5 comments about Purpendicular.

1. Deep Purple was one of the greatest hard rock bands at one time and i became a pretty huge obssesive fan of theirs. But once I heard the more recent Purple, Purpendicular-Rapture Of The Deep, it left a bad tatste in my mouth. Bananas and Purpendicular we very highly praised and I had heard Bananas ranked with albums like Machine Head. Well I went out and bought Bananas hearing all the hype and I couldn't belive people actualy worshiped that album. it's bland but anyway see my review for that album. For this review I'm talking about Purpendicular which at most is nothing but a guilty pleasure. There are some really good songs on this one and dwonright embarrasing ones. Sometimes I Feel Like Screaming, The Aviator and A Touch Away are all winners on this album but Vavoom: Ted The Mechanic is so bad that it makes Deep Purple look like a joke. Not much else on the rest of this album. It's pretty hit and miss. The three songs are very good musicaly along with Losen My Strings which has good playing in it. this album is worth checking out but don't get anything after this album. You will be sorry you did. Everything after this album is progressively worse and it proves that Deep Purple are now just washed up has beens. This is probably the reason John Lord left.



2. I bought this CD because Steve Morse is my favorite rock guitarist, at least more so than being a fan of Deep Purple. I've listened to this CD probably at least three hundred times (in my car as I drive) and I can say that honestly that it is probably my favorite rock CD that I own. I never get sick of it, all the songs are different and don't all sound the same (like some groups), and Steve Morse rocks! I never knew Deep Purple could sound so good!



3. Replace Blackmore? Yes, they did...and it worked out well this time. Steve Morse has always been a favorite of mine, and his soaring technical abilities allow the musicians alot more freedom without limitations. Whether it's Morse's superior technical ability or overall nicer attitude as a person that allows this freedom, I dunno. But the band sounds reborn; The tracks are lively, skilled, and varied. Morse channels the essence of Blackmore in many of is leads, yet he is def. his own man; The production is excellent, and there is alot of melody on this album; This is an album by a band having fun again. I was very happily surprised, and recommend it as the best Morse/Purple collaboration.



4. In the mid 90's Deep Purple had something to prove with the exit of Blackmore...BANG!...a great album. It seems whenever this band's back is to the wall, they come through with flying colours, mainly shades of purple.



5. "Vavoom: Ted the Mechanic" comes ripping out of the speakers. Wow! This sounds like a band that is re-charged and ready to start all over again. Then comes "Loosen My Strings" sounding classic from the very first listen, as does "Sometimes I Feel Like Screaming." Also, early on is "Soon Forgotten" and "Cascades: I'm Not Your Lover" which both sound like vintage in your face Deep Purple. After that comes, the Celtic "Aviator," such splendor and beauty. That was one of the songs the astronauts took in space with them, along with their `72 classic, Space Truckin'. This gorgeous song is followed by the one pure filler from this album, "Rosa's Cantina." But when an album is this good, even the filler is entertaining. This is followed by my favorite, "A Castle Full of Rascals," the one song from this disc that was picked for the Rhino "Shades of Deep Purple" box set. Next up, a beautiful balled, "Touch Away," not syrupy, just pure Purple sweetness. Now it's time to rock out for the home stretch, with "Hey Cisco," the amazing "Somebody Stole My Guitar" and the odd feel of "The Purpendicular Waltz." One of the finest albums in the Purple cannon. And to think new Purple guitarist, Steve Morse (Blackmore's permanent replacement) was only making his debut with the band.
   
   No wonder Purple have made so many great albums over the years, like In Rock, Burn, Come Taste The Band, Bananas and of course this one. What do they all have in common? It's a Deep Purple album that has fresh blood in it`s veins. I can think of so many bands who perhaps should have changed members sooner, instead of a series of lame albums. Not Deep Purple.
   
   
   NOTE: Some versions of this album contain a cool bonus cut, called "Don't Hold Your Breath," if you get it, it's a true bonus.
   
   Purpendicular: 5 stars.

5 comments about Echoes: The Best of Pink Floyd.

1. Let's get all the nitpicking out of the way. Firstly, it's a bit funny this compilation is called "Echoes: The Best of Pink Floyd," when Echoes is presented in an abridged form. This isn't the only song that suffers from being cut short, as the classic Shine On You Crazy Diamond also suffers from unnecessary edits. Breaking apart the songs from Dark Side of the Moon gets rid of the notion of the album being one 42 minute long song. Original segways of songs into other songs are replaced with new ones to fit the track listing of this album.
   
   So why did I give this compilation five stars? Well, given the few flaws stated above, this is still a really fantastic collection of Floyd songs. Every era of the band is represented, and you're given the early singles "Arnold Layne" and "See Emily Play," along with other Barret era songs. Sure, you may feel that there should be more tracks from certain albums, but the track listing gives you a taste of many different times in Floydian history. What's really noteworthy here is the price. For what you're paying, typically no more than $20, you get a hefty amount of material. It's a perfect listen if you want to listen to a Pink Floyd playlist, rather than having to switch out albums.



