Bootlegs

[Adrian]

What is your favorite live/bootleg you have gotten over the years? Mine are Tales from the Crypt by The Mummies and Prime Directive Exterminate the Whole Ruman Race by The Misfits (even though the sound quality is complete shit.)

[John Battles]

THAT'S BRUTAL ! Supposedly , one member of the band attacked his Uncle  with a fishing hook(??). A lot of good reissues came out around the turn of the century - Pack , Hubble Bubble's first , FU2 (MEMBERS OF THE DOWNLINERS SECT BEATING THE PUNKS AT THEIR OWN GAME!) , and of course , Los Punk Rockers.
 
Alex said:

I would have to pick the not-so-legit reissue of the S/T LP by The Pack (German punk band).

[John Battles]

Another favorite of mine is "Elvis Presley - Live , Pearl Harbor Memorial , Hawaii , 1961".

Elvis was barely out of the service when he had to relive it onscreen (But ,while , in real life , Brigitte Bardot said "No" , Juliet Prowse said "Yes ! Yes ! ", even if it meant her offscreen Boyfriend ,  Frank Sinatra were to find out. He did. He let the kid live.)....

So , when he agreed to do this charity show , one of two before the 68 Comeback and Vegas era shows , his kool kat daddy badass pompadour was still buzzed off (For the movie cameras) never to return to it's former glory. He DID wear the gold lame Nudie jacket , tho' . It's a glimpse , musically speaking , of what could have still been.

His band , "The Unwashables" , as he calls 'em , consisted of Scotty Moore , D.J. Fontana (Bill Black was still alive , but , he never worked with Elvis again. I guess he was pissed , because "E" had to play the proto - Ramones bass line on "You're So Square...." when Black could'nt git it.), monster Jazz/C and W Guitar Player , Hank Garland, Boots Randolph , The Jordanaires , and Bob Moore on Bass. It's a dynamic cross section of early material (Going as far back as "That's All Right , Mama.) ", all the RCA hits , including his oft - overlooked "Holy shit ! I just got drafted!" Late 50's sides , and more recent stuff like a killer "Reconsider Baby" and "Are You Lonesome Tonight"( "Then came act two.....you seemed to change. You got FAT !!"). THE SOUND IS VERY GOOD , CONSIDERING THE TECHNOLOGY OF THE AGE , AND ALL THE HORNY WAHINIS SCREAMING THEIR LUNGS OUT.

THE ORIGINAL BOOTLEG HAS A NICE GATEFOLD SLEEVE WITH A PICTURE BOOKLET OF REPROS OF ALL THE HAWAII NEWSPAPER ARTICLES ANNOUNCING AND REVIEWING THE CONCERT. The concert also appears , in full , on the "Elvis Aaron Presley" box set . It's important for it's historical quality , also that there's nothing but great songs , and Elvis , in great voice , sounding confident , cocky , and in good humor , as though he were ready to conquer the world again , on his own terms.....Did'nt quite go that way.

 

[Tony Jonaitis]

Who remember "Back Room Records" in Amherst, Ma?  They only sold bootlegs (vinyl, of course).  I remember walking in there in 1980 and finding all four Ramones buying Ramones bootlegs!!!  Bliss!  Anyway, my first "punk" bootleg was "Whitman's Punk Sampler."  A great comp of live stuff by Patti Smith, Pistols, etc.

[John Battles]

Wow. How did they get away with only selling Bootlegs? Were they Mob - owned or something?

My ex - GF got arrested for selling Boots on the East Coast , and we're not even talking enough reords to fill the "X" section at your local , AFTER removing ( L.A. ) X , (Aussie) X, and X-Ray Spex....we're talking maybe a half - dozen records....

That's pretty cool, that story about The Ramones. A friend of mine loaned me that "Whitman's Punk Sampler" , was'nt Tom Petty on that , too , though? ha ha ha ha ha.
 
Tony Jonaitis said:

Who remember "Back Room Records" in Amherst, Ma?  They only sold bootlegs (vinyl, of course).  I remember walking in there in 1980 and finding all four Ramones buying Ramones bootlegs!!!  Bliss!  Anyway, my first "punk" bootleg was "Whitman's Punk Sampler."  A great comp of live stuff by Patti Smith, Pistols, etc.

