Live At The Santa Monica Pier And Riverside Rancho 1945-1946 - Spade Cooley

Advantages: Live 1972
Disadvantages: this is hard to get a hold of

...Before this live recording came out officially in April 1994 it was one of the most sought after bootlegs, this F.M. broadcast from the 20th of October 1972 at the civic auditorium in Santa Monica U.S.A. To begin the proceedings an announcer tells the radio audience “that the house lights are about to go down for the appearance of David Bowie, the assembled crowd roars in anticipation. The lead guitar of Mick Ronson can be heard powering out the opening number “Hang onto yourself”, the first impression you get, as the listener is what’s the rush? I think the nerves and excitement of the live performance have got the better of the band; the sound also is a little muddy on this first track, but as the song progresses the sound engineer makes all the right adjustments and the sound kicks into life. As the last part of the first song... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

Advantages: Robert Johnsons music is showcased by great musicians.
Disadvantages: Not all Robert Johnsons songs were covered.

...I rate this excellent because the guitarist pays homage to his hero, in his style the musicianship is without fault throughout. It is nice to see the Blues played with such energy and obvious enjoyment by all concerned. The only thing that could be a negative is that not all of Robert Johnsons songs have been covered by Eric Clapton yet and subsequentely presented on an album. I hope that these will be done on a future album, as EC has covered most of his work. I have personally heard Eric Clapton play "Milk Cows Calf Blues" and "Little Queen of Spades" from this album at the Royal Albert Hall and at the Manchester Evening News Arena and the live versions were even better than on the cd. Robert Johnson, in his short life, only wrote and recorded 29 songs before he was killed, the most popular version of his death being that he... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Good to chill out to and imagine you're there
Disadvantages: nOT MANY

...My hat comes off to the people who recorded and produced this album almost as much as the artists who performed on it. It feels like you are present at this concert, recorded live in September 1996 at Ziggy's, Winston Salem, North Carolina. There is a tangible atmosphere brought to the listner by the audience, yet they are not too loud or intrusive as can occur easily on a live album. The mixing of the album has also been done well and the tracks flow smoothly into one another, despite them being taken from 2 shows. As for the quality of the music, well this is flawless. All the best tracks from both 'Running on Ice' and 'There and Back Again' have been chosen, including 'The Man Who Would be Santa', 'Heart in Hand', 'It's Only Me', 'Great Divide' and 'Falling Down'. The only real noticable exception is 'Sunrays and Saturdays... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful