Live in New York (Fred McDowell album)
Live in New York is the final album recording by the American country blues musician Mississippi Fred McDowell. New York-based American independent Oblivion Records released the first edition in the Spring of 1972, months before McDowell's death in July 1972. A subsequent Oblivion issue with a one song substitution, and new and redesigned liner notes came out one year later. Recording. Producer/engineer Fred Seibert (assisted by Roy "Slim" Langbord) recorded Fred McDowell's November 1971 performance at The Gaslight Cafe in Greenwich Village for radio broadcast over Columbia University's  WKCR-FM, in New York City. He hosted the station's Saturday blues show and was hometown friends with McDowell's second on the performance, bassist Tom Pomposello. Recording was done with Shure Electronics microphones and mixers and a one-track monaural Nagra tape recorder. Editing was accomplished in one 14-hour session at WKCR using Ampex tape decks. The last authorized retail release of the recordings was in 2000 by the almost immediately defunct Live Archive. Bassist/producer Pomposello went back to the original tapes and re-edited, re-sequenced, and remastered all nine tracks from the first two  editions, plus 16 bonus outtakes. Slight hints of equalization and echo were added. Release. The album has remained available continuously from 1972 until the present. Currently, there are free, high-quality MP3s of all editions at the official Oblivion Records archive blog. Digital downloads are available worldwide from iTunes, Amazon.com, and other major digital retailers. Streaming versions are on Spotify, MOG, Rdio, Rhapsody, and others. Buyers should be aware of inferior bootlegs available as of 2010 on Amazon.com from Labor Records and Tomato Records. Release formats: Packaging. On the original 1st pressing the cover sleeve consisted of very thick cardboard  outer sleeve and the 12" vinyl record was protected with a white paper album liner. The 2nd edition pressing included a Fred McDowell discography printed on the inner sleeve. Sleeve notes. Live session bassist and album producer Tom Pomposello wrote three different variations of the liner notes, consisting of several essays, across all officially licensed editions. Fred McDowell contributed a paragraph to the original release. Album cover and label. The original album covers and liners were designed by producer/engineer Fred Seibert. First edition labels were designed at the Viewlex pressing plant in Hauppauge, New York; second edition labels were  designed by Seibert. The cover photo was of Fred McDowell at a live festival concert; back liner photos on the second edition are by noted UK writer and photographer Val Wilmer. Track listing. All tracks composed by Fred McDowell; except where indicated 1st edition, vinyl, 1972 Side two. 2nd edition, vinyl, 1973 Side two. 3rd edition, CD, 2000