What you have here is something that should no longer exist. Yet here it is. This fifty year old 1972 cassette recording of We Five, live at the Piccadilly in Denver, Colorado was never intended for general release. Instead, it was archived as a way for the band to self-assess performances while working on material for what would later become the “Take Each Day As It Comes” album.
In those days quality portable cassette players came with the ability to adjust recording levels on both the left and right side. So my dad, Jerry Burgan, would often record the band with vocals getting a direct feed from the board split hard left and the instruments recorded open, as it sounded in the room, hard to the right. He was always very hands on with making sure the audience heard the absolute best version of the band possible.
Typically the band would give a listen to the recordings later in order to discuss how improvements could be made both in performances and songwriting. However, in this case the recording was essentially unlistenable due to the open recording level being captured too low on one side. So, it was tossed into a record over box for later use.
This is where I come in. Somewhere around that time I grabbed the cassette out of the pile of tapes and tried to listen to it. But like I said, it was not really listenable. However, instead of throwing it back in the record over pile I put it into a cassette carry case that sat essentially forgotten and unopened for the next several decades.
One day while looking for something else I stumbled onto this moment captured in time. Remembering from my youth what the problem was with the tape it dawned on me that I could use a bit of modern technology and some creative EQ mixing to present to you this amazing document of the 1970’s lineup of the band.
Where it is obviously not sonically perfect, it is undeniably powerful and worth the listen to anyone interested in stepping back in time to 1972.
On a very personal note, I will always fondly remember giving this recording to my dad shortly before his untimely passing and watching him stand spellbound, nodding his head with a huge smile on his face as the sounds came back to him through the speakers. My hope in releasing it now is that it brings you joy as well.
All the best – Christopher Burgan, 2024