Jon Miller up in Seattle dug the tape out of storage, and sent a copy along to nofightin.com, and it’s a good one. Though the recording is incomplete — picking up toward the end of a searing version of “I Was Wrong” — it is impressive for what’s there, including a rowdy trio shuffle new to nofightin.com.

LISTEN: The rare “Blues in the Nighttime” shuffle with Lester Butler, Paul Size and Bill Bateman [MP3]

The airdate, as marked on the original cassette dubbed live from the radio, is dated 12/7/92, though host Chris Douridas mentions that the Devils’ segment was taped the previous Friday. The timeline is corroborated by the Dec. 7 Los Angeles Times review of a Friday evening gig in L.A.

Musically, this was an odd period for the band: Dave Lee Bartel was out, and Texan Mike Flanagan was in on rhythm guitar, as he had been throughout late 1992 on tour (Dave Lee was back for European and festival dates in 1993). The band’s setlist and arrangements were evolving.

For instance, a nascent “Blackwater Roll” is showcased here, but is in the style of Slim Harpo’s “Scratch My Back” — pretty much the way the Lester Butler Tribute Band plays it. The focus is much more on the lyrics than the groove here. To hear “Blackwater Roll” draws a great family tree of a song: Probably starting off as a blues jam; recast with an insistent new melody and rhythm live, courtesy of Paul Size; tamed down a bit in the studio with guitarist Zach Zunis replacing Size; and finally the groove resurrected anew on the Paul Size/Johnny Moeller record “Return of the Funky Worm.”

Not as successful is “a brand new arrangement” of “Devil Woman.” The song suffers by a new rhythm part, ostensibly by Flanagan, that drags the song down into a dirge. Butler’s vocal performance, so integral to the song’s success on “King King,” here can’t save it.

The musical highlight has to be a tune we’re calling “Blues in the Nighttime,” a jam that has not yet surfaced on any other Devils recording, official or otherwise. Using the old blues trope of dropping the bass player in favor of a guitar-harp-drums setup, the song is a bouncy mid-tempo, one-chord jam that just sounds like fun. Butler sounds like he’s jammed the harp mic in his mouth, as he hollers with glee his usual pat lyrics, with a few fun changes (“Shake it down baby, in New Orleans/got your people, love cold ice cream”). Butler’s solo quotes “Got Love if You Want it,” before the band straightens the beat and speeds it up for a whoopin’ minute-and-thirteen finale frenzy. How they failed to get this song recorded or released — even on the “Blackwater Roll” EP — remains yet another Red Devils mystery.

After recording this show, the band played a gig later that night at the Palomino in Los Angeles. From the L.A. Times review:

The band’s “ultra raw” (lead singer Lester Butler’s phrase) attack was certainly energetic enough Friday to escape the museum-piece syndrome. A new song with a “Midnight Rambler” tempo shift and an encore of Slim Harpo’s “Shake Your Hips” brought the Rolling Stones of 25 years ago to mind; no wonder Mick Jagger pulled the band into the studio to back him on a recording session.

In addition to the music, there are several goofy interview segments with Butler and Bateman, mostly rehashing the Mick Jagger stuff. Host Douridas banters with the band, and the Devils dutifully comply. Butler is his usual cheeky self: namechecking Hollywood Fats, talking Lawrence Welk and Ethel Merman, mentioning the Devils’ “original” name — the Octoberfest Polkateers. You know, typical Lester Butler.

More interesting is conversation about the Mick Jagger sessions and the should-have-been second album. Here are the compiled highlights, which are pretty amazing in hindsight:

CHRIS DOURIDAS: When you do a studio album, what do you think is going to be the twist on that, how is it going to sound different than what we’re hearing on the live stuff?

BILL BATEMAN: Well it will be in the studio, it will be a controlled situation. We are going to do blues songs. We’re going to use a room sound with a live approach, the same as the King King of course, but it’ll be different because it’ll be the studio. All new songs, new arrangements … new!

