5 comments about Two from the Vault.

1. This cd spoiled me. I have tried in vain to find an equal or better version of Turn On Your Lovelight, and have come to the conclusion there is none.
   
   Recorded in 1968, this is the band young, goofy and fresh from the acid tests. The jam really groves and heads toward the finish, rather than drifts aimlessly to nowhere.
   
   Before the synecism of the Seventies, or and corporate bloat of the Eightes and beyond, THIS is the fun band that I love.



2. There is no doubt that this two disc concert epitamizes the Dead, there is so much harmony, jamming and pure music happening throughout this album. I toured with the Dead year ago and to this day jam this recording to get back to the vibe of how it was. Listen to Jerry go off while Phil and the crew keep a backbone unlike any other.



3. Like many long-lasting bands, the Grateful Dead evolved significantly over the course of their career, so it's hard for beginners to navigate the catalogue. You may love the music from one period and have little use for the music from another. This concert comes from the early years, so it's not going to sound like the 70s roots-rock songs by which they are best known (e.g., "Truckin" or "Casey Jones"), let alone the more-recent pop hits (e.g., "Touch of Gray"). This is a combination of blues and psychedelic jams, with even less emphasis on pop songcraft and even more focus on instrumental explorations than found in most of their contemporaries (e.g., Jefferson Airplane). It's interesting stuff, usually good and occasionally great, but it has all the flaws one would expect from a concert recording made so long ago (i.e., limitations in sound quality, occasional gaffes by the band, and uninspired bits). Better to start with the more accessible and polished packages, such as the "Live Dead" album from the same period, and move to this one later so that you can hear fresh explorations of the songs you've already learned to love.



4. This is probably the best recording to ever come out of the Grateful Dead's vault.If you are new to the dead and have only heard their radio hits like Uncle John's Band or Casey Jones, and buy this, you'll get in my opinion, their best. Oh yeah, the last 2 songs are great, but this is what the Grateful Dead were known for. The first disc opens with classic blues sung by the greatest frontman in the history of rock and roll, the late Great Pigpen McKernan (1945-1973) "Good Morning Little Schoolgirl" is the name and it lasts for 14 minutes. That's what the Grateful Dead usually did to the songs, jam. I have to say now that the Grateful Dead were obviously the greatest band ever. Yes, I am a Deadhead but it's pretty plain to see. They could play pretty much everything. This was recorded back on August 23, 1968 at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, CA and is classic prime psychadellic dead.The jams on this gem are priceless and the songs really show that the Grateful Dead were already sprouting out to other genres, especially in their great cover of the Vietnam protest song Morning Dew. I definatly recommend this to a Grateful Dead newcomer and if you are I say WELCOME! WELCOME to the wonderful world of the Grateful Dead. It is clear to me that you have a great taste in music.



5. This was my first ever dead album I bought in 1994. I have played this album so much, I think I wore out the cds. I have come back to buy new ones cause mine are full of skips. Everytime I listen to this album, I always get happy. I am listening right now as I have found it, dusted it off and am enjoying.
   There is a lot of really really good dead and this is at the top of the list for the era. Just PURE listen pleasure. BUY IT! SPREAD THE DEAD!!!!!

2 comments about Somewhere in Soho.

1. This one offers some great playing... only problem is you better love Mike Ratledge's organ first. It's the most audible instrument on the recording. Elton is pretty audible too. Poor Wyatt gets thrown into the back as usual. His drums just cant cut thru the front end. Overall though, this is a nice document of a band at it's peak in my opinion. There is some excellent playing though and worthy of picking up if you are a completionist and Softs fan.



2. When you must have it all, get this one. My only quibble, is that is sounds a bit thin, i.e. like an ok quality audience tape. Again, the Soft Machine material coming out on Voice Print just doesn't sound as good at the stuff out on Cuneiform. That said, I can't recommend this one to people new to the Softs. For you, start with the first four studio recordings, the BBC stuff that is out now, etc. Another interesting bit on this one is that Robert Wyatt doesn't really sing on this one. The playing, over all though, is first rate.

No comments about Extended Versions.

5 comments about One from the Vault.

1. Let me start off by saying that I'm quite familiar with this show having been there when everyone first taped it off the radio back in September of '75. Since then, this has become a favorite of mine and I was one of the first to order this from the Dead back in '91. As others have pointed out, this show is a keeper and the performances are great. This was a great show played in a small room with a warm feel.
   
