I have been doing a Kiss Bootleg Series for years. You get a review every time I add a new one to the collection. Well, after buying 38 Bootleg CDs from John Humphrey’s personal collection, I figured let’s jump right back in and do a whole lot of reviews on the Bootlegs. Oh, if you don’t know who John Humphrey is, you need to know he is a massive Kiss collector. And he is the drummer of the band Seether. John decided to sell off his entire collection…sort of…he kept all the vinyl (like 4,000 of them). He did it through an auction at Backstage Auctions and I had to have a piece of it…and I did wind up with somethings.
As it says in the liner notes, Kiss has done numerous acoustic performances over the years on radio and TV (excluding MTV unplugged). This compilation takes those performances and puts them in one disc. It covers the time periods of 1990-1994 which makes most of it having Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Eric Singer and Bruce Kulick. But we do get Eric Carr and Ace Frehley tracks as well. The sound quality if actually pretty good and we get 12 fun and exciting tracks and wildly good time as it shows the humor of the guys as well as these are very loose and crazy performances.
The first track is from The Howard Stern show on February 25, 1993 and you can hear Howard and Robin joking it up with Paul and Gene. They play “Detroit Rock City” and Gene is a cut-up throughout the whole thing. I love it when he points out where all the explosions would be when they play it live. Paul sounds relaxed and vocally is on point. I love seeing the lighter side of the band.
I have been doing a Kiss Bootleg Series for years. You get a review every time I add a new one to the collection. Well, after buying 38 Bootleg CDs from John Humphrey’s personal collection, I figured let’s jump right back in and do a whole lot of reviews on the Bootlegs. Oh, if you don’t know who John Humphrey is, you need to know he is a massive Kiss collector. And he is the drummer of the band Seether. John decided to sell off his entire collection…sort of…he kept all the vinyl (like 4,000 of them). He did it through an auction at Backstage Auctions and I had to have a piece of it…and I did wind up with somethings.
Now, to the review…We all know Kiss was started by Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Peter Criss and Ace Frehley. But did you know about the band prior to Kiss? It all started with Gene (Chaim Witz) and Paul (Stanley Eisen) in a band called Rainbow with Gene’s friend Stephen Coronel. Paul was the third member and then they brought in a drummer named Joe Davidson. This band didn’t last long at all and hell, the drummer even a shorter time as he was quickly replaced with Tony Zarella. They only played one show before they had to drop the name Rainbow because that name was already being used by some other band (and no, not the Richie Blackmore band).
And that is how Wicked Lester was born. After only a couple shows as Wicked Lester, they were approached by a label and were given the chance to record some demos. After listening to those demos, the label decided that Stephen was not good enough and had to be fired. And since Gene and Paul the upstanding citizens they are, they fired Stephen. I guess you do whatever it takes to make it in this business. Ron Leejack was then brought in for guitar duties and it was time to record the album.
Now the album would take about a year to complete and upon receiving the album and hearing it, the label were not quite thrilled with it…okay, they hated it. Hated it so much, they shelved it and it was never released. Well, never in a full, pure album form. It has been leaked out as a bootleg and that is what we have here. This particular release has a total of 9 demos of Wicked Lester and it also has the 5 demos done by Eddie Kramer before Kiss did their first album. Lastly, it claims to have 5 songs from Live at the Academy of Music in New York from 12/31/73, but this is not true from what I researched. It is actually 5 songs from the Long Beach recording on 5/31/74.
A couple weeks ago, John Humphrey, from the band Seether, sold off his entire Kiss Collection. Well, all but his vinyl. There were some really cool stuff in their and I wanted a piece of it. I lost out on some 8-Tracks, but I did win two lots of Bootleg CDs and they have arrived. We will go through all 38 Bootleg CDs and there is some really cool stuff in there.
So go check it out as it will be live tonight at 7pm, April 28, 2025 on YouTube. Thanks for stopping by and please click “Like” and hit “Subscribe” as it helps out the site when you do.
