Atomic Rooster - 'Live At The Marquee 1980' (Angel Air)
Mike Reed | USA | 12/12/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Outside of attending a cool gig,saving big bucks on a shopping errand or finding money in the street,there is almost nothing I appreciate more than an unexpected CD release of an archive concert,such as this one.'Live...' was apparently pulled from John Du Cann's own private stash.Recorded during that year when the band played in various venues and unlikely locations in and around the UK.'Live At The Marquee 1980' features the classic Rooster line-up of Du Cann(the trio's only current living member)on guitar&vocals,Vincent Crane on keyboard&organ and Paul Hammond on drums.The sound quality alone on this 75-minute recording will have some Rooster fans wetting their beds.Really powerfully performed numbers included in the set are the killer "Death Walks Behind You","Tomorrow Night",the ripping "Seven Streets",the stunning instrumental "Gershatser","I Can't Take It No More" and "Do You Know Who's Looking For You?".Atomic Rooster combines brilliant swirling Hammond organ,heavily tuned guitar and earth-shattering drums to create a form of heavy rock that seems to be missing from today's music scene.A must-have.Nice packaging job,as with most Angel Air releases.Comes with an eight page full color booklet with rare band photos.Should appeal to fans Uriah Heep,Deep Purple,Quatermass II and Emerson Lake&Palmer."
Shame they aren't about now
Chris2var | 51.32N 0.5W | 02/28/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"to see what you are missing, I saw the rooster 3 times live, this is the nearest you will get to them now. So buy it!! turn up the volume to full, stand back with eyes closed and your almost there. Blow your mind with Gershatser, and get the CD "Death walks behind you" to hear one of the worlds best drum solo's on the studio version of Gershatser. Long live the music of Vincent Crane and all."
Nothing To Crow About
Lawrence A. Strid | Mission Viejo, CA | 04/19/2006
(2 out of 5 stars)
"Atomic Rooster was capable of some good work (Death Walks Behind You and On The Hearing Of), but this isn't it. For starters, the sound quality is abysmal. The guitar parts are largely undermixed and sound like Du Cann was playing in the building next door. The drumming sounds all muddy. Part of this may be due to the fact that the Marquee is a relatively small venue and they were probably playing at maximum volume. Vincent Crane's usually heavy Hammond chops are totally uninspired, perhaps a consequence of his knowing that the best years of the band were behind him. Du Cann's vocals are terrible, consisting largely of unintelligible screaming that would be better reserved for some speed metal band in the 90s. This CD is solely the province of die-hard Rooster fans, of which the reviewers preceding this one must undoubtedly be. Caveat Emptor!"
Track Listings (10) - Disc #1