Betty Davis
“Riviera ’76 Festival Jazz-Rock”, Circuit Paul Ricard, Le Castellet, France
Audience Recording (Sivad)
July 25, 1976 (Approximately 11:00pm)

Lineage (Sivad): Audience Recording (Sivad) > 2 UHER dynamic mics > Nakamichi 550 Portable Cassette Recorder > TDK Tape > TASCAM > Cassette Deck >
Vaio Soundcard 🙁 > Audacity > HD

Additional Lineage to the above (RatedX): CD Wave > TLH Flac Level 8

Betty Davis – Vocals
Larry Johnson – Bass, Vocals
Fred Mills – Keyboards, Vocals
Carlos Morales – Lead Guitar, Vocals
Semmie ìNickeyî Neal, jr. – Drums

According to the MC Introductions: Betty davis dedicated this show to Miles Davis.

01 French MC Intro From The Stage :27
02 Instrumental ? 3:18
03 Nasty Gal 4:31
04 Dedicated To The Press 3:40
05 The Lone Ranger 9:46
06 He Was A Big Freak 5:49
07 Talkin Trash 9:23
08 Steppin In Her I. Miller Shoes 5:21
09 Instrumental ? 2:09
10 Shut Off The Light (w/Applause) 5:15

Total Time: 49.39

Note:

• Thank you Sivad (Original Taper) on following through with my request and providing me with this show.
• I originally received this show from Sivad as a single wave file therefore CD Wave was use to split the tracks.
• I’m not an expert so keep that in mind when hearing the tracking specially between (05 and 06 + 09 and 10), Betty goes from one song to the next a la Miles Davis.
• For the purist: Besides the tracking nothing else was done to the original received wave file. I leave it to the experts to remaster as they wish.
• I can’t make the title of track: 02 and 09. I believe they are just instrumental, after careful listening to her albums none of theses appeared.
• There seems to be a fade out after Track 08. before track 09 maybe the result of a tape flip. I do not know if any music is missing between these two.
• From the liner notes of “Is it Love Or Desire ” this show is believe to be one of the last if not the last time the band played together.
• Part of this show (Radio Broadcast) is still available on Dime thanks to acidhangover for the re-seed: http://www.dimeadozen.org/torrents-details.php?id=336120
• In the above referenced torrent (comments section) fellow Dimer Stonethecrow provide us with an unreleased picture of this show (Thank you)
  published on a now dead French revue : “Musiq” December 2007. I have included that picture in this torrent.
• In the above referenced torrent (comments section) Sivad comment the following:

” A bit of first-hand information on this one, as I’ve been lucky enough to attend this three-day outdoor event that was held at the Paul Ricard racetrack in Le Castellet (south of France) where, if I remember well, the previous week-end legendary Canadian driver Gilles Villeneuve on Ferrari had won the French Formula One Grand Prix. The festival was called ìRiviera ’76î and the main reason for me to get there was that Miles had to play the ‘ony European concert’ of that year. Of course, he didn’t show up ‘cos he had just begun his infamous five-year sabbatical, but nobody knew it at that time, not even Miles himself, I believe. The stage announcer said that, because of a sudden illness Miles couldn’t be there and he sent his former wife to replace him. I only knew vaguely about Betty Davis, but that night (July 1st, 1976) all of us found out what a blast she was!

For the chronicle, other artists who performed at the festival were: John McLaughlin’s Shakti, Airto Moreira (solo performance), Pat Martino (terrific), Tony Williams & Lenny White (with Brian Auger) Larry Coryell, Joe Cocker (who was too drunk to sing, sadly), Stuff (in my view one of the greatest bands of all time), The Crusaders, Joe Beck and some other I can’t remember now. As for the Betty Davis recording posted here (http://www.dimeadozen.org/torrents-details.php?id=336120),
it is not the complete set. I recorded with my trusty Nakamichi 550 the main acts, and at least half a dozen cassettes of that event still survive, Betty Davis included. One day I hope to find the time to make digital transfers of all the stuff I have recorded in the old days and put some of it on the web for all to share.”

In is above comments Sivad talks of the show being July 1st 1976 but when he sent me the file he mention the show to July 25, 1976 wich is probably right since the festival was held between July 23rd and July 26th.

As Sivad said in his e-mail exchange with me: “Considering it’s an open-air audience recording vintage 1976, I don’t think it could sound any better than this, particularly because the equipment I used was top shelf.
If you close your eyes it’s almost like being there: I had no wind shields on the mics, hence in some spots you can even feel the French riviera’s evening breeze!”

Sivad & RatedX: August 21st 2011