Author: Mat Brewster

Welcome to the Midnight Cafe group of sites.

Bob Dylan – The Pre-NET Covers Collection (1974-1987)

Bob Dylan
The Pre-NET Covers Collection 1974-1987

As complete a collection as possible “The Genuine Before The Never Ending Tour Covers Collection 1974-1987”.

A prequel to the previous set from the best sources available…every cover song performed from each year is represented at least once.
…a note on this, there are 2 covers performed in 1976 that are not circulating. A text file is included in the download for these tracks to mark their omission.

Also represented is more than one version if for example there is a solo piano & a version with the band or an instrumental version.

I have only adjusted the volume & fade in/out of tracks to give a better listening experience as the nature of the collection is that it comes from a vast number of different sources. No Compression, EQ, or any other kind of tampering with the audio was done.

P.S. Cover Artwork has also been created. A Front cover image (above) for the overall set & an image for each year in the downloads.

P.P.S. I’ve put a huge amount of work into this, and I’ve tried to be as careful as possible, I hope mistakes (if any) are minor.

A huge thank you to all the tapers & uploaders & the ER community!

Tracklist

  1. The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down (w The Band) [1974-01-03 Chicago, IL]
  2. Stage Fright (w The Band) [1974-01-03 Chicago, IL]
  3. Share Your Love with Me (w The Band) [1974-01-03 Chicago, IL]
  4. Never Let Me Go (w Joan Baez) [1975-10-31 Plymouth, MA]
  5. This Land Is Your Land (w Ensemble) [1975-10-31 Plymouth, MA]
  6. The Water Is Wide (w Joan Baez) [1975-11-04 Providence, RI]
  7. Dark As A Dungeon (w Joan Baez) [1975-11-13 New Haven, CT]
  8. Wild Mountain Thyme (w Joan Baez) [1975-11-17 Rochester, NY (evening)]
  9. Weary Blues From Waitin’ [1976-04-18 Lakeland, FL]
  10. Wild Mountain Thyme (w Joan Baez) [1976-04-20 St. Petersburg, FL]
  11. Dink’s Song (w Joan Baez) [1976-04-25 Gainesville, FL]
  12. Mercedes Benz [1976-04-26 Clearwater, FL]
  13. Silver Mantis (w XX on volvals) [1976-05-08 Houston, TX]
  14. Will The Circle Be Unbroken (w Willie Nelson) [1976-05-08 Houston, TX]
  15. Spanish Is The Loving Tongue [1976-05-11 San Antonio, TX]
  16. Vincent van Gogh (w Bob N.) [1976-05-16 Fort Worth, TX]
  17. Deportees (w Joan Baez) [1976-05-16 Fort Worth, TX]
  18. Railroad Boy (w Joan Baez) [1976-05-16 Fort Worth, TX]
  19. Gotta Travel On (w Ensemble) [1976-05-16 Fort Worth, TX]
  20. Lonesome Bedroom [1978-02-20 Tokyo, JP]
  21. Repossession Blues [1978-02-24 Osaka, JP]
  22. I’m A Steady Rollin’ Man [1978-03-22 Melbourne, AU]
  23. She’s Love Crazy [1978-07-08 Paris, FR]
  24. A Change Is Gonna Come (w Dennis vocal) [1978-07-15 Camberly, Surrey, GB]
  25. Love Her With A Feeling [1978-07-15 Camberly, Surrey, GB]
  26. The Long And Winding Road (w Harris vocals) [1978-07-15 Camberly, Surrey, GB]
  27. I’m Ready [1978-09-24 Binghamton, NY]
  28. We Just Disagree [1980-11-22 San Francisco, CA]
  29. A Couple More Years [1980-11-17 San Franciso, CA]
