No comments about Extended Versions: Encore Collections.

5 comments about Absolutely Live.

1. Live concerts ranging from 1969-1970 show the Doors falling apart. There singer Jim Morrison as you can often hear on this album is drunk or high and yells and just doesent sound as good. Its a good documentary album showing the Doors falling apart. Its a weird live album and is recommended for those who love live recordings and The Doors.



2. A long time ago, my friends and I took some acid. It was in the dead of winter, sub-zero temperatures. We were in someone's basement, the air thick with incense and marijuana smoke, black light posters ripping colors through the darkness. Then someone put on "Celebration of the Lizard" from Absolutely Live. It was the first time I ever heard it.
   
   Hearing that "song" in a room where florescent colors are the only illumination and with a head full of purple haze and Columbian gold was an experience I would not soon forget.
   
   Afterward, we walked through the freezing winds and icy ground to the lake. The details of what followed are unimportant; except that we dove headfirst into a misadventure that almost cost us our lives; that spooky, surrealist music and poetry still reverberating through our heads like the voice of a mad spirit. Driving us forward and inspiring us to face death at the hands of the merciless elements. Challenging us to survive.
   
   New band claim to be rebellious; yet are little more than petulant children who insist upon poisoning themselves with drugs and alcohol; with no talent or depth of vision to back up their rebellious nature. And certainly Morrison and the boys did plenty of drugs and booze. But while most rock groups play rebel, the Doors were truly dangerous in that they used a unique musical form and poetic incantation inspired by Blake and Nietzsche to deftly manipulate the primal essence of the human psyche. Ask yourself how many can be considered true threats to social order? How many can offer an experience of real adventure, danger; an initiation ritual from which one emerges transformed?
   
   This is what's missing in much of today's music.



3. The Doors' live performances are, of course, legendary. I have found that this is more for Morrison's antics - inciting riots, indecently exposing himself, etc, then the music. But the music itself is pretty good, displaying the Doors as a loose blues band - much like on LP's such as Morrison Hotel and L.A. Woman. If nothing else, fans should have this for the amount of otherwise hard-to-get material, including the worthwhile blues "Close to You" and the moody psychedelia of "Universal Mind", which quotes "My Favorite Things". There is also an electrifying performance of "Break on Through" - along with an even more intense "Five to One" and the lengthy finale "Soul Kitchen", it's the only real hit they play. Don't be fooled by the "No. 2" subtitle (which I believe was applied because "Dead Cats, Dead Rats" uses the organ part) and the fact that it's about twice as long as the studio version, it's still "Break on Through". As for the blues songs, they rule: a funky "Who Do You Love?", a menacing "Back Door Man". But the real reason to get this is for the infamous "Celebration of the Lizard", that sidelong beat poetry reading-meets-jam pitched for Waiting for the Sun that Jim couldn't pull off in the studio because of his alcohol problems. I think it's one of their finest achievements myself: Jim's dark, disturbing lyrics are his best of the kind since "The End", and the group adds several layers of mysterious intrigue to it with Manzarek's moody organ and Densmore's tribal drumming matching Jim's dramatic intonations. Plus the dynamic shifts add a lot of power. Of course, if you hate the Doors, this will fuel the fire. The big downside is an interminable "When the Music's Over" that goes from a lengthy, kinetic groove on the studio version (one of their best, by the way) to total bombast that's just an excuse for Jim to scream his head off; there are other fillers such as a brief "Whiskey Bar", but they're no big deal. If you ask me, any Doors fan should have this one. It's pretty high up there.



4. There isn't really much I can honestly add to the comments here and the many reviews that exist of this album. What I can say though is that it is a true testimony of the quality and depth of the Doors' music on many levels, even the most unimaginable.
   
   
   
   As an 8 year old in 1978, I liked the usual commmercial music you heard on the radio in those days in the US: Bee Gees, Village People, Stevie Wonder, etc.. Then one day my older cousin left this tape at my house and I found it. I put it my portable cassette recorder (the rectangular, mono ones with the extractable handle) and my life changed. I had no idea what Jim symbolized in popular culture, what he was talking about, nothing. All I knew was that it somehow spoke to me in a way I would only find out when I was old enough to grasp what the Doors message was. So I obviously would recommend this album to anyone and everyone. By the way, I think the performance is way above average considerinfìg that Jim was often too wasted to sing, and the sound is great, almost studio-like.