CD: You recently just got out of the studio with Mick Jagger … What’s going to happen with these, tell us about this, what’s this story?

BB: They’re in the can, they’re saving ‘em for later.

CD: It was a time there when it looked like it was going to be his next album, right?

BB: A couple of the takes from that recording session would make it onto his new LP. His LP has been postponed a little bit. We’re not on it right now.

CD: Hopefully you can watch for that to come out some time in the future.

BB: In the future.

CD: I want to ask you about the next couple of things we can hear from you, release-wise. When do you think you’re gonna go back in the studio for a studio project … any ideas?

LESTER BUTLER: As soon as possible. We’re going to record a demo for the record company this week.

CD: Great. And we’ll just keep an eye out about the project with Mick Jagger and see when that thing surfaces, if it does …

LB: Keep your fingers crossed.

Tracklist:
1. “I’ve Been Wrong” (ending) (1:09)
2. Interview segment 1 (4:37)
3. “Blackwater Roll” (5:19)
4. Interview 2 (1:57)
5. “Devil Woman” (6:23)
6. Interview 3 (2:16)
7. “Blues in the Nighttime” (shuffle) (5:14)
8. Radio out (0:46)

Can you help?
We are looking for the remainder of this radio show, which aired on KCRW in San Diego on Dec. 7, 1992. If you have an audio recording, know where we can get one, or have any recollections of this performance, please let us know.

As always, thanks to the great nofightin.com readers out there for bringing this music out of the attics so others can hear.

Though there are really only two CDs between The Red Devils and 13, there are dozens of other associated records we’d like to turn you on to. We’re going to curate the store to be the best from each member of The Red Devils, their influences and their contemporaries, hopefully giving you a little more of an idea of who’s who on these records.

Heard Lester Butler talk about James Harman, but you don’t know where to start? We’ve got those records, so we can help ya out.

And if you were thinking of scoring a Harman disc, by getting it from the nofightin.com store, we get a little taste and can help keep the site running.

We promise not to burn you with “sounds like The Red Devils” when it doesn’t. Now, not too many bands do sound like the Devils, but if you like them, you might be ready for some of these other artists.

When you cross your heart to someone
You’re not supposed to, you’re not supposed to tell a lie
You cross your heart to someone
Little girl, you’re not supposed to, you’re not supposed to tell a lie
If you say wrong or do wrong, baby, it got to be so long, or goodbye

First time I crossed my heart for you baby
I was by your bedside, on my knees
First time I crossed my heart for you baby
I was by your bedside, on my knees
If you say wrong or do wrong, I got to beg you, darling, help me please

(harp solo)

I cross my heart for you baby
I cross for you, and no one else I know
I cross my heart for you baby
I cross for you, and no one else I know
anything you say darling, I got to do it or I’ve got to go

Transcribed by nofightin.com. More “King King” lyrics here.

Using already-published interviews as a backbone, author Jake Brown constructs a discography-based look at Rubin’s career in the recently released book “Rick Rubin: In the Studio” (ECW Press). Not a tabloidy tell-all, “In the Studio” instead is a gearhead’s delight, giving some insight into the famed Rick Rubin recording process.

Red Devils fans, however, will be let down — the Devils’ Rubin-produced “King King” is not mentioned save for a discography at the back of the book. The lone mention of the Devils in the text is a graph about the Mick Jagger blues sessions, not even noting that this “Los Angeles blues ensemble” was a Def American band.

However, there are some insights that can be gleaned into “King King” by studying Rubin’s other works and his philosophy — his less is more, or “production by reduction,” style.

Adhering to a strict chronological narrative, “In the Studio” is essentially two books in one. The first — and better — half details Rubin’s rise through the New York hip-hop underground, founding Def Jam Records in his dorm room with Russell Simmons. Rubin seems a product of his times; growing up on classic rock, but finding himself in the outsider worlds of early ’80s punk, hardcore and hip-hop.

