Customer Reviews

Anthology: The First 30 Years

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I am not a long-time fan of Marshall Tucker. I have never owned any of their previous albums. I only knew a few of their songs from listening to classic rock stations, such as "Can't You See", "Fire on the Mountain" and "I Heard it In a Love Song". I always wanted to buy their standard Greatest Hits album, but just never did. Lately I have been replacing aged, early release compact discs with newly "remastered" versions, which usually sound far superiour and contain bonus material. When I found out the Marshall Tucker Band's cataloge was being remastered, I knew a two-disc set would be forthcoming (just like the Eagles, Fleetwood Mac, etc.) It was worth the wait. I played the set while comuting to work the week I bought it. I really liked disc one. Lots of good songs that I have just discovered. I like long, progressive-type, "jamming" tunes. Marshall Tucker's got a few of them in here. The set does contain a little too much "country" for my tastes, but that's who they were: a "Country-Rock" band. Recommended for the casual fan or long-time listener, unless of course you want to go out and buy all their albums separetely. To answer another reviewer's question, there are no live tracks except for the bonus video of "Fire on the Mountain" playable on one's computer. I also think all the tracks are full-length, "album" cuts, no singles here. The Sound quality is excellent! Also includes a 22-page booklet of the Band's history, discography, and a family tree of musicians who have played in Marshall Tucker over the years.

The Marshall Tucker Band is perfect for a 2 disc career overview because save for the band's first two releases, its albums have been spotty, one or two very good songs with one or two toss-aways and three or four decent songs. It would seem that those in charge of such an anthology would have an easy time selecting the right songs, because at least half of the selections should be made without any question, and another quarter of the selections made with only the slightest hesitation.

Leaving 'This Ole Cowboy' off a Marshall Tucker Band anthology is like leaving 'Saturday Night Special' or 'That Smell' off a Lynyrd Skynyrd anthology. It is not the band's biggest 'hit,' but it certainly is among the handful of the band's greatest performances.

Nor is 'This Ole Cowboy' the only grating omission. 'Hillbilly Band' from the self-titled debut and 'Blue Ridge Mountain Sky' from the second album A New Life definitely belong. Another 4 or 5 songs from the early years probably belong on any MTB anthology.

At the risk of offending all you Southern Rock fans out there, MTB was, in my opinion, the BEST Country Rock band of the era. Their first three albums (Self-titled, A New Life and Where We All Belong) are the Holy Trinity of Southern Rock. If you want the best of MTB you can't go past these 3 albums then you can dip your toes into their other Capricorn albums at your leisure. The Capricorn albums are their best, especially those recorded before the death of co-founder and criminally under-rated bass player, Tommy Caldwell. The band blended elements of country, jazz and blues into their superb material, written in the main by Toy Caldwell, guitarist extrordinaire. Their biggest hit, "Heard It In A Love Song", is not one of their stongest numbers but it allowed them to keep on going for which we all must be grateful. This Anthology album is a fair representation of their work over a very long period of time and is the album to get if you wish to own just one album. It misses many of their better songs but has to include some of their longer jam tracks which cuts down the number of tunes one can squeeze onto a double CD. There are, in fact, quite a few glaring omissions. Their "Capricorn Years" Anthology is probably a better buy but it is currently out of print and even it has its faults; too many single/edited versions. This all means that there is still not a definitive MTB Anthology album out there. The perfect Anthology/Box Set would include most of their first 3 albums, a heaping of their best from the rest of the Capricorn material and a sampling of their later material. All this should be Remastered. Include a comprehensive booklet with all the original album artwork (superb) and a concert DVD which shows Toy Caldwell playing up a storm. This would be about a 4 disc set at less than $50 and would be a fitting tribute to one of the greatest bands of the last 30 years.

Have really enjoyed this CD. Brings back a lot of memories from the 70's. Those were the days when music was music. My 16 year old son even liked it.

This is a CD that a Marshall Tucker fan should buy for himself (herself? not too many)...and then buy another for a friend who is a fan too. Like most Tucker fans, I first listened to them on vinyl in the late 1970s. I was lucky enough to catch them perform at the Tower Theater in Philadelphia back in the early 1980s. That concert will forever rank among the top two or three concerts I have seen. The energy, cripsness, 20 minute jams, and unique sound were unforgettable. Marshall Tucker, along with the Allman Brothers and Outlaws, made up a hefty part of the soundtrack of my "formative" years. Their 1970s Greatest Hits album went out of print in recent years, so old and new fans were left to pay a king's ransom for used versions of the CD or search in vain for a suitable import compilation. (I bought a European version online and learned after-the-fact that it did not contain "24 Hours at a Time.")