In 2023, a new Super Group was born. This one was called Generation Sex and consisted of members of both Generation X and The Sex Pistols. From Gen X we get Billy Idol and Tony James. And from The Sex Pistols we get Steve Jones and Paul Cook. The four legends toured Europe in the Summer of 2023. Of course they performed songs from both bands as that was the whole point of the Tour. And like with almost any tour, you generally can find a bootleg and I did just that.
As you know, I love Billy Idol and so any time I can find anything I don’t have I grab it. This bootleg came out on July 16, 2024 and for a show at the Liseberg Amusement Park in Gothenburg, Sweden. The title of the set is called “Listen To This, Johnny!” which is wonderful shout out to The Sex Pistol lead singer, Johnny Rotten. Maybe a giant middle finger…who knows.
The setlist for that show was a whopping 16 tracks, but we don’t get the full show here sadly. This bootleg only gives us 11 songs from that set, but those songs are great. The bootleg was done like those back in the day (70’s/80’s) which means it is a white cardboard jacket with a sheet of paper wrapped around it with the information crudely printed and xeroxed copied. In a word, awesome!! There is no extra information, just basics and the vinyl label is pretty basic with a giant A on one side and basic white on Side B. And as far as sound, a pretty damn decent audience recording and since we are here for the music, that is a good thing. Let us dive right in.
Over the last 6 months, I have found a ton of bootlegs and for me that is great as I love getting this tidbits of history from a band especially since the band haven’t released it. There was a stretch of a few months where I found three Whitesnake bootlegs and this is the last of those that I found. This one is from the tour for ‘Saints And Sinners’ which ran from 1982-1983. And the band is listed as David Coverdale, Cozy Powell, Jon Lord, Micky Moody, Mel Galley and Colin Hodgkinson. This particular show is said to be Newscastle City Hall in England and recorded on December 14th, 1982. It is a 3 LP set and is the whole show and was released in Japan. No OBI so don’t get excited, this is a bootleg.
I’ve read there is some debate if this show is from Newcastle. All the dialogue between the songs has been cut so no city is mentioned. The setlist is similar to a show from Japan and being released in Japan has some to believe that is where the show is. That show is February 22, 1983 from Budokan in Tokyo, Japan. I honestly couldn’t tell you one way or the other. The sound isn’t bad, a little hollow at times, needs more deep end. You can hear everyone pretty good. The sound is consisten throughout the show so I am sure it is a soundboard. They must have the crowd mic’d up as you can hear them pretty good. Most audience recordings aren’t consistent.
But what I can tell you is that they set this bootleg up to look like a promo. It has tour dates listed on the back for some UK shows. If that wasn’t enough look at the labels and you will see is “Not For Sale” listed on each label. And what you will also notice is at the top of the label it says “Cozy Powell Band”. Man, that would piss off David I am sure. At least it does say Whitesnake in that really cool logo across the center of the label. You gotta love bootlegs.!
LP 1:
The album opens with “The Shadow of the Blues”…wait…what happened to the “Walking In…”. Oh well, bootlegs for you. For a blues song, this one is really rocking and the band is kicking ass and taking names. The song is sped up but not as fast as “Rough And Ready” where David is singing so fast, I can’t really understand everything he is saying. Jon Lord’s hammond is on fire as he destroys it on the solo. Then Micky comes shredding in with a wicked solo. A great 1-2 punch. According to the label, “Ready An’ Ready” is up next, but we know it is really “Ready An’ Willing”. It kicks with David asking if they are “ready and willing” over and over and then bam…they go in to the song. They slowed the tempo down a little for this to a more normal pace. The song has a great groove to it, David sounds great and more great guitar playing. Always a wonderful live song choice.
