liebzz wrote:Ha. Didn’t even notice unless it has since been edited out. Nevertheless, that was one of the definitive listens. Great stuff. Sometimes you just need folks going apeshit on guitar.
It’s still on the version you listened to. Unless Spotify censors stuff.
And I totally agree with you about Crossroads.
Let me tell you, Homer Simpson is cock of nothing!
- C. Montgomery Burns
This is one of those bands I have always felt the parts are greater than the sum. Geddy Lee is a great bass player, Alex Lifeson a great guitarist, and Neil Peart a great drummer, yet somehow I have never been drawn to their player together or their songs. I mean Lee’s voice notwithstanding, I just have never had any interest. This makes a live album that doesn’t feature hits a bit of an opportunity to give them that chance. Nothing much has changed other than having a greater appreciation of their playing, which is pretty good here, save of course for the singing. It doesn’t make me a fan but doesn’t fully kill any chance of it either.
The Essential Performance: By-Tor and The Snow Dog
I did a Rush listen a few years ago. I liked it ok but nothing grabbed me enough I had to go back and listen to anything over and over. I plan on going thru them again at some point.
By-Tor was a favorite tho.
Let me tell you, Homer Simpson is cock of nothing!
- C. Montgomery Burns
Well, I guess this almost ages me, but I didn’t realize that Led Zeppelin re-did this thing in 2007 with a bit more editing and remastering, and more tracks, so the new version is what we go for here. This is much improved and I think more representative of their live sound. Cutting down Moby Dick and Whole Lotta Love feels disingenuous but honestly it’s much more digestible. The shocker on this though, is how much The Ocean blows you away out of nowhere with some serious energy at the end of the first disc. Nice little surprise they’re among solid takes on their hits, as I have always been a fan of the opening 3 of Rock and Roll, Celebration Day and Black Dog.
Edit: worth noting, The Song Remains the Same is the first rock movie I ever saw, as opposed to the first real time I heard a live rock show on the radio (Pearl Jam Atlanta ‘94) or the first live album (Van Halen - Right Here Right Now).
I would definitely join in on any Rush revisit that happens. Their hits are just so embedded in my childhood and having seen them twice appreciate what they can do but I rarely ever choose 'em out of the lot.
I know you did the Springsteen run not too long ago but do you have Live in Dublin on the list?
oasisfan35 wrote:I would definitely join in on any Rush revisit that happens. Their hits are just so embedded in my childhood and having seen them twice appreciate what they can do but I rarely ever choose 'em out of the lot.
I know you did the Springsteen run not too long ago but do you have Live in Dublin on the list?
Some albums reveal different things at different listens and in different contexts. That’s often been a motivating factor behind what’s been a years long trip through a variety of artists’ catalogues. That I could find something new, be it in albums I hadn’t yet heard or even the ones I did. To look at things from a slightly different space. And so it is with The Last Waltz, an event that could never properly be replicated, but that each listen brings a new thought.
I had always preferred Rock of Ages to this one, until this listen. Something in the sheer energy of these performances, and especially the ones with no guests, just really grabs hold this time around - a band with no business calling it quits but does so anyway, largely something I think exposed more in the film than here. These guys were simply incredible together - and to show that across musical genres, and to be able to play expertly with nearly anyone fronting them is just amazing. Van Morrison sounds better here than his own live album because they make him better. Dr. John stuns. Neil Young, Bob Dylan…all the folks seem well off in their company.
The Essential Performance: The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down (really close to putting Such a Night here)
If the Bootleg Series on the Rolling Thunder Revue was a solid addition to Dylan canon, Hard Rain is more or less a toss away for that tour. Dylan seems to be pushing his vocals a little too much here to distraction, and maybe time was just up on this moment for this group. Granted, I really liked the rearranging of Maggie’s Farm, Shelter From the Storm, and moments in Idiot Wind, but I really wasn’t excited for the rest.
The Essential Performance: Maggie’s Farm
Up Next: The Flying Burrito Brothers - Live at the Bottom Line NYC 1976
The Flying Burrito Brothers - Live at the Bottom Line NYC, 1976
If Dylan seemed a bit forced at the end of the Rolling Thunder Revue, little seems more of a natural response than this, a band just just seems to play totally free and easy. These guys naturally hang at the intersection of country, bluegrass, and rock music, and are just playing some beer drinking music and it’s just easy to get swallowed up in it and enjoy without strings attached. Hot Burrito #2, Diggy Liggy Li, Take a Whiff on Me, Six Days on the Road, and Orange Blossom Special are all stomping good times.
The first of a couple of reggae runs, this first live album is a recent archival release from 1976. The first thing that is immediately noticeable is that the sound is immaculate. I mean, it’s better than nearly any other live album of the time. Tosh here is probably slightly ahead of his time, and much less the militant reggae figure I remember him to be compared to his contemporaries. Yes, things can get a little tense with 400 Years, No Sympathy, and Steppin’ Razor, but this is more or less much more controlled than I expected and the closer, Ketchy Shuby, is dare I say infectious as they jam to the end. A shockingly good find here.
The Essential Performance: Ketchy Shuby
Up Next: Jimmy Cliff - In Concert: The Best of Jimmy Cliff
liebzz wrote:The Flying Burrito Brothers - Live at the Bottom Line NYC, 1976
If Dylan seemed a bit forced at the end of the Rolling Thunder Revue, little seems more of a natural response than this, a band just just seems to play totally free and easy. These guys naturally hang at the intersection of country, bluegrass, and rock music, and are just playing some beer drinking music and it’s just easy to get swallowed up in it and enjoy without strings attached. Hot Burrito #2, Diggy Liggy Li, Take a Whiff on Me, Six Days on the Road, and Orange Blossom Special are all stomping good times.
The Essential Performance: Six Days On the Road
I’ve tried this one several times over the years and it just hasn’t clicked for me
I mean, you gotta be cool with ramshackle country, and bluegrass and not take it even remotely serious and that about does it.
Jimmy Cliff seems like the most intentional pop star of the reggae legends we’ll cover throughout this journey. In fact, his music is the closest to evoking 60s pop with a tiny touch of Motown, at the least subtly. There are pop songs like You Can Get It If You Really Want and Wild World that I forgot even existed. So it is. This is an easy and fun listen.
The Essential Performance: The Harder They Come
Up Next: Bob Marley and the Wailers - Live at the Roxy