[Mike]

Love this thread, making me revisit some stuff I haven't listened to in many years. I assume the Whitman's Punk Sampler had been rebooted by many different bootleggers just as many other boots had been. Mine has a 11 1/2" square piece of paper with artwork and no tracklisting. A previous owner must of written the tracklisting that is on the plain white labels. I can't remember the last time I played this one, maybe a decade or more ago. What a shame as the live recordings here are good. Here's a tracklisting:

Side 1: Patti Smith - 'Space Monkey' Tom Petty - 'Jaguar & Thunderbird', 'American Girl' Talking Heads - 'Psycho Killer' Runaways - 'Wasted'

Side 2: Sex Pistols - Anarchy In The U.K. Damned - 'Help', 'Stab your Back', 'So Messed Up' Ramones - 'Rockaway Beach', Sheena Is A Punk Rocker', 'Surfin' Bird' Iggy Pop - 'Neighborhood Threat' Patti Smith - 'Mafia'

John Battles said:

Wow. How did they get away with only selling Bootlegs? Were they Mob - owned or something?

My ex - GF got arrested for selling Boots on the East Coast , and we're not even talking enough reords to fill the "X" section at your local , AFTER removing ( L.A. ) X , (Aussie) X, and X-Ray Spex....we're talking maybe a half - dozen records....

That's pretty cool, that story about The Ramones. A friend of mine loaned me that "Whitman's Punk Sampler" , was'nt Tom Petty on that , too , though? ha ha ha ha ha.
 
Tony Jonaitis said:

Who remember "Back Room Records" in Amherst, Ma?  They only sold bootlegs (vinyl, of course).  I remember walking in there in 1980 and finding all four Ramones buying Ramones bootlegs!!!  Bliss!  Anyway, my first "punk" bootleg was "Whitman's Punk Sampler."  A great comp of live stuff by Patti Smith, Pistols, etc.

[Mike]

Screamers - '1977 Demos' is a good one to own in my opinion. I do not believe there is any duplication of tracks that are on the official "In A Better World" double CD release. My only complaint is that they split up "122 Hours of fear" between the A & B sides.

[Tony Jonaitis]

Mike said:

Love this thread, making me revisit some stuff I haven't listened to in many years. I assume the Whitman's Punk Sampler had been rebooted by many different bootleggers just as many other boots had been. Mine has a 11 1/2" square piece of paper with artwork and no tracklisting. A previous owner must of written the tracklisting that is on the plain white labels. I can't remember the last time I played this one, maybe a decade or more ago. What a shame as the live recordings here are good. Here's a tracklisting:

Side 1: Patti Smith - 'Space Monkey' Tom Petty - 'Jaguar & Thunderbird', 'American Girl' Talking Heads - 'Psycho Killer' Runaways - 'Wasted'

Side 2: Sex Pistols - Anarchy In The U.K. Damned - 'Help', 'Stab your Back', 'So Messed Up' Ramones - 'Rockaway Beach', Sheena Is A Punk Rocker', 'Surfin' Bird' Iggy Pop - 'Neighborhood Threat' Patti Smith - 'Mafia'

John Battles said:

Wow. How did they get away with only selling Bootlegs? Were they Mob - owned or something?

My ex - GF got arrested for selling Boots on the East Coast , and we're not even talking enough reords to fill the "X" section at your local , AFTER removing ( L.A. ) X , (Aussie) X, and X-Ray Spex....we're talking maybe a half - dozen records....

That's pretty cool, that story about The Ramones. A friend of mine loaned me that "Whitman's Punk Sampler" , was'nt Tom Petty on that , too , though? ha ha ha ha ha.
 
Tony Jonaitis said:

Who remember "Back Room Records" in Amherst, Ma?  They only sold bootlegs (vinyl, of course).  I remember walking in there in 1980 and finding all four Ramones buying Ramones bootlegs!!!  Bliss!  Anyway, my first "punk" bootleg was "Whitman's Punk Sampler."  A great comp of live stuff by Patti Smith, Pistols, etc.