   Unfortunately for me, the mix on the cd versions have always sounded a little studio-ized to me. The between song crowd time is gone, Keith and Donna are sometimes low in the mix and the nice flowing soupy organic sound are replaced by something that sounds a little metalic to these ears. Granted that since Dead album started showing up on cd back in the late '80's, things like keyboards were sometimes lower in the mix than they used to be and I'm sure that there are many who perfer this but not me. I just find the mix a little colder than it should be. 5 for the show but 4 because I find the mix a little off.



2. Back in the day, I first heard and recorded this show from a bootleg LP set titled "Make Believe Ballroom." It was a stellar recording, boxed like the George Harrison "All Things Must Pass" collection, and may have come from the King Biscuit Flower Hour as there were some tracks missing. However, it could also have been altered in order to more properly fit the LP format (rather limiting).
   
   For anyone who has already undergone a process of Dead initiation, you'll understand those who recall an "imprint" that a particular show or recording made. Well, sitting in a dim dorm room, this did IT for me. Yeah, I'd been listening to their music for a few years, but this recording confirmed the "fact" that there was an inimitable magic to be had with certain special recordings. There is nothing like a Dead show, and yet there is nothing like this show. Seriously.
   
   For the uninitiated, but curious, this is a great way to start your Dead-quest. Dick Latvala knew EXACTLY what he was doing when he released this (as did the King Biscuit Flower Hour dude). Hands down, this is one of the tightest, most intense and varied Grateful Dead shows out there. It's one for the ages and should reveal to any skeptics why they deserve a genre of their own in the pantheon of rock and roll. The Dead were unique, and this recording will demonstrate just exactly why.
   
   Careful, it may leave a permanent impression!



3. The title of my review comes from Dan Healy and the liner notes to "One From The Vault." It was the predecessor to "Dick's Picks" and the numerous archive releases that came in later years.
   
   "One From The Vault" is notable for several reasons. Keith & Donna Godchaux first appeared on the mammoth "Europe 72," and their first studio album (Wake Of The Flood) was met with enthusiastic reviews as the result of the band breaking new ground with songs like "Weather Report Suite." The second, "Mars Hotel," was not welcomed as kindly by critics, even though it included Dead staples like "Scarlet Begonias," "Ship Of Fools," "U.S. Blues," and "China Doll."
   
   On the third album, the band really stretched and took some risks. It was unusual for a band who had grown more comfortable with the live stage than the recording studio to invest the kind of effort they did into "Blues For Allah." The album generated what became one of the strongest pieces in their live shows for years to come, the "Help On The Way / Slipknot! / Franklin's Tower" trilogy. Equally satisfying was "Crazy Fingers," with its reggae overtones and "lazy hazy summer day" vocal from Jerry. "Blues For Allah" sounds like weirdness from the Brian Wilson sessions for "Smile"...trippy instrumentation and druid-like harmony vocals...not exactly "China Cat / Rider" stuff. The band took more than a few risks, and it was the last time they would release a studio album of this nature.
   
   The 8/13/75 show at San Francisco's Great American Music Hall was used to showcase the "Blues For Allah" album. The entire album's performed, although not in its original sequence...in between "Allah's" tracks you'll find several Dead concert faves. Mickey Hart had returned to the band, from his self-imposed 1971-1974 exile. All of the band members were performing at the top of their game.
   
   The next album, "Terrapin Station," was crafted under the auspices of Keith Olsen, perhaps best known for ushering in the Buckingham-Nicks era of Fleetwood Mac. After "Blues For Allah," Arista Records wanted a hit.
   
   So enjoy the Dead, in their element, at the edge of their weirdness and brilliance. "One For The Vault" may not meet everyone's expectations of the band, but that's what the band was all about, right?



4. This live recording (8/13/75) ushered the Dead back after a hiatus from live playing/touring. In fact, the specific purpose of this 1975 concert was to premiere the release of their 1975 studio album, Blues for Allah to a small audience of record executive-types and other selected folks. I snagged this live disc when it was first released in 1991, after listening to slowly disintegrating "booted" tapes of the concert. At the time, the change in media and the improvement in sound quality were both very welcome. Speaking of which, for those of you that are audiophiles, there is a very detailed discussion of the analog to digital transfer process in the CD liner notes. For those of you that don't care about the Ampex MM-1100, Sony PCM-1630 Digital Audio Processor, this, that, and the other - trust me, the sound quality is excellent.
   
   I guess the best way to describe this 2 CD set is to briefly chit-chat about the Blues for Allah studio album itself, and then the actual live performance.
   
