'ON STAGE', PT. 1 (BBC 1971) - RICHIE HAVENS

Richie Havens' great live double LP "On Stage" ("Live On Stage" in Europe) hasn't been available since its original appearance in 1972. That also means that the album hasn't been released on CD to this very day. Although a digital reissue had been announced on Richie's official website as "coming soon!" for years on end, nothing ever came of it - a crying shame, as these recordings present him just the way he was loved most by his fans.

Similar to "The Great Blind Degree", previous uploads on YT suffer(ed) quite significantly as they were taken from rather worn-out or badly pressed copies. For my presentation here I used a US-pressing as well as a German promotional copy, which both were very well taken care of. Although both are not in ABSOLUTELY perfect condition, too, you might notice however that they are superior to what has been made available on the net before.

This first part - side 1 - was recorded (in mono only) on October 19, 1971 at BBC Television Theatre in London for a TV special, has Richie playing all on his own and makes for something of a mystery: Despite countless attempts and efforts I wasn't able to verify for which programme those recordings were actually made. It may be an "In Concert" episode that was shown March 29, 1973 on BBC2 - or "Sounds For Saturday" broadcast on May 13, 1972, also on BBC2. The clincher for the former is the mentioning of Paul Simon's "Old Friends" on the Genome database and a 'Billboard' clipping stating the October 1971 (recording) date.

On the contrary 'Billboard' mentions Havens' backing musicians, and they were featured on an October "Beat-Club" show in Germany - so why then should Richie play a plain solo show without them the same week in London?! That again would be a good argument in favour of the May 1972 "Sounds For Saturday" programme. But as the Genome database is incomplete, infos may well have gotten mixed-up, more details seem unavailable and footage of both shows hasn't surfaced again so far, this will probably remain a mystery. I wonder if we'll ever find out someday . . . but don't let that bring you down - please enjoy!

Tracks:
From The Prison 0:00
Younger Men Grow Older 4:34
Old Friends 9:56
God Bless The Child 15:12
. . . to be continued!

[tompalaima]

masterful artist and so passionate and full of human sympathy and empathy

UI saw him in Spring of 72 in the old Boston College gym. He played in the center court circle, just Richie Havens and an electric bass guitarist and we stood and soon danced around him. no guards, not even a theater rope. I still think it was a mirage.

Saw him here in Austin 43 years later in a small theater seating 250. He told the story of how Bob Dylan gave him a tape cassette of Bob’s acoustic version All Along the Watchtower from John Wesley Harding and permission to play it however he might wish.

this is really quintessential Richie Havens here. Many thanks. Amazing how he squeezes some human happiness or at least calm acceptance out of sadness, loneliness, contrasting mindsets and values.

[GabrielRobinson]

I went to a FREE concert (maybe 45+ minutes) given by this gentleman in Bridgewater NJ during the 1st George W. Bush term. He autographed a CD I had and among other things we briefly talked about, Mr. Havens commented that the political climate reminded him of the 1950's. We also have the same birthday. Wow!
IMHO Mr. Havens gets a Grade A as a human being and a musician. He had/still has (in his Great Reward) a lot of the qualities our Creator would like us flawed humans to achieve. A Life Well Lived.
RIP Mr. Havens.
🎸✝

[TheSaintsray]

It's Sounds for Saturday alright, be he would have performed more songs as the show lasted 45 minutes. Probably the best ones were chosen for Side One. It's commonplace for artists the only issue part of a gig, rather than all of it.