Search - Streetwalkers :: Live

Good Recording, Great Band, Inconsistent Song Quality

Michael Strom | Chicago, IL USA | 06/07/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"It's about time this finally got released. Anyone who saw the 'Walkers live knows what a powerhouse they could be, and all we've had on CD to represent the live band was the in-&-out-of-print skimpy (but tasty) BBC 1 Live disc. It wouldn't be Streetwalkers without generous helpings of both praise and laments, so here goes.First the good news. The CD sounds really good for a '70's era live CD, and the sound is as good as anyone could reasonably ask for. The versions of Chilli Con Carne, Walking on Waters, Toenail Draggin', Run for Cover, Can't Come In are unqualified successes and the Family catalog is lovingly represented by a sweet, wistful My Friend the Sun and a killer version of Burlesque. The band sounds great and Roger Chapman is in top form (more on Chappo below). The "good news" aspects rate 5 stars.Now the not-so-good news: The concert represented here came at the end, in support of the worst of Streetwalkers' 3 LPs, Vicious But Fair. Consequently, instead of plenty of earlier, more worthy fare, we get 12 interminable minutes of Dice Man. Three minutes would be plenty, five would be more than enough for the most uncritical fans. But twelve turgid minutes? Yikes! We also get exceptionally good versions of really mediocre songs such as Mama Was Mad, and Me an' Me Horse an' Me Rum. The 'Walkers can almost convince you that they're good songs -- but they're just OK songs. And as good as it is to hear a solid live version of Run for Cover, it's hard to believe that the only other song pulled from the Red Card LP would be the not-so-hot Crazy Charade rather than the far-superior Shotgun Messiah or their cover of Daddy Rolling Stone. And since the VBF-era 'Walkers no longer played it, this CD lacks a live version of their best live song, Burn It Down. The song selection here rates 3 stars, so I've averaged it out to 4 for the CD as a whole. At the risk of appearing ungrateful and downright greedy, we still sure could use a real, full-length, live CD from an earlier Streetwalkers tour.But enough quibbles -- the new depth of classic-era Roger Chapman live recordings (also see the recently released "Family Live") reveals something I'd never suspected about this wild man: The guy had unbelievably good pitch. Come on, how many rockers back off on the high hard notes in concert? Robert Plant doesn't even try to hit 'em in How the West Was Won (especially in the song "Rock & Roll"). Usually, any live disc will have a few close-but-not-quites in there, and that's to be expected. But good heavens, of all people, Roger Chapman's ragged, crazed goat-boy vocals nail everything in sight. I wouldn't have believed this was possible live, and it seems to defy both logic and probability that he could strain his voice so much, so hard, and never lose pitch. It motivated me to go back to Family Live and the BBC 1 CDs just to double-check. Amazing."

A bluesy, gritty, and sometimes blistering last testament

loce_the_wizard | Lilburn, GA USA | 05/12/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

""Streetwalker's Live" provides a fitting last testament to the tenure of Streetwalkers as one of rock's most underappreciated bands. The sound you hear may not be technically perfect by today's standards, but this remastered session captures the energy and passion of real musicians laying it all out there instead of relying on technology from studio dubs or feathered costumes and makeup to deflect attention from their shortcomings. It took me many years to appreciate Streetwalkers, for I fell into a trap of comparing this bluesy, gritty band with the more progressive Family. (Roger Chapman and Charlie Whitney were the principal songwriters in both bands---hence, one might naturally have expected more common ground between the music of the two groups.) Some have claimed that this last release from Streetwalkers---originally as a double LP in 1977---was torpedoed by the emergence of punk, but truth be told, neither Streetwalkers or Family ever hit it big in the USA, and in the updated liner notes to the CD, Charlie Whitney notes that Streetwalkers gritty sound was not really the type of "dinosaur rock" that the more nimble punk shoved aside. If you like sizzling, live, music, music that seems as though it might levitate the speaker banks on the stage, I would recommend you check out this collection of tunes culled from the various Streetwalkers studio recordings. It's not without a touch of irony that this music finally made it to a digital format, for the roughness of the sound somehow seems to more naturally fit the sprawling format of a double LP than a single CD. Those who have supported Roger Chapman's place as arguably the best male vocalist in rock will find plenty to bolster their case here. Chappo growls, wails, shouts, implores, and banters as only he can. Twin guitarists Charlie Whitney and Bob Tench rarely dual but instead compliment each other, layering riffs and conjuring solos that support instead of undermine the songs. Whitney often seems content to let Tench have the spotlight, but when you really listen to Whitney's work on slide and double-necked guitar, it's clear that he was one of rock's now forgotten guitar masters, a player who knew what he didn't play was sometimes as important as what he did play. Tench gets to stretch his vocal chords more than on the studio sets, showing that in any other line up (sans Chapman) he might be the lead vocalist. The supporting cast-Mickey Feat on bass, David Dowle on drums, and Brian Johnston on keyboards-are steady if not flashy. The keyboards do contribute to a fuller sound, though not as much energy as the guitars. There are some great songs here: Crazy Charade, Run for Cover, and Can't Come In are nearly enough to justify this purchase. The band is clearly pumped on Crazy Charade and Run for Cover. Diceman, at nearly 12 minutes, is the longest track in the Streetwalker's catalog, and Whitney and Tench have some electrifying moments here but in spots this one does drag a bit ( I think the epic live version of Burn It Down on "BBC Radio 1 in Concert" is Streetwalkers finest live moment). This is the first decent sounding live version of Chilli Con Carne that I have heard, and Walking on Waters is good, but I also prefer the live version on Streetwalkers' "BBC Radio 1 in Concert." Toenail Draggin' comes across with more soul than its studio counterpart, and Me An' Me Horse An' Me Rum is perhaps even more fun here. Mama Was Mad will appall feminists from any era (well, so will about half the stuff here). The two Family covers are interesting, and of the two, the reworking of My Friend the Sun is my favorite. Burlesque seems almost perfunctory here, but it's still a great song. I've listened to a number of live recordings by Family and two by Streetwalkers, and the quality of the sound on these is never quite as good as on other recordings from this era. But if you listen to the music for what it is, an aural snapshot of a very fine band blistering the stage, then you have to wonder why "Frampton Comes Alive" became the greatest selling live album ever while "Streetwalkers Live" languishes in relative obscurity."