Saturday, April 05, 2008

The last release.

"Live at the Gaslight"
Mississippi Fred McDowell > Live in New York
In late 1998 Tom Pomposello called me to continue his understandable obsession with keeping "Live in New York" in print (not only was he extremely close to Fred when he passed away in the early 70s, it was Tom's first released recording as a musician). He was very excited about an arrangement with indie CD label "Live Archive" to release a remixed, remastered, and updated album. I immediately agreed.

When 2-CD set was released in 2000 it was all Tom had hoped. He did an amazing job with the sound (adding echo that we avoided in our purist and poorest days), added 16 bonus tracks, and cleaned up the sequencing. There was more annotation and a beautiful package. Unfortunately, the label was short lived --I don't think it lasted the year-- though those of you who insist on holding a manufactured package can often pick up used copies around the internets. (Or, you can get it --bonus tracks and all-- for nothing from us right here.)

This post was very painful for me to write, having nothing to do with the record. The contracts for these CDs arrived for signing at my Hollywood office the morning of January 25, 1999. Later that afternoon I got a call telling me Tom had tragically been killed in a car accident outside of Kingston, New York. So Tom, here it is for you, your favorite recording will be available for everyone always.

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