HARRY CHAPIN: LIVE AT THE BOTTOM LINE (January 8-10, 1981)

THE TALE OF THE TAPES: DISCOVERING MORE STORIES FROM HARRY

It’s no exaggeration to say that when we began the monumental task of properly archiving the hundreds of Bottom Line concert recordings in the vault last year, we really didn’t have any idea just how much stuff we had. There were piles and piles of ¼ inch tape reels, DATs, cassettes, VHS tapes, CDRs and myriad digital formats that practically no one remembers. It was a beautiful mess. 

The first order of business was to organize the reels. That’s when I first noticed we had not one, not several, but fourteen reels of Harry Chapin sitting, “up on the shelf”. This was exciting but, at the same time, rather daunting. Keep in mind that these tapes were housed in plain white boxes, with no information other than "Harry Chapin 01/08/81" on each of the box’s spines. No song lists, no details, nothing. Harry had played six shows over the course of three nights during that week to celebrate his 2000th performance. (If you had attended all six sets, it would have cost you a grand total of 60 bucks! Chew on that for a moment, my friends.) Staring at the shelves of our now neat and ordered archive, it looked as though we had most of Harry’s sets from that week. OK, cool.

This information was in the back of my mind when, weeks later, I heard that we would remaster the original two-disc, 90-minute Chapin concert for the next batch of Bottom Line Archive releases. An expanded set, which could double the length of the original program, was now possible. How to even begin? Sound unheard, there was no real guarantee that the tapes would yield anything more than “alternate takes” of the songs we’d already released. 

As the archiving process progressed, I happened to glance through a pile of cassettes and found FULLY LABELED tape cases that had obviously been prepared by original producer Hank Medress to help him determine which songs to put on the album. He had inadvertently left a trail of breadcrumbs leading toward an even richer picture of Harry in performance. Suddenly, it hit me that right there in front of my eyes was a long list of songs that were NOT included on the original album. 

I immediately alerted the BLA team as to this incredible find and suggested that we could add another thirteen songs and essentially present an entire second show - excepting tracks that were played on ALL shows, such as, “Taxi” and “Cat’s In The Cradle”. It was also clear that, not only were these other songs not included on the initial BL release, but they also had not appeared on Harry’s “Greatest Stories Live” album from 1976. 

But had the tapes survived the 35-year wait? Did these previously unreleased takes have the Chapin vibe? What else was on there? Certainly, the expanded project meant that we could now include more of Harry’s monologues, stories and playful group banter that had not appeared on the original, likely due to time and pacing constraints that in today’s fully-digital world would no longer be a major concern. 

We pushed forward and baked the tapes to stabilize them and prepare them for digital transfer. Once brought to the digital realm, we listened closely. What we found was extraordinary. The sound was fantastic, the performances were as hot as imagined, and the onstage banter and audience participation gave an even more vivid picture of what the show really sounded like if you were right there at The Bottom Line sitting at a rather long table with all of those wonderful Chapin fans. I could easily tell from the huge pile of takes we now possessed that clearly, Harry and Co. had a strong concept of which tunes they’d try to capture on each set and which ones they’d play again, always vying for a better take. I can tell you one thing I learned from listening to all of the music from that week – this Chapin band was tight and very, very consistent. Nearly every take of every song was spot on - 2000th show indeed! I was a bit flabbergasted by this, but forged ahead to find the very best performances. It was at times, difficult to choose, as all of the music was so utterly nailed down and emotionally radiant – positively rife with dramatic intensity and bare-knuckled poignancy. 

For this expanded remaster edition, we’ve given you the original set, as released in 1998, PLUS an additional, previously unreleased 88-minute show. To demarcate the second show, we’ve started with the club’s pre-show room ambience – exactly what you would have heard sitting in the audience, moments before the band took the stage. It’s another riveting performance and as always, the band gives their impeccable all. Harry’s voice may show some wear ‘n tear by the time they come around to “Circle”, but it only adds to this vivid snapshot of an incredible artist who, having given his all, shows that there’s still something there left to give.

We invite you to enjoy the one and only Harry Chapin: Live from The Bottom Line in New York City!