From Anti Music.com (I want that Poco release!):


Collectors' Choice Music, the label that's come to be known for compelling and often unexpected CD reissues, has announced the launch of Collectors' Choice Music Live, a new label devoted to releasing great live performances, most of which have never previously been commercially available.

The series will launch April 20 with the release of four CDs: Johnny Winter And's Live at the Fillmore East 10/3/70; Poco's Live at Columbia Studios, Hollywood 9/30/71; Hot Tuna's Live at the New Orleans House, Berkeley, CA September 1969; and John Denver's Live at Cedar Rapids, 12/10/87.

According to Collectors' Choice Music GM Gordon Anderson, "After some 15 years of reissuing albums and compiling artists, we're convinced that some of the biggest remaining veins of gold in the vaults are the live shows that a lot of labels recorded of their artists in their prime, particularly those who made their reputation with improvisational prowess and/or ever-changing set lists. These first four releases on our new Collectors' Choice Music Live label certainly fit that description."

• John Denver: Live at Cedar Rapids, December 10, 1987: What is the sound of an audience eating out of the palm of a performer's hand? Utter silence. And that's what was heard during the two-hour-plus Iowa concert that comprises this two-CD set. By 1987, Denver's days as a Top 40 hitmaker were a decade in the past, but he remained a solid concert draw as a beloved, thoroughly American artist with a permanent place in the history of pop. It says much about Denver's songwriting that, with the exception of half a dozen songs on which he's accompanied by string quartet, he delivers two hours of solo music just his voice and 12-string guitar. The hits are here but so are new songs, some early-repertoire nuggets and a well-chosen cover or two. Included are "Farewell Andromeda (Welcome to My Morning," "Take Me Home Country Roads," "Rocky Mountain High," "Annie's Song," "Love Is the Master," "Mother Nature's Son," "Blow Up Your TV (Spanish Pipe Dream)," "Shanghai Breezes," "Ohio" and more.

• Hot Tuna: Live at the New Orleans House, Berkeley, CA September 1969: Hot Tuna was, of course, the blues band-within-a-band side project of Jefferson Airplane's Jorma Kaukonen and Jack Casady that outlasted the parent band and continues to this day. Interestingly, the duo's first commercial album, which made it to #30 on the Billboard pop album chart, was recorded live at Berkeley's New Orleans House, but a lot more material was taped than was released. Much of it is issued for the first time on this 68-minute CD, which consists entirely of previously unreleased recordings. Explaining why they recorded their debut album was recorded live, Kaukoken says, "We tend to go places . . . and you lose a bit of that when you work in the studio. And it was cheaper too!" Of the 13 songs on this CD, six — "Death Don't Have No Mercy," "Winin' Boy Blues," "Uncle Sam Blues," "I Know You Rider," "Don't You Leave Me Here" and "How Long Blues" — were included on the first Hot Tuna album, though the versions here are selected from different performances than the ones used on that LP. Other songs include Blind Boy Fuller's "Keep On Truckin'," Rev. Gary Davis' "Keep Our Lamps Trimmed and Burning" and "Candy Man," and Blind Blake's "That'll Never Happen No More."

• Poco —Live at Columbia Studios, Hollywood, 9/30/71: In the fall of '71, Poco was arguably the most popular of the first generation country-rock bands. By then, their album Deliverin' had cracked the Top 30 and Poco thanked its label, Epic Records, with a private showcase at the CBS Records' Hollywood studio. "We just set up as we would have for a small club," recalls frontman Richie Furay, whose bandmates included guitarist/singer Paul Cotton (from the Illinois Speed Press), bassist Tim Schmidt (later of the Eagles), pedal steel player Rusty Young and drummer/vocalist George Grantham. By this time, Poco was evolving from country-rock towards an edgier rock sound. Says Furay, "Though we were innovators of the L.A. 'country-rock' sound, we weren't going top be pigeonholed into being a one-sound band." The 14 songs they performed for label employees that day were a solid cross-section of tunes that had appeared on its first four albums including the medley "Hard Luck Child/Child's Claim to Fame/Pickin' Up the Pieces," plus "I Guess You Made It," "A Man Like Me," "Ol' Forgiver," "Heart That Music," "Hurry Up," "You Are the One" and more — an hour of music in all.