5. if your a beginner fan on the doors then this album isnt really for you it dosent include a lot of the common songs. but if your a longtime fan than this albums for you great live stuff here though jim morrison sounds a little stoned on some of this like on the song, 'Wake Up', or on Back door man other than that its a great album sound quality is the best for live stuff, also i'd like to say that on the song, 'Soul Kitchen', the band must of been pretty stoned cause it sounds all weird the organ and everything it dosent sound right anyway go out and buy this if your the guy who needs all the doors and yes this is......ABSOUTLEY LIVE!!!!

1 comments about Paris Burning Live.

1. 1. Personality Crisis
   2. Bad Girl
   3. Looking for a Kiss
   4. Great Big Kiss
   5. Stranded in the Jungle
   6. Pills
   7. Vietnamese Baby
   8. Trash
   9. Chatterbox
   10. Puss 'n' Boots
   11. (I'm Your) Hoochie Coochie Man
   12. Jet Boy

5 comments about Ummagumma.

1. That line from a much later song could be an unintentional self-review of this album. What you're getting here is the last hurrah of a much earlier permutation of the band. Half of it is a four-cut live set that I think is their first live album, extended with a smattering of solo works. The live disc contains a version of "Astronomy Domine" that is described by another reviewer with some accuracy as too close to the studio version, but you're also getting "Careful With That Axe Eugene", a slash movie without picture. The intro eases in, someone whispers ominously the warning in the song's title, then guitars and voices start shrieking bloody murder. That track has a shorter studio version that never made either of the first two albums and is next to impossible to find even as a rarity. You also get "Set the Controls" and "Saucerful Of Secrets", those first two albums' extended tracks. The studio disc has "Sisyphus", a mellotron/ piano exercise from Rick Wright; Grantchester Meadows, a pensive Syd Barrett folk song which ends in the sound of a fly buzzing around until someone runs down a flight of stairs and swats the thing (how he heard the fly from upstairs is beyond me); "Several Species Od Small Furry Animals", an intersting sequencing of animal sounds on a multi-track tape machine into a zoological drum machine (maybe you could call it "Masontronics" as in Robert Fripp's "Frippertronics"); David Gilmour's "The Narrow Way"; and yet another drum-based analog sampling of drum sounds. The problem with this album is that most Pink Floyd listeners came onboard with "Dark Side Of the Moon" and are mainstream radio fare fans, so they tend to be turned off by all of this "artsy, obscure-sounding crapola", not knowing that this is pretty much what Pink Floyd used to sound like before and slightly after Syd Barrett left.



2. Around this time period Pink Floyd was a psychedelic band but more progressive rock band that had lost there original singer Syd Barrett, and then hired a new singer, David Gilmour and were bassicly at this time trying too become a successful band. There third album, Ummagumma is a double album with live tracks and experimental studio recordings. The live part of the album was recorded live in 1969 and shows Pink Floyd developing jams they would use later in there carrerrs, Careful With That Axe Eugene, and also still using some Syd Barrett material(Astronomy Domine) Then the album part of this is composed in sections each written by members of the band and is quite experimental. This album for anyone who craves early David Gilmour Pink Floyd and people who need every Pink Floyd album ever made



3. This is a CLASSIC album from Pink Floyd. I've loved it since it's release.
   
   Not only do you have live tracks of songs from their earliest albums (A Saucerful of Secrets, Astronomy Domine, etc.), but you have a suite of pieces each from Richard Wright (Sysyphus, Parts 1-4), David Gilmour (The Narrow Way, Parts 1-3), and Nick Mason (The Grand Vizier's Garden Party, Parts 1,2, & 3). ...Ans don't miss Roger Waters' 2 pieces: Grantchester Meadows and the inimitable (not that any have tried, to my knowledge) Several Species of Small Furry Aninals Gathered Together in a Cave and Grooving With a Pict!
   
   This album covers Floyd's gamut up to the time of its release (1969) and presages their future from that vantage point. A MUST purchase for anyone wanting to know Pink Floyd from all sides.



