WHITESNAKE
1988-02-13 - Joe Louis Arena - Detroit, MI, United States
// Info
// Media Files (1)
Audio Files (1)
// Setlist
01 Bad Boys 02 Children Of The Night 03 Slide It In 04 Slow an' Easy 05 Here I Go Again 06 Guilty Of Love 08 Is This Love 09 Love Ain't No Stranger 09 Guitar Solo 10 Crying In The Rain 11 Still of the Night 12 Give Me All Your Love 13 Tush
// Notes
Known Faults: -None other than the quality of the last 4 songs Welcome to The SF Tapes, a series of master recordings made by a friend of longtime JEMS pal ML. SF hailed from Canada, and after his passing in 2022, ML rescued his tapes from near destruction — salvaged after sitting neglected in a garage for a couple of years. We can’t thank ML enough for recovering SF’s cassettes and bringing them to the JEMS Archive for evaluation, conservation and transfer. And what a haul it is. SF made hundreds of recordings in clubs, concert halls, festivals, and arenas — not just around Toronto, but also in Western New York (Buffalo, Rochester), Montreal, Ottawa, and beyond. From Howlin’ Wolf and Billy Joel to Weather Report and Suicide, he captured an impressive breadth of artists and genres. ML and SF first crossed paths in 1974 at Albert’s Hall, a club above the Brunswick Tavern in Toronto. “I thought, ‘There he is again — this guy’s been to all three nights!’” ML recalled. They bonded quickly over music, with SF recounting his adventures at editions of both the Ann Arbor Blues Festival and the Mariposa Folk Festival in the early ’70s. That friendship spanned decades and miles, as ML and SF followed The Who in 1979, 1980, and 1982; Springsteen in 1978, 1980, 1984, 1985, and 1988; and even made trips to Europe — first in 1985 to see John Cale and Pete Townshend’s Deep End, and again in 2019 to catch Cale in Paris. (ML notes that Cale played three straight nights — each with a unique setlist.) Like JEMS patriarchs Jared and Stan, ML and SF were kindred spirits. SF began recording in 1973 (ML in ’71), starting with a Sony TC-110 before upgrading to a series of Sony D6 Professional Walkman recorders and the ever-reliable Aiwa CM-30 microphone. Their concert nights didn’t always end when the headliners left the stage. Sometimes they’d catch a show at Massey Hall or Maple Leaf Gardens early in the evening, then head to a jazz or blues club for a final set — hence, some of SF’s club recordings are incomplete, having been caught mid-show or near the end. As the ’80s wore on, SF got married and became a family man. He still made it to the occasional show with ML, often letting him handle the taping. SF had a bit of a mad professor air about him — his newspaper collecting was legendary, and he wasn’t always meticulous about labeling his clippings or his tapes. Recordings could be scattered: unlabeled ones, a part one here, a part two there, or missing entirely. ML often stepped in to label, organize, and preserve what he could. We’re incredibly glad he did. His generosity of spirit — like that of his great friend Jared — brings us this remarkable SF series. Whitesnake, Joe Louis Arena, Detroit, MI, February 13, 1988 The fifth edition of the SF Tapes crosses the border to Detroit for an arena performance by Whitesnake, at or near the peak of their MTV-fueled popularity. I was today years old when I learned that their biggest hit, "Here I Go Again," actually dates back to the 1982 album Saints & Sinners and was re-recorded for their self-titled Geffen Records debut LP released in March 1987, a version that eventually hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. Other hit singles would follow including "Is This Love" which explains why Whitesnake is still on tour 11 months after the album dropped. Given the nature of their success, the band was not frequently taped, making this recording a mild rarity. SF drove in from Toronto to capture the show and it must be said he had his challenges. There is a distinct lack of bass in the recording, particularly after the tape flip, and while we've mastered the recording, it's still very thin. Additionally, there were dozens of mic bumps to clean up, some more seamlessly than others. I'd go so far as to say this one is for Whitesnake diehards only, but you be the judge. Samples provided. Once again we say R.I.P. and express our gratitude to SF for taping these concerts in the first place and special thanks to ML for making this collection available to JEMS for preservation and distribution. Slipkid68 has been on point coordinating the series. He also handled some of the tape transfers and wrote the introduction to the series above. We'd also like to thank Professor Goody for helping as always with pitch adjustment and to mjk5510 for post production. BK for JEMS
// Description
The SF Tapes Volume Five via JEMS
// Lineage
(Likely) Recording Gear: Sony TC-110 and Unknown Microphone