Chief wrote:I see on Dime that there is a boot of The Pogues and The Chieftains from 1991. It claims to have two songs on it that were dropped from the box set.
Anyone have any idea what the quality of this boot is? Is this also the source material for what was going to be in the boxed set, or is this lower quality?
I know not this "Dime", so I haven't checked and am insufficiently curious to do so. The Pogues/Chieftains show was recorded on 2" magnetic tape on a 24-track recorder (ie, as though in a recording studio of its time, and indeed, the Brixton Academy stage was filled with perspex division screens to achieve better balance and separation between the instruments, especially important given the fragility of the Chieftains' weapons of choice). I have heard the entire show on a rough mix that was made as the concert went down on tape and I have to say - from memory - the Pogues section is more satisfying than the Pogues/Chieftains section.
I have never heard the bootleg of this show but I always assumed it was a copy of this rough mix tape acquired through nefarious means, but it seems I may be wrong, that it's an audience-sourced recording. The only Pogues/Chieftains tracks we actually mixed in 1991, and did not use, were the two tracks later dropped from the box set, "Lillibulero/The White Cockade" and "Biddy Mulligan, The Pride Of The Coombe" as well as "Kitty", which was not a contender for the box set as I already knew I was going to use the superior Barrowlands 1987 live recording of this, as well as a 1984 demo.
Assuming, as is likely, that "Lillibulero" and "Biddy Mulligan" slip into the bootleg arena by virtue of their comparatively wide availability on promo copies of the box set, made before the final licenses were cleared, there is a way of telling whether they are "box set" recordings or audience-sourced recordings. In order to tighten up and improve the flow of the performances, myself and Nick Robbins made a few small edits on the Box Set versions. Here and there on the original performances, there was a hesitancy between the two bands, born out of the fact that we had only 3 full days rehearsal for this show. The edits, made possible in 2007 by the pro-tools which were not in existence in 1991, sharpen up the performances and make them sound more confident and enjoyable. The edits are in fact measurable - in one case, me and Nick removed as much as 4 bars.
But in general, the "box set" Pogues/Chieftains recordings are of the highest possible quality and were mixed by Chris Dickie, who was Steve Lillywhite's chief co-engineer at Rak. I mention this here because I learned of Chris's involvement AFTER the credits for the box set went to press, and I'm a stickler for credit-where-it's-due, even if Medusa is not quite as formal a source of recognition as the sleeve notes to the box set.
Posted: Tue May 27, 2008 2:11 am