2. I am a big 70s music fan, and Pink Floyd is one of my favorite bands from the era. The whole CD is wonderful, and I think all of the songs that are in the compilation deserve to be there. I also like that they included music from the Syd Barrett-led era of the band, as well as the Roger Walters-led era. Great compilation.



3. In the last year or so, I have read in various places that the vinyl LP is making a comeback, a resurgence, or just not dying out altogether in the CD and MP3 age. As someone who grew up with vinyl as the medium where I heard my favorite music (the Beatles, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Yes, etc), this comes as little surprise and much delight for me -- the whole experience of the vinyl LP encompassed not just the music on the 12" vinyl slab, but the artwork, graphics, and visual component that was the album cover. and countless PInk Floyd fans who held onto their LPs of 'Dark Side of the Moon' (and kept replacing them as they wore out) and just about any of their other albums would concur with me that they are among the top bands who excelled at providing as compelling visuals as the music itself. Granted, having long now been accustomed to CDs, hearing an entire album in one sitting without having to deal with changing a side of a record, admittedly is a nice convenience, itself more or less rendering the idea of vinyl LPs (with their nasty ticks, pops, and scratches) to the dustbin of audio history. Once Pink Floyd decided to issue as comprehensive a 'best of' career-spanning compilation in 2001, it was released as a two-CD set, and was a very good, non-chronologically sequenced set of Floyd classics that flowed particually well in two sets of thirteen songs apiece -- starting and ending with a Syd Barrett-era track.
   
   However, much to the delight of this particular fan of the vinyl LP, the 2-CD set was issued some time later as a four-LP box set, on heavyweight vinyl. Both discs' track listing of course is broken up to be spread out over eight sides of vinyl -- this, plus that each LP is wrapped in an individual cover and inner sleeve resplendent with superb Storm Thurgesen visuals (right down to each record's label -- see my images I provided), the 'Echoes' LP box set is very much a winner for any Pink Floyd fan who would prefer to hear this set the way the original albums (except for 'The Division Bell' for which the LP was limited and by then, CDs were de facto) were issued, and the sound of the remastered tracks on fresh vinyl is something to look forward to, for you analog, vinyl fans. The 'Echoes' LP box is the closest way to hear almost all of "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" on one side of an LP (they present parts I to VII -- some day it would be nice to hear all nine parts as one cohesive track).



4. this is a good CD if you're a casual listener looking for Pink Floyd's best songs. less expensive and less cumbersome than buying their complete set and not bogged down by lesser songs. if you're a hard core fan you will probably find this CD lacking in continuity. Pink Floyd albums were not simply a collection of singles they were a coherent continuous package. that continuity is lost when compiling a greatest hits album.



5. I've heard all of the songs on this compilation, and I own most of the albums that they are from. To me, it seems that these songs lose a lot of their appeal and meaning when they are separated from the albums in which they were originally released. In particular, The Wall and Dark Side of the Moon are best listened to from start to finish. Part of the reason I love Pink Floyd so much is that they could create an entire album that was in itself a work of art.
   
   Pink Floyd worked on a scale that is beyond most artists, especially today's sound bite radio-friendly pop and rap artists.
   (Some rappers have shown some serious talent and artistry, but almost none of the marketable, wealthy ones do.) Pardon the digression...
   
   Anyway, this is a compilation of some excellent songs, and for the person interested in the individual songs it's a good buy. However, I think that what made Pink Floyd music truly great was the way it was composed as an album.

5 comments about Bananas.

1. Ok I love Deep Purple if you're talking about classic Purple 60s, 70s and 80s but this is just embarrasing. I went out and bought this hearing all the great reviews about it. People ranked it with classics such as Machine Head so I caved in and bought it. Once I opened the package I saw the band members names and the only original member left was Ian Paice. I didn't realize that John Lord had left. But I played the cd anyway. I have listened to it and the songs are just cheesy and bland and not very Purpleish. I mean if Blackmore was still in the band there is no way he would have let them call an album Bananas but this album sounds exactly like Bananas. The lyrics are bad and the music is terrible. I won't even bother to go by a track by track review because there is nothing on here worth mentioning. Deep Purple really need to hang it up. They get much worse on their next album Rapture Of The Deep. If you're a huge Purple fan and have not heard this then my advice to you is Don't. You will wish you never had. Stick with the great albums, In Rock, Machine Head, Fireball, Burn, Perfect Strangers and hell I eben liked House Of Blue Light. This cd is pure garbage.



2. Deep Purple has had some high moments in their career, followed by peaks and valleys in between. The classic Machine Head was their first truly great album followed by Made in Japan the following year which became one of the best live classic albums of all time. But fueding between band members constantly causing line up changes and members leaving and coming back into the band split them up at their commercial PEAK! But they came back with David Coverdale for the FABULOUS Burn album and Deep Purple's second high level was reached. Nobody would have ever expected Perfect Strangers to bring the band back fully commercially, but Purple hit their third peak in the 90's and unfortunatly, internal conflicts caused them to split yet again. By the 2000's, the commercial and hit making days of a hard Metal group like Deep Purple were OVER. But that didnt stop them from putting out Bananas, the FOURTH peak of their career and what an album this is! It should have been the followup to Perfect Strangers and had it been, it would have surely went Gold or Platinum and yielded hit singles on the charts! The songs are so catchy here and the musicianship is outstanding! There isnt hardly a bad songs on the entire album. It easily blows away anything Deep Purple did from House Of The Blue Light on! Part of the style reminds one of their earlier albums, with the vocals of Gillan a bit more refined and the guitar style different with Morse being on board. But the album is no less than suberb anyway. Great drum work, guitar solos, signature organ, and most of all to go with it EXCELLENT songs musically! Who knows if Purple will ever reach another peak like this, but for me I am still enjoying this one! Awesome!