  30. Abraham, Martin And John [1980-11-17 San Franciso, CA]
  31. Rise Again (w piano) [1980-11-18 San Francisco, CA]
  32. Nobody’s Fault But Mine [1980-11-19 San Francisco, CA]
  33. I Will Sing, I Will Sing [1980-05-18-Akron, OH]
  34. Mary From The Wild Moor [1980-11-22 San Francisco, CA]
  35. Mary From The Wild Moor (slower tempo) [1980-11-29 Seattle, WA]
  36. Rise Again (w band) [1980-11-29 Seattle, WA]
  37. Fever [1980-11-30 Seattle, WA]
  38. Rise Again [1981-06-12 Clarkston, MI]
  39. Fever [1981-06-12 Clarkston, MI]
  40. Mary From The Wild Moor [1981-06-28 London, GB]
  41. Till I Get It Right [1981-06-28-London, GB]
  42. Abraham, Martin And John [1981-06-30 London, GB]
  43. Here Comes The Sun (snippet) [1981-07-01 London, GB]
  44. Barbara Allen [1981-07-04 Birmingham, GB
  45. Let’s Begin [1981-07-17 Loreley, DE]
  46. Saved By The Grace Of Your Love [1981-07-17 Loreley, DE]
  47. We Just Disagree [1981-07-18 Mannheim, DE]
  48. Gypsy Blood (w Steve Ripley) [1981-10-16 Milwaukee, WI]
  49. The Rose [1981-10-16 Milwaukee, WI]
  50. Just A Little Bit [1981-10-17 Milwaukee, WI]
  51. It’s All in the Game [1981-10-21 Boston, MA]
  52. No Money Down (w Dylan on sax.) [1981-10-21 Boston, MA]
  53. Gamblin’ Man [1981-10-25 Bethlehem, PA]
  54. Happy Birthday [1981-10-25 Bethlehem, PA]
  55. Let It Be Me (fast tempo) [1981-10-29 Toronto, CA]
  56. Let It Be Me (slow tempo) [1981-10-30 Montreal, CA]
  57. Why Do I Have To Choose [1984-06-03 Munchen, DE]
  58. Tupelo Honey (w Van Morrison) [1984-07-08 Slane, IE]
  59. Across The Borderline (slow tempo) [1986-02-05 Wellington, NZ]
  60. Baby, Got To Go [1986-02-11 Sydney, AU]
  61. House Of The Risin’ Sun [1986-02-11 Sydney, AU]
  62. Happy Birthday (acoustic) [1986-02-12 Sydney, AU]
  63. I Forgot More Than You’ll Ever Know [1986-02-24 Sydney, AU]
  64. I’m Moving On [1986-02-24 Sydney, AU]
  65. Uranium Rock [1986-02-24 Sydney, AU]
  66. Breakdown (w The Heartbreakers) [1986-03-01 Brisbane, AU]
  67. Sukiyaki (Ue o muite aruko) [1986-03-06 Osaka, JP]
  68. That Lucky Old Sun [1986-03-06 Osaka, JP]
  69. Justine [1986-03-10 Tokyo, JP]
  70. We Three (My Echo, My Shadow and Me) [1986-03-10 Tokyo, JP]
  71. Unchain My Heart [1986-06-09 San Diego, CA]
  72. All My Tomorrows [1986-06-13 Clarkston, MI]
  73. Let The Good Times Roll [1986-06-27 East Troy, WI]
  74. Red Cadillac And A Black Mustache [986-06-27 East Troy, WI]
  75. Happy Birthday [1986-06-30 Clarkston, MI]
  76. I Still Miss Someone [1986-07-01 Clarkston, MI]
  77. We Had It All [1986-07-04 Buffalo, NY]
  78. Lonesome Town [1986-07-04 Buffalo, NY]
  79. Kansas City [1986-07-24 Bonner Springs, KS]
  80. Bye Bye Johnny (w Tom Petty) [1986-07-31 Tacoma, WA]
  81. Across The Borderline (fast tempo) [1986-07-31 Tacoma, WA]
  82. So Long, Good Luck And Goodbye [1986-07-31 Tacoma, WA]
  83. Good Rockin’ Mama (w Tom Petty) [1986-08-05 Mountain View, CA]
  84. Shake A Hand [1986-08-06 Paso Robles, CA]
  85. Touch Of Grey (w The Grateful Dead) [1987-07-26 Anaheim, CA]
  86. House Of The Risin’ Sun [1987-10-07 Paris, FR]
  87. Go Down, Moses [1987-10-17 London, GB]

