Live music CD's tend to be a hit or miss deal, either falling far short of their goal to present the "real" feel of the artist or showing what the artist can do without all the studio fixes. As a documentation of the Alastair Green Band, I feel that this CD works pretty well as an example of what the band really sounds like in a live setting. It has that "raw" feel to it that I personally like. The CD only has seven songs on it but most of them clock in between 5 and 8 minutes so you wind up with almost 45 minutes of music. Based upon the CD, I would most definitely check out this band if they ever played in the area.
'Ramblin' Mind'- As an opener this song rocks out pretty good. The vocals are not fantastic but reasonable for the song. The guitar work is very good here and will certainly get your attention. This is the shortest song on the CD clocking in at just over four minutes.
'Beginning To Wonder>Cissy Strut' - The opening of this song really reminds me a lot of Warren Hayne's guitar playing. This is a song with a funky beat and lots of syncopation within it's 12 bar blues structure.
'say What You Want' - this is a self-penned song with lots of slide work mixed with a bit of a Bo-Diddly beat.
'One Way Out' - The Sonny Boy Williamson song that the Allman Brothers made so famous. This is not a bad version but while I'm sure it works great in a live setting, comparisons will favor other recorded versions.
'Afro Blue'- This is a great song with some really cool musical parts. I would say that this is the best song on the CD. This is a full up jam tune with lots of musical tradeoffs between the guitar and keyboards for over 8 minutes. Anyone who gets into jam style music should like this version.
'Love Too Strong'- This is a medium to slow grinding blues song. It has all the trademark slow blues licks and expected big guitar solos. There is lots of dynamics to go with the song and I'm sure that this works great in a live setting.
'3 Bullets'- The second self penned song on the CD, this song is another rocker with a solid foot-tapping beat. There's lots of guitar on this and Green smokes on the guitar.
Bottom Line: The musicianship is excellent, the band seems tight, and while not great, the vocals work in their context. The CD has solid songs, five of which were written by major blues musicians, with a guitar based blues/rock feel. Alastair Green knows his instrument and can make it scream. If you like blues/rock guitar with some heavy guitar, then you should like this CD. Green's sound is similar to a mix of Allman Brothers and Gov't Mule so that may assist you in deciding on purchasing this release. This is a better than average live CD with an overall good mix, and since it's hard to capture a live performance, I give it three out of five stars.
Alastair Green - Guitar & Vocals
Jack Kennedy - Bass
Tom Lackner - Drums
Steve Utstein - Hammond B3 Organ
Web sites: www.agsongs.com
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