Disc One: 1. Something Else, 2. How I Wish, 3. Wicked As It Seems, 4. Gimme Shelter, 5. 999, 6. Locked Away, 7. Runnin’ Too Deep, 8. Time Is On My Side, 9. Will But You Won’t, 10. Words Of Wonder, 11. Hate It When You Leave.

Disc Two: 1. Before They Make Me Run, 2. Eileen, 3. Bodytalks, 4. Whip It Up, 5. I Could Have Stood You Up, 6. Happy, 7. Take It So Hard.

What we have here is what is probably the last recording from the legendary taper Mike Millard, aka Mike the MICrophone, best known for his masters of Led Zeppelin and Rolling Stones done in and around Los Angeles circa 1975-77.

From the accompanying notes: “until 2020, the Lost and Found series presented fresh transfers of previously unavailable first-generation copies made by Mike himself for friends like Stan Gutoski of JEMS, Jim R, Bill C. and Barry G. These sources were upgrades to circulating copies and, in most instances, marked the only time verified first generation Millard sources had been directly digitized in the torrent era.

All that changed with the discovery of many of Mike Millard’s original master tapes.

Yes, you read that correctly, Mike Millard’s master cassettes, long rumoured to be destroyed or lost, have been found. Not all of them but many, and with them a much more complete picture has emerged of what Millard recorded between his first show in late 1973 and his last in early 1992.

The reason the rediscovery of his master tapes is such a revelation is that we’ve been told for decades they were gone. Internet myths suggest Millard destroyed his master tapes before taking his own life, an imprudent detail likely concocted based on the assumption that because his master tapes never surfaced and Mike’s mental state was troubled he would do something rash with his life’s work. There’s also a version of the story where Mike’s family dumps the tapes after he dies. Why would they do that? The truth is that Mike’s masters remained in his bedroom for many years after his death in 1994. We know at least a few of Millard’s friends and acquaintances contacted his mother Lia inquiring about the tapes at the time to no avail. But in the early 2000s, longtime Millard friend Rob S was the one she knew and trusted enough to preserve Mike’s work.

 About this recording, it is a notable entry in the Lost and Found series. Mike's recording of Keith Richards and the Expensive Winos at the Universal Amphitheatre on January 23, 1993 which is the last confirmed Millard recording we have tracked down to date. Is it his last recording? Possibly, but we're not ready to state that as a fact quite yet. It is also the first DAT master we've discovered in the collection that was recorded by Mike himself.

Millard didn't own a portable DAT recorder, but his friend Ed F did and Mike recorded the show for Ed using his own AKG mics and Ed's Panasonic SV-250 DAT recorder, imported from Japan. Ed and Mike recorded concerts together before (Dylan '78), and on occasions when Mike's Nakamichi was in the shop for repairs, he would borrow Ed's Uher cassette deck. As we have noted before, there were also occasions where Mike loaned his gear to others, so beyond Mike's own masters, there are recordings done with Mike's gear but not by him.

Richards was on tour in support of the second Expensive Winos project, Main Offender, and the set mixes songs from that album and the band's debut, Talk Is Cheap, along with covers and select Rolling Stones material.

Mike's taping location is unknown, but as you'll hear on the tape that he was surrounded by the kind of people tapers dread, loud, obnoxious and physical. You'll hear interactions between Mike and some of the folks seated near him and they aren't entirely friendly (Will But You Won’t). Worse still, about halfway through the show, Mike has an equipment issue which results in the full loss of one channel and a massive level drop in the other. The result made the recording almost unlistenable, but through software mastering we were able to amplify and restore the low channel, which leaves a large chunk of the show in mono but listenable for the first time. Samples provided.

What's a bit surprising listening to this Richards solo performance 28 years later is how tame it sounds. This is not the shambolic New Barbarians, but a relatively well-rehearsed and, by Keef standards, polished show. It is certainly lacking a bit of edge and urgency, but should appeal to fans just the same”.

Personnel apart from Keith Richards on guitar and vocals include: Waddy Wachtel on guitar, Jerome Smith on bass, Bobby Keys on sax, Steve Jordan on drums, Baby Floyd and Sarah Dash on backing vocals.

This is a nice recording, well restored that presents the Expensive Winos at their best in a standard set offering their best tunes at the start of their 1993 US Tour.