Artist: The Doobie BrothersTitle: Live at the Greek Theatre, 1982
Worth buying: Yes
You might be interested in this CD if you like: Christopher Cross, “American Idol" Taylor Hicks, Michael McDonald’s solo work, 1970s soft rock
Tell Me More: By the time the Doobies' farewell tour hit this Berkeley, Calif. venue, they had racked up multiple platinum albums and top 40 pop/rock singles over the course of a decade. This gig found them in solid form, giving several songs a more laid back treatment than the studio incarnations. Whenever McDonald takes over lead vocals from Patrick Simmons, the audience seems to get more excited (a testament to McDonald’s then-burgeoning popularity). In fact, his rich, soulful singing on “You Belong to Me (written for Carly Simon), “What a Fool Believes" and “Taking It To The Streets" are standouts among the set.
Former members Tom Johnston, John Hartman, Tiran Porter and Michael Hossack all make guest appearances. The CD booklet includes background on the show and a dozen live color photos (The CD has 15 tracks + 4 bonus songs; a companion DVD is also available).
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Artist: Rockpile
Title: Live at Montreaux, 1980
Worth buying: Yes
You might be interested in this CD if you like: Graham Parker, Marshall Crenshaw, Elvis Costello, Dave Edmunds, Nick Lowe’s early solo material
Tell Me More: By the time this critically acclaimed pub rock group released its lone studio album (1980’s Seconds of Pleasure), the U.K. musicians - Dave Edmunds, Nick Lowe, Billy Bremmer and Terry Williams - had already been playing on each others' records for years. The first two guys even notched a few hits along the way. Tours were infrequent, so this appearance from Switzerland’s long-running Montreaux Jazz Festival was a real treat. The quartet sounds great throughout and turns in a raucous, high energy set with lead vocal tradeoffs. Although the sonic quality wavers a bit at the start, irregularities are corrected promptly.
best mark for Juice Newton) and Lowe’s own “I Knew the Bride (When She Used to Rock and Roll)." The CD booklet includes a few live photos and background about the band and concert.
Artist: WhitesnakeTitle: Live at Donington, 1990
Worth buying: Yes, for those into mammoth guitar solos
You might be interested in this CD if you like: Deep Purple, Thin Lizzy, Motley Crue, Quiet Riot
Tell Me More:Whitesnake was frequently a stopping ground for some of hard rock’s most prominent guitarists - including Steve Vai and Vivian Campbell, later of Def Leppard, as well as a lengthy list of other musicians prominent in the genre. The sleazy hair metal band reached its commercial peak in the mid-to-late Eighties. This double disc set was taken from a headlining appearance at the Monsters of Rock Festival at England’s Donington Park. A few tracks broach and even surpass the 10-minue mark, thanks to Vai and Adrian Vandenberg’s blazing fretwork bonanzas.Since I used to enjoy the pop-oriented Whitesnake (1987) and Slip of the Tongue(1989) albums and subsequent radio hits, I was interested to hear what they sounded like on tour around that time. Yet it really takes a diehard fan to get through these songs. Leader David Coverdale’s raspy voice is in ok shape. He provides a brief introduction in the CD booklet, which has stage and memorabilia shots from the 1989-90 world tour. Music from the performance (also available as a separate DVD) was remixed too.
Get Whitesnake: Live at Donington 1990 (2011)
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