Search - John McEuen, L.A. String Wizards :: Round Trip: Live in L.A. (Exp)

Bridget S. (Vassar) from PLYMOUTH, IN
Reviewed on 4/3/2010...

very good live album!
John tells stories, and plays guitar. mandolin, and banjo on here.
And the song selection is great!

John's great talent, great music: Go along for the ride!

L. Eggert | Cleveland, OH | 09/27/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"My favorite yet.... Round Trip is a great LIVE showcase for John's unique instrumental talents, and great sense of humor.... McEuen fans: you will not be disappointed. John is backed up by a "fine group of pickers", offers many, many favorites, and then I was surprised with four brand new bonus tracks, too.... Almost forgot: his son Jonathan is featured on guitar and vocals, too.... Don't miss out..."

John and his musical buds had a real nice flight in L.A.

J. Ross | Roseburg, OR USA | 01/02/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Playing Time- 63:14 -- From Orange County, Ca., John was a founding member of The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band that produced nearly 30 albums during a 39-year span. When they were first forming, John called them to back him up at the 1966 Topanga Canyon Banjo Contest (that he won). McEuen had actually begun his show-business career at age 16 with comedian Steve Martin doing magic tricks at Disneyland, and John taught Steve how to play the banjo during that time. In 1987, John left the NGDB to spend more time with his family and to pursue other career opportunities. His son (Jonathan) plays a prominent role on this album, contributing guitar and vocals.



John has made numerous appearances on "The Tonight Show" with Johnny Carson and "Nashville Now" (TNN) which he has also hosted. He wrote the score for one feature film--"The Man Outside" with Levon Helm, as well as several NBC-TV specials. In 1989, John produced a full-length documentary on the original Dillards called "A Night in the Ozarks." In 1994, he won "Best Traditional Western Album" (for "The Wild West") at the Western Heritage Awards Show in Oklahoma City. That same year, he wrote and produced the music for "The Good Old Boys", a TV movie starring Tommy Lee Jones and Sissy Spacek. In 1996, John wrote his autobiography, titled The Dirt Road. In 2001, McEuen re-joined the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band to tour and record again. One of their big hits, "Mr. Bojangles," is offered here. Some bonus tracks include fiddler Vassar Clements on "I'll Be Glad When They Run Outta Gas," and guitarist/vocalist Matt Cartsonis on "The Ballad of Floyd Collins." John's "Goodtime Suite" is a 7-minute solo banjo instrumental that evokes various moods with melodic refrains of "Red Wing," "John Henry," and other favorites.



His liner notes for this CD acknowledge that it was time to complete a circle in the journey and to touch down on "home turf." Recorde live in Pasadena and Santa Monica, "Round Trip" demonstrates his skill as an instrumentalist (guitar, mandolin, banjo) and vocalist in various configurations with the other musicians - Jonathan McEuen (guitar, vocals), Phil Salazar (fiddle), Randy Tico (bass), Tom Corbett (mandolin), Jesse Seinbenerg (percussion), Bryan Savage (sax). He has an eclectic approach to music, playing whatever moves him and his audience. John McEuen once told me, "My future personal goal is to take the banjo and bluegrass into places not normally seen." In this set, he provides country, bluegrass, folk, blues, classic jazz/swing, gospel and instrumentals. Prince's "Kiss" elicited one of the greatest crowd responses, but I certainly enjoyed hearing his Travis-style picking on tunes like "Cannonball Rag" that he introduces with one of his wry-witted stories about visiting Merle Travis before the famous 1972 "Will The Circle Be Unbroken" session. Phil Salazar and Tom Corbett really tear up "Swing To Bop." In the live show, a number of originals are attributed to John including "Clementi," "L.A. Devil's Dream," "Night Flight," "Gate Change." Recording into a Nagra 4-track, this album captures the energy of the moment along with audience response.



Sounds like John and his friends had a real nice flight on "Round Trip - Live in L.A." They took off without any delays, soared above the clouds, encountered minimal turbulence, and touched down on solid ground right on schedule. John, the travelin' man he is, covered a lot of territory on the adventurous journey. (Joe Ross, staff writer, Bluegrass Now)

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