Various Artists – A Folk Tribute to The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan (05/18/11)

The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan – A Folk Tribute
BBC Radio 2
FM Broadcast: May 18th 2011
22.00-23.00

There is a 24sec compilation of official Dylan in the Intro, hope this meets with the rules

SOURCE: Sony ST-JX5 > Soundforge PRO10b > FLAC Level 6 Align on Sector Boundaries

Capture & Editing by JTT, May 18th 2011

As Radio 2 celebrates Bob Dylan’s 70th birthday, the cream of the British folk scene re-interprets songs from his iconic album The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan. Mark Radcliffe guides us through a collection of specially recorded songs that illustrate not only Dylan’s great writing skills, but also the inventiveness and creativity of British folk
artists, some of whom inspired a young Dylan when he first visited Britain in the early 1960s.

Although Freewheelin’ is Dylan’s second studio album, it initiated the process of writing contemporary words to traditional melodies. Eleven of the thirteen songs on the album are original compositions and it contains several that came to be regarded as his best and classics of the 1960s folk scene: Blowin’ in the Wind, Masters of War,
A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall and Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right.

In December 1962, partway through recording Freewheelin’, a young Bob Dylan came to London for the first time where he met English folk singer Martin Carthy. Carthy taught Dylan the traditional songs Scarborough Fair and Lord Franklin, both of which would appear on the album just months later as Girl from the North Country and Bob Dylan’s Dream. Almost fifty years on, we come full circle, as Bob Dylan’s Dream is performed by Martin Carthy himself.

The cast list is a roll call of British folk’s premier talents, with the complete track listing as follows:

  1. Programme Intro
  2. Blowin’ in the Wind – Seth Lakeman
  3. Girl from the North Country – Thea Gilmore
  4. Masters of War – Martin Simpson
  5. Down the Highway – While and Matthews
  6. Bob Dylan’s Blues – Ewan McLennan
  7. A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall – Karine Polwart
  8. Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right – Ralph McTell
  9. Bob Dylan’s Dream – Martin Carthy
  10. Oxford Town – Coope, Boyes and Simpson
  11. Talkin’ World War III Blues – Billy Bragg
  12. Corrina, Corrina – Cara Dillon with The Scoville Units
  13. Honey, Just Allow Me One More Chance – Rory Mcleod
  14. I Shall Be Free – Rab Noakes with Fraser Speirs

The Rolling Stones – Exile On Main Street Sessions

The Rolling Stones
Exile On Main Street Sessions



CaptainAcidRemaster

Mayflower 220-221

Hi Stones fanatics,

i did phase & level correction and new EQ.
Also worked with Spectral Recovery on tracks 7, 8, 10 on CD 01 & 5, 6 and 13 on CD 02.
Enjoy

Remastered by Captain Acid, September 2023

Covers the session sound source of Stonesí album ìMain Street Rogueî. It is a renewal board with more refined contents by adding newly discovered sound sources to the old title. Permanently preserved press board with beautiful picture disc specifications.