   The Studio Album
   
   The music that the Dead recorded for the Blues for Allah album was at times lighthearted and bouncy (The Music Never Stopped; Franklins Tower); quiet and pastoral (Sage and Spirit; Crazy Fingers); experimental in an almost European avant-garde way (the completely "out there" epic 20+ minute title track); and jazzy with intricate ensemble playing (the rest of the album). Although this may sound like a dry and studied "chop-fest", the complexity and jazziness are handled very well and do not go over the top. Actually, I wouldn't care even if it did - the band is comprised of excellent musicians and I for one love to hear Jerry and Phil strut their stuff.
   
   The 2 CD Live Set (8/13/75)
   
   Overall, this is a great live set, although it does not sound as dynamic as other shows. The energy levels are up there, the playing is excellent, and there are some inspired jams, but the audience has been all but mixed out. In addition to the Blues for Allah material, there are a few concert favorites (Around and Around, Big River, Goin' Down the Road), pretty good jams including the 14'32" Eyes of the World>Drums and the amazing 18'41" Crazy Fingers>Drums>The Other One, along with OK versions of It must have been the Roses, Sugaree, and U.S. Blues.
   
   All in all, I have to say that is yet another fine live set by the Dead and is certainly worth adding to the collection. Recommended.



5. DON'T GET IT?
   DON'T UNDERSTAND WHATS SO COOL ABOUT THE DEAD?
   
   Maybe you just haven't been looking at the right places. This is where you should start.
   
   I always liked The Dead but can't say I ever really "felt it" untill I purchased this one. Once that introduction track gets going "Good evening, we welcome you, on behalf of the group...." the ball is rolling. Each member chimes in when qued untill Mr. Jerry Garcia brings it all together, "Would you welcome please, the Grateful Dead." It just sounds so god damned proffesional. HELP>SLIP>FRANKLIN were introduced to me via this one. Instantly I realized that I had just been converted from casual fan to DEAD HEAD status. If you don't fall in love with this stuff right away it will surely grow on you. Disc two opens in stellar fashion with SUGAREE and BIG RIVER (J.CASH) all above mentioned tracks remain my all time faves (excluding all PIGPEN stuff*) But there isn't a weak moment on these two discs. Jerry's guitar is on fire creating beauty untouched by anyone else. The band is at there absolute most solid.
   There is a vibe here that I've never found on any other Dead recording, or anywhere else.
   
   If you ask me they should issue this album to Junior High school kids, with a bong and a tie dye shirt.

5 comments about Live Killers.

1. This is a decent live album, but I won't repeat what many others have already said here. I would, however, like to warn you of a censored version. I'm listening loudly in headphones to a 2003 remastered version from Parlaphone/EMI (although mine is in a jewel case and not a digipack). During the introduction to "Death on Two Legs", there are three loud beeps, much louder than Mr. Mercury's voice, which nearly caused me to go deaf, not to mention the insult to Queen's art and their fans' intelligence. I don't remember the Hollywood Records remaster being censored, but this sort of thing should not be tolerated. Shame on EMI.



2. I usually judge my appreciation of live albums in two ways: 1) is it a significant historical document and 2) are the live versions better than the old studio songs? As far as the latter goes for me, `Live Killers' is somewhere between `Love You Live' and `Live! Bootleg!' A good live record not a great one, and most definitely not the album I grab when I want to here Queen. I would much rather have the Rainbow concert for early 1975, but then again the 1974-1975 era is my favorite of Queen's. This record still rocks but I don't know why I don't love it. Maybe "Brighton Rock" is too long and just not as impressive as the studio recording, surprisingly since Brian May is an all-time favorite of mine. The original side one is probably the best with the killer version of `Rock You' that blows away the original and serves as a great concert opener. "Rhapsody" and "Tie Your Mother Down" just don't go for the jugular enough for me. Freddie is bleeped out on "Death..." ? I guess Steven Tyler and Mick Jagger can drop f-bombs on a live album but Freddie can't? That's a head-scratcher. Queen fans will love `Live Killers' but for me its pretty ordinary and I am a Queen fan!



3. I was lucky enough to have seen Queen live on four separate occasions (1977, 78, 80 & 83) Amazing shows! It is quite different when you are actually there as opposed to listening to a live recording.
   This CD is OK. The performances range from good to lackluster. If you are looking for the sound they make in their studio releases you won't find it here. What you will find is more of a rendition of their 70's work. They rework most of their material so that they can perform it live without much difficulty. Sometimes it works well, other times you feel disappointed. (The medley part is a big disappointment for me)
   It says that this CD was "Remastered" but after comparing it to the original vinyl release, it sounds exactly the same. The original mix was not all that good anyway. It tends to sound dull most of the time. Also this is not a complete show. "It's late" & "Fat bottom girls' are not included.