3. Like most people, I was surprised Deep Purple were going to call their new album "Bananas". That has to be the funniest name of an album for a hard rock band of all time!
   
   Luckily, the quality of the music is up to par with what we've come to expect from the band, so it's quite okay to call the album whatever the heck ya want!
   
   Of course, I can't honestly say the songwriting and the raw energetic power that made Deep Purple so popular and influential in the 70's has returned to full force. No WAY mister! Many of the tunes fall victim of being generic mid tempo hard rock, and while that's not really a bad thing, it's certainly not why we remember the band all these years later.
   
   Every so often the album will throw in some neat guitar tricks and other unordinary musical ideas (slightly unordinary I mean). But it's really not anywhere near the level that classic Deep Purple can offer for enjoyment. Pick up a mid 70's live album to see what the band can really deliver to the world of heavy rock.



4. Very good album from Deep Purple. Amazing to see how good they still are.
   I won't comment every songs, simply said, they are all very good.
   A very good cd from the first to the last drops ! Recommanded.



5. This is relly a great cd. It is definatly the best of the post blackmore era purple,They really show there versatility and don't just rest on there name for this cd.I have almost all of there albums and this one stands right up there with some of the classic purple albums.I thought there better days were behind them but maybe not , You can tell Gillian is getting older but he can still outsing most of todays vocalists KEEP ON SPACE TRUCKIN

5 comments about Absolutely Live.

1. 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.



2. 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.



3. 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!!!!



4. The one and only official live-album released in between "Morrison Hotel" and "L.A. Woman" albums, this shows the Doors at it very best. They were not a middle of the roadband who played each night a greatest hits show but varied their setlist as often as possible and did not only play wellknown songs of their albums, on the contrary. Looking on the songlist on this album it shows more songs outside their studioalbums. To begin with a dynamite McDaniel classic "Who Do You Love" with the same sometimes weird lyrics as James Morrison used to write, to a medley which has "Loves Hides", a short but interesting track, not available on any or the regular albums. The same goes for the beautiful "Universal Mind", reminiscent of the "Waiting for the Sun" album, and the even stunning "Build Me a Woman", which is more from "The Doors" album but nevertheless doesn't appear on any of them. Further comes "The Celebration of the Lizard" in its long form as it is used to be but neither on any album released (that is until the 2003 compilation "Legacy" and the 2006 box "Perception"), from which the lyrics are printed inside the "Waitin for the Sun" album because of the song "Not to touch the Earth" which is a part of the mentioned longtrack, overall an outstanding performance (comparible to that on "The Doors Box" set, the "Live in New York" disc) and - oh surprise - the Ray Manzarek sung Willy Dixon classic "Close to You" (on the "In Concert" package switched to the second disc), somewhat comparible to the L.A.Woman outtake "(If You Need Meat) Don't Go Further", also by Dixon and sung by Manzarek. And last but not least "Dead Cats, Dead Rats", which preludes a heavy metal version of "Break on Through (To the other side)" with stunning guitar work by Robbie Krieger. Closer "Soul Kitchen" is also fabulous. The midsection is dominated by a long version of "When the Music is over", the audience was clearly having trouble with something or someone and the singer shows his annoyance and treathens to stop the show or play only one repeating note by Manzarek, with which the audience give in and the song evolves to a real eruption. Many acts have released timeless live recordings, this is definite one of them. Superb, it really gives you an idea how a Doors performance could have been and gives you the feeling that you were there. Highly recommended!



5. Do not buy this CD "Absolutely Live" by the Doors. Pay the extra few dollars more & get the double CD, "In Concert" instead. The reason, the "In Concert" double disk has the live albums "Absolutely Live," "Alive She Cried" & "Live At The Hollywood Bowl" all in one package with one exception: an unreleased live version of 'The End' (the main reason to get that double disk just for that song alone!). Get it & it'll be money worth spent.

3 comments about Live at the Aquarius Theatre: The First Performance.

1. A little pricey, but well worth it for the dedicated Doors' fan. Perhaps, not for everyone; a "must' for dedicatedThe Doors fan. Shipping and handling were prompt and fair. A+.



2. Another top-notch Doors release from Bright Midnight Records, far more valuable than the umpteenth re-release of the studio albums. This one features the complete first show from the Aquarius Theater in LA on July 21, 1969. They've since released the second show as well, with a similar set list and the same soundboard quality (recorded with the same set-up as part of the Elektra Concert Series that year and also part of the Absolutely Live material).
   