DISC ONE
OLYMPIC SOUND STUDIOS, LONDON, U.K.
June 10 ñ July 2, 1969

  1. Loving Cup #1
  2. All Down The Line
  3. Loving Cup #2

OLYMPIC SOUND STUDIOS, LONDON, U.K.
March 31, 1970 ñ July 1970

  1. (Canít I Seem To) Get A Line On You

ROLLING STONES MOBILE, STAR-GROVES, NEWBURY
OLYMPIC SOUND STUDIOS, LONDON, U.K.
February 17 & March ñ May 1970

  1. Good Time Women

OLYMPIC SOUND STUDIOS, LONDON, U.K.
June 16 ñ July 27, 1970

  1. Shine A Light #1
  2. All Down The Line
  3. Shine A Light #2

ROLLING STONES MOBILE, STARGROVES, NEWBURY
OLYMPIC SOUND STUDIOS, LONDON, U.K.
October 21 onwards & November 1970

  1. Shake Your Hips
  2. Good Time Women
  3. Sweet Virginia
  4. Sweet Black Angel
  5. Stop Breaking Down
  6. Aladdin Story

DISC TWO
ROLLING STONES MOBILE, NELLCOTE
VILLEFRANCHE, FRANCE
July 10 ñ Late July & October 14 ñ November 23, 1971

  1. Let It Loose
  2. Iím Not Signifying #1
  3. Rocks Off
  4. All Down The Line
  5. Rip This Joint
  6. Soul Survivor
  7. Loving Cup at Beat Club
  8. Iím Not Signifying #2
  9. Ventilator Blues

SUNSET SOUND, LOS ANGELES, CA, U.S.A.
December 4-17, 1971 & January ñ March 1972

  1. All Down The Line #1
  2. All Down The Line #2

SUNSET SOUND, LOS ANGELES, CA, U.S.A.
March 28, 1972

  1. I Donít Care
  2. Exile On Main Street Blues #1
  3. Exile On Main Street Blues #2

Pink Floyd – Kyoto, Japan (03/10/72)

Pink Floyd
1972-03-10
Taiikukan Hall
Kyoto, Japan


Home Again
Label: TOP PF 72010 D

CD1:

Breathe (2:59)
On The Run (5:37)
Time/Breathe (Reprise)/Mortality Sequence (12:01)
Money (7:21)
Us And Them (7:11)
Any Colour You Like (4:59)
Brain Damage (4:04)
Eclipse (2:47)
CD2:

One Of These Days (11:25)
Careful With That Axe, Eugene (12:40)
Echoes (25:40)
Total length: 96 min 44 sec

Source: AUD[LOW]>CDR

Quality: EX

All tracks: Taiikukan Hall, Kyoto, Japan. March 10th, 1972.

Speak To Me > Breathe > On The Run > Time > Breathe (Reprise) > Mortality Sequence >
Money > Us And Them > Any Colour You Like > Brain Damage > Eclipse

[ROGER: Thank you. See you again in […]]

One Of These Days

[ROGER: Thank you. This is called ‘Careful With That Axe, Eugene’.]

Careful With That Axe, Eugene

[ROGER: Thank you. >< This is called ‘Echoes’]

Echoes

[ROGER: Thank you […]]

Comments:

Far East Tour
March 6th-March 18th, 1972.

I find recordings from the Japan ’72 tour to be considerably better than the recycled Feb. 17, ’72 show in London. In particularly this one. First off, it contains the entire DSotM! Us and Them isn’t hacked (nor is Time or Brain Damage), and Eclipse is not faded. The sound quality is VG+ to Ex for this time period, and the polite Japanese crowd is felt but not heard. Furthermore, OotD is the best I’ve heard. Listening to it, you are moved with its rapid drive. This version is especially unique because they begin experimenting with their electronics during the ‘Dr. Who’ section to generate this ‘race car’ sound which zips around your head. Check it out.

The video has nice footage, but I’m skeptical about the sourcing. The live footage to “AHM” does not correspond to the music (your lips move, but i can’t hear what your saying!…and just how does Dave make those guitar sounds without moving his hands?). Cymbaline is credited to be from the Fillmore, but it looks more like the BBC/Top Gear studio. No complaints about The Making of the Wall. But again, nice to see images different from the Miles book.” – PIG1DO

The recording is extremely distant, but sounds OK if you wear a good set of headphones. Vocals are loud enough, yet hardly any drums.

