Live/ The Deluxe Edition Review

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(More customer reviews)With his "Live At Sunrise" cd out of print, rock legend Dave Mason's latest release "Live At XM Satellite Radio", is more than an adequate replacement. His guitar playing and singing have never been better, and his band is well rehearsed playing a flawless set of classic rock tunes, that proves to be captivating. There is no filler at this show, as every single song rocks the house with vintage Dave Mason early seventies rock n roll. You don't want to miss "Only You Know And I Know". "We Just Disagree", "Look At You, Look At Me", "Dear MR Fantasy", "All Along The Watch Tower", and of course the song that has withstood the test of time like no other "Feeling Alright", which features a blistering guitar duel between Dave and band member John Sambataro. Also included, are some nice bonus tracks of Dave singing the Eagles "Take It To The Limit"[which first appeared live on his 1976 LP ""Certified Live". A duet with the late Jim Capaldi "40,000 Headmen", and a brand new studio track "Deaf Dumb and Blind". Rumor has it that Dave will be releasing a new studio cd in the near future titled "Alone Together Again". If this release is any indication, it proves that Dave Mason is still a talented singer and guitarist who is as good as any of the other so called classic rock guitar legends. After hearing this release, I certainly am looking forward to hearing his long anticipated new studio release in the future.

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As co-founder of the legendary rock band Traffic, Dave Masonhas always been a powerful force in popular music. His tenure as theirguitarist, vocalist & songwriter, along with his friends Stevie Winwood,Jim Capaldi and Chris Wood, netted the quartet several hit singles andalbums including his signature tune Feelin' Alright and internationalsmashes like Hole In My Shoe.While collaborating with his friends like Jimi Hendrix, The Rolling Stones,Eric Clapton, Delaney and Bonnie and George Harrison, Dave Mason continuedto develop his trademark sound, while igniting a solo career that took offwith his first platinum plus debut album Alone Together from 1970.Over the next three decades, Dave Mason continued his legendary status as astaple radio artist, riding the top rung of the many music charts withtunes like We Just Disagree, Let It Flow, All Along the Watchtower, Show MeSome Affection, and Something from the Heart.A few years ago, Dave Mason and his wonderful band entered into the stateof the art XM studios in Washington D.C., and recorded this new album Liveat XM Satellite Radio. This unique session was performed organically infront of an intimate gathering of friends and fans. From start to finish,it is a solid 100% classic Dave Mason concert.Things start off with a nod to his Alone Together album with the prog-rockclassic World In Changes and his Delaney and Bonnie hit Only You Know and IKnow. Mason's vocals and guitar styling are second to none as the crowdroars in approval.We Just Disagree was Dave's most successful venture at Top 40 radio back inthe late seventies. This emotional live reading brings back the memories ofthis era and skillfully shows the interplay between Mason and his goodfriend guitarist John Sambataro (Firefall, McGuinn Clark & Hillman). Thistrack is indeed a defining moment of the show.No Dave Mason concert is complete without the classics All Along TheWatchtower, Traffic's Dear Mr. Fantasy and the surprise groover Feelin'Alright. His fans and new converts will agree, this new live offering willsatisfy the classic rocker in all of us.In addition to this pivotal live recording, Dave has gone into the vaultsand found a very rare live interpretation of the Eagles classic Take It ToThe Limit. Recorded several years ago in the Orange County, Californialocale, this tune takes on a whole new feeling with the Dave Mason magic.As a further gift to his fans, Dave has also included two new studio tracksthat will truly enhance your listening experience. First, there is the veryrare Dave Mason/Jim Capaldi duet of the classic 40,000 Headmen. Recordedshortly before his untimely death, Jim Capaldi truly sings his soul out onthis revisit to the Traffic era. Dave shares on the vocal chores, as wellas an incredible guitar workout throughout.The intriguing closer, Deaf, Dumb And Blind, is one of those tunes that hisfans have been clamoring years for. Dave's vocals are the ticket here, theamazing music he creates is still intact after four decades of recording,and like a fine wine, his career just gets better all the time. This tunewill surely become one of his future classics.

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Live Around the World Review

