Search - Zebra :: Live

I like the CD, but it's not as good as seeing them live

Robert J. Schneider | Tacoma, WA USA | 04/13/2001

(3 out of 5 stars)

"As I mentioned in my review for their first album, Zebra gave a free concert (yes, FREE, believe it or not) at Queens College in May of 1987. I was a sophomore at the school then, and it totally made my year to see them, up close & personal, playing live before a standing-room only crowd. They played for an hour and a half, during most of which I was standing about 20 feet in front of the stage. I missed my last class of the day, and I totally didn't care. They played blistering versions of most of their songs, the ones I remember most fondly are "Who's Behind The Door?," "She's Making You The Fool," "Wait Until The Summer's Gone," "Better Not Call," "Bears," and of course their wonderful rendition of the Zep classic "The Ocean." With all due respect to Led Zeppelin, isn't it amazing that it takes just a 3-piece Zebra to do what a 4-piece Zep did? I think that, right there, speaks volumes about the talents of Randy Jackson, Felix Hanneman, and Guy Gelso.Why do I mention all this first? To illustrate my relative disappointment with this CD. First of all, I have heard them do better live versions of most of the songs on this CD. This CD should have actually captured them at their best. Second, the songs are good, but the sound quality of the CD sucks. I agree with the reviewer who said that the crowd noise was unnecessarily high. Also, I'm not just comparing the sound quality of this CD to that of the band playing 20 feet from my ears, but rather to other live CDs I own, many of which are older. This CD was released in 1990, so there's no excuse for the poor sound quality. Not to mention the fact that we really didn't need a TEN-minute version of "The La La Song," which I feel was a pretty lame track to begin with. Basically, if you are a big Zebra fan (ie. you already own at least 2 of their studio CDs), you should probably get this for the $9.97 it costs. But if you have heard just one or two songs and want to hear more, then I would just advise you to buy the studio CDs ("Zebra," "No Tellin' Lies," and "3.V")."

An underrated CD from an underrated band

bill carroll | NC | 01/05/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I first heard these guys and their amazingly unique sound in high school. Sure, they ape Zeppelin but they complement that band's territory more than anything. This CD is a great representation of their live show. "The Ocean" is an incredible example of their chops and Randy Jackson's stunning playing/singing coordination ability. Their own near-hits shine as well. My only beef is with the crowd noise ... it's obviously been "augmented" a bit. It sounds like the band is playing in Shea Stadium.Otherwise, I can list the one live Zebra show i saw in Hammond, LA in 1987 as my best concert ever, hands down. Randy, Felix and Guy are also three of the most gracious, kind and humble guys you'd ever want to meet. Check out a Zebra show if you ever get a chance, and BUY THIS CD in the meantime!"

Reminds me of _MY_ Lamour days.

Joe B | New York City, USA | 09/28/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I used to show up at Lamour hours early just to stand center stage for Zebra. They were so damn good back then.... There are only 2 things missing from this CD:1. Guy's classic "Hello Brooklyn" during ..Before.2. They did more zeppelin covers live.But it's a good snapshot of their live sound. It's worth picking up.PS, at one point Lamour's owners were considering opening up a new lamour in an old movie theater on Staten Island. I was psyched at the time becuase Zebra quite possibly could have been playing 5 minutes away from my house. Too bad it didn't work out. No SI Lamour ever happened & Zebra dissapeared for a while."