Another triumph occurred at a Tucson concert on June 6, 1997, prior to Rainer’s relapse. Recorded professionally and released in late 2001 (on Glitterhouse) as the second instalment in the trilogy, “Live at the Performance Center” is, by Gelb’s description, ‘the best live recording I have ever heard from anyone, anywhere, from any time. And if you listen with a critical ear - which is hard to do, given the emotional status - he keeps getting better and better as the set goes on. He’s on a plane I have never heard anyone ever get to.’

The brain tumour that was thought to be in remission returned. “That came about after his final seizure [in '97]. I raced home from a European tour to find him talking in numbers. Again, he slowly began to re-learn his guitar, but this time the end was imminent. We all knew it. And we had to tell him, as well. Anyway, I mentioned to him that he was coming up with all kinds of ideas on the guitar; would he like to record again? To focus on that for the healing it can do, and the relief of the art he gave himself to his whole life. A day or so later, he was up for it.

He put in 4 days of recording spread over a couple of weeks, until his brain could not make sense enough to go on.” (Howe Gelb)

The result is “The Farm”, Rainer´s last recordings. Rainer Ptacek passed away on November 12, 1997.

Howe Gelb Album Notes

“What a great struggle for him at times to even read and make sense of the notes he’d made. The spine tingle is the delivery from a man who is perched on the precipice and able to look over into the void and deliver still, in this world, what he sees on both sides. What can I say? You can hear it.”

“Being back in the same room, at the same studio, to listen back to all the ‘running’ tapes from Rainer’s last session was a supernatural experience. Like we were all there again with Rainer just beyond the glass. It took 3 years to feel ready for the task. And then, surprisingly, another year to get through it and finish. Not because we worked on it every day, but because of the underlying shock effect of it all I suppose. It was as uplifting as it was difficult to put up with such missingness there in the shadow of rejoice hearing him be there again.”

“Looking back at it now, it seemed we made a science out of a seance. Example: Rainer would get done with a take and talk with us on tape as he had 4 years ago. You would find yourself with the knee jerk reaction of looking out through the studio glass to see him playing. The angle of the glass caused a reflection from the lights and made it difficult to see through. And as you catch yourself looking for him there, his voice would crackle from the tape and say things like ‘I can’t see you through the glass’.”

“Another time he asked us what time it is… Harvey and I looked at each other for a moment, barely hearing us mutter to him off mic from 4 years ago. So he repeats it then to us on mic so clear, ‘7.30?… ok thanks.’ And we slowly look up at the clock in the room now to see it read exactly 7.30.”

“What this session is was the sound of a man poised on the brink. He knew he was going to die. It was a matter of days. He put in 4 days of recordings spread over a couple of weeks, until his brain could not make sense enough to go on. This final music delivered by the sacred straddle of a man perched on the precipice.”

“It was a long goodbye, way too short.”

Recorded By Harvey and Jessica Moltz
Produced By Howe, Harvey and Rainer
Recorded At ‘The Sonic Temple’ Tucson, Arizona - October 10-14 1997 and October 24-27 1997
Mixed By Howe and Harvey except 1 - John Parish
Additional Editing By 2 & 12 - Nick Luca and Craig Schumaker at Wavelab
Published By Mushed Music, BMI except

TRACK LISTING

1 Junkpile Rainer Ptacek
2 Where We Are Rainer Ptacek
3 Oasis Rainer Ptacek
4 The Farm Rainer Ptacek
5 Here I Am Rainer Ptacek
6 Arabing Rainer Ptacek
7 Hard To Remember Rainer Ptacek
8 Instrumental # 13 Rainer Ptacek
9 Instrumental # 9 (Wait A Minute) Rainer Ptacek
10 Instrumental # 5 Rainer Ptacek
11 Instrumental # 3 Rainer Ptacek
12 Love Is What Rainer Ptacek
13 Joy Is Now Rainer Ptacek
14 Shifting Blues Rainer Ptacek
15 Instrumental # 4 (Slight Humming) Rainer Ptacek
16 Instrumental # 10 (Chore Ending) Rainer Ptacek
17 Instrumental # 6 Rainer Ptacek
18 Let’s Pretend To Be Happy Rainer Ptacek

PERSONNEL

Rainer Ptacek Dobro, National Steel and Vocals
Nick Augustine Bass
Ralph Gilmore Drums
John Convertino Drums (1)
Howe Gelb Piano Hammond B3 Roland Sampler Fender 6 String Bass

A Buyer’s View

“The Farm is the final recording or the Tucson based slide player, recorded over four days in the final four weeks of his life. It’s maily new songs although a couple turned up on his final live recording in Tucson’s Performance Centre during a remission from his cancer earlier in the year. Rainer was a remarkable guitarist, who never seemed to gain the recognition that he deserved despite playing with Robert Plant, Giant Sand and recording a series of highly original albums - Worried Spirits, the spiritual Nocturnes, Alpaca Lips and others…
The Farm is made up of a mixture of instrumentals and more traditional Rainer fayre - and given the circumstances of the recording (made with the help of his longstanding friend Howe Gelb - of Giant Sand) it remarkably upbeat and true to Rain’s spirit and inginuity. I was lucky enough to have known Rainer and have seen him perform on many occassions - a funny and very generous man who will be sadly missed by his family, fiends and fans the world over. It’s a mark of his brilliance that he was recording right up to the end and he’s left us a remarkable, and very moving album, to remember a very special guy - well worth a listen, along with Rain’s other recordings. You won’t be disappointed - but uplifted!”

“Charged with a compelling, last energy, this album is hard to turn from. Rainer’s voice isn’t technically remarkable, the lyrics could seem too easy (e.g. “loving yourself is not a crime”), but that he sings, croons, and laughs these lines as if he can barely remember how to talk, as if indeed this is not music but a last testament, a last stand. The lyrics hit me as simple and pure, indisputable rather than easy; carried through on the clear sound of his subtle, stark guitar. ‘The Farm’, ‘Oasis’, ‘Love is What’ go deep. His last music is strong and pained and weirdly graceful.”