[Tony Jonaitis]

Back Room Records was in business for at least five years.  I don't know how they were able to survive in those bootleg-hating days.  There was also Second Coming Records in Cambridge, Ma...they had tons of boots. Most dealers/stores bought their stock from wholesaler "Still Rare Records" in South Carolina.  Still Rare was a mail-order company that exploited some Carolina loophole and could not be shut down.  They even advertised in Rolling Stone's back pages!  I can remember getting flyers about bootleg cut-out sales...unpopular or unsold boots selling for as low as $1.37! 

[John Battles]

Interesting. I don't think they're as hardcore today , against Bootlegs. So many of them are produced in limited quantities , at best.
 
Tony Jonaitis said:

Back Room Records was in business for at least five years.  I don't know how they were able to survive in those bootleg-hating days.  There was also Second Coming Records in Cambridge, Ma...they had tons of boots. Most dealers/stores bought their stock from wholesaler "Still Rare Records" in South Carolina.  Still Rare was a mail-order company that exploited some Carolina loophole and could not be shut down.  They even advertised in Rolling Stone's back pages!  I can remember getting flyers about bootleg cut-out sales...unpopular or unsold boots selling for as low as $1.37! 

[John Battles]

Yeah , you have to go back and re-live the fun , from when you first scored those records....Knowing you were taking a chance , and , sometimes , even less than terrific sound was no deterrent from playing 'em over and over again. A lot of times , a good bootleg will put you there , because you'll hear things you would'nt hear on an official release. I just taped my friend's copy of the Whitman's Punk Sampler....except for Tom Petty. I know he got lumped in with the New Wave before he was very well known , but , even he had to proclaim "We're not Punks !" , because his band was getting confused with Johnny Thunders' Heartbreakers , who'd already been around the block. And , I DO mean , been around the block. My friend's copy of that record was just as you described , but , it did list the artists and titles.....I don't know if it's been "Re - booted".    Ever read "Hot Wacks" , friends? It was a magazine and book form guide to boots that were current , each release described in detail.....Plus , there were concert and girlie pictures of Bebe Buell and whatshername , the one who bought her own billboard on the Sunset Strip. Not Morganna , but.......and others.
  
Mike said:

Love this thread, making me revisit some stuff I haven't listened to in many years. I assume the Whitman's Punk Sampler had been rebooted by many different bootleggers just as many other boots had been. Mine has a 11 1/2" square piece of paper with artwork and no tracklisting. A previous owner must of written the tracklisting that is on the plain white labels. I can't remember the last time I played this one, maybe a decade or more ago. What a shame as the live recordings here are good. Here's a tracklisting:

Side 1: Patti Smith - 'Space Monkey' Tom Petty - 'Jaguar & Thunderbird', 'American Girl' Talking Heads - 'Psycho Killer' Runaways - 'Wasted'

Side 2: Sex Pistols - Anarchy In The U.K. Damned - 'Help', 'Stab your Back', 'So Messed Up' Ramones - 'Rockaway Beach', Sheena Is A Punk Rocker', 'Surfin' Bird' Iggy Pop - 'Neighborhood Threat' Patti Smith - 'Mafia'

John Battles said:

Wow. How did they get away with only selling Bootlegs? Were they Mob - owned or something?

My ex - GF got arrested for selling Boots on the East Coast , and we're not even talking enough reords to fill the "X" section at your local , AFTER removing ( L.A. ) X , (Aussie) X, and X-Ray Spex....we're talking maybe a half - dozen records....

That's pretty cool, that story about The Ramones. A friend of mine loaned me that "Whitman's Punk Sampler" , was'nt Tom Petty on that , too , though? ha ha ha ha ha.
 
Tony Jonaitis said:

Who remember "Back Room Records" in Amherst, Ma?  They only sold bootlegs (vinyl, of course).  I remember walking in there in 1980 and finding all four Ramones buying Ramones bootlegs!!!  Bliss!  Anyway, my first "punk" bootleg was "Whitman's Punk Sampler."  A great comp of live stuff by Patti Smith, Pistols, etc.

[Tony Jonaitis]

I loved Hot Wacks, and bought every issue of the book (and it was later a magazine). Today its Bootlegzone and Collector's Music.

[Mike]

John,

  You are talking about..