It’s these diverse influences that inform his early work with LL Cool J and Run-DMC. Here, the classic Run-DMC-Aerosmith collaboration “Walk This Way,” one of the most important rock tracks of the day, is dissected yet again, but with a fly-on-the-wall approach that makes the oft-told story fresh.

Pushing the rap-rock concept even farther, Rubin finds his perfect musical partners in the Beastie Boys, a hardcore band in love with the burgeoning rap scene, where there were few rules to follow. Rubin is literally the fourth Beastie: A DJ and producer crafting their sound on a classic rock foundation. And Rubin began a close relationship with Beastie Adam “Ad-Rock” Horovitz, according to Def Jam publicist Bill Adler: “I think pretty early on Rick decided that Ad-Rock was the dominant, creative force in the group, and so he was just gonna get very tight with Ad-Rock.” Devil Dave Lee Bartel echoed these sentiments in Dan LeRoy’s “The Greatest Music Never Sold”:

Rubin and Butler

To the annoyance of the Devils, the producer now seldom deigned to make contact with anyone but [Lester] Butler. “He would take one person out of a band and only communicate through him,” says Dave Lee Bartel. “Usually the lead singer, who isn’t always the best leader.”

By 1988, Rubin had split with Simmons and formed his own Def American (later American) record label in California. This is where Rubin’s talents really shine, as he is exposed to a wide variety of music, and given lots of latitude for the work he chooses from distributor Geffen Records. The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Black Crowes, Sir Mix-A-Lot, Danzig, Slayer — and, yes, The Red Devils — were some of his early projects in Cali.

It’s in the second half that the book’s greatest flaw is revealed: The reliance of previously published material rather than original reporting. Rubin productions that have garnered press coverage are given more weight than those recordings that were smaller or perhaps ignored at the time. This explains the M.I.A. status for the woefully underheard “King King,” and why minor records by Donovan and Audioslave, for example, are so disproportionately represented, whether they are the best or most representative of Rick Rubin or not. There seems to have been very little editorial oversight to help guide the reader through the real milestones of Rubin’s career.

As Rubin became more famous, he also became more reclusive, forcing Brown to look to more and more esoteric sources to round out the narrative. Much of the later material is drawn from guitar magazines, for instance, with pages and pages of detail on every guitar and bass and amp and microphone and technique used by Flea and John Frusciante on “By the Way” and “Stadium Arcadium.” Pages go by without any mention of Rubin at all.

Some details — including how Rubin always “serves the song,” and Metallica’s noting that Rubin only gets involved in the process when needed for a critical ear — are illuminating. That Metallica wanted to get Rubin cohort George Drakoulias to produce “Death Magnetic,” but Rubin himself took over, mirrors the Red Devils’ experience exactly, according to “The Greatest Music Never Sold.”

Certainly, not every record could make the cut in this bio, and the Devils are noted in the discography. However, when the book’s premise is Rubin’s love of and success over all genres, ignoring the only blues band he produced, and a small “local” band at that, might seem to be a critical omission.

Publicly, Rubin has always spoken highly of “King King.” In a 2006 USA Today article, Rubin noted “King King” as a favorite of his, along with albums by Tom Petty, Johnny Cash and the Chili Peppers. And some of his comments even contradict “In the Studio”: While the book says Rubin was “closed off” to live performance, Rubin in the Sept. 6, 1992, New York Times said, “I wanted people to get to hear them the way I heard them. … And it’s kind of unusual to do a first LP as a live album.”

That Rubin selected the Devils to work with both Mick Jagger and Johnny Cash, however, is the real testament, and their work with the producer puts them in very good company, whether or not this book explicitly demonstrates that.

If the premise of using previously published stories was of such importance, a better book might be a Rick Rubin reader, with full, unique articles culled to create a mosaic of the producer.

Thankfully, author Dan LeRoy came at the Devils thoroughly, and with original interviews with several of the players. The best “In the Studio” does is reinforce much of what LeRoy has already written.

Reader Harry sent us this concert ticket for 13 at the Tivoli, Utrecht, The Netherlands. The date is Sept. 9, 1997, and Harry remarks, “It was a great show!” European blues band Drippin’ Honey was also billed.