   Amazing how quiet it gets between tracks---were 60s crowds still that polite and well-behaved? There were eight total mikes used for recording, and two were devoted to the ambient and audience noise. You can listen closely and hear the audience shout requests and more during some songs. "Touch Me!" "Everybody shut up!" "Ssssshhhh!" The band never played with a set set-list, so they'd discuss what track to do next in between songs, leaving an interesting and tense gap in the show like they were very consciously holding the audience in suspense. One can tell how plagued they must have been hearing the same requests over and over and over from fandom's hit-lovers ("Light My Fire!")
   
   The sound quality is about the same as the second Aquarius Show, also available in a 2CD set from Bright Midnight. Same set-up, same remastering, and best of all, it's complete and uncut, with no overdubs or trickery. The in-between noise, tuning and chatter are all kept and even given their respective tracks--it's the kind of thing obsessists insist on. Just right from the archives, no doctoring.
   
   Highly recommended material, there is plenty of excellent live Doors material now officially available. More casual fans should check the playlists for each of these and decide what they want. The quality is generally excellent, professional soundboard, and the performances (on most of the material) is very strong. The band was only human, after all. Small snippets of these Aquarius shows were floating around on bootleg for years and years, but never in such good quality.



3. I bought both of these live shows on the official BM website they are great. Excellent sound quality I would Highly Recommend!!! Also check out "Live In Detroit"

5 comments about The BBC Sessions.

1. Anybody that would give this CD anything less than 5 stars is a complete idiot. Here is The Who, at the height of their creative genius mostly cuts recorded for the BBC radio in the 1960's. Why wouldn't anyone who loves The Who want to have this historical collection of music to increase or complement their collection from one of the greatest rock and roll bands ever? Maybe it's not their favorite CD of Who music, but it certainly adds to the collection of their repertoire. What I loved about this band from this particular moment in time is that they, along with the Rolling Stones, were the anti-Beatles, not a bunch of adorable identically dressed cute mop-tops that made girls swoon, or their later incarnation of commercially accessible pseudo-psychedelic posers, but a hard-edged British blues-oriented band, in all their sneering and anti-social glory, that rocked the house and brought it down everytime they played in a live venue. Yeah, maybe it's a bit toned-down for BBC radio, but so what? It's still great.



2. I've listened to this straight through about 30 times in my car, so I have a pretty good understanding of this release.
   
   First off, it's not the best BBC live collection by any means, Led Zep and Bowie being two examples of mind-blowing, revelatory live performances recently released in the BBC archive series.
   
   Second, it's an incomplete document of live Who, as they mostly appeared on the BBC early in their career, and then only a few times thereafter, the last performance being 1973.
   
   All that said, it's still the Who, and they still rock. The "orderly disorder" Pete was striving for comes through loud and clear, in early performances in which the boys mash up some old James Brown, Martha and the Vandells, and even the Rascals. Boy those mid-period songs were great -- "Boris the Spider," "The Seeker," "Pictures of Lilly," "Happy Jack," all sound marvelous, with propulsive drumming by Moon and clever harmonies by the band.
   
   I've been listening to this so many times because, despite its limitations, this is a very fun record. I love the BBC announcer doing the intros to the Who songs, the cheeky interviews with the band, the great performances and great songs. I even like Pete's off-key flubbing of "Long Live Rock."
   
   Sure it's incomplete and only documents a limited slice of this band's live, but it's a fun and very enjoyable trip back to merry old England.



3. A great live rock album that catches The Who in their early stride 1965-1973. I like the english bloke talking in between songs. I'm not crazy about live recordings and cover songs, I was hesitant to get The Who BBC Sessions. After listening to it, BBC Sessions really captures a swinging England in the swinging 60s. Owning this Bbc Sessions cd is like a time piece in history. You hear The Who in a whole different way, as they are captured with youth and vibrant brilliance and time on their side. There is tape hiss and fall outs as this cd sounds a little tinny, but that is due to the technology of the 1960s. Despite these minor flaws the remastering on this cd was the best that could be done and beleive me it sounds great and actually the flaws I have discussed adds a little more authentic sound to it. Over remastering would have suffacated the original sound of this recording. Enjoy this "Who BBC Sessions" collection, you hear the Who in a whole different enlighting way. Highly recommended listening to all fans of Rock n Roll.........................



4. I got this album soley because these 25 tracks are one a cool "greatest hits" collection without trying. It was my perfect greatest hits CD for some of the older who tracks from 65-73. This is the who that I grew up with and loved. My alltime favorite track is THE SEEKER, which has a killer version available here. I also managed to pick up a bonus CD with this when it was released that had seven additional tracks that were recorded between 67-1970. If you need a good live album by this band of early stuff, this would be the one.



5. This album is the same as the USA released version, except for track 10 was added (man with money) so that there are 26 tracks. Otherwise, same track listing are in the same order.I got this album soley because these 25 tracks are one a cool "greatest hits" collection without trying. It was my perfect greatest hits CD for some of the older who tracks from 65-73. This is the who that I grew up with and loved. My alltime favorite track is THE SEEKER, which has a killer version available here. I also managed to pick up a bonus CD with this when it was released that had seven additional tracks that were recorded between 67-1970. If you need a good live album by this band of early stuff, this would be the one.