4. The studio album of Ummagumma is VERY underappreciated.
   
   The "Sysyphus" suite is quite ununual the way it begins with a rather dark and intimidating riff that leads into an Emerson, Lake and Palmer piano melody. It's a peaceful and beautiful melody, that stays consistently good for the most part, until it reaches a point where two notes keep rambling back and forth, then the piano playing gets all messy for a minute or so. Not as good as the stuff ELP would do a few years later, but decent enough.
   
   The third part features WEIRD monkey sound effects with jungle-like sounds, and the fourth and final part is absolutely AWESOME because it has an eerie mellotron melody with soft sprinkles of keyboards building slowly, and cautiously, into a loud and intense theme until eventually going back to the intimidating riff that started the whole thing. The fourth part of this suite is really really good though, especially the eerie few minutes that begins the thing, which would work extremely well in a horror film.
   
   "Grantchester Meadows" features nice acoustic guitar (I think?) and closely resembles "Wish You Were Here" in the vocals. I wasn't expecting to hear such a mature song on this album going by all the other reviews. "Several Small Species" is a MAJOR head trip, that's for sure! It's totally unique and needs to be appreciated on that level to fully understand.
   
   "The Narrow Way" is the highlight of the album for me. Part One has EXCELLENT acoustic guitar, melodic and emotionally touching, and the second part features a Black Sabbath-like guitar riff for a few minutes, before the final part comes in, which sounds like something that would fit in PERFECTLY with the Dark Side of the Moon album. I don't understand people who say Meddle shows signs of what Pink Floyd would sound like later, when this song obviously shows what the band would become just a few years later.
   
   "The Grand Vizier's Garden Party" is the only weak point- radical drumming that doesn't go anywhere, and goes on too long. The rest of the album though, is quite fantastic. I don't get the negative reviews for this one I'm afraid.
   
   The live album of Ummagumma (which by the way, sounds like a tasty kind of Halloween snack!) isn't NEARLY as good as people have been telling me. What IS really great however, is the opening song "Astronomy Domine", which has an AWESOME space rock jam in the middle that sounds like it probably influenced several bands such as Hawkwind. The jam just feels so natural, like the vocals needed that jam all along in order to complete a perfect song.
   
   "Careful with that Axe Eugene" is another great song. The slow keyboard melody in the beginning that builds into these soothing vocals that sail and soar to new heights... Pink Floyd was really good at this. The song gets noisy after a while, but in an appealing kind of way, where you don't want it to stop. Great song.
   
   Then the album loses steam super fast. "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun" was better on Saucerful of Secrets, because it had a Moody Blues-like vibe flowing through it. Here, the song tries to be something more, and just ends up being a boring song. This version of "Saucerful of Secrets" is overrated BIG time. Everyone says it's better than the version from the studio album of the same name, but it's not. The studio version had these rather unique sound effects, muddy production, and a spooky atmosphere to help make it one of the creepiest songs ever. This version is just loud, and repeats the same notes for several minutes. Not good to me. Yes, I know the studio version repeats a lot too, but that version had sound effects that seemed to add more atmosphere to the song, so it was easy to avoid the parts that repeated a lot.
   
   Still, the album gets 5 stars for the studio stuff, which rules.



5. This album, along with Meddle, are the two best Pink Floyd albums ever, as far as I'm concerned (discounting the Syd Barrett albums, which were in a different category and great in their own right). I don't need to describe the two discs in this set as it's been done over and over again.
   
   What I'll say is I think this is when the band was the most creative, and Roger Waters had the least amount of influence on the outcome. I love it for the true experimentation, the originality, and the sheer psychedelic mood of it all. As I listened to it again after 30 years, it still rings true with me and despite what the band itself has said about it (and not all of it complimentary), I think this showed the band as a truly creative force.
   
   They never did anything after this that comes close, except for Meddle.
   
   If you want to hear what the Floyd sounded like before they went commercial, I highly recommend this album.

1 comments about Live in California Long Beach.

1. At first I was surprised that nobody has written a review for this wonderful live Deep Purple album. Then I looked at the price people are selling it for and well, I can see why! Most people haven't heard this album. I will try to fill you in on what you can expect.
   
