Ed F, Barry G and many others to release Millard's historic recordings and to help set the record straight about the man himself.

We can’t thank Rob enough for reconnecting with Jim and putting his trust in our Millard reissue campaign. He kept Mike’s precious tapes under wraps for two decades, but once Rob learned of our methods and stewardship, he agreed to contribute the Millard DATs and cassettes to the program. Our releases would not be nearly as compelling without Jim’s memories, photos and other background contributions. As many of you have noted, the stories offer an entertaining complement to Mike’s incredible audio documents.

Thanks to Professor Goody for his help with pitch and to mjk5510 for his stalwart post production efforts.

Finally, cheers to the late, great Mike the MICrophone. His work never ceases to impress. May he rest in peace.

BK for JEMS