5 comments about Eagles Live.

1. I really like this CD alot; The live venue gives some of their catalog a little extra punch! Hard to believe half of these are live since they are so right on the money--it's almost like listening to a studio album at times. Nice addition of some lesser known Eagles tunes like Seven Bridges Road, Saturday Night, and All Night Long; Plus the addition of Life's Been Good only helps. great sound and great playing all across the board. The extended sax solo at the end of The Long Run is one of the best sax solos I have heard in a long time. A great look at a talented band in their earlier days. A must have for fans! Joe Walsh and Don Felder tear it up guitar-wise...or as much as you can tear it up in an Eagles song!



2. Greatest band of all time! What else can I say. Wish it was a DVD!



3. The Eagles' seventh album Eagles Live was released in November of 1980.
   By 1980, The Eagles were going through a schizophrenic time. The band had another chart-topping album out of The Long Run but inner tensions between drummer Don Henley and guitarist Glenn Frey reached fever pitch. The strains of keeping up with success were taking a toll on messieurs Henley, Frey, Don Felder, Joe Walsh and Timothy B Schmit.
   Before splitting up, the band decided to release a live album recorded from its 1979/80 Long Run Tour with some tracks recorded from the pre-release tour in support of Hotel California from November, 1976.
   The 1980 portions consists of spirited versions of "Hotel California" which is arguably better than its studio counterpart with Don Felder's excellent Gibson double neck guitar and Joe Walsh's Fender Telecaster work, a rocking "Heartache Tonight", a soulful "I Can't Tell You Why", a soul-tinged "The Long Run" featuring some excellent alto sax work from Phil Kenzie (whom played on Al Stewart's Year of the Cat and Time Passages albums), a laid-back unplugged "Saturday Night', a stellar "Life in the Fast Lane" and the closing extended rocking "Take it Easy" which is better than its studio counterpart with some excellent guitar work from Walsh at the end.
   The 1980 portion also included the band's take on two of Walsh's solo tracks "Life's Been Good" (arguably better than the original) and the then new track "All Night Long" which buried the sterile sounding version on the Urban Cowboy Soundtrack. Lastly, it featured the acoustic "Seven Bridges Road" which was a country number the band would play in rehearsal (see the 1977 Hotel California concert film for proof) and would be the band's last hit for 14 years.
   The songs recorded from 1976 featured "New Kid In Town" and "Wasted Time" which were at the time the performances were recorded unreleased, an unEarthly version of "Take It To The Limit" with original bass player Randy Meisner hitting an A flat to F Sharp near the end and given a STANDING OVATION for it. Lastly, "Doolin-Dalton Reprise II" was an orchestral interlude to "Desperado" which was a good version.
   Eagles Live upon release hit #7 on the album charts and quickly hit Platinum status. Millions have been sold since then (I helped the cause when I was 8 when my folks got me this on cassette as a Christmas present and then on CD and now the remastered CD).
   Recommended!



4. The Eagles Live cd is and always has been a Complete Rip-Off! Warner Brothers has been raking it in on the Eagles catalog for decades and has only continued the tradition with the remasters (see my review of Hotel California). This is the original version from way back in 1989. They did not have 80 minute cd's back then, only 74 minute discs. That I understand , but this has also been remastered and released AGAIN on 2 discs! There is absolutely NO EXCUSE for this to have been released on 2 compact discs except that it allows Warner Brothers to demand a higher 2 cd price!
   
   I vowed to NEVER buy this release, even though I own all the other standard Eagles remasters. They do sound much better, so it is worth it to me. But, you get NOTHING NEW. Same ol' booklets, same standard gray jewel cases, etc.
   
   HERE's The GOOD NEWS - I just bought this at a local SAM's Club for only...$12.88. I could not believe the price. And, it is the newer remastered version in a standard double slim jewel case. It says right on the back, "remastered by so and so at Sterling Sound 1999".
   
   I do hope that sometime in the near future, Rhino records or Universal Chronicals will put out a "Deluxe Edition" of this release with more tracks from that era and fill up those 2 compact discs. Until then...



5. This is a fine recording of a great band. However I cannot recommend it and hence it only gets 2 stars.
   
   The reason for this is that you might have thought that with an album cover which says EAGLES LIVE this would actually be a live a album. But no its not, in fact if you read the credits you'll find that there are overdubs added. So it should be called EAGLES LIVE (EXCEPT FOR THE OVERDUBS WHICH WE ADDED AFTER THE CONCERTS). Now if they called it that I probably would have given it 4 stars.
   
   Shame, because the recordings are good, but if I wanted a studio quality recording, I'd have bought the original studio albums. Live is live, it can't be almost live unless its advertised as such!

5 comments about The Beatles (The White Album).