And flipping over to Side 2 we get “Don’t Break My Heart Again”. We get some opening drum beats by Cozy, some hand clapping from the audience and some Lord organ. This is a pretty radio friendly sounding track. The crowd gets in to it and sings along at the break with more hand clapping. Then we get an early recording of “Here I Go Again”. And you know it is early because it still says “Hobo” instead of “Drifter”. It has more Lord organ and only David on vocals opening. Nice and quiet before the full band kicks in and it starts to rock out. But not as much as the 1987 version does. But that is a few more years down the road.
LP 2:
First David introduces some new band members with Cozy Powell on drums and Colin Hodgkinson on bass. Now it is time for some David Cock Rock with “Love Hunter”. You’ve got Micky on slide guitar and the song is still a lot of fun even with its inappropriate lyrics. During the middle of the song it breaks in to a Micky Moody guitar solo and a Colin bass solo mixed in. In the middle of the solo, with Micky and Colin go at it, we suddenly get a honky tonk jam and it is either Mel or Colin on vocal. Then with an awkward cut, it is back to some Micky slide guitar with a big dramatic finish before we rock out with the ending of “Love Hunter”.
Flipping it over it we get David introducing another new member with Mel Galley then we get the older version of “Crying in the Rain”. A great opening set of guitar work and then David comes in and he sounds great. This is a killer, rocking track and this older version has a little more groove and not as heavy, but oh, it is as good. The guitar solo in this is extended and ripping, a song in and of itself, but still with the “Crying” groove. David does give each member a chance to shine at these shows. He’s a good boss…when he’s not firing the whole band over and over. You go to an early Snake show and you aren’t getting the songs as they are on the album, no sire. You get so much more. At the end, they go quietly in to a small piece of the Deep Purple track “Soldier of Fortune”. Then another cut and then it is all Jon Lord as he gets his turn in the spotlight…hell to the yeah!
LP 3:
Why not start LP 3 with yet another solo and this time around it is Cozy Powell on drums. He is a beast. He even does part of 633 Squadron, Over the Top and 1812 Overture during his solo. It is not your typical drum solo and that is a welcoming fresh thing to hear. When it ends they go in to classic Whitesnake mode with the bluesy “Ain’t No Love in the Heart of the City”. It is slows things down, the crowd claps along and the boys just get down and dirty with this one. Always a treat when they pull this one out.
Flipping to the final side, Side 6, they start off with an fan favorite called “Fool For Your Loving”, but this is not the Slip of the Tongue version. They speed things back up like they are in a major hurry. The later version isn’t much different. A little slower and more dramatic. And that is how they end the show, but we still have encore. And first up is “Thank You Blues” which is a little message for the audience. And yes, it is very bluesy. Then they go in to the fun, crazy “Wine, Women And Song”. It is a foot stomping boogie woogie good time. And of course, Jon Lord kicks ass on this one too! This is a great encore song that is nothing but fun. The final track is “We Wish You Well” and David softly sings the crowd out of the evening. This sounds like a recording thought and not a live performance. This was probably being played as the fans exited the arena. Kiss does that kind of stuff too.
And that is it. A 3 LP live set from Whitesnake. The sound isn’t bad. It is consistent throughout and you can hear the crowd which makes for a great live show. David sounds really good and the new band, at the time, was another fine set of musicians. It didn’t bother me that a lot of the dialogue was cut out as it meant it was basically song after song. There are a lot of great solos and jamming moments. And by spreading out the album over 3 LPs, the songs weren’t compressed and helped the sound quality. Overall a really good bootleg. My Overall Score is a 4.0 out of 5.0 Stars as it did need a little more punch in the sound, but what you get is still awesome.
