Search - Savoy Brown :: Live in Central Park

Essence of Party Rock

mark | Campbell River, Cananda | 02/25/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I believe it was 1970 when Savoy Brown headlined a tripple bill tour including Fl;eetwood Mac and Long John Baldry. Long John Baldry opened the show with the now classic English style blues /rock, Fleetwood Mac put the audience to sleep and Savoy Brown blew the house away and demonstrated that rock can be fun. They were there for a party and everyone was welcome. I filled my youth attending the classic rock bands from the 60's and 70's and can not remember a band that appeared to have more fun on stage. As I update my music retrospect it is hard to find albums that capture not only the music but the experience. This album does both better than any live album I own. Let it Rock and Hip Shake are classic rockers streched to allow for the trademark long guitar and keyboard solos of the late 60's and these ones hold up today. Tell Moma covers their limited commercial success and The Saddest Feeling has grown to be one of my favorite blues stylings. The CD jacket says it all, voted best concert that year and references to their emphisis on making rock a party. This album should appeal to those who are seeking a slice of how good it could get in those early years of rock concerts and those with studio Savoy Brown albums that would like a sense of the onstage personna of the band. Rock lives on in this CD."

Park This CD in Your Collection!!

chris meesey Food Czar | The Colony, TX United States | 03/25/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

"AAARRRGGGHHH!!! I can't believe that in three years of doing Savoy Brown and other reviews here on Amazon that I haven't yet covered Live in Central Park. Well, better late than never, here we go. Voted the best concert of the year, and it's easy to see why. The band opens with one of their best and certainly one of their most underrated live cuts, "Let it Rock (Rock and Roll on the Radio)" from Street Corner Talkin'. Paul Raymond actually sings this cut, and since SB at this writing no longer features his wonderful keyboards and fine vocals, they no longer perform it live. Pity!!! Such a great song, wishing for the glory days of the 1950's when Stick McGee sang "Drinkin' Wine Spo-de-oh-dee," this number rocks the house down. (Sudden thought: Savoy Brown was HUGE in Detroit and Bob Seger was a Detroit native. Could this song have inspired him to write his classic "Old Time Rock and Roll?" Hmmmm!!!) The other cuts, most from Lions Share, are excellent; of course, "Tell Mama" is here, and it's nice to hear vocalist Dave Walker's take on the then-current Rolling Stones (and Slim Harpo) song, "Hip Shake" (aka. "Shake Your Hips.") Nice!!! Still it's hard to give this album too high a recommendation; like many live albums recorded before the mid-seventies, the sound quality is horrible, more so because it's recorded at an outdoor venue. Still, if you like everything that SB ever recorded (and I do), then you should park Live in Central Park in your CD collection at once, and boogie the night away!!!"