If you scroll through Relisten for archive.org shows from May and June 1968, you’ll find very little. There’s one very nice sound board mystery tape dated May Zero, two dodgy audience tapes, and a great tape dated 6/19/68 that is actually 2/19/69.
But wait, there’s more June 1968!
There’s a big compendium on archive.org (archived as 12/31/68) that includes three unique sound board segments of 1968 music, all of which Light Into Ashes/Dead Essays has dated as June 1968 (or possibly May), probably from the Carousel Ballroom.
This post’s mixtape curates those three segments into a single June 1968 set. It provides a handy, robust, good-sounding mid-1968 listening experience to fit between the year’s early months and August, for which there are several good tapes, including the one used for “From the Vault 2.”
New Potato through the Caution jam is arguably the greatest mid-year, 1968 passage.
Two edits add some extra value.
- “St. Stephen” was brand new at this point, and I’ve extended the version I chose with the jam segments from two others, so you can really settle into the early approach.
- The good take of “Cryptical Envelopment” sandwiched an “Other One” on which the mix went to hell partway through – so I edited the two halves together into a seamless, stand-alone “Cryptical Envelopment.”
Great versions include "Dark Star" and "Alligator > Caution."
84-minute mp3 mixtape zipped up here
- PA: Please Return the Scratcher
- Dark Star >
- St. Stephen (3 version edit) >
- Cryptical Envelopment (parts 1 & 2 edit) >
- New Potato Caboose >
- Alligator >
- Drums >
- Alligator > Caution Jam >
- Caution
- The Other One
- Lovelight
- PA: Some Asshole with a Tape Recorder
Source notes:
This mix sources the three undated (June) shows on the compendium tape as follows:
- Source 1: Dark Star > St. Stephen
- Source 2: The middle of the St. Stephen edit, The Other One, and Lovelight
- Source 3: The end of the St. Stephen edit through Caution
All the segues (“>”) in the mix/list above are actual band segues. Some volume fluctuations have been corrected and a tape gap or two healed up.
Cover art: Rick Griffin