Outfakes

This topic does kind of interests me - the sort of people who counterfeit "rare" recordings.  One runs across this sort of thing occasionally.

Just ran across this supposed "live" version of Van Der Graaf Generator's take on the Song of Roland, "Roncevaux".  Supposedly played on their last Italian tour, of which no recordings exist, though there is a tape from a rehearsal for their last tour.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pL4l2g4j66w

So here's this 2013 upload of a "MEGA RARE!" live version.  Despite being an audience recording from 1972 with a fairly talky crowd, the sound quality is not bad.  Distant, but not bad.  Sounds, really, almost as good as the rehearsal recording.

Probably because it _is_ the rehearsal recording.  Well, I can't say that for sure.  Maybe they decided, on this night, to play the song the exact same way they played the rehearsal, the flute flourishes, Hammill's stresses and enunciation, the drum fills.  It's... not the way they usually worked as a band.  God knows, I love the song, I don't know why, and I've heard it enough times that I recognize the recording, even with additional warts added to obfuscate the existing warts.

I guess somebody else loved it enough to make their own fake live version.  That's kind of cool.  Some of the fakes, really, I love.  Like, there's a fake alleged version of "Watcher of the Skies" by Yes with Peter Gabriel.  Why Peter Gabriel?  Because they couldn't find someone who could sing like Jon Anderson, probably!  Not even remotely convincing, and it doesn't try very hard - an obviously bogus shortwave introduction and a fade into some other random song at the end is about the extent of it.  I love listening to it, though.  It's a fun, creative piece of work.  God knows where you would even find a copy, these days.

I probably got more to say on the subject, but I think I've done enough writing for the day!