4. Queen performs their special magic but the recording quality is simply poor. The miking is miserable with many vocals distant and weak sounding. Ruins a thoroughly memorable performance for the CD listener.



5. I never was so fond of Queen the way they sounded studio-like.
   When I bought their album "Queen Live Killers" in 1980, however, this only confirmed my opinion that Queen is an excellent live-performer of the songs which had seemed so dull, with all due respect, in the first place before hearing the "Live Killers"-album.
   Therefore, I pay my respect to Queen's studio-albums of the 1960s-1970s including the "Live Killers"-album which forms an indispensible kind of bridge between the old and new Queen to come.

2 comments about We Want Moore!.

1. It had been a multi coloured road for Gary Moore to take his guitar before he reached the release of this live album in 1984.

   After coming to England from Dublin with mates Noel Bridgeman (drums) and Brush Shiels (bass and vocals) in the band Skid Row, they went up and down the M.I. unloading and reloading their gear in every possible location, building a solid reputation. Before Gary Moore's axe work came to the notice of fellow Irish rocker Phil Lynott (who had been in a previous Skid Row before Moore joined) on the look out for a lead guitarist after Eric Bell had left Thin Lizzy leaving Lynott in the lurch. For the next 6 years Gary Moore was in and out of Thin Lizzy like a Jack in the box displaying his dazzling skills, and cementing a reputation as one of rock's premier guitar slingers. In the interim Gary was also on 3 albums by Jon Hisemans Colosseum II honing his skills in Jazz Rock fusion, leaving Thin Lizzy for good in 1979. He started a solo career only broken by a year's stay in the Greg Lake Band where he drank deeply of the blood of progressive rock. Disbanding his 1983 band to the winds, Gary put this band together to record the album "Victims Of The Future" and then went out on a massive world tour to promote it, recording concerts in Detroit, London, Tokyo, and Glasgow, to put this album together.

   Going for the throat with an approach in-corporating all the crash Bang Wallop of heavy metal rock and his undoubted over the top skills on the axe, these live recordings almost burn your speakers up.

   The band Moore put together was nothing short of magnificent. Right-hand man on keyboards, second guitar, vocals, and crowd rabble Rouser was Neil Carter of U.F.O. / Wild Hoses and Gilbert `O' Sullivan fame; on bass was Craig Gruber, ex Elf and Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow; to complete the line up was Ian Paice, who has never played better than on these recordings, although Ian left to be replaced by Bobby Chouinard, when the call went out to reform Deep Purple.

   When "We Want Moore" was first released you got the album (six songs) with a free encore e.p. (four songs). Now in the days of C.D it's possible to get the whole lot on one C.D.

   The songs from the main set don't let up for a second and in true eighties tradition Moore just blazes his fingers over them. All of the songs are over 7 minutes long with extended solos. The old Yardbirds classic "Shapes Of Things" is smashed apart and lumped back together. "Cold Hearted" is stretched to 11 minutes with Moore taunting the audience with guitar pyrotenics.

   The encore section features one ballad, "Empty Rooms", which is beautifully sad, and if you are interested, can be heard played superbly by our own Lam Morrisson in Pattaya. The whole thing is wrapped up by "Rockin & Rollin" from the Hammersmith Odeon with a totally Gonzoid Jimmy Nail on guest vocals.

   Gary Moore went onto Super stadium with his "Still Got The Blues" album, but this was a great phrase in his career.
   Mott the Dog.




2. I have bought two of these cassettes and have worn out both of them. You can rarely find this one. Moore is outstanding here with his powerful, driving gutar work. The solo in End of the World is even better live. His touch in Empty Rooms is amazing. Check it out if you can find it.

3 comments about Live 65.

1. What can I say about this? Well let's get the negatives over first. It's not the best recording in the world from a technical point of view, and they cut the tracks so that you don't get to hear any audience interaction, and they must have cut a large number of the songs from the original concert, because they only give us 12 live tracks....and then fill up the rest with studio recordings of the same songs....
   
   Now the good things. Well, Petula is a consumate concert peformer, so, no matter what the technicians do, it's always a joy to listen to her. She is singing her way through her early 60s French hits and they are superb. In most cases the arrangements are those that were used on the studio recordings, and it's interesting to hear the slight variations that live peformance makes. This is 1965, she has just become a megastar in the USA and she is singing back home in France, and loving it!
   