Performance wise, a strong one. The band does a great OTR and Money has some trouble at the beginning (enjoyable, though). Its not a must have, but since it’s the only RoIO of that show it’s worth having in your collection. – Toddstar

I’ve been having a hard time finding a good version of this show. This one is still enjoyable but not the best one… it’s still a nice performance… Seems like there’s a lot of echo in the auditorium. – PL

Pink Floyd – Osaka, Japan (03/09/72)

Pink Floyd
1972-03-09
Festival Hall
Osaka, Japan

Disc 1

  1. Speak To Me [3:25]
  2. Breathe [2:53]
  3. On The Run [6:39]
  4. Time / Breathe (reprise) [7:31]
  5. The Mortality Sequence [4:15]
  6. Money [7:34]
  7. Us And Them [7:31]
  8. Any Colour You Like [4:12]
  9. Brain Damage [3:59]
  10. Eclipse [2:23]
  11. One Of These Days [9:38]

Disc 2

  1. Careful With That Axe, Eugene [12:35]
  2. Echoes [27:51]

Pink Floyd – She Kisses Like a Machine

Pink Floyd
She Kisses Like A Machine
Label: NeverEnd – NE*14.22
Series: Jewels Of Abraxas – 09
Released: 1992

1-1 Speak To Me
1-2 Breathe
1-3 On The Run
1-4 Time / Breathe (Reprise)
1-5 The Great Gig In The Sky
1-6 Money
1-7 Us And Them
1-8 Any Colour You Like
1-9 Brain Damage
1-10 Eclipse

2-1 Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Part 1)
2-2 Welcome To The Machine
2-3 Have A Cigar
2-4 Wish You Were Here
2-5 Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Part 2)

CD1: Recorded live in Southampton (January 23, 1972)
CD2: Recorded live in N.Y.C., Madison Square Garden (July 2, 1977)

Peter Gabriel – Los Angeles, CA (08/17/83)

Peter Gabriel
Greek Theater
Los Angeles
Aug. 17th 1983
Closing Show
Last show of the 1983 US Tour

30th Anniversary Edition

Source:Original Master Cassette
Master Lineage: (Tracks 1-4 14-16)
Deck:Sony d5-M
Mics:Sennheiser MKE 2002 Binaural Headset
Transfer: Nakamichi Dragon (playback)
—> Korg MR1000 (5.6 Mhz, 1-bit DSD recorder)
—> Down sample to 96Khz, 32-bit using Korg Audiogate
A Robert Collins Transfer.
—> Audacity (Editing/track split/EQ/Normalized)
—> Export to 48kbs/24bit Flac 8

Source:1st Generation Cassette
1st Gen Lineage: (Tracks 5-13)
Deck:Sony d5-M
Mics:Sennheiser MKE 2002 Binaural Headset
Transfer: PB Pioneer CT-F1000 (playback)
—>ASUS Xonar DG Sound Card @96k/24bit
—> Audacity (Recording/Editing/track split/EQ/Normalized)
—> Export to 48k/24bit Flac 8
A Flashback17 Transfer.

1 Across The River 03:46
2 I Have The Touch 05:31
3 Not One Of Us 07:07
4 The Family And The Fishing Net 07:27
5 Shock The Monkey 09:41
6 Family Snapshot 05:03
7 Intruder 05:23
8 Milgram’s 37 08:23
9 Lay Your Hands On Me 10:45
10 Solsbury Hill 05:41
11 I Go Swimming 05:20
12 San Jacinto 09:34
13 On The Air 05:18
14 Biko 09:05
15 Here Comes The Flood 02:47
16 Band Introductions 01:22

This is a new digital transfer from the master tapes and 1st generation.
All new original artwork by me, with photos from the 17th thanks to Paul Jonason.

