here is the info file from Dime
Modern Lovers
Radcliffe, Cambridge, MA 1972-10-27
Audience Cassette (unknown gen) -> Xitel -> hd -> Nero (tracking) -> flac 8
Disc 1
1. I’m Dropping My Friends (One By One)
2. I Wanna Sleep in Your Arms
3. I’m Straight
4. Someone I Care About
5. Astral Plane
6. Carla
7. A Song of Remembrance for Old Girlfriends
8. Roadrunner
tape flip
Disc 2
1. Pablo Picasso
2. I Know I Turn Her On
3. Hospital
4. I Wanna Sleep in Your Arms
5. A Plea for Tenderness
6. Foggy Notion
7. I’m Straight
Jonathan Richman — lead vocal / guitar
John Felice — lead vocal (disc 1, track 6) / guitar
Ernie Brooks — bass
Jerry Harrison — keyboards
David Robinson — drums
Contrast clause: This is a substantial upgrade to the following torrent:
http://www.dimeadozen.org/torrents-details.php?id=204866
The source tape for that torrent was incredibly hissy. This tape has substantially less hiss and sounds much better. Yes, there is still some hiss, but it is roughly on a par with the Stonehenge show (which is still going strong on this very tracker).
So, if you grabbed this the first time around, I strongly recommend that you dump THAT version and take this. I guarantee that the listening experience will be much better.
The songs:
I’m Dropping My Friends is the same version that appears on the ‘Songs of Remembrance’ boot. This is the title Jonathan uses when he introduces the song, so I’m sticking with it. But, it doesn’t match the lyrics, and the band members refer to it as ‘My Friends Are Dropping One by One’. Jonathan was VERY impressed by Jimmy Cliff’s ‘The Harder They Come’ (his love of Carribean beats predated the band’s little trip to Bermuda), and this would appear to be the result.
Carla — This a John Felice song and he takes the lead vocals on it. As far as I know, the only song Jonathan let him do was titled ‘Carla’ (who was his girlfriend). So, this must be it. If you listen carefully he does say ‘Carla’ once. But, this is really just an educated guess on my part.
The Historical Context — This show took place six months after the John Cale demos. John Felice had rejoined in September, and they were all living together in an enormous house in Cohasset. But, less than a month later Miss Christine of the GTO’s made her fatal visit and they found themselves evicted. Five months after this they were in Bermuda, and one year later they were in LA recording their still unreleased LP with Kim Fowley.
If you do not know this band, this is now a great place to start. It’s a rare opportunity to hear them as a five piece with two guitars, (John Felice managed to miss all the demos) and to hear how important Ernie Brooks was to their sound. Matthew Kauffman was not impressed with his bass playing and he tried as hard as possible to eq him out of existence on the Modern Lovers LP. Not here though.