1992: The Devils were among the stars in Aspen, according to the Jan. 6 Rocky Mountain News:

(Don) Henley was spotted later that evening at China Club, where Jimmy Buffett joined his band for a 1 1/2-hour set, which ended when Steven Stills and Foreigner’s Mick Jones joined him on stage. …

Racer Danny Sullivan hosted a China Club party on Dec. 29 and it was a major blowout. Buffett provided the tunes again. The Dirt Band also played, as did guitarist Al DiMeola and Billy Idol, who crooned a duet with Stallone.

The next night, Bruce Willis and the Red Devils played, joined on stage by John Oats.

New Year’s Eve was no slouch on the China Seas. … (Idol) was later joined on stage by Stills and Gary ”Helmet Head” Busey.

1993: The Los Angeles Daily News advanced the Devils’ New Year’s Eve gig in its Dec. 29 and 31 editions, but the Dec. 17 Long Beach Press-Telegram really summed it up, in comparison to a competing B.B. King gig that night:

A harder-edged, wilder, and wildly less expensive blues year’s eve show can be experienced within the Polynesian-decored walls of Jacks Sugar Shack, 8751 W. Pico Blvd., in Los Angeles. A 10-dollar bill buys you an entire evening’s worth (starting at 9:30 p.m.) of the fiery hot sound of American Records rouser the Red Devils. For information, call (310) 271-7887.

1995: The ashes of the Red Devils helmed New Year’s Eve at Bar Deluxe in Hollywood, according to the L.A. Times:

Witnessing a good live show at Bar Deluxe was fun if not always comfortable on a packed night, but now the problem’s solved. Good thing. From the edgy surf-rock of the Bomboras to Rocket 88’s “sicko-billy” sound, Bar Deluxe mixes and matches musical styles with an affection for America’s darkest corners. In true Deluxe fashion, the Red Devils have been booked on New Year’s Eve to ring in ‘96.

If you have any info on other Red Devils/Blue Shadows/Lester Butler New Year’s gigs, please share the details in the comments section.

Rackauskas, who tells us he ran a ’90s fanzine called Spinal Column (his 13 review can be found on Jasper Heikens’ site), sent us an e-mail, relating stories about seeing the Devils every week at Jack’s Sugar Shack in L.A.:

I can’t tell you how lucky I felt getting to watch them virtually every Thursday for so long! Once Jack’s moved to the Hollywood/Vine location, the vibe was killed, and the Devils started playing far less. I was also really lucky to see them play as the house band at the “Ciao Def” party where Rick Rubin’s label got rid of the “Def” and made it “American Recordings.” They played in a bowling alley off Olympic in Koreatown in L.A. that is no longer there. It was quite the party! I remember waiters walking around w/ wheel-barrows of beer and booze!

Check out these photos he’s passed along:

Rackauskas has a harmonica signed by Lester Butler, "but I'm never going to part with that!"

An invite to the "Ciao Def" party, where Rubin held a traditional New Orleans funeral to bury the word "Def," thereby launching American Records. Tom Petty, the Rev. Al Sharpton and others attended the ceremony; The Devils were the house band for the party.

The Devils opened for fellow Rubin signees the Four Horsemen on March 6, 1992. "First show I saw them at the Marquee in Garden Grove (no longer there I believe)."

Ticket stub from the L.A. House of Blues, Butler opening for The Blasters on March 24, 1995. The note "w/ The Boss" refers to THE Boss. "Bruce Springsteen was in the audience. Met him briefly and was extremely cool."

It’s not an essential set by any means, and may be of interest only to the most hardcore of collectors. Most of the songs are found in better form and audio quality in several other live sets. What stands out is the band’s almost experimental jamming, coming more than a year into the original lineup’s never-ending tour schedule.

