Zig Zag Wandering With Steve Shark (Dept.)

UK rock magazine ZigZag was started by rock journalist and historian Pete Frame in 1969. Best remembered for the beautifully draughted rock family trees that were first seen in the magazine, Frame was also an A&R man for Charisma Records and the manager of Starry Eyed & Laughing, a UK band very heavily influenced by the Byrds.

In 1974, Zigzag was taken over by Tony Stratton-Smith, the founder of Charisma Records, and he decided to put on a concert with some of the ZigZag journalists' favourite acts. Frame was still a writer with the magazine and so had some input when it came to the line up - which may explain the first set!

The main sets in the show - at London's Roundhouse - were recorded but the tapes weren't released, and gathered dust until 2010, when Tony Poole of Starry Eyed & Laughing edited and remixed them for release. He did a great job, too.

There are 5 CDs in the case, with performances from Starry Eyed & Laughing, Chilli Willi & the Red Hot Peppers, John Stewart, Help Yourself and Mike Nesmith.

Disc 1 - Starry Eyed & Laughing
This was the band's earliest recording and features material that would appear on their first studio release. I've mentioned these guys on the IoF© before, and if you like the Byrds, you'll probably like SEAL.

Disc 2 - Chilli Willi & the Red Hot Chilli Peppers
Born out of the ashes of Mighty Baby (also featured previously on the IoF©), the band boasted Martin Stone and future Residents collaborator Phil "Snakefinger" Lithman. Much more rootsy than Baby, there's western swing, bluegrass, straight country, blues and rockabilly in there.

Disc 3 - John Stewart
Ex-Kingston Trio, Stewart enjoyed a bit of a renaissance in the 1970s. This set is mostly acoustic, but the last few numbers see him picking up an electric guitar. There's a beautifully stripped-down version of "Daydream Believer", which he wrote.

Disc 4 - Help Yourself
Featuring 3/5 (on the last couple of numbers at least) of the version of Man that was currently touring, this is the "heads'" set and features four long numbers with plenty of jamming. Unsurprisingly, Man fans will probably enjoy this disc. We've also met Man on the IoF© before.

Disc 5 - Mike Nesmith
Yet another IoF© featured artist! Bringing only Red Rhodes - pedal steel player extraordinaire - up on stage with him, this is a very intimate set from Nesmith. He was a ZigZag magazine favourite and it's lovely to hear him hold the audience completely spellbound. Just Mike's voice, his acoustic guitar and Rhodes' pedal steel - perfect.

To get this precious artefact - complete with copious artwork and sleevenotes - just state what your all time favourite live album is.