• Johnny Winter And — Live at the Fillmore East 10/3/70: To commemorate the release of his Johnny Winter And album, Texas blues guitarist/singer Johnny Winter played some shows at New York's Fillmore East, some of which were compiled on 1971's Live Johnny Winter And, a classic live album of the era to which this release makes a nice bookend. He had just formed a new band consisting of former member of the McCoys ("Hang on Sloopy") including Rick Derringer on guitar, bassist Randy Jo Hobbs, and drummer Randy Zehringer. Although the McCoys were none too familiar with Winter's work, they proved quick studies and entered the studio to make the album Johnny Winter And within three weeks. The New York Times reviewed the Fillmore show, citing "a considerable improvement over Winter's previous band. Winter and [Derringer] played solos back at each other, simultaneously and in alternation." The live album contains the Winter hit "Rock and Roll Hoochie Coo" and his take on Bob Dylan's "Highway 61" alongside blues classics "Rollin' and Tumblin'," "It's My Own Fault" and "Good Morning Little Schoolgirl."

    

The Johnny Winter and Hot Tuna look especially interesting. Thanks, IP.

I am so all over all of these except the Denver. Several years ago CCM did a SUPERB series of V-disc sets, so I'm hopeful on these.

Bump: added pre-order links to the first post.

I don't see them, nor did I see them in the Exile on Main St. post.

If you're using an advertising blocker (i.e. Firefox with Addblock +) you have to allow Imwan & possibly Amazon for this style of link to show up.

That did it, thanks.

Hey IP...thanks for that info. I just saw what remains of Poco (Rusty, Paul & Jack) in an acoustic setting a little over a week ago. They were excellent, though sadly it sounds like they're thinking about winding down and calling it a day sometime in the not-so-distant future. I'll definitely have to check out this live Poco title.

Just went to the CC website (ccmusic.com) & it LOOKS LIKE they've already been released for direct sale. It states will ship in 2-3 days.
They're showing $19.98 for the Denver & $13.98 ea for the other 3.

Unfortunately they're charging $6.95 shipping, which for an order under 6 cd's or so is a ripoff (I charge $4 for the 1st pound & then $1 each additional pound & make a small amount for handling at that rate), & of course Amazon is free over $25.

All four titles showed up at 'Rama today so naturally I bought 'em all. Listening to Johnny Winter right now--sounds good!

Not much in the way of packaging--digipaks with 4-page booket (cover photo and 3 pages of notes).

Amazon says release date is 4/20. Is this wrong?

4/20 is the street date, but sometimes Discorama gets certain titles a wee bit early.

CCM releases usually have a short window where they are sold only through CCM. The release date Linda shows is always the general/Amazon release date.

The Poco & Johnny Winter have both gone oop with Super D's liquidation of CCM. Amazon still has stock; if you want these grab them soon. You don't want to see what the Hot Tuna is selling for.

Another head's up is the CCM release of Wendy Waldman's Main Refrain is also oop, & Amazon also has stock left.

Thx for the heads up, Geff; I never picked up the one (Poco) that I was semi-interested in, but will do so with my Brian Wilson/Vince Gill order this week.

Ditto, Geff. I totally forgot about these after the excitement of the Airplane discs.

I think most (?) of these are being blown out by Deepdiscount.com (which is owned by the same conglomerate as CollectorsChoice). The Jefferson Airplanes are like $3 each. I don't think they have the Hot Tuna one though. I'm beyond shocked how expensive that is on Amazon now.

I believe all 4 of these are officially sold out, though Amazon has stock on Poco & 3rd parties are still selling the Winter cheaply.

Super D appears to be liquidating the entire CCM catalog. I have no idea why they bought CCM; did they really need a catalog mail order service?

Here's the companies that I KNOW Super D owns; there are likely more:

Super D Wholesalers
Deep Discount website
Import cd's website, + IC's ebay & amazon business.
Odd Banana ebay seller
Collector's Choice

Can anyone add to the list?

Wow, I didn't know they owned Importcds. Wonder if they also own moviemars too.

Maybe the question should be "Is there any large internet music retailer they DON'T own"? Wonder if CDuniverse is owned by them too.

Got the Poco today & am pleasantly surprised. All the Poco on WGV sounds like crap, which is one of the reasons why I held off so long on this, but the sound while not awesome is acceptable for an official live release from 1971.

Yeah Geff, that's the one I bought as well and your assessment is correct.
By the way, you see how much the Hot Tuna one is going for? Wow!

Yes, i did - ouch!