Search - Blues Traveler :: Live From the Fall

Craig B. (Zonker) from RENTON, WA
Reviewed on 6/10/2007...

BMG Club edition

0 of 1 member(s) found this review helpful.

I Lied and Told them I Love Them

My Uncle Stu | Boston | 05/30/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I forgot about these guys. I recently rediscovered these CDs deep in the recesses of my collection. I took them out, loved them, was suddenly a big Blues Traveler fan again. And then, just like that, it was gone. I tried to listen a second time through a couple days later. And I had had enough. It was a little miniature recapitulation of my original relationship with he group.



There was a time in '91, I think, or thereabouts, when Grateful Dead were having this huge insurgence and the "jam scene" was a new concept. People all around me, all of a sudden, were very into Blues Traveler. They played on my college campus, and then I saw them live a couple times at Red Rocks in Colorado. Good shows. Rolling Stone ran a cover story on the new bands coming up that were modeling themselves on the Dead, as far as focusing on unique, improvisational live performances and allowing fans to bootleg and trade shows. If I remember right, Blues Traveler was the featured band of the new generation, with Phish, Widespread Panic, and the Spin Doctors getting their own blurbs. Good ol' '91.



Popper's singing grated on me a little, that deep quavering vibrato that changes notes so many times on the same syllable that it just becomes waterlogged garbles. But he really is amazing on the harmonica. He sings hard and then he blows hard. Personally, I liked the old fat Popper, not the post-gastric bypass Popper. That's my own selfish thing. I like the idea of the lovable loser guy getting on stage and coming alive with manic intensity. But the gastric bypass is a good operation, I'm happy for him that he's lost the weight.



They're pretty fun for a little bit. But, then, like any small ensemble, their music started to all sound the same. Popper's harmonica is still great, great when he collaborates with other musicians, but the songs got boring.



But Anyway.



Thumbs up, high energy live performance. This is good music to keep around deep in your collection, and occasionally bust out. The key for me is little doses.

"

Excellent live cd showcases the band at its best

Quentin Xavier | USA | 12/31/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is an excellent gem that too few people are aware exists. Everyone remembers Blues Traveler as "that band with Runaround and Hook." Is this a bad reputation to have left on pop music's ever dwindling attention span? Not at all. Is it a disservice to the band's talent? Yes. While both of those songs are great, catchy tunes that deserved every bit of radio play they had, the band's true talent is within their live shows. One of the few jam bands still currently producing music, Blues Traveler is the definition of live charisma. This album is a wonderful example of that charisma.First off, John Popper's harmonica skills are astounding. I'm no expert, but I'd like to see any number of players try and top his diversity, speed and melody. He makes some of Kinchella's guitar parts seem insignificant.Not to say that Kinchella, Sheehan and Hill don't hold their own. This is an excellent band. Sheehan is an excellent bassist, Kinchella is very rythmically incline and holds the songs together nicely with his laid back grooves. He also has some red hot bluesey solos that are pleasing to the ear.This brings us into the music that they've chosen for this double-disc release. The music is so well played, so convincing, so beautifully careless, every bit of it flows together perfectly. A fine example is the "go-low-go" epic on the second disc. This is one of the most exhausting, yet thoroughly satisfying jams I've ever heard. They even manage to throw in Beck's "Loser" for good measure. There aren't too many bands that I can think of that are capable of pulling something like that off.This band is all about musicianship and the love for their live set. This is one of the finest albums I've ever heard, as well as one of the very best live cds in my collection. Popper and the boys are in fine form. It makes me yearn for a chance to see them play. I think I could then die a happy man!"