Bob Dylan Pacific Amphitheatre Costa Mesa, CA September 8, 1989 Mike Millard First Generation Tapes via JEMS The Lost and Found Mike the MICrophone Tapes Volume 52 Recording Gear: AKG 451E Microphones (CK-1 cardioid capsules) > Nakamichi 550 Cassette Recorder Transfer: Mike Millard First Generation Cassettes > Nakamichi RX-505 (azimuth adjustment) > Sound Devices USBPre 2 > Audacity 2.0 capture > iZotope RX8 and Ozone 6 > Audacity > TLH > FLAC 01 Most Likely You Go Your Way (And I'll Go Mine) 02 Positively 4th Street 03 Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat 04 I Want You 05 Ballad Of A Thin Man 06 Highway 61 Revisited 07 It's All Over Now, Baby Blue 08 Baby Let Me Follow You Down (Eric von Schmidt cover) 09 Don't Think Twice, It's All Right 10 Rank Strangers To Me (Stanley Brothers cover) 11 One Irish Rover (Van Morrison cover) 12 It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry 13 I'll Remember You 14 I Shall Be Released 15 Like A Rolling Stone 16 Mr. Tambourine Man 17 All Along The Watchtower Known Faults: -Rank Strangers: splice 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 MICrophone, 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 1992. 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, September 8, 1989 After spending a few weeks in the heyday of Mike the Mike's career, we fast forward to 1989 when Mike settled into doing much of his recording in the South Bay area of Southern California, often at the Pacific Amphitheatre in Costa Mesa where he would record some two dozen shows in the late '80s and early '90s. For Bob Dylan, 1989 was the second year of the Never Ending Tour, which also hit Costa Mesa the previous summer. We're still working out whether the tape we have of the 1988 show is a Mike master, but this one is verified, with the first generation cassette source for our torrent a copy made and labeled by Mike himself. According to Lossless Bob, circulating copies of the Costa Mesa '89 show are mediocre, rating only a C, which should make the appearance of Mike's excellent, up-close recording great news for Dylan collectors. Mike himself recorded Dylan multiple times in 1978 and 1979 (extraordinary recordings, released as Volumes 1, 2, 3, 5 and 7 in our series), so we can say he was a fan. Millard also seemed to have the Pac Amp (as he and his friends called the outdoor Costa Mesa venue) on lock, as seemingly every one of the shows he recorded there in this period sounds like it was done from the same location. His Dylan capture bears his signature rich, full and up-close sound, without much annoying audience. Samples provided. The setlist is hard to quibble with as well with a nice mix of Dylan classics ("I Want You," "Ballad of a Thin Man," "Positively 4th Street") and more obscure inclusions including one of just 18 known performances of Van Morrison's "One Irish Rover" and one of just 26 of the Stanley Brothers' "Rank Strangers." ### JEMS is proud to partner with Rob, Jim R, Barry G and other friends 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. Once again, a thank you to Goody for providing pitch assessment and to mjk5510 for his essential support in our on-going campaign. Finally, cheers to the late, great Mike the MICrophone. His work never ceases to impress. May he rest in peace. BK for JEMS