Organized handily by year with very useful descriptions at World of Bowie. Find more live/bootleg collections right here or over on our blogroll.

Photo © Denny Renshaw

Last month, I posted a solo Seven Swans-era Sufjan Stevens bootleg; here he is with a full band the very next year at the height of his powers. Trivia: the show was apparently with Animal Collective!

1. The 50 States Song: mp3
2. The Tallest Man, the Broadest Shoulders: mp3
3. Prairie Fire + They Are Night Zombies…: mp3
4. Jacksonville: mp3
5. Casimir Pulaski Day: mp3
6. Chicago: mp3
7. The Predatory Wasp: mp3
8. A Good Man is Hard to Find: mp3
9. John Wayne Gacy Jr.: mp3
10. All the Trees of the Field: mp3
11. Seven Swans: mp3
12. The Man of Metropolis Steals Our Hearts: mp3

Previously: Bootleg: Sufjan Stevens, 3.10.04 Belgium + 11.19.03 Illinois

Find more concerts and unreleased recordings on the Rawkblog Bootlegs archive page.

Sufjan Stevens at All Tomorrow’s Parties 2004 / photo by David Greenwald

A really charming Seven Swans-era solo show in which Sufjan goes full VH1 Storytellers and sings huskily. No neon anywhere. It’s a single file, sorry.

Sufjan Stevens – 3.10.04: mp3

1. The Upper Peninsula
2. The Dress Looks Nice On You
3. Size Too Small
4. For the Widows in Paradise, For the Fatherless in Ypsilanti

It’s not that Cardinology and Easy Tiger found Ryan Adams going through the motions, exactly. Both records were moderately surprising commercial successes, drawing on the embattled musician’s long career for songs propulsive and charming. At times, such as “Oh My God, Whatever, Etc.,” they found him at his sensitive best; at others, there’s “Let Us Down Easy” and “Go Easy,” which do just that. Adams himself referred to “Easy Tiger” as a “mellow classic,” but if there was any lingering worry that his recent catalog and long musical layoff has left him fat and happy in a Los Feliz love-nest, you’re going to want to listen to this show. He makes his way through a setlist from his Whiskeytown days to Gold and Love Is Hell through Cardinology, all delivered from the edge of a cliff. A metaphorical cliff. It is the best Adams concert recording I’ve ever heard, which bodes well for his upcoming Glyn Johns-produced full-length. Don’t call it a comeback? (Seriously, don’t.) 

Update: In deference to Ryan’s new taping policy (which is: no more taping), I’ve taken this down. The videos are on YouTube.

Ryan Adams in 2007 / Photo by Justin McDougal via Flickr

Photo by David Hornbuckle

(Editor’s note: This post first appeared in June 2007. MP3 links have been updated.) I’ve been a Bright Eyes fan since someone sent me “No Lies, Just Love,” a song which still blows me away. In fact, everything I’ve ever heard from the guy since has been a disappointment in comparison. But even though I wound up not being particularly impressed with his two ’05 releases, I’m Wide Awake It’s Morning and Digital Ash in a Digital Urn, there were a few songs on them that pointed to Conor Oberst’s considerable talent. The best versions I ever heard of those tracks, long before the albums came out, were on this phenomenal KCRW session.

Bright Eyes – KCRW Session, 4.10.03

1. Interview, Pt. 1: mp3
2. One Foot in Front of the Other: mp3
3. Sound check: mp3
4. Poison Oak: mp3
5. Sound check: mp3
6. First Day of My Life: mp3
7. Interview, Pt. 2: mp3
8. Train Under Water: mp3
9. Burn Rubber (Simon Joyner cover): mp3
10. Interview, Pt. 3: mp3

More: Bootlegs | Bright Eyes

Miles Kurosky solo at SXSW 2010 / photo by David Greenwald

(Editor’s note: This post originally appeared in May 2007. MP3 links have been updated.) Radio sessions are the best. You get a quality recording and the band tends to do things acoustic and quieter. This particular session is not acoustic and quieter — in fact, it’s noisier than some of the album versions of some these tracks. This is great The Coast is Never Clear-era material with Beulah in fine form. For the uninitiated: The Coast is Never Clear is one of the best pop records of this millennium, up there with Oh, Inverted World.

Beulah @ KCRW, 9.25.01

1. Program Intro: mp3
2. Battle Cry of the West: mp3
3. Emma Blowgun’s Last Stand: mp3
4. Night Is the Day Turned Inside Out: mp3
5. Interview: mp3
6. If We Can Land a Man on the Moon, Surely I Can Win Your Heart: mp3
7. Popular Mechanics for Lovers: mp3

(Buy Beulah albums from their website)

More: Bootlegs | Beulah/Miles Kurosky

I made this compilation in the 18 months or so between Elliott Smith’s last shows before his death and the studio release of From a Basement on the Hill. I love the album now, but in many ways, I still prefer these takes — given the posthumous nature of Basement, it’s nice to have at least one version that’s pure Smith. Many of these songs date back a ways. “Let’s Get Lost” was performed (and recorded) as early as February 6, 2001 and December 20, 2001, as far as I know, but I went with a 2003 version. However, the first recording of “King’s Crossing,” from October 14, 1999, is my favorite take on the song. Enjoy, and there’s much, more more on the Elliott Smith archive page. (Got a better version of one of these songs? Please send it over.)

Elliott Smith – Performances from a Basement on the Hill: ZIP

Here are a few of the tracks:

Elliott Smith – “Coast to Coast” (acoustic): mp3
Elliott Smith – “Twilight” (full band): mp3
Elliott Smith – “Memory Lane” (solo): mp3
Elliott Smith – “Fond Farewell” (solo): mp3
Elliott Smith – “Pretty (Ugly Before)” (solo): mp3

Photo by Sherwin!!!

Belle & Sebastian / on the radio / playing songs for children.

[Editor's note: This entry was originally posted in April 2007. It has been updated.] Here’s a few from their (at the time) yet-to-be-released comeback record, Dear Catastrophe Waitress. The Peel Sessions I’ve heard have all been laid-back, informal affairs more concerned with fun than impressing listeners, and this performance sounds no different.  Read the rest of this entry »