Kingsmen - 'Live & Unreleased' (Jerden Records) 4 1/2 stars
Mike Reed | USA | 11/20/2007
(4 out of 5 stars)
"'Live & Unreleased' is a superb archive live recording of the pioneers of frat rock {if you care to call them that}. Taped over a two-night stand of gigs from November, 1964 (although the band's site indicates it was 1963). Pretty much every one of this CD's fourteen cuts rock. Tunes that'll have you keeping this disc handy for sometime to come are the opener, the band's staple "Louie Louie", the snappy "What'd I Say", "Twist And Shout", "Do You Love Me", the classic "Mojo Workout" and their cover of the Beatle's hit "Money". Only flaw here is that original Kingsmen vocalist Jack Ely wasn't at these two shows for some reason. Still, the remaining line-up of Mike Mitchell-guitar & vocals, Bob Nordby-bass, Don Galuchi-keyboards and Lynn Easton on drums manage to more than make up for it. Sound quality is between very good to excellent, I thought. Highly recommended."