The audio recording comes from a KFMH radio live broadcast of the festival; the announcer mentions other performers that day included Dr. John, Jimmy Ley and Nappy Brown. The poor audio quality of the recording means parts of the music are a wash, though Butler’s vocals are right out front, as are the harp and Paul Size’s lead guitar.

Noteworthy in the set is the take on “Cross Your Heart,” which, for the first two verses, is actually Lester Butler’s “Pray for Me,” four years away from its wax debut on the 13 album. The groove is similar to most other live versions of “Cross Your Heart,” but when Butler leans into the microphone, he croons, “Hey baby, little girl please pray for me.” In hindsight, it’s surprising to hear the song; this might be the earliest recording of the 13 slow blues, and may be the only recording of the Devils working out a song that Butler would take for his own later.

LISTEN: “Cross Your Heart”/”Pray For Me” from Davenport, Iowa, 1993

It’s not until the third and final verse, after a Paul Size solo, that Butler nods to the “Cross Your Heart” lyrics. With Butler’s request to “play it again, Sam,” Size does Magic Sam-style “All Your Love” riffing to close the song out in style.

Whether Butler was just vamping, or the band was consciously working on the slow blues, it’s a tantalizing intersection of the Red Devils and 13.

The Iowa set is also of note for including the three new songs to be featured on the then-upcoming “Blackwater Roll” EP. The songs stand out for being the most high-energy in the set; whether that is because they were the freshest tunes for the band or because they were the furthest away from blues purity remains to be seen. An interesting aside is Butler’s introduction of the tunes, confirming the songs’ names as labeled on the “Blackwater” sleeve.

There is a freshness to “Blackwater Roll” — an unhinged Size solo and Bateman killing himself behind the drums, as Butler goes chaotic on the vocals and the harp solo, chanting, almost stream of consciousness.

The set also includes “Commit a Crime” — the Howlin’ Wolf song wrongly called “Louisiana Blues” on the 2 Meter Sessies. Bill Bateman keeps it from becoming a dirge with propulsive cymbal work, while Butler quotes “Spoonful” on the harp. The song clocks in at more than 9 minutes long.

Size really shines, as always, on some showcase blues: The instrumental dubbed “Smokin’” (in reality, a super-fast take on fellow Texan Freddie King’s “Sen-Sa-Shun”) and the Albert Collins showstopper “Backstroke.” (Butler’s note, “We kind of change it up a little,” is an understatement for this frantic jam.)

Another highlight is “Trouble’s Knockin’,” a “Tramp”-like groove that Butler introduces: “We’re gonna jam one now — I guess that’s what we’re getting known for.” From the performance here, this tune might honestly have been a spontaneous jam. “Who Do You Love,” taken at a slower tempo, and with harp, almost sounds like a military or fife and drum march.

And, as always, Butler’s song introductions are either humorous or head-scratching; his gem on this day: “We want to do a outtake off one of our albums. Do a tune called ‘Dangerous.’ We got an album out there called ‘King King.’ On Def American Records, it exists … out in the nebulum .. the planet void.”

Tracklist:
1. “The Backstreet Crawler”
2. “Commit a Crime”
3. “Trouble’s Knockin’”
4. “Cross Your Heart” ["Pray for Me"]
5. “She’s Dangerous”
6. “I Wish You Would”
7. “The Hook”
8. “Blackwater Roll”
9. “Smokin’” ["Sen-Sa-Shun"]
10. “Who Do You Love”
11. “Backstroke”
12. “Automatic”

More than a year after its release — and more than 11 since the gig — the Lester Butler DVD, “Live at Moulin Blues Ospel 1998 — Lester’s Legendary Last Gig,” is still being discovered by fans.

A review posted today by “Slidin’ Slim” from Sweden underlines some of what we’ve been saying about this DVD:

To watch Lester’s very last performance (he died from a drug overdose one week after the gig) at the Moulin Blues Ospel in The Netherlands 1998 together with some very rare rehearsal footage and a few songs from 1993 with The Red Devils was both joyful and extremely sad.

Again, you can pick up a copy of the DVD from www.bluesdvd.nl.