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(More customer reviews)One can easily make the argument that Meat Loaf's career is intertwined with songwriter Jim Steinman. Meat Loaf has enjoyed his greatest success when he has teamed up with Steinman."Bat Out of Hell" and "Bat Out of Hell II: Back into Hell" are considered two of the all-time legendary albums. For all practical purposes, these albums are Rock Operas (or commonly referred to as Wagnerian Rock). The concepts for these two albums basically revolved around the thoughts and stories of a teenage and young adult male.One thing that really made the "Bat Out of Hell" albums special was the combination of Steinman's songwriting with Meat Loaf's powerful and passionate vocals. Both Meat and Steinman come from a theatrical background - and both Steinman's music and Meat's vocals are clearly a product of this background. I think its safe to say that Steinman provides the infrastructure for Meat to deliver these powerful vocals while Meat's vocals make Steinman's music come alive.It is this style of music that almost seems tailor-made for being heard live - and the collection "Live Around the World" gives Meat Loaf fans a chance to hear what this music sounds like in a live setting. Despite some minor quirks, this collection does not disappoint.
The content of the performances is of a high level. When I review a live album, I usually prefer the album to basically be a full recording of a concert. In other words, I prefer the tracks come a single night's performance and be arranged in the order that they were played in concert. I normally am not one for edited concerts or live compilations.In the case of Meat Loaf's "Live Around the World", the tracks are a mixed bag. This compilation is basically an anthology of Meat's greatest live performances from 1977 through 1996. Because this is the way this album has been put together, this album cannot be used as a gauge for the what a Meat Loaf concert really sounds like. However, the album does attempt job to arrange the songs to give a perception that this could be a Meat Loaf concert.The ordering of the songs is done well, but I can't say this is done perfectly. For example, while "Paradise By the Dashboard Light" is the last song on the first CD, I probably would have made it the last song overall.I do give the album credit for flowing one song into another nicely - creating the "illusion" that this is a live show. While I understand when putting this album together, bringing together an anthology of Meat's live performances seemed like a good idea - I think it would have been better to assemble a CD of one or two actual concerts (The Police's "Live" album basically did this). Yes these are quirks that do bother me about this collection, but it doesn't take away from the content - this is some really good stuff. Meat's performances live up to the high expectations I had for this collection.
As one would expect, most of the performances included on "Live Around the World" come from "Bat Out of Hell" and "Bat Out of Hell II". In fact, all seven songs from "Bat Out of Hell" are included on here. There are seven songs that are included from "Bat Out of Hell II". I am pleased that there are four songs beyond "Bat Out of Hell" that are included. These songs are "Dead Ringer for Love" (from "Dead Ringer"); "Midnight at the Lost and Found" (from "Midnight at the Lost and Found"), as well as "What You See is What You Get" and "Hot Patootie". The nice thing is that Meat shows that his career wasn't just limited to the "Bat Out of Hell" albums - he does a terrific job on these four songs. The one Meat Loaf song that isn't included on this collection is "Everything Louder than Everything Else". This is a terrific song in the true Steinman-Theatrical sense. This is especially disappointing since the prelude to that song, Steinman's spoken "Wasted Youth" is included on this collection.
As mentioned, the performances are incredible. You can hear Meat's passion on every song. Every song is truly a performance. Meat handles co-producing duties for this collection. While Steinman and Todd Rundgren were give a lot of credit for producing Meat in the past, Meat proves he can produce and deliver the product. I was very pleased the full 12 minute version of "I Would Do Anything for Love" kicks off the collection. "Paradise By the Dashboard Light" lives up to my live performance expectations. It is a much longer version than the studio version.Although Ellen Foley isn't doing the co-vocals, Patricia Russo does a great job as "girl". There is an extended dialogue at the end that really makes this a true performance. Russo handles the lion's share of the female lead vocals on this collection. The performance of "Dead Ringer" is very much up there as well - much thanks to Russo's lead vocals. Russo's performance even eclipses what Cher did on this song. Russo also does a great job on "I Would Do Anything for Love" on the vocal exchange that occurs at the end of the song.
One thing that does disappoint are the liner notes. The liner notes do list each of the tracks and the location from which each was recorded. The one thing that isn't included are the dates of the performances. I think for this particular style CD, it would have gone a long way to include the performance dates. As for the musician credits, I would have also liked to have seen each musician's credit listed aligned with each song - insread they are all listed in one place. Overall, if you are a Meat Loaf fan and crave for his level performances in a live setting - this is the CD to get. Highly recommended.

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Big Whiskey And The GrooGrux King (Super Deluxe Edition) Review

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(More customer reviews)First of all, let me just say that I am NOT one of those sycophants who automatically give anything by Dave Matthews Band five stars and just rave about how they're the best and anything they do is just the greatest thing ever. While I don't think "Stand Up" and "Everyday" were as bad as some of the reviews I've read, those albums were obviously not their best work. So I was anxious (and a little nervous) to see what this album would bring.
I needn't have worried; Dave Matthews Band are back with a vengeance. There is an energy, a vibe, a passion, a groove that is present on this album that had been missing on the stuff that followed "Before These Crowded Streets". I've read that there were tensions in the band over the last couple years, and that at one point they were on the verge of breaking up. If that's the case, I guess it's true that what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. After "Grux", a prelude showcasing since-departed saxophonist LeRoi Moore, the album kicks right into "Shake Me Like a Monkey", a flat-out rocker that allows the whole band to shine. After that, the album never really lets up; other stand-out tracks include "Funny the Way It Is", "Why I Am", "Alligator Pie" and "Seven". There are others great songs too but I've only listened to the album once so I haven't tied all the titles to all the songs yet.
Bottom line: if you've ever liked Dave Matthews Band at any point in their history, you will really like this album. They've got their fire back, and they know it: I watched the show they did at the Beacon Theatre in NYC last night, and you can really tell they love these songs and are having fun playing together again. Pick this album up, and I promise you won't be disappointed.

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Big Whiskey And The GrooGrux King CD Bonus CD (4 never before released tracks) "Big Whiskey Documentary" DVD 16 page CD booklet 24 page saddle-stitched booklet (Tribute to LeRoi Moore) 40 page perfect-bound photo book 14 prints of drawings by Dave Matthews; one for each song Everything packaged together in a special collector's box.Produced by Rob Cavallo (Green Day, My Chemical Romance), Big Whiskey has been hailed by Rolling Stone as the group\'s "heaviest album yet, both musically and emotionally," which went on to note: "Throughout, Carter Beauford beats out elaborate, propulsive groves; bassist Stefan Lessard lays down Flea-style funk bass lines; violinist Boyd Tinsley plays cresting, intense runs; and Matthews mirrors Moore\'s saxophone lines with scatlike singing." Billboard, in a cover story on Dave Matthews Band, praised Big Whiskey as "its best album yet… Highlights include the funk-rock rave-up 'Shake Me Like a Monkey,' the stirring ballad 'Lying in the Hands of God,' the swampy rocker 'Alligator Pie (Cockadile),' radio-friendly fare like 'Why I Am,' which features playful horns over a solid rock riff and a hooky chorus, and 'Funny the Way It Is,' which parlays a subtle intro into a soaring, syncopated anthem."

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