This project started only to add this show, it is missing from the database except for a comment about “3 extra songs from the second night” after 1983-08-16.
http://www.genesis-movement.org/php/showdetails.php?uid=1358
“Sing it like your being paid to do it!”
I do remember making that version for someone last century.

But in trying to make a complete version, my 1st generation was missing BIKO. So I went in search of the master, found Biko and more, but some of the master is still missing. The collections have merged a bit over the years, and the master for all of the first night was found, and some of the master of the 2nd night, the missing tracks 5-13 are patched from my 1st gen tape although not a 1-bit DSD transfer. Some lite EQ was needed to get the two transfers to match up as best as I could. The first show always sounded better, less crowd noise and Peter’s wireless mike was “scratchy” this night, so complete recordings of the 17th were not copied by very many if any.

The audience was drunk and roudy the second show, so Peter played school teacher. The front cover is a shot of him getting them to calm down with “Are you absolutly sure your ready? Then we’ll begin.” as you can see ,”If looks could kill…”

If you never had the experience of Peter crowd surfing over your head, listen closely to “Lay your hands on me”. You hear the crowd get louder as he is handed row by row back 20-25 rows from the stage, then you hear a small “CrUnCh” (the mics are worn over the ears) that is Peter going right over you. The crowd yells in joy again as he is handed up to the next row. This night the crowd was trying to get his jumpsuit off. Never did, but ripped him up a bit.

About the tour patch and for those that did not see the 1983 tour, it was called “Playtime 1988”. The 1980 tour was called “China 1984” and the tour guide was Peter’s version of Chairman Mao’s little red book in 1980.

Endless thanks to everyone that helped to put this together, especially to PG.
This is by the fans for the fans, and NOT FOR SALE.

Please do not remove or change any files.

Flashback17

Miles Davis – London, England (11/01/69)

Miles Davis Quintet
11-01-1969
Hammersmith Odeon
London, United Kingdom

Project ID – LL175

Source: Audience Recording
Lineage: Monaural audience recording > analog reel(s)/cassette(s) (unknown gen.)

DAT @32 kHz > wav via S/PDIF and M-Audio Audiophile digital soundcard >
Wavelab 5.0 and SoundForge 6.0 >CD Wave >FLAC (level 8)

Miles Davis (tpt); Wayne Shorter (ss, ts); Chick Corea (el-p);
Dave Holland (b, el-b); Jack DeJohnette (d)

disc 1

d1t01. Introduction/
d1t02. Directions
d1t03. Bitches Brew
d1t04. It’s About That Time
d1t05. I Fall in Love Too Easily
d1t06. Sanctuary
d1t07. No Blues
d1t08. Paraphernalia
d1t09. Masqualero/

Notes:

  • d1t01: the announcement sounds to be cut short
  • d1t02: The sound is very distant and muffled up to about :24, then it seems to improve.
    there is another drop in levels at 2:30 taking the quality back down a bit with more of a
    muffled sound. There seem to be a splice or a cut at 7:22
  • d1t03: Digipop at 1:39, 4:35, 7:49, 12:11, 12:14, and 12:35. Drop out at 5:51 – 5:53. Mic
    adjustment at 12:23, 14:07.
  • d1t04: Static at 11:02, 11:08. Mic adjustment at 15:40, 16:40
  • d1t05: at 1:46 there is a loud thump. I believe this was a mic bump. There are small
    mic bumps and adjustments throughout thistrack.
  • d1t06: This track also has the small mic bumps and adjustements for the first quarter
    of the track. dropout at 1:56.
  • d1t07: the levels seem to bump up at :37. Mic bumps, adjustments throughout this track
    as well.
  • d1t09: There are a few level changes in this track, very minor. At 8:52 through
    8:58 there is a very odd artifact. I don’t believe it should be there, but I may be wrong.
    Drop out at 9:41. Track is cut at the end, music lost.
  • The sound is overall a bit distant and muffled sounding. Being a Miles audience
    recording from the late 60’s the overall sound is pretty good and par for the course
    when compared to other examples I’ve heard. I wouldn’t pass it by myself.
  • “The Davis Quintet played two concerts at the Hammersmith Odeon on this date.
    This is the second concert. The Quintet toured Europe in October-November 1969 as
    part of the Newport Jazz Festival in Europe produced by George Wein.”
  • Credit to Peter Losin, http://www.plosin.com/
  • QC done by Bgreen

