Search - David Crosby :: Déjà Vu

Concert becomes a Live 'Greatest Hits' package

C. M. Row | Hamilton, New Zealand | 01/02/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

"This CD is the King Biscuit Flower Hour concert repackaged minus the liner notes and with the same songs in a different order. The effect is to lose the 'concert feel' and become more of a live 'greatest hits' package. Nowhere is this more evident than the combination of the tracks 'In My Dreams' and 'Drive My Car' that sit side-by-side on both discs. On the original they mark the transition from the acoustic segment to electric. The effect is marked but works. With this CD the acoustic 'In My Dreams' is sandwiched between the electric 'Nighttime For The Generals' and 'Drive My Car' and the result is jarring.

The concert, recorded on April 8, 1989 in Philadelphia comes at the start of David Crosby's drug-free phase. Several of the songs, such as 'Compass', 'Oh Yes I Can' and Monkey and The Underdog' deal with this change of direction. His band, Mike Finnigan, Dan Dugmore, Jody Cortez and Davey Farragher, are tight and produce some fine moments especially on numbers such as 'Deja Vu', 'Monkey and the Underdog', Almost Cut My Hair', 'Nighttime For The Generals' and 'Drive My Car'. The latter is a personal favourite and highlight.

At times, however, they come across as just another rock band and lack the sense of 'light and shade' that some of the songs need. 'Wooden Ships' is a prime example. This is a song that, for me, both Crosby and Stills never do as well solo as what Crosby, Stills and Nash manage as a group. The version on the 'Daylight Again' DVD is arguably one of the best renditions. Both the vocal interplay and the guitar-keyboard-vocal trade-offs add a dimension lacking in solo efforts. 'Long Time Gone' is another done better elsewhere, such as the version on Crosby's 'It's All Coming Back To Me Now' live CD. Jeff Pevar's guitar work and the better use of 'light and shade' give that version a superior edge to the rather straight-forward rendition on this CD.

If you have the original King Biscuit Flower Hour CD then this would be both superfluous and inferior because of the track arrangement. That said, if you are looking for an introduction to David Crosby's live work with an overview of his songs and not bothered by the lack of a full concert feel, this CD represents a good cross-section.

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