1. The Fab Four always respected their record-buying public, and adhered to their own standards as the flagship pop group of the era. Their quality control was tight. They never released a live album, for example, because neither the quality of the performance nor the sound would have been up to snuff. The "Let It Be" tapes sat on the shelf for months because the group weren't happy with them. Parlophone, their U.K. label, didn't put out an entire album of material that had already been previously released until "A Collection of Beatles Oldies" came out in 1966, and the title of that record clearly indicated to buyers what they were getting. Nevertheless, "The Beatles," released in late 1968, clearly reveals a slip in quality from the top rung of the ladder. Many listeners give this the usual 5-star Beatle album rating, but I don't. Though high points abound ("Julia," "While My Guitar Gently Weeps," "Blackbird," "Helter Skelter," et. al.), as the only double album the band released, it contains far too much half-baked screwing around in the studio. Paul McCartney's "Rocky Raccoon" (complete with bogus hillbilly accent) is one of his most overrated tunes, and no one can seriously argue that his "Why Don't We Do It In The Road" is anything approaching a decent song. For his part, John Lennon doesn't escape criticism, either; much of the record is taken up by his tape-recording experimentation ("Revolution 9"), which isn't songwriting, and really isn't that interesting, either, forty years later. The White Album reflects the growing fragmentation of the group; by this time, the individual Beatles were writing and recording separately from the others. Thus, the band's days were already numbered by the time this album came out.



2. If you like the Beatles, this album is a must have -- the music is absolutely fantastic!



3. The Beatles are, without a doubt, my favorite band. By quite a long shot, in fact. But I'm not under the impression their music was infallible by any means, and to me this serves as a rude interruption to the greatest winning streak (which began with Help! and ended with Let It Be) in rock history. Every Beatles album but this released from 1965-1970 deserves 4.5-5 stars. This one... well, it confuses me.
   It's too bad, because it's got its strengths. Even for a Beatles record, it's diverse - the first four tracks alone have them going from surf-rock to psychedelic folk to chamber-pop to pseudo-ska without missing a beat. It's very well arranged and produced. And fourteen of these thirty tracks are among the Beatles' absolute finest songs. "Back in the U.S.S.R." is a funny parody of the Beach Boys, Ray Charles, and Chuck Berry. "Dear Prudence" is lush, trippy, and lovely, with some fine harmonies. "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" gets maligned a lot, but I think it's fun. "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" is a deep-thinking rock epic, with a legendary guitar solo from George's Eric Clapton. The three-part "Happiness is a Warm Gun" is the best on the record, one part haunting acid rock, one part ear-bursting proto-metal, one part mock doo-wop. "Martha My Dear" shows Paul at his best with a big, over-the-top, sweetly melodic pop song. "Blackbird" is another lovely Paul ballad; the retro "Birthday" is a fine flat-out rocker; "Yer Blues" is a funny blues parody; "Everybody's Got Something to Hide Except for Me and My Monkey" is the group at their most infectious; "Sexy Sadie" has bitter anti-Mariashi lyrics and a fine piano part to match; "Helter Skelter" rocks, an efficient response to the extreme experiments with volume of Hendrix, Jeff Beck and the Who that were occurring in '68; "Revolution 1" isn't as good as "Revolution", but those are some nice horns, and I adore those "shoo-be-doo-wop" harmonies; lastly, "Savoy Truffle" is a funky rocker with a guitar v. sax showdown that probably inspired several Rolling Stones hits. Those fourteen would've definitely kept the album's scope intact, and would've made for the greatest album ever. And even the tossoff goof tracks ("Rocky Raccoon", "Piggies", "Glass Onion"; "Why Don't We Do it in the Road?"; "I'm so Tired") are well-produced, well-written, quirky, and memorable.
   The problem lies in the remaining few songs. "Julia" and "Mother Nature's Son" aren't exactly bad, but they're incredibly blah. And Ringo gets screwed. While he had always got the more "lightweight" songs in the first place, they were always amicable, and some of them were great. Neither of his songs is anywhere close to that. "Don't Pass Me By" (which he wrote) is an awful country hoedown, and "Good Night" (which he didn't right) is so schmaltzy it hurts. Paul's interest in '30s jazz had resulted in two great songs on previous albums ("When I'm Sixty-Four", "Your Mother Should Know") comes back to bite him in the butt on "Honey Pie", which can't decide if it wants to be a straight-faced homage to the genre or a mocking parody - it's a poor song either way you cut the pie. No pun intended. Seriously, I had already forgotten the word "pie" was in the song's title by the time I wrote it. That says a lot about me, doesn't it? And "Wild Honey Pie", the twisted cousin to "Honey Pie" is mindless indulgence. Short, yes, but horrendous. And "I Will" is extremely dull, though it's funny how it comes after "Why Don't We Do It in the Road?" on the tracklist. Of course, Paul's not the only one to blame. John did come up with the record's biggest travesty, the notorious sound collage "Revolution 9", as well as the childish, condescending "Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill"; "Cry Baby Cry", an attempt at Syd Barrett-esque whimsy that fails because it lacks what really made Syd's whimsical songs interesting: the undercurrent of menace and insanity. I think he's responsible for "Good Night", too. George doesn't escape unscathed either, chipping in "Long, Long, Long", which other than the flute is dreary.
   So this had the potential to be great, but ego gets in the way. Hey, maybe it was made big, sprawling, and messy on purpose, so fans could pick out their own favorites! Who knows?



