STYLE: Rock RATING OUR PRODUCT CODE: 158107-23134 LABEL: Goldenlane CLP2238 FORMAT: CD Album ITEMS: 1 EXTRAS: Bonus DVD
Reviewed by Ian Webber
With a history that goes back to the early 1990s, this group of friends, originally from Cincinnati, have released this live package. Known for their soulful rock stylings and Eliot Sloan's powerful vocals, this collection gives an excellent flavour of what this group are capable of. For a live recording the quality of the sound is top-drawer and tones are warm and smooth. Diehard fans will find impressive renditions of the hits "I Believe" and "Love Will Find A Way" with Eliot backed by a solid and professional band. The accomplished and unique jazz-influenced guitar style of Brian Lovely is a particular feature along with lyrics that reflect themes of love and friendship. Other highlights included in the package are the southern styled "Oh Virginia" with its catchy guitar hook and the heavy keys of the soulful "My Friend". The only problem with the recording is that it was slightly disjointed for a live performance and seemed to lack energy. When listened to as a whole, each track was separated from its neighbours with a quiet gap and very little crowd interaction came through. Having said this, the accompanying DVD with its quality production and multi-camera shooting made a better job of capturing the atmosphere of a BUOS gig. It also included an extra track not present on the audio CD. The live setting seems to have given the recording a slightly rawer edge than a polished studio performance, but I could not help feeling that all that was needed was more dynamics to raise the bar.
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