Whitesnake was touring Japan in the Spring of 1980 in support of the band’s 1979 album ‘Love Hunter’. This was only a month prior to the release of their new album ‘Ready ‘an Willing’ and surprisingly they didn’t test out any of those songs yet so close to the album release. So, we are getting some really old school songs and Deep Purple cuts here and I am thrilled about that myself. The show on April 12, 1980 at Aichi-Ken Kinro Kaikan in Nagoya, Japan was a live broadcast on FM radio. This is the entire show which is awesome. The band is David Coverdale (obviously), Micky Moody and Bernie Marsden on guitars, Neil Murray on bass, Ian Paice on drums and the great Jon Lord on keyboards.
This bootleg was released recently back in 2023 like the last one we discussed from Whitesnake. I love getting a newer version of such an old show. I love old school Snake so this was a no-brainer for me. This is a 2 LP set and both are on a beautiful white vinyl. It is a beautiful set and the sound quality is off a soundboard with some roughness on the mix the first couple songs, but all-in-all in it fantastic sounding for what it is.
LP 1:
The show opens with “Come On” which is from the ‘Snakebite’ E.P. from 1978. Written by David Coverdale and Bernie Marsden and right away you can hear how big the guitar sound is. The song is a pure rock song with a great groove and a blistering solo. A great opener and I love the fact that David has two Deep Purple references in the song…“Soldier of Fortune” and “Gypsy”. They go in to “You ‘N Me” from ‘Lovehunter’, and this is normally a real bluesy track with some slide guitar, but here it feels more straight-up rock & roll. The guitars are a little weak in the mix these first two tracks, but you can still hear them and know they are the main focus behind David of course. You can hear the organ, barely, as Jon Lord is going to town, wish it was higher in the mix as I love Jon Lord and as soon as I wish that, the organs get louder and bam, Lord is killing it. Much better live then studio version for this one.
Then it is a couple of down & dirty blues tracks with “Walking in the Shadow of the Blues” and “Ain’t No Love in the Heart of the City”. The first from ‘Lovehunter” and the latter from ‘Snakebite’. Both are dang brilliant and just listen to the rip roaring guitars and organ again. David is fine form and sounds awesome. Two of their best songs played with one of the best line-ups Whitesnake has seen!! What more do you need? I’ll tell you…nothing. And finally we end Side A with one of three solos on the album. This one is Micky Moody’s and well…you know what you are going to get so sit back and enjoy! Micky does a really cool slide-guitar solo and it is brilliant.
Flipping over to Side B, it starts out with the title track, “Lovehunter”, and it is full of David’s sexually inappropriate lyrics and even in today’s #MeToo movement, I don’t give a shit. His lyrics still rock even if his vocals are a little rough on this one. Not quite hitting the notes.. The song has the that blues tone and some serious slide guitar by Micky Moody accompanied by Neil Murray’s bass line and it is fantastic as he lays down the coolest groove. Along with Moody’s slide guitar you get a twin solo with both Moody and Marsden. It is that duo that really brings this one home.
The we get double treat of Deep Purple tracks with “Mistreated” and “Soldier of Fortune” brought together for a musical enjoyment. In 1980, smart move to still play off that Deep Purple connection. “Mistreated” is down and dirty with a slow nasty groove and things slow down even more with some great guitar picking that turns in to a beast of a solo and back to “Mistreated”. And then music stops and David sings a little “Soldier of Fortune” and it is a little too quiet and hard to hear (and it doesn’t help my neighbor is mowing his lawn!) Let’s just say with “Mistreated” portion was pretty killer.
LP 2:
The second LP kicks off with one of my favorite parts and that is a Jon Lord solo. I generally don’t care too much for keyboard solos, but this is Jon Lord. So, hell to the yeah for this one. The man is a legend and a master. He even mixes a little 2001 Space Odyssey in to his solo. The solo then turns in to the instrumental track “Belgian’s Tom Hat Trick” from the ‘Trouble’ album. The band jumps in and it is an all out master class of greatness. The song has a great melody and a real blast to hear, especially live. If I’m not mistaken, there are at least 3 solos racing through this song.
