Post by Awesoman on Aug 9, 2023 8:50:51 GMT -5
Any thoughts on this obscure release exclusive to Hallmark shops? It's a curious hodgepodge of live material awkwardly culled from at least two separate performances (one from the 70's, one from the 80's) finishing up with three brand new tracks from the band's original members. All of the material featured here was previously unreleased.
Although it's unclear exactly what they were going for with the track-listing on this one I'm not really complaining. I don't think they successfully pulled off much cohesion concerning the live performances mixing together recordings from two separate time periods but the performances themselves are good. A pretty solid "Dance, Dance, Dance" starts things off and this is the only place to officially hear a live version of "Kokomo" featuring Carl on the chorus.
As for the "new" studio tracks:
Brian's new version of "The Spirit Of Rock & Roll" is messy and forgettable with a baffling awkward shuffle. Seek out the still-unreleased original ๐๐ค๐๐๐ก ๐ผ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ก๐ฆ version featuring Bob Dylan instead if you can. Al's "PT Cruiser" is inoffensive but is basically a "spot the old car song references" exercise. Surprisingly the album's best track by far comes from Mike: "Cool Head, Warm Heart". It's a perfectly pleasant highlight that is perhaps one of Mike's best original songs.
What are your thoughts with this one?
Although it's unclear exactly what they were going for with the track-listing on this one I'm not really complaining. I don't think they successfully pulled off much cohesion concerning the live performances mixing together recordings from two separate time periods but the performances themselves are good. A pretty solid "Dance, Dance, Dance" starts things off and this is the only place to officially hear a live version of "Kokomo" featuring Carl on the chorus.
As for the "new" studio tracks:
Brian's new version of "The Spirit Of Rock & Roll" is messy and forgettable with a baffling awkward shuffle. Seek out the still-unreleased original ๐๐ค๐๐๐ก ๐ผ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ก๐ฆ version featuring Bob Dylan instead if you can. Al's "PT Cruiser" is inoffensive but is basically a "spot the old car song references" exercise. Surprisingly the album's best track by far comes from Mike: "Cool Head, Warm Heart". It's a perfectly pleasant highlight that is perhaps one of Mike's best original songs.
What are your thoughts with this one?
