Search - Dave Alvin :: Great American Music Galaxy

A Tidal Wave of High Energy Rock and Roll

Kurt Harding | Boerne TX | 08/15/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"As it was for another reviewer, Great American Music Galaxy kind of slipped between the cracks for me. Though I have purchased most other Dave Alvin CDs, for some reason I didn't remember that this had been issued until I was perusing the listings here for anything I might have missed. And had I not read the reviews and discovered that it was not a recording along the lines of Rod Stewart's smarmy Great American Songbook, I really would have been missing something great.

I am usually leery about live albums, oft-times they are issued just to generate some income and to keep an artist's name before the public while he/she struggles with something new. Additionally, the quality of a live concert recording is often far inferior to a studio recording. Not so with Great American Music Galaxy. On this CD, Alvin and his Guilty Men give their all. There is a generous dash of rockabilly, a dollop of country, and a taste of the blues but mostly there is a massive tidal wave of high-energy rock and roll.

I like the whole CD, but the standout song is an absolutely blistering delivery of the very dark Out of Control. What a song! After that, my favorite cuts are the hard-rocking Ashgrove and Alvin's sinister tale of misguided and obsessive love, Mary Brown.

If you have not heard Dave Alvin live, you are in for a treat here. Great American Music Galaxy is probably very different from what you might expect. I strongly recommend getting this while its still around."

Another great performance by Dave & the Guilty Men

Kenneth French | Montclair, NJ | 09/25/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Alvin's is a great songwriter and his stuff really cooks live. It had better, since this is his fourth live album in the last decade (sixth if you count the two Blasters reunion albums). It follows "Interstate City," "Out in California," and the web-only "Outtakes in California." Still, it is always a treat to hear dave open up his songs with searing guitar solos and first-rate backing by the Guilty Men."

Keeps getting better!

MPQ | San Diego, Ca. United States | 07/17/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This one just kind of slipped through the cracks. I haven't seen it at any major Cd stores. I bought it at a swap meet without hearing it but based slowly on Alvin's reputation. Geez, it really cooks from the beginning to the end. One great song after another, and the band chugging along with Alvin. If you like rock and roll and good old American roots music, you'll love this CD. Alvin is getting better as he getrs older."