And since everyone has had a chance to shine, it is now Ian Paice’s turn for a solo on the drums. It plays beautifully out of “Belgian” without missing a beat. Ian goes to town on those drums and doesn’t hold back. And after the barrage of beats, we slip back in to “Belgian” where they all slam it home. After some Ian Paice chants, we go in to the final song on Side C with the Deep Purple track, “Might Just Take Your Life” after David goes “Here’s a song for ya!”…which we know he rarely says before a song (cough, cough – dripping with sarcasm). The band plays it well, but I do miss having Glenn Hughes on the song. They hand over the vocals to Bernie Marsden and he does a great job actually. But I still miss Glenn.
Flipping over to Side D, they kick it off with “Lie Down” and it is time for some sleazy cock rock as the song is really only about one thing. I love the honky tonk boogie of the keys from Lord. Speaking of Lord, he rails through a solo that is crazy. Another track where someone else sings a little and Bernie is back on the mic. Aside from a Lord solo, Micky Moody he gets a killer solo as well. This was definitely a band and not David focused which is great to see. A fun, upbeat track that has no artistic value, but who cares…have some fun. They then go in to “Take Me With You” and this is where David introduces the band and they each do a little notes. This drags the song down for me, but you know, he needs to do it. But when the song comes back in, it completely rocks out.
Then it was time for “Rock Me Baby” which is an old blues song. It has been covered by Muddy Waters and B.B. King. This is part of the encore and it is pretty rock & roll, although there are some blues elements to their performance like the slide guitar and the groove. The Micky Moody solo is the coolest part of the song for sure. Then we end the night with a little ‘Northwinds’ with “Breakdown” and mixed with some “Whitesnake Boogie”. A high energy, bluesy rock ending to a show that showcases the talent that is early Whitesnake. The band sounds like they are having fun and that is a good thing.
And there you have it. A great 1980’s Whitesnake show. I love the early years of Whitesnake about as much as the later years. You know what, I guess I like all the years. The sound quality is really good for what it is, which is a bootleg. A soundboard recording with some minor sound issues, mostly with sound levels. What I loved about this is how much it is the boys jamming and all the solos. There is nothing but talent in this band and it is showcased throughout. A great show so grab it if you ever see it. My Overall Score is a 4.0 out of 5.0 Stars. It is the band as raw as they are with not fixes…I like that. This is how the show sounded and is as it should be.
I love me a good bootleg and I found with this one. It is from Queen and it is called ‘Command Performance: Live at the Hammersmith Odean at Christmastime 1975’. In fact, it was recorded on December 24, 1975. The bootleg came out some time in 1976 and I love the simplicity of it all. A green sheet with a photocopy of the band and setlist in black. Nothing fancy about it at all. Nothing on the back cover and the labels on the vinyl were white and someone had typed ‘Side One’ or ‘Side Two’ depending on the side. No expense was spared…LOL!!
And like all bootlegs, there are mistakes. The opening track is listed as “Now I’m Sure”…and I’m sure that is wrong. It should be “Now I’m Here”. If that wasn’t enough, Roger Taylor is now spelling his name differently as Rodger Taylor. That “d” makes a difference. The other thing, this isn’t the full show. It is a single LP so several songs and medley were cut, but what you get here is still rather amazing. It is the best of the best.
What was special about this show is it was broadcast live on the BBC and it was the first time the band had ever done that. With that being said, the sound quality on this is exceptional (with minor exceptions). This is one of the cleanest sounding bootlegs I have ever owned. However, what makes this bootleg obsolete now is that the band actually did release this show officially on November 20, 2015. It was called ‘A Night at the Odeon – Hammersmith 1975’.
That didn’t matter to me, as I love bootlegs and still wanted it as it was a cherished piece in the bootleg world back in the 70’s. Plus, nothing beats the simplicity of the whole set. This was so prized because several songs on this set were later dropped from the setlist and did not appear on any official live release back in the day. In the grand scheme of things, yes, I can get the official release, but this to me is more authentic and more special. Now, let’s get to the music.
