*Cameron Crowe’s The Uncool (Assorted articles, interviews, liner notes, etc.)

*Setlist (setlists for acts and breakdown by year, song, tour, etc.)

*Rolling Stone Magazine Original Reviews/Articles (selected; search by title/subject)

*Chicken on a Unicycle (West Coast band and venue bios/timelines)

*Rock’s Backpages (subscription-based service providing full articles)

*”The Yardbirds 1968: The Final Days” blog (the most informative source on the group available online)

*The Year of Led Zeppelin (reviews of every unofficial Led Zeppelin concert recording released as of 2008)

*Circus Magazine 1977 Reader’s Poll

*Creem Magazine Reader Polls (1973-1980)

*Shows of Interest:

• The Rolling Stones’ 1967 Paris concert, part of the last tour with Brian Jones, makes for one of the most enjoyable recordings from the group. Jones’ efforts in particular are remarkable, and the band is able to replicate the studio sound of “Paint It, Black”, “Lady Jane”, and “Ruby Tuesday” without issue. Additionally, Richards’ soloing on “Paint It, Black” stands among the nicest lead work he has ever committed to tape. “Yesterday’s Papers” gets tacked on to “Get Off of My Cloud” and “Goin’ Home”, included in the setlists only for this European Tour, brews up a storm before segueing into “Satisfaction”. Based on this performance alone, the 1967 European Tour provided by far the most appealing sets in the band’s pre-Taylor days.
• Queen‘s December 26, 1979 show at the Hammersmith Odeon, staged in part for the Concerts for the People of Kampuchea benefit (“Now I’m Here” would appear on the resulting album), can be found in excellent video and audio quality. Though similar in setlist to the 1978-79 European tours that produced Live Killers, the show features Mercury in far better, clearer voice; the fall 1979 British Tour is regularly cited as Mercury’s finest outing with Queen. Every bit as compelling as the 1974 Odeon, 1977 Earls Court, or 1981 Montreal shows, the footage is essential for anyone even vaguely fond of the group. Excerpts from the show comprised the 1980 Queen Special broadcast.
• Jimmy Page’s 1988 stop in Syracuse, part of his first solo tour, exists (as with many of the shows) in enjoyable audio/visual quality. Fully into the swing of the Outrider tour, the November 4 show catches Page in a particularly stunning display. In addition to a ridiculous (you’ll know it when you see and hear it) “Midnight Moonlight” that incorporates “White Summer/Black Mountainside”, Page and company tear through the Led Zeppelin, Death Wish II, and Outrider material with a vengeance. “Who’s to Blame”, “Over the Hills and Far Away”, and “The Chase” (with “Dazed and Confused”) soar, while the Outrider cuts come across even better on stage than on record. Along with the October 28 Nassau Coliseum show, the performance marks the apex of the tour and proves that the live setting could still offer a place for a group that included Page and a Bonham.
• Janis Joplin’s reunion show with Big Brother & the Holding Company (plus Nick Gravenites), from April 4, 1970, is available in its entirety on a decent audience tape. “Ego Rock” and “All is Loneliness” would appear, excerpted, on Joplin In Concert (1972); both are included unedited. All the vindication Big Brother & the Holding Company could ever need and more can be found here–and in under 100 minutes no less. A stellar take on Kozmic Blues‘ “Try (Just a Little Bit Harder)”, the withering “All is Loneliness”, and memorable versions of “Summertime” and “Ball and Chain” make this possibly the greatest single representation of Big Brother and/or Joplin’s careers.

*Other Noteworthy Tapes:

• Most of Steppenwolf’s February 1970 set in Portland, Maine. A ridiculous version of “The Pusher” here.
• Professionally-shot footage (part of a television special) of Jethro Tull at the Royal Albert Hall in 1969; the black-and-white footage includes “Nothing is Easy”, “Bouree”, and “Sweet Dream/For a Thousand Mothers”. Some of the most enjoyable live Jethro Tull material out there.
• Radio Holland FM broadcast of Sly and the Family Stone from 1970. Typically wonderful sound from a northern European radio station and a typically strong performance from the band. Just as great if not even better is the group’s 1973 performance filmed for Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert. Every bit as worthwhile as the Woodstock recordings.
• Partial but rewarding footage of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young performing “Down by the River” at Big Sur in 1969.
• Finnish TV broadcast of the Spencer Davis Group from February 1967. “Keep on Running” is posted separately. Hearing Steve Winwood’s interpretations of “Mean Woman Blues” and “Georgia on My Mind” is worth a few minutes at the very least.