   This is a solid collection of many of Deep Purple's most well-known songs from the later period of their classic career (from Machine Head all the way to Come Taste the Band). It was recorded in February of 1976. I thought Deep Purple had stopped touring and releasing music by this point, but I guess not. Of course Ian Gillan and Ritchie Blackmore are absent. Never fear- Tommy Bolin steps in and does a wonderful job with the guitar work.
   
   "Burn" is pretty faithful to the original studio version. It contains some pretty nice drumming during the verse melody (just like in the original) and a really good way to open the album. "Lady Luck" isn't quite as good as the version on Come Taste the Band. I'm not entirely sure why, but it may be because this version is even MORE to the point compared to the Come Taste the Band version. In fact, the band played a lot of material from the Come Taste the Band album for this recording.
   
   "Gettin' Tighter" positively rules. It's MUCH different from the studio version. The band decided to turn this version into a lengthy extended jam. It really is good, too. I love the original, and this version is probably better. "Love Child" is pretty close to the original as well.
   
   An excellent version of "Smoke on the Water", though it doesn't contain the same fiery guitar riff that the Machine Head version does. That's okay- every live Deep Purple album needs this song on the playlist, and I think the band knew that. "Lazy" is quite lengthy as well. More focus on extended guitar work and drum solos than any kind of vocal melody. I prefer the song the way it was recorded here, personally. Deep Purple's talent to let loose at live concerts and just jam away is, believe it or not, STILL pretty underrated. I have to respect the band for that every time I hear them do it.
   
   "This Time Around" sounds quite similar to the studio version, until it eventually extends into more fantastic guitar jamming. A really good version of "Stormbringer" too. I've always been fascinated with that guitar riff, and it's safe to say it has remained the same for this concert.
   
   I was REALLY surprised to hear the band do "Georgia on my Mind". I belive that's a Ray Charles classic. I had no idea Deep Purple could make that song sound so good (though it's really short) and closing out the album is "Highway Star". I know what you're thinking "No Ian Gillan, how good can it be?" How good can that song be without him? Well, pretty darn good. There's plenty of speedy guitar soloing to make up for the absence of Ian Gillan anyway. Still, the Made in Japan version of "Highway Star" is the best one you'll probably ever hear. I won't pretend like this version can stand alongside other versions, but for what it is, it's pretty solid.
   
   Overall, I know this is one really expensive album, but if you ever get a chance to hear it, take advantage of the opportunity. Oh, and I forgot to mention this up above, but this is a 90-minute album.

5 comments about Crossroads, Vol. 2: Live in the Seventies.

1. Oh My God... the cd is excellent. Eric Clapton is with out a doubt the best guitarist of all time. this cd, which takes you back- let me tell you I thought I was sitting in the audience smoking weed - shows how absolutely wonderful he is, and how we miss that style of rock, GET THIS CD- it's great.
   You won't be disappointed. I also bought his new autobiography, but I can't stop playing the CD. Side 2, in the late 70's,the original Layla, etc., great. I can't say that enough- GREAT.
   I saw Eric in the 70's -live- and I cannot forget it- the best concert of all times, and I have seen everybody.



2. Being a long time Clapton fan, I can say with subjective certainty that the Tusla backup band, as heard on this retrospective, was the best that ever stood behind the man. In many cases, he stands in the background while the rhythym section just cooks- "Little Wing" and "Badge" serving as notable examples. Terry is superb both as a rhythym and lead guitarist...never again, not with Albert Lee, not even with Mark Knopfler, would the interplay be THIS smooth, THIS breathtaking, THIS raw. Oldaker is reminiscent of Levon Helm or Gene Parsons, and leads that band charging through numbers with his perfect touch. Dick Sims, on organ, sounds incredible, with his playing hovering between the background and foreground, much like Clarence White's guitar playing in the Byrds. It's there, and it's perfect in every case. Same for Radle- by this time, Radle had been Eric's longest standing bassist and knew Clapton's habbits. Listen to how spotlessly he counters them. And Elliman and Levy provide perfect harmony.
   In sum, Eric's best band and Eric's rawest and BEST playing. Never again would he reach these heights. Ever.