Awesome ’80s in April: Breathless (1983)

poster

I have a lousy memory. I can’t remember the details of things. I deal in impressions and feelings. This is especially true with movies, music, and books – all art really. There are songs I’ve heard a million times, that I’ve sung along to since I was a little boy, but if you were to ask me right now – if you were to put a gun to my head and force me to recite a lyric or tell you what the song was about you’d have a lot of cleaning up to do and be no less the wiser.

There are movies I’ve seen multiple times, that I absolutely love, but that I could not describe the plot to you any more than I can speak French to my wife. There are lots of other films that I know I’ve seen, that I remember enjoying, but the details of what and why are completely lost to me. I can remember it being joyous, or devastating. Sometimes I’ll remember images or specific scenes. I might quote a line of dialogue, but the details just disappear.

I’ve seen Jean Luc Godard’s Breathless at least twice. it is a great movie. An important one. I know it was an early entry into the French New Wave and endlessly influential. I can see Jean-Paul Belmondo and Jean Seberg in that little bedroom and walking down that Parisian street. That imagery is iconic. I know they have great chemistry. But I really don’t remember what happens.

All of which is to say I came to Jim McBrides’ remake of Breathless with Richard Gere and Valérie Kaprisky with a relatively clean slate. Since I can’t remember the details of the Godard film, I wasn’t constantly comparing the two.

The setting was moved to Los Angeles (versus Paris in the original) and the character’s nationalities were reversed (the man is American here, the woman French). I think the basic plot points – the story if you will – are more or less the same but I really couldn’t tell you what details were changed. Honestly, I watched this film about a week ago and I had to read the Wikipedia summary to remember much of what happened in this one.

Jesse Lujack (Richard Gere) is a Jerry Lee Lewis-loving drifter. He steals fast cars and likes to ride. He reads Silver Surfer comic books. He steals a Porche in Las Vegas and drives to Los Angeles in hopes of finding Monica Poiccard (Valérie Kaprisky) an architecture student he had a torrid affair with one weekend while she was visiting Vegas.

On his way, he zips around a traffic blockade, and accidentally (more or less) shoots a cop when he makes chase. On the run from the law he still comes to UCLA, finds Monica, and tries to convince her to come to Mexico with him.

At first, she rebuffs his advances. That weekend was fun but she has work to do. But he’s so charming, so much fun, she eventually gives in. Much of the movie is spent watching them wander around LA, goofing around. He tries to get some money owed to him, and she spends some time with her professor whom she’s also having an affair with.

I don’t remember a lot about the Godard film, but I do remember it is infused with this sense of carefree joy. Godard felt that the French films of his time lacked a certain something that could be found in the cheap American gangster films of the 1930s and 1940s. He made his own version of those films, with modern cuts, music, and filmmaking. His film went on to influence countless American movies.

McBride’s film gained modest critical praise and made a little money, but slipped into obscurity pretty quickly. Godard’s film feels very 1960s even though it mimics film noirs from two decades prior. In the same way, McBride’s film feels very 1980s and has the sheen of neo-noir on it.

I’ve been watching a lot of Richard Gere films from this period and geez that guy was a star. It simply exudes charm and sexiness even when he’s playing a creep like he is here. There is a long scene early in the film where he’s just driving down the road, talking to himself and singing along to Jerry Lee on the radio. I could watch him doing that forever. It’s no wonder Monica drops everything to run away with him.

I can’t begin to argue which film is “better” as if that designation would mean anything anyways. Both films are wonderful, even if I won’t remember any of the details in a couple of weeks.