   It's not her best ever album, but I listen to it often, and I wouldn't be without it.



2. The Year was 1965 and after several years of topping the UK and French charts Petula Clark was now taking her place in pop history here in America. "Downtown" had been to Number and now "I know A PLace" was it's smash follow up. Both Songs sung live and to be Perfection on this lost concert from 1965. Some favorites and stand outs from her French catlag include "Que Fais Tu La Petula", "Puisque Tu Pars","Regardez-Les" and "Ceux Qui Ont Un Coeur". A wonderful find, and from a time when they were all in "vouge".



3. It never ceases to amaze me that somewhere deep in a record company's vaults or tucked away on a dusty shelf in somebody's attic there sits master tapes of studio recordings or live concerts that for one reason or another were never commercially released. I don't know if this is commonplace with many artists, but in recent years a wealth of material recorded by British songstress Petula Clark has surfaced and found its way to CD via various sources and with varying degrees of success in terms of sound quality and packaging. This concert, recorded at the famed Olympia in Paris in April 1965, has been augmented with 11 previously-released studio tracks, and the compilation comprises a "Greatest Hits" package from the French Hit Parade. The "live" portion of this CD has been somewhat badly edited to eliminate all the patter between songs, and 8 of the 11 additional tracks are repeats of songs performed in the concert, resulting in the loss of a star in the overall rating. Clark's performance, however, merits top honors, and despite the language barrier, listeners will have no problem recognizing the Gallic versions of her U.S. hits "Downtown" and "I Know a Place". Also included are her smash hit "Hello, Dolly!" (the French embraced her version rather than that of Louis Armstrong), the rocking "Que Fais-tu La, Petula?", a self-penned tune in which she pokes fun at her U.K. fans' alarm at her success in France, and the lovely "Un Enfant", a song Jacques Brel presented to her as a gift upon the birth of her first child. The standout here - in both live and studio versions - is "Ceux Qui Ont Un Couer", Clark's haunting interpretation of the Dionne Warwick hit "Anyone Who Had a Heart", which she also recorded in Italian and Spanish but unfortunately never added to her English-language repertoire. A must for Clark fans, and an interesting addition to the collections of those who may want to discover a previously unheard side of this multi-faceted performer.

No comments about Live in Japan.

1 comments about Extended Versions.

1. Lynyrd Skynyrd 'Extended Versions' is a ten track, budget-priced compilation of previously released music. Four of the cuts are live greatest hits taken from the double live set, 'Lyve from Steeltown' (released in 1998). These are "What's your name?", "Free Bird", "Sweet Home Alabama" and "You got that right."
   
   The other six cuts are taken from the 1997 studio album, 'Twenty.' The song selection is good, there is nothing wrong with that. You can't expect many more than ten tracks because the live cuts on here are fairly long. The running time on this 'Extended Versions' collection borders close to an hour. "Free Bird" alone is over twelve minutes long in a live setting.
   
   All of the tracks here are dated 1997 and there is nothing specifying that some of this material is live, so the casual fan might not know any better. That fact alone costs this review a star. The band picture shown is of the later day lineup, circa 1997, so don't expect anything featuring the vocals of original singer, Ronnie Van Zant. This is the Johnny Van Zant-fronted lineup of Lynyrd Skynyrd. There is little information on the album sleeve, this contains basic no-frills packaging and liner notes.
   
   One positive point is the reasonable price, which is under $10. It is a fairly economical way to sample two releases from the Skynyrd catalog that would cost significantly more separately. Nonetheless, somebody who makes this purchase and enjoys the music would do well to pick up the two source albums: 'Twenty' (1997, CMC International) and 'Lyve from Steeltown' (1998, CMC International). 'Twenty' is a solid studio effort that has some strong moments. Some of the best cuts are featured right here on 'Extended Versions' but tracks like "Voodoo Lake" and "How soon we forget" (not found here) are also worth hearing. 'Lyve from Steeltown' was recorded on the tour for the 'Twenty' album and is taken from a show in Pittsburgh that showcased the band in fine form. While some of the best moments from that live release can be heard here, there are many other songs missing from this compilation that won't disappoint.
   
   For someone that doesn't have any recent material of this band, 'Extended Versions' isn't a bad place to start, but they might do better looking someplace else first. One has to realize that the label, BMG, is just milking stuff that has already been issued on other releases. There is no new material here, which is enough to lower the review by another star. A die hard Lynyrd Skynyrd fan can totally ignore this cd.

No comments about Live at Abbey Road/Live at the Liverpool Empire.