4. As a reviewer wrote on January 12, 2000, why not the MONO mix for this "special" re-release?
   
   The music is 5 stars, but 1 star for the uninspired release.



5. I know all the cliches and all the buzz words and the hows and the whys. I can't add much more to what has been already said by the excellent reviewers except EMI/Capital remaster this mother or else you'll have me to deal with.
   
   
   How can people not like The Beatles? It astounds me.

5 comments about The Dark Side of the Moon.

1. This recording speaks for itself in terms of production quality; this is a long-standing reference recording. The MFSL Gold CD version of this CD is EXCELLENT. I have been a part of the ultra high-end audio industry for over 30 years and only listen to reference quality systems; this transfer is incredibly well done. There are no gain (volume issues) or any lack of resolution in any area. I don't think the performance advantages over the standard and SACD versions are subtle. This is well worth the investment, and becoming rare. Buy it while its available ~



2. I recently purchased the Japanese version with the obi strip $200.00. Please save your money and buy this Mo-Fi version. I have both now. The Japanese (so called collectors issue) is slightly and I mean slightly better. The only way to tell the difference is if you have a high end system as I do. So again please save your $$$$$$$$ and buy the Mo-Fi cd which I rate as a 3 and the Japanese version as a 3.1 for sound quality.



3. This is a wonderful version of a wonderful album. One of the best things about the Mobile Fidelity CDs is that they allow a far better dynamic range in the music. Most CDs are engineered for maximum volume, at the price of music quality. There is a limit to how loud any sound on a CD can be. To make it sound louder the engineer compresses the sound, making more of the middle level sounds reach this maximum, causing a muddiness that can't be EQ'd out. MFSL Ultradisks will not sound as loud or blown out as a normal CD, and some people can't hear the difference in quality this allows because they're used to listening to garbage. Loudness is not quality, neither is the artificial emphasis that some engineers put on the highs to compensate for the horrible compression that has to be used to make a CD sound louder. The tremendous improvement in imaging this version has is instantly obvious to me. If it isn't loud enough invest in a better pre-amp. Your system isn't as good as you thought it was - just loud.



4. I had many issues of this album. I had it on LP, on ordinary CD, on CD from the Box Set and Japan LP version. I also listen and compared MOFI CD with SACD version. In the end MOFI Gold disc sounds the best. For those who have difficulty hearing I recommend syringing their ears first.



5. Thank goodness this was a gift from a friend although after listening to the disc, I'm beginning to wonder if I know the reason why he gave it to me so freely!
   
   DSOTM is a unique sonic experience and should be something you listen to uninterrupted with the best system that you have and preferably with your eyes closed and reclining in a somewhat horizontal plane. As a guitarist myself, I'm a big fan of David Gilmour and some of his best solos are on this album as well.
   
   Too bad the sound quality is so poor. I've already missed the boat on the first issue of the Japanese mini-lp sleeve remastered version so I guess I'll have to hope for either a re-issue or if the powers that be would stop being stubborn about it and let Alan Parsons (the original sound engineer on the album) to be in charge of a new project to remaster and bring this album back to the majesty that it must have sounded like in the studio or die trying! : )
   
   As for me, I'll just wait, wish and hope for either scenario to eventuate while trying to sell this dud gold cd version that I'm stuck with for now.

5 comments about Morrison Hotel.

1. The Doors organist Ray Manzerak has said that Morrison Hotel (1970) was his favorite of all of The Doors' albums. Why? "Rock n' Roll!", he said. It's the closest they ever came to a pure rock or blues-rock album. Sure, they had done blues (Back Door Man) before and were always a rock band, but their main focus had always been on theatrics and darkly sensual rock poetics. On Morrison Hotel, Robbie Krieger's electric guitar leads the way while the tinkling avant-garde English organ passages of the past give way to a bluesy Hammond B-3 organ sound. The Lizard King isn't much interested in poetry or theatrics now, he's ready to party and rock n' roll!
   
   Roadhouse Blues opens the album, and right from the start you know you're in for a rocking good time. The song rocks harder than anything The Doors would ever do, and the wildly manic Morrison rips it up good.
   
   Well I woke up this morning and I got myself a beer
   The future's uncertain and the end is always near.
   Let it roll, baby, roll
   Let it roll...
   All night long
   
   Waiting For The Sun, the unreleased title track from their third album is a classic. A mixture of spacy poetic longing and commanding electric rock, Morrison is melodious and vivid.
   
   At first flash of eden
   We race down to the sea
   Standing there on freedom's shore
   Waiting for the sun
   
   You Make Me Real acknowledges identity validation from a lover.
   
   You make me real
   You make me feel what lovers feel
   You make me throw away mistaken misery
   You make me feel love, make me free
   
   The strong and funky rocking Peace Frog was taken from two separate Jim Morrison poem fragments. The first was originally called "Abortion Stories".
   
   There's blood on the street, it's up to my ankles
   There's blood on the streets, it's up to my knee
   
   The second poem in the song is spoken by Morrison, and was originally titled "Ghost Song".
   
