Customer Reviews

16 Tons of Monkeys (Live)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Just like the liner notes say, "16 Tons Of Monkeys" was made for "the fun of it" and that is both a blessing and a curse for this disc. I gave it 5 stars as soon as I cranked "I Handle Snakes" up loud enough to get me evicted. Tonio is backed here by some of Austin's finest lounge lizards (Reese Winans on B-3 plus Bukka Allen on Piano? Sweeeeeet.)and despite the ad-hoc nature of the band, their sheer virtuosity yields moments of sublime genius. Guitarist Jerry Holmes pummels "Stop The Clock" and unloads a punishing flurry on the title track. Drummer Don Harvey and Bassist Scott Garber keep things going at a tidy pace, an amazing feat considering the mercurial nature of Tonio's music. My favorite part of the CD is when Tonio flubs the intro to "WhatA Way To Live." None of that Elvis 'stop the band and start over' stuff. Tonio just laughs and goes with it, a life lesson well learned.
The two additional studio tracks are superfluous, but not without some charm.

I found this a surprisingly strong set of songs covering songs from Ole, Romeo Unchained, and Notes from the Lost Civilization.

Recorded live in Austin, TX for KLOL radio sometime in the 1990's, and probably because of this, there's not a lot of talk between songs, but the songs are well-played.

I bought this CD so I would have Tonio K's complete discography as I like most of what he's done before. I'd have to say this is one of his strongest CD's. If you are new to his music and wanting to check him out, start with this one. If you're an older fan just not sure which era this is from in his music, as I stated, it's songs mostly from the three CD's I listed.

After the first two cuts, this CD tapers off. The lyrics aren't that great, and the band sounds a little generic.