Now, Tucker fans have a compilation that does credit to the band so many Americans embraced. "Anthology" contains most of the band's best material (tracks recorded prior to Tommy Caldwell's death and Toy Caldwell's departure from the band), some decent post-Caldwell tracks, tracks from the under-appreciated "Tenth" album (Cattle Drive), and a video version of "Fire on the Mountain." So, do not settle for paying $50 for a used-version of the 1989 Greatest Hits. Buy "Anthology" instead, put disk 1 in your (preferably American) car's cd player, get onto the nearest highway, go immediately to track 3, crank the volume, and... live.

... of record companies deliberately leaving at least one hit off of every compilation. I would love, just once, to review a CD and say "This has all the best songs and hits". 33 songs should cover all of MTBs best songs and hits but does not. To leave off This ole Cowboy is inexcusable. I'm not going to buy this AND another CD that has it, and spend $40 just to get all the songs I (and everyone) wants. In fact, they could fit all their hits onto one CD and sell it for $12 or so and it would be great! But alas, no, they have to do what every other company does and milk the fans. I'll wait until they get it right. Sorry...

To leave off "this ole cowboy" is inexcusable, or a gross mistake. Listen to that song, and you'll agree.

Half of this compilation is great. I've been listening to the first CD a lot lately. It has all the classics--"Take the Highway," "Can't You See" and "Heard It in a Love Song." Most of the tracks, however, are just as good as those. It shows Marshall Tucker was as good as any southern rock group of the 70s. The guitar work is great, and it's not easy to pull off flute in popular music, but the boys do it. The reason I give the collection 4 stars rather than five is because of disc two. It's merely okay. Some flashes of brilliance but not equal to the band's earlier cuts. That's to be expected: most bands didn't get out of the late 70s and 80s alive. Disc one: five stars. Disc two: three. A must buy if you like the band's work. Disc one is well worth it.

Agree with both the other reviews, but "Desert Skies" is the missing song that changed my mind. I will not be buying this either.

As the author of the Jefferson Airplane book "Take Me To A Circus Tent" and a former radio disc-jockey, I am often asked to write and or discuss various music supplies and recordings from the 60's and 70's.

Anthology: The First 30 Years saw release in February of 2005 and there were two instant comments that have become universal. First on the negative side is the glaring omission of "This Ol' Cowboy." It is inexplicable and the only flaw (Although a major one) in the thirty-three track package. The second on the very positive side is the universal pleasure of the rest of the tunes selected. Giving both the radio staples and album cuts, it is a great ride for the seasoned cowboy or novice.

The mixture of southern and country rock opens with the tremendous song "Take The Highway." The perfect blend of lyrical content and instrumentation is a great way to get the festivities going. The second song is strong enough on its own merits to make the purchase worth it if were the only track. "Can't You See" defines pain and heartbreak. It is not only the lyrics ("Gonna crawl inside a wall and die") but how they are delivered, with pure passion and intense sorrow. "Fire On The Mountain" defines the Marshall Tucker sound. "Heard It In A Love Song" for years was a radio staple. The blend of country with the southern rock mix was the perfect formula for the songs presentation. "Running Like The Wind" is one of the tunes that time seems to have forgotten but is rectified when the listener hears it and says "That is Marshall Tucker." "Going Down The Road Feeling Bad" has been covered 1,235,345 times, make it 1,235,346 if you add Marshall Tuckers wonderful interpretation. There is a true sincerity to how they deliver the finished product. "Face Down In The Blues" may be the overlooked gem on the CD. It goes outside the normal formula for the group and shows them tackling the blues. The end result is rather strong. "Texas On My Mind" which surprises many that it is penned by the band sounds similar to the timeless "Georgia On My Mind" and you'll be drawn to the strength of the song.

The only question that remains is can this ol' cowboy forgive one track that has been omitted from the Anthology?


Enjoy the music and be well,
Craig Fenton
Author of the Jefferson Airplane book "Take Me To A Circus Tent"