Search - Blue Cheer :: Live Bootleg: London - Hamburg

Bootleg: Live

K. Schneider | NJ | 09/15/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Countless rock and roll journals have asserted that Blue Cheer is first and foremost a live band. In the words of Dickie Peterson, "You can listen to all the Blue Cheer records that we ever made but when you see us live it's different, because it's more a physical part of you. When you come to our concerts, you get a lot more than what's on the record."



Having had the good fortune of seeing Blue Cheer live at the recent Biker Rally in Laconia, NH, I can say that I agree dead-on with Dickie. So granted, when you listen to the newly released BOOTLEG: LIVE, you won't get the full decibel attack that you would at an actual show, unless perhaps you have twin Marshall stacks hooked up to your stereo. However . . . .



This CD definitely captures all the rawness, feedback, excitement, and intensity that the boys kick out during the course of their live set. I can safely assure you that this CD, combining highlights of two past shows from a few years back, is a great example of what Blue Cheer is really like live in concert, a feat many other live albums fail to achieve.



On first glance of the album's set list, many fans will notice that a lot of the tunes have already appeared on the two previous live albums in the Blue Cheer catalog. DO NOT draw the erroneous conclusion that this set is something you have already heard and DO NOT disservice yourself by passing it by! This is NOT the same live album already in your collection.



Blue Cheer's roots stem from the San Francisco scene of the mid-60s, and in the spirit of that era, they have always maintained the free-form "jamming" approach to playing their music. In concert, no song is ever played the same way twice and can often sound radically different from one show to another. Therefore, most cuts on this album-such as Doctor Please, Parchment Farm, and Heart of the City-display a fresh, new vitality and contain some of the best live jams previously unheard.



Of course, there's Summertime Blues; not the best version the band has ever played, but this is a Blue Cheer set and thus must be present nonetheless. An added surprise, alone worth the price of admission, is the band's first officially released, long-awaited cover of Roadhouse Blues.



BOOTLEG: LIVE is not just another typical Blue Cheer live album but rather one more piece of the legacy of Blue Cheer live albums. Listened to in the context of Blitzkrieg Over Nuremburg and Live In Japan, it will provide you with a fuller picture of Blue Cheer, the live band, and the ultimate testament to just how great they are in concert.



Ken Schneider

[...]"

Hey dickie (RIP), how about some new songs?

Joseph L. Kolb | harris, mn USA | 09/22/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"i love blue cheer and am fanatical about their releases. these are good recordings and i do recommend it with reservations. they seem to fall in the same trap that the groundhogs have done, in that the live material has generally, the same songs on it. i disagree with some of the reviewers that insist that these are all that much more different or that much better than the previous live releases. overall, they are basically the same. being live, of course they are a little different in performance, spirited play or whatever. but nevertheless, the song remains the same. hopefully there will be more live releases with different songs and even better yet, a new studio album. love these guys! sad to say dickie passed away in october of '09. his music will live on......"

Got ears? Gotta blow 'em!

Anthony C. Guy | Long Island, NY | 09/26/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Steppenwolf gets the credit for coining the term "Heavy Metal" Blue Cheer deserves the credit for inventing it! This is not a state of the art recording, but it's got the feel of a great live gig in a small club. Whether you're an overaged hippie or a modern-day headbanger, this is a must have recording for anyone who likes it loud 'n' raw! A whole lotta fun, the louder the better!"