Search - Junior Brown :: Live at the Continental Club: Austin Experience

A Shot of Musical Viagra

Kurt Harding | Boerne TX | 10/19/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"What can you say to a CD like this? I have seen Junior Brown at the Continental Club many, many times over the years and each time I do, his outrageously spirited play reignites my enthusiasm for his music. But never more so than now with the issue of Live at the Continental Club.

Old-time Junior Brown fans have been dismayed over the past several years as Brown seemed to lose his knack for originality, authenticity, and wry humor that had brought him legions of fans. Instead, it seemed almost as if he was settling into a formulaic routine: a dash of country here, a shot of rock and roll there, and a dollop of cornpone and blues to finish it off. Oh, yeah, he was still good, but the old magic seemed to be fading and his recordings became almost predictable. But then along came this live CD and it seemed like just the shot of musical viagra that Brown needed to make his music exciting again!

You have never really experienced Junior Brown until you've seen him live, and this CD is about as close to a live show as possible. Most of the songs on the CD are old hat to long-time fans but they really come alive here. Brown seems inspired as he launches a guit-steel attack that will leave the listener wanting to hear the CD over and over again.

My favorites are: Broke Down South Of Dallas, the humorous Party Lights, the Tex-Mex burner Juan Charasquado featuring accordion legend Flaco Jimenez, the hilarious Highway Patrol, the equally funny debut of Lifeguard Larry, a spellbinding rendition of Long Walk Back to San Antone, and portions of the Rock and Roll Guitar Medley, particularly Brown's take on Apache. His fretwork is often spectacular. Only occasional musical muddiness which can probably be attributed to the engineer or the recording equipment, and some missed lyrics knock a star off the rating.

If you are one of those who had kind of given up on Brown recently, its time to come back and hear this. This is an Austin Experience you won't soon forget."

Yee-Ha!

D. Allen | McKinney Texas | 12/28/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This CD didn't disappoint me - it's great music and it's a lot of fun to listen to. I've only had it a few days, but I think this is going to become my favorite Junior CD.



The sound quality is stellar too. It was recorded directly to DSD at the Continental Club, and I must say that it's the best live recording I've ever heard. Just what you'd expect from the folks at Telarc."

Better to see him live than to listen to this live disc.....

R. Wagner | Irmo, SC United States | 07/25/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I have seen Junior Brown live a few times and I am always amazed at his guitar prowess, however I am very disappointed in this particular release:



1-First of all its only 52 min. long. A cd has about approximately 79 minutes of available space, and with Junior's songs being relatively short, there could have been 25 minutes more music on here.



2-The set list isn't the best.....there are MANY definitive Junior tracks which don't show up here at all.



3-Aside from the last track (Rock and Roll Guitar Medley) the performance here is rather lifeless, the singing sounds tired and strictly by the numbers....no flash, electricity or energy Junior usually provides in his LIVE shows...on this, he tends to simply 'phone it in'.



I really love Junior Brown and his music/guitar abilities, but this disc doesn't not reflect his ability as a performer, just that of a guitar picker."