That may have been the first time Benedict saw the band play, but the band was gaining popularity fast enough to also be included in the rumor mill. Benedict’s favorite: “It was rumored that when The Byrds’ Notorious Byrds Brothers album came out that the Mods or whoever they were at that time played the whole album the Wednesday night of the following week.” If true, an accomplishment Benedict thought impressive, as would others.

“(The IRI tapes) were getting us a lot of attention,” remarked Bullock, “but they were a bit crude and definitely outdated.”

I heard it a couple of years ago (I happened to come across an old diesel-powered tape machine or something) and played it, and it is spectacular

“It was a really good representation of the band at that time,” Bullock continued, “and we would have been happy to release it but weren’t able to find an outlet. But it did attract interest at Columbia and helped us move to a different level.”

“We did that album before the Epic album, in Dallas,” confirmed White in a recent interview, “but decided it wasn’t up to our specifications, excellence-wise, so we shelved it. Читать далее →