Hempsteader: Live At The Calderone Concert Hall, Hempstead, New York, June 25, 1976 (Remastered) New Riders Of The Purple Sage

• 1Panama Red (Live At The Calderone Concert Hall)03:32
• 2Little Old Lady (Live At The Calderone Concert Hall)03:01
• 3Honky Tonkin' (I Guess I Done Me Some) [Live At The Calderone Concert Hall]03:23
• 4Fifteen Days Under The Hood (Live At The Calderone Concert Hall)03:52
• 5Annie May (Live At The Calderone Concert Hall)04:05
• 6Henry (Live At The Calderone Concert Hall)05:05
• 7Don't Put Her Down (Live At The Calderone Concert Hall)04:04
• 8Ashes Of Love (Live At The Calderone Concert Hall)02:16
• 9Portland Woman (Live At The Calderone Concert Hall)12:38
• 10Whiskey (Live At The Calderone Concert Hall)03:55
• 11She's Looking Better Every Beer (Live At The Calderone Concert Hall)03:08
• 12Teardrops In My Eyes (Live At The Calderone Concert Hall)03:05
• 13I Heard You've Been Layin' My Old Lady (Live At The Calderone Concert Hall)03:50
• 14The Swimming Song (Live At The Calderone Concert Hall)02:36
• 15You Never Can Tell (Live At The Calderone Concert Hall)05:10
• 16Hard To Handle (Live At The Calderone Concert Hall)04:29
• 17Glendale Train (Live At The Calderone Concert Hall)06:46
• 18Dead Flowers (Live At The Calderone Concert Hall)04:08
• Total Runtime01:19:03

Info for Hempsteader: Live At The Calderone Concert Hall, Hempstead, New York, June 25, 1976 (Remastered)

18 tracks recorded during one of their live peaks in one of their hottest markets • Contains several of John Dawson’s classic originals and covers of Chuck Berry, Otis Redding, The Rolling Stones, and more.

New Riders Of The Purple Sage emerged out of the San Francisco music scene in 1969—their original lineup featuring several Grateful Dead members—and soon became one of the hottest live acts to catch. They released their debut in 1971 (peaking at #39 on the Top 200) and 1973’s The Adventures Of Panama Red reached RIAA Gold status.

Hempsteader: Live At The Calderone Concert Hall, Hempstead, New York, June 25, 1976 captures the band live and on fire on the heels of their MCA New Riders release. Several of John “Marmaduke” Dawson’s original fan favorites like “Henry,” “Portland Woman” and “Glendale Train” are given prime treatment, especially this version of “Portland Woman” which finds the band stretching out with guitarist David Nelson and pedal steel guitarist Buddy Cage taking the song to new places and heights. The band also delves into covers by the likes of Delbert McClinton, Hazel Dickens, Jack Tempchin, Loudon Wainwright III, Chuck Berry, and tremendous takes on the Otis Redding classic “Hard To Handle” (which Grateful Dead fans will recall from their earlier days) and the The Rolling Stones’ “Dead Flowers.”

As with Thanksgiving In New York City, Field Trip, and Lyceum ’72, this release is helmed and Produced for release by Rob Bleetstein—Host and Producer on SiriusXM’s Grateful Dead and Pearl Jam channels, and NRPS archivist. Bleetstein also provided photos and liner notes.

Hempsteader: Live At The Calderone Concert Hall, Hempstead, New York, June 25, 1976 is a chance to relive that time and place, or just feel like you were there.

"Sit back, spark one up and let Hempsteader take you back to one supremely rocking night on Long Island with the New Riders." (Rob Bleetstein, from his liner notes)

New Riders of the Purple Sage

Digitally remastered

Please Note: We offer this album in its native sampling rate of 48 kHz, 24-bit. The provided 96 kHz version was up-sampled and offers no audible value!

New Riders Of The Purple Sage
In the summer of 1969, John Dawson was looking to showcase his songs while Jerry Garcia was looking to practice his brand new pedal steel guitar. The two played in coffeehouses and small clubs initially, and the music they made became the nucleus for a band—the New Riders of the Purple Sage.

That same year, David Nelson, expert in both country and rock guitar, joined the group on electric lead guitar. Filling out the rhythm section in those early days were Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart and engineer Bob Matthews on bass, who was later replaced by Phil Lesh. In 1970, Dave Torbert took over on bass and the New Riders played every chance they got. Soon enough, smoky clubs all over the San Francisco bay area were filling up with whooping, foot-stomping crowds as their music got tighter and more dynamic. They began to tour extensively with the Dead, and in December of 1970, Spencer Dryden, who had previously showed his impeccable drumming style with the Jefferson Airplane, had stepped in on drums.

One of the many gigs with the Dead included the Trans-Canadian Festival Express with Janis Joplin, The Band, and other American and Canadian artists like Ian and Sylvia, who had with them a brilliant, innovative pedal steel player named Buddy Cage. When Garcia’s busy schedule made it increasingly difficult for him to play with the New Riders, the talented Cage was the perfect choice to fill the pedal steel spot. He moved from Toronto where he had been working in Anne Murray’s band, to California in the spring of 1971 to join the New Riders. With the addition of Cage, the New Riders emerged as a fully independent unit. An excitingly creative band with a special brand of music—sweet country harmonies mixed with pulsing rock rhythms.

The New Riders were signed to Columbia Records in 1971 by Clive Davis and their eponymous first album, New Riders of the Purple Sage, was released in September of that year to widespread acclaim. In December, 1971 they played a live radio broadcast with the Dead over WNEW-FM in New York to an audience of millions. In 1972 the pattern of their success continued to grow, with their first European tour followed in June by the release of their second album, Powerglide. They toured the United States extensively in response to increasing demand, and in November, 1972 released their third album Gypsy Cowboy.

In May of 1973, the New Riders appeared on ABC-TV’s “In Concert” program to a nationwide audience. Working hard on the road for much of the year, including gigs with the Dead at Kezar Stadium in San Francisco and R.F.K. Stadium in Washington, DC, they took a brief time out to go into the Record Plant in Sausalito with producer Norbert Putnam. The result was The Adventures of Panama Red, released in September of 1973 and with Peter Rowan’s title track, this became an FM radio staple and the first gold record for the band. In November they embarked on an east coast tour that included them setting the box office record at New York City’s Academy of Music. This tour was recorded for the group’s first live album, Home, Home on the Road, which was produced by Jerry Garcia.

Early 1974 found bassist Dave Torbert wanting to pursue a more rock and roll direction as he left the New Riders to form Kingfish with old friends Matthew Kelly and Bob Weir. Skip Battin, formerly with the Byrds, joined the band on bass as they kept to their solid touring schedule which had become one of the band’s trademarks. In August, 1974, the New Riders gave a free thank you concert in Central Park on a Tuesday afternoon to 50,000 New York fans. Their sixth album, entitled Brujo, was released in October, 1974 and found their recorded sound getting crisper with delicate harmonies and more original songs. ....

Booklet for Hempsteader: Live At The Calderone Concert Hall, Hempstead, New York, June 25, 1976 (Remastered)