Reprinted from Green Man Review.
In the era of file sharing, peer-to-peer networks, bitstreams and newsgroups dedicated to swapping of “unofficial” recordings — not to mention the fact that every independent musical act and even some major established performers now offer free downloads on their Web sites — the idea of the bootleg record can seem quaint. The bootlegs of the 1960s and ’70s came in two main types. One was a concert recording, usually made by someone in the audience with a hidden tape recorder. The other was compiled from recordings made in the studio but not officially released; sometimes, these were outtakes or rehearsals, other times they were rough mixes or even final mixes spirited out of the studio and sold illicitly.
This sort of thing still goes on, of course. The Grateful Dead allowed tapers to set up their equipment at each and every concert, as long as the resultant tapes were only traded among the faithful, never sold. Other performers’ attitudes toward concert tapers range from tacit approval to downright hostility. And suffice it to say that no artist or label looks kindly on masters being secretly duplicated and distributed under fly-by-night bootleg labels — theft of intellectual property is a growing area of international law.
Nonetheless, bootleg recordings are big industry. It’s an industry that wouldn’t exist without the collector. Author Garry Freeman is one such, who was bitten by the bootleg bug early and developed a full-blown habit. He explains all this in an introduction.
In spite of being limited to “Classic Bootlegs of the 1960s and 1970s” as the subtitle says, this is a huge book. We’re talking coffee table size, and over 700 pages long. A handful of the most popular artists takes up a lot of the space. The Beatles alone account for 45 pages, and that doesn’t include any of their solo work. Dylan, Hendrix, Zep, Floyd, Stones, The Boss, Queen and Zappa also have lengthy entries.
“An Annotated Discography” is another subtitle, and it’s not an idle boast. The artists are, of course, listed alphabetically, as are the individual entries. Each is listed by title and date, with a track listing, quality where known, and comments — these typically tell whether it’s available on vinyl, CD, tape only, etc., the source (audience or soundboard), whether it’s a single, double or triple disc set, and other info where available.
Needless to say, it’s a massive undertaking. The level of detail and quality of the information are impressive. Even more impressive is the dedication — or is that obsession — required to put such a project together. For the dedicated or curious collector, The Bootleg Guide is an indispensable reference. Quite an accomplishment! Learn more at the Scarecrow Press Web site.
(Scarecrow Press, 2005)
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