Customer Reviews

Beat the Bootleggers: Live

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

 

 

Made in USA in 1999, Serial# GCD-785-2, Playing Time 48:38

Yep, me again... and yes, that's another version of CHICAGO's "Toronto Rock & Roll Revival 1969" CD. I'm constantly amazed as to how many times this thing is on the marketplace.

As usual, "Beginnings" is in fact "Introduction". The recording quality is below average, but the performances are adequate, considering how "young" the band was at this stage, with only 1 album under their belt.

I've lost count of the various editions of this disc. If you own ANY of their live albums besides "At Carnegie Hall", "Live In Japan" and "Chicago 26", remember that you already have this, in some form or another...

This CD should be avoided at all costs. It has been out in various forms, such as Live `69, Live in Toronto, Chicago Live, etc...., and it is an embarrasment to the Group. This is a soundboard recording of the group at the Toronto Rock Festival in 1969, and the sound quality is horrid. The group had absolutely nothing to do with it`s release so the banner on the cover is funny because this is nothing more than a bad bootleg. I would only imagine a compleatist would want this sorry CD.

These 7 songs are pretty cool to listen to if you think of the historical aspect behind it. The opening is pretty cool....they introduce the band as "the group that said they wouldn't play". I'm not sure when the concert was recorded but there are three songs, for me, that make it all worth it. The only reason why I gave this only three stars is because of the quality....I don't know if it was cut directly from an old record or just recorded wrong, but besides that, the songs are interesting to listen to. Heck, for [the money] you can't really go wrong.

So-so quality budget release from the folks at Griffin Music. Actually, the tunes on this cheap-o CD isn't all that bad. Completists, die-hards as well as archivists are likely to get more out of this disc than the average fan. I sort of liked checking out these early live versions of "Beginnings", their Spencer Davis Group cover "I'm A Man" {must admit Chicago plays it a bit different than everyone else}, "25 Or 6 To 4" and the sixteen-minute "Liberation". After two - maybe three plays, it gets old.