Out on my constant vinyl digging adventures, I found a couple Whitesnake bootlegs at the same store. They weren’t old bootlegs, rather they were released recently in 2023 out of Europe. The shows, however, are not recent. First one up is one called Washington State Wipeout and is a 2 LP set that comes in a nice gatefold with a picture of the band included. The vinyl that comes with the set are a beautiful clear color and they look stunning as you will see in one of the pictures below. It was a brand new set, unopened…well at least until I got my hands on it obviously. Now, it is open and has been played!
The 2 LPs carry a different a show for each. On LP 1, we get the Spokane Washington show that was on July 24, 1984. This would’ve been after the release of their 1984 album, ‘Slide it In’, which came out on January 30, 1984. The show was at the Spokane Coliseum and had the line-up of David Coverdale, John Sykes, Richard Bailey (no Jon Lord), Neil Murray and Cozy Powell. A stellar line-up, just wish Lord was still playing. They opened for Dio so not a long setlist and it is all captured here on LP 1. The recording was an FM Radio Broadcast.
On LP 2, we get a show that was recorded on March 1, 1984 and was another FM Radio Broadcast. It was recorded at the Apollo Theater in Glasgow, Scotland where they were the headliner with Great White opening. The full show is 16 tracks so we don’t get the whole show, but we do get 5 tracks at least. If you want the full show, pick up the Slide It In Super Deluxe Edition as Whitesnake issued it officially in that box set. I believe this show would include Jon Lord as he left the band in April. Correct me if I’m wrong.
In my quest for interesting, unique and rare albums for bands I like, I found this bootleg of an old Motley Crue concert from 1986. It says it was recorded at Fresno & Boston in 1986. It was released on Toasted Records in 1988 out of Australia, so pretty cool I found a copy here in the States. The show, as I said, states it is 1986. The label on each of the 2 LPs included in this set have a copyright of 1985 which is impossible if the show didn’t take place until 1986. Actually, the 1985 is probably correct as the Fresno, California pieces of this disc are from November 25, 1985 and the Boston, Massachusetts parts of this show are from a 1984 show.
But Bootlegs are never known to be very accurate. Just take a look at the cover above. That picture is from at the very least the ‘Girls, Girls, Girls’ era which was 1987. And the picture on the back looks more like ‘Shout at the Devil’ which is probably where the Boston piece of this show was recorded. A 1985 show (Fresno) would’ve been ‘Theatre of Pain’ era. Based on all this we have two eras in one with this bootleg. And from what else I can find on this album, two of the songs are from the US Festival in 1983. Sound quality of the release isn’t bad. It doesn’t sound like a soundboard, but I’ve read it is and an FM broadcast, but the quality isn’t a normal soundboard if it is. There is a little hollowness to it, but still very listenable.
If you follow the site, you know I’m a huge Billy Idol fan and anytime I can find a rare piece that I don’t have in the collection, I jump on it. This time around, I found a bootleg. And I do love my bootlegs. This is my fourth Idol bootleg and this one is from way back in 1990. It was recorded at the Pacific Amphitheatre in Costa Mesa, California on October 27, 1990. That means this would’ve been in support of his latest album at the time, ‘Charmed Life’ and we get a few from that album in the set list. Be warned, this is not a full show. This is a best of that was broadcast on radio at the time. But still, 10 songs of Billy is better than nothing am I right? Yeah…I am.
The version I have is a European release and was released recently back in 2023. I found it down in Tamp Florida at a store called D&J Records. I like to hit up local record stores when I am on vacation so this one was found back in June earlier this year. And I was thrilled to grab hold. Sadly, you will notice in the band credits, that there is no Steve Stevens on guitar as he and Billy were still on the outs at this time and for many years still to come. Does it impact the show? We will find out shortly.
2 Loud 2 Old Music 