The first bootlegs I bought in the early 1970s had hand-stamped covers, or a cheaply printed monochrome insert slid into the plastic sleeve. By the end of the decade, high quality sleeves turned up. Unfortunately, the classy graphics outside were not always reflected in quality music inside, as is the case with this Rockpile bootleg.
To start with, the cover looks great, but screws it right up by misspelling Dave Edmund's name as "Dave Edmonds." Then there's the cover itself: there's some sort of structure in the background that reminds me of a prison. Perhaps they're going for the old cliche of chained prisoners smashing rocks with a hammer; if so, why are the prison walls done up in a textured paisley pattern? And the center piece of the front cover art is a plant, not a rock pile.
The back is no better; the stylish art college image has no connection Rockpile's earthy roots-rock; it would look great on a bootleg of a New Romantic band but here it's just filling up space.
But it's the music where this 2-lp set really falls apart, ranging from an interesting-but-low-fidelity session to a dire unlistenable audience tape, with a short detour through some FM recordings you can get elsewhere in better quality.
The first side and half the second side have Nick Lowe and Dave Edmunds running through a stack of covers, including the four by the Everly Brothers that turned up on the "Nick Lowe & Dave Edmunds Sing the Everly Brothers" EP that was included as bonus with the "Seconds Of Pleasure" LP. These may be the same takes; it matters not because the tape is hissy and the arrangements identical, so if you've got that EP you don't need 'em again.
The other four songs are fun, but low-fidelity. You can hear a television playing in the background at various points. If you really liked Nick 'n Dave's take on the Everly Brothers, you'll enjoy these as long as you can stand the hiss.
After that, you get four songs from a New York club appearance which sound okay, the source is probably an FM broadcast. Probably the Bottom Line show, but I didn't compare 'em.
The next two sides are sourced from a terrible audience tape attributed to Santa Monica Civic in May of 1978. If you want some Rockpile from that tour, go track down the KSAN Winterland broadcast from a week later. It's three songs shorter but you'll listen to it more than once. This sounds like it was recorded with the microphone stuffed under a pillow in the back of the auditorium. If you make through to the end, you have more patience than I do.
Whoever "Edinburgh Records" were, I'll bet they didn't really have offices at that address. I looked it up on Google Maps and that looks like a very nice building in the heart of London.
https://mega.nz/#!fMRVgD5S!C08OiOm-vcNF1zHpxggCTIZfVvkLdfheQkZ_3yq0074
FLAC FILES OF WAVS, so you can experience this in all of it's muffled glory. I've included 300 dpi scans of the covers and record labels, too.
Here's what Discogs.com has to say about it:
Nick Lowe & Dave Edmonds* With Rockpile – Down Down Down
Label: Edinburgh Records – 2R-65
Format: 2 × Vinyl, LP, Unofficial Release
Country: UK
Released: 1980
Genre: Rock
Style: Blues Rock, Rock & Roll, Classic Rock
A1
Problems
A2
Crying In The Rain
A3
Poor Jenny
A4
When Will I Be Loved
A5
What Would Look The Best
A6
I Knew The Bride
B1
Blue Moon Of Kentucky
B2
Heartaches
B3
Deborah (New York 1978)
B4
Breaking Glass (New York 1978)
B5
Let It Rock (New York 1978)
B6
Heart Of The City (New York 1978)
C1
So It Goes
C2
I've Been A Fool Too Long
C3
I Knew The Bride
C4
Breaking Glass
C5
Down Down Down
D1
She's So Fine
D2
They Called It Rock
D3
Fallin' In Love Again
D4
Heart Of The City
Produced By Jeffrey Dyer.
Engineered By Edwaerd Potter.
Cover Concept By Graphix Street.
Thanks to the personnel of Stark Studios, Hanover.
Side A + B1/B2: London Studio August 1979.
Side C/D: Santa Monica Civic May 1978.
Edinburgh Records, Ltd. Offices: 32 Bedford Street, Hanover, London.