3. Being a long time Clapton fan, I can say with subjective certainty that the Tusla backup band, as heard on this retrospective, was the best that ever stood behind the man. In many cases, he stands in the background while the rhythym section just cooks- "Little Wing" and "Badge" serving as notable examples. Terry is superb both as a rhythym and lead guitarist...never again, not with Albert Lee, not even with Mark Knopfler, would the interplay be THIS smooth, THIS breathtaking, THIS raw. Oldaker is reminiscent of Levon Helm or Gene Parsons, and leads that band charging through numbers with his perfect touch. Dick Sims, on organ, sounds incredible, with his playing hovering between the background and foreground, much like Clarence White's guitar playing in the Byrds. It's there, and it's perfect in every case. Same for Radle- by this time, Radle had been Eric's longest standing bassist and knew Clapton's habbits. Listen to how spotlessly he counters them. And Elliman and Levy provide perfect harmony.
   In sum, Eric's best band and Eric's rawest and BEST playing. Never again would he reach these heights. Ever.



4. This collection shows Eric at his best and his worst. These were days fueled by a lot of alcohol...and on some songs it shows. But for the most part this is a great collection of some of his live work in that era. Some of the jams are wonderful, "Badge" and "Eyesight." He's simply magic with the guitar. However, some, like "Crossroads," sound like he doesn't know which of the twelve blues bars he's supposed to be singing in (that was an unintentional pun.) Juxtapose this with "24 Nights" - this collection is a gritty, loose sound, while the latter is more of a clean, polished performance (that was an intentional pun). I love EC and hope he continues to release his live vault...no matter which of his phases it come from.



5. Someone once told me that Eric is best listened to live and this set proves the point!
   Of course there are a few dodgy tracks and yes, I agree, there should have been other tracks added and others omitted.
   But!
   This is the master at his best, it doesn't get any better than this.
   Favourite tracks, too hard to say which are my favourites but there is some wonderful guitar playing on all tracks.
   I have been an Eric fan since the Yardbirds and this CD set takes pride of place in my collection

2 comments about Live in Boston.

1. This is the best Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac live album I've ever heard. My only complaint is that I've been waiting for almost an year to the third volume of the series. Will it ever be released? This edition is really much nicer than the previous ones, considering both the recording and the cover.



2. This is their best liveperformance. Remastered and in HDCD. For new listeners start here or get the absolute great "Then Play On"album from 1969. Their best studioalbum. Ulf Leiler Stockholm

3 comments about MTV Unplugged.

1. It is a really good album, it has all that you can listen about Bryan Adams. In this album you can find all, balads, rock and original versions



2. When one hears this recording for the first time, the thoughts of such beautiful music almost seem surreal. However what has been masterfully acheived in just under an hour of music sets a precedent for other unplugged artists many of whom won't even come close. The strings mixed with acoustic riffs and solos are simply works of art. No other artist unplugged has created such an atmosphere with their songs. The normally pumped up guitar solos are pleasantly replaced with classical instruments. Cut's like a knife being the ultimate testimony to a classic rock anthem receiving an almost irish folklore metamorphis. The question remains as to whether anyone can even come close to what Bryan Adams has acheived with such a masterpeice of a recording for all those anticipating his new album the best is always yet to come. The orchestrial ambiance dispersed with a mixture of irish, country, blues, and that good old rock n roll will prove a hard act for any artist to follow it's a shame he doesn't start touring in a similar manner it would be simply reckless!



3. Looking for a great album to spend your summer listening to? Look no further than Unplugged by Bryan Adams for music to hum, sing, or while away the time to. Unlike other unplugged albums, Adams does not load up this album with too many greatest hits. Theres 4 or 5 of those, but he adds 3 new songs including the hit single "Back To You", and reworks of several album tracks and lesser hits that are presented in a fresh way. Another new song is "When You Love Someone", featured in the movie "Hope Floats". You have your fast songs, your slow ballads, and the in-betweens. I must confess im not a fan of Unplugged albums, but after hearing this one, all I can say is that it ROCKS!!

No comments about Alive, Vol. 2 (Musicrama).

No comments about Unplugged (The Official Bootleg).