   Indians scattered on dawn's highway bleeding
   Ghosts crowd the young child's fragile eggshell mind
   
   Blue Sunday is a tender love song that's a nice change of pace for the album. Ship Of Fools and Land Ho work in tandem to bring metaphoric images of the sea together with good rock n' roll. I like the slow, bluesy and sensual The Spy, too. Queen Of The Highway and Indian Summer are both rather forgettable, then the album closes with the blues flavored rock of Maggie McGill.
   
   Morrison Hotel was a return to form for The Doors after their somewhat disappointing attempt at a rockestrated epic, The Soft Parade. It doesn't get much better for Doors' fans than some of this stuff, but like every Doors' album, there are some weak spots. So get this one for Roadhouse Blues, Waiting For The Sun, Peace Frog, Ship Of Fools, Land Ho!, The Spy and Maggie McGill.



2. After the critical brickbats that greeted "The Soft Parade" (1969), Jim Morrison and company made a smashing return to form with their most cohesive album. "Morrison Hotel" (1970) has no misfires. "Roadhouse Blues," "You Make Me Real" and "Peace Frog" are among the hard-rock highlights - punctuated by effective ballads such as "Blue Sunday" and "Indian Summer." The Doors would take their blues-oriented sound even further on "L.A. Woman" (1971), but "Morrison Hotel" evokes the perfect bar-band atmosphere.



3. This is my favorite of the Doors' catalog. It is stripped bare of the pretention Jimbo was infamous for, the psychedelic crud, and the poppy banality of their previous releases. Their debut, while one of the best debuts of any rock group, still maintained one of my least favorite songs in their canon, the oft-hailed but unendingly dull and pompous "The End." I'm sure the cursors are furiously searching for the "no" button at the bottom of this review, but I find that "opus" to be sophomoric and indicative of the worst Morrison brought out from his notebook meanderings. Thankfully, Morrison Hotel has none of that. Jim keeps the non-sequitors and "Hey! Listen to me! I studied philosophy!" references in control and writes more straight-forward and purposefully than before. Perhaps he realized that his utopian vision of changing the world had dissipated like the smoke from so many joints in the audience he dared to manipulate and who, in the end, ignored his attempts at social experimentation and instead cried out for "Light My Fire." Whatever the reason, it's to our advantage that Morrison Hotel finds Jimbo focusing on simply being a member of a very good band. To that end, the vastly underrated guitar work of Robbie Krieger is the musical focus of this work, from the galloping intro of Roadhouse Blues to the trebly riff which closes out Maggie McGill, this album is a Krieger showcase. He demonstrates his unique finger-picking style, slide chops, and genre virtuosity throughout this powerful album. The FM staples "Peace Frog" and the aforementioned "Roadhouse Blues" are masterworks for both the guitarist and the band.
   In fact, one of the best things about Morrison Hotel is that it is the best recording of the Doors as a band, per se, opposed to a combo backing an erratic poet. Even the inside photo, one of the coolest ever of these guys, is a balanced shot of the foursome, instead of the more common ones with Jim front and center and the other three taking up space in the background. Morrison Hotel is a rocking, bluesy, and bare-bones piece of American rock and roll that stands as the most concise and cohesive highlight in the brief history of this influential band.



4. After the rather dismal "The Soft Parade," an album that took The Doors in a shamefully disappointing string-and-brass instrument direction, they hurled back in 1970 with "Morrison Hotel," their strongest, most rocking album since their self-titled debut. Jumpstarted with the mid-tempo Roadside Blues, the album moves between subtle mood pieces, and melodic rock outs, all constructed with Jim Morrison's fine lyrical sentiment, and exceptional grasp on hooks, creating some of the most intimate music of its day. Songs like the political, Peace Frog, and the playful Land Ho!, The Spy, and Maggie M'Gill work some elegant mojo into audience's emotions and beliefs; they are also not just some of The Doors best songs, but also some of the best songs of their genre of all time. "Morrison Hotel" is also fortified with the escalating skill of Bobby Krieger, John Densmore, and Ray Manzarek's' masterful rhythm, and instrumental knowledge of blues and rock components; creating a flourishing backdrop to Morrison's words, thus adding additional sentiment to the lyrical themes. Though there is some slight underwhelming moments here, like in Blue Sunday, and (in this critics opinion) Indian Summer, two songs that feature Morrison's great signing, but do not have much to them, both lyrically, and instrumentally, otherwise. Yet, despite some small imperfections, "Morrison Hotel" is still a masterwork by a band of grand artistic envision, skill, and talent.
   
   **** ½ (Out of 5)



5. Okay, the Doors roared right out of the gates with the classic debut. They then hit a rut with the awfuul Strange Days; mediocre Waiting for the Sun; and The Soft Parade, which we will never speak of again. This is an improvement, and the closest they came to matching their debut. Strong cuts include Roadhouse Blues; Waiting for the Sun; the funky Peace Frog; and the underrated trilogy Ship of Fools; Land Ho and Maggie Mc'gill (bad lyrics aside, it rocks). The bad? You Make Me Real; stale blueses The Spy and Queen of the Highway; and the formulaic ballad Indian Summer. But along with the debut, this is really the only Doors studio album you need. If you own Legacy: the Absolute Best, that is...