Customer Reviews

Bottom Line Encore Collection

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

 

 

TOO LOUD AND TOO MUDDY OF A RECORDING. THIS IS NOT WHAT I CONSIDER VINTAGE SAVOY BROWN. A GOOD EXAMPLE OF A RECORD COMPANY RETRIEVING OLD TAPES FOR RE-ISSUE, THAT WEREN'T GOOD ENOUGH EVEN BACK THEN TO BE RELEASED.RECORD COMPANIES SHOULD STOP BEING SO MONEY HUNGRY. THERE ARE PLENTY OF OTHER QUALITY SAVOY CD'S TOO CHOOSE FROM.

This cd Features the lineup of Ralph Morman,Barry Paul,
Keith Boyce,John Humphrey, and of course let us not fail to
mention Kim Simmonds who without him there would not be a Savoy Brown.one of my favorite tracks from this cd is
(When The Cats Away)the way Ralph sings this one has a personal meaning to me.The instrumentation that is put forth is great. I don't believe that there is any Savoy Brown stuff out there that isn't any good.and thats another thing that Kim always made sure of, and that is the sound.he always had the best of the best behind it.Believe me opinions are what matters and in my opinion this cd is a five star two thumbs up piece of work.*****
and thats THE BOTTOM LINE.

I don't know what everybody is complaining about. It's a LIVE recording, people -- get a clue! Sure, the sound quality on this isn't audiofile/gold disc quality, but who would expect that? It certainly meets the quality standards for an official cd release, and this show is awesome!!! The set list is solid rock from beginning to end. The only song I would change is "Tell Mama" -- how many times do we have to hear this tired old number? The rest of the set sounds very fresh and energetic, though, and the performances are fantastic! (Mormon's voice sounds a little different from how he sounds in the studio, but he still sounds very good and is definitely not "off" in any way that I could notice.) I am very happy that I found this.

Having never listened to Savoy Brown before but being a fan of slide guitar blues and the offspring of Savoy Brown, Foghat, I thought I'd give this a listen. I downloaded a FLAC version of the album from another site, converted it to wav format, and burned it to a CD.

First, I don't understand why people are saying this is a muddy recording. I think it sounds quite good - nice separation between channels, very "airy" sound of a live performance. It is definitely a loud recording, but it is very listenable for me. They say that "loud" recordings compress the dynamic range of the music and for some albums that could be a problem, but this isn't exactly really subtle music and I don't find it does any damage to this recording.

The lead singer does indeed sound like he's hoarse or has a gravel voice, but you get used to it after awhile. He doesn't have the smooth voice of Dave Peverett, but oh well.

I really like the slide guitar scattered about the album. The songs with a fair amount of slide guitar are the ones I like the best. Those that are missing the slide guitar, to me, really don't stand out in any way. They seem more like filler.

One oddity I noticed listening to this CD is that on the last three or so tracks, at the end of each track, I can hear a repetitive sound that sounds just like an LP playing over a scratch. It even has the right timing (if you've ever heard a scratch on an LP go around and around, you'll know what I'm talking about). Very strange. It almost make me wonder, as crazy and bizarre as it sounds, if it was re-"mastered" from an LP instead of the original master tapes, and then re-mixed for CD.

The other thing that is odd is that part way through one of the last songs, the stereo image seems to get really weird in the middle of the song and then it seems almost to reverse itself - what was in the right channel seems to have moved to the left channel, and vice-versa. I've only listened to this one, so maybe it's just something weird about how they had the band miked. It was a little unnerving at first, and then it settled down again.

All in all, I think it's a fun album. I can't really compare to other Savoy Brown albums, never having heard any of them, but standing on it's own it's pretty enjoyable. It's not going to win any awards for "best" anything, but I enjoyed it and that's all I really care about.

Savoy Brown's 1981 lineup, the one that featured Kim Simmonds, Ralph Mormon, Barry Paul, John Humphrey, and Keith Boyce and tons of hair, was the headbangenest, hardest rocking lineup ever. Rock And Roll Warriors was this band's one and only studio offering, and it kicked like a mule on steroids for some 40 minutes of pure power chords. This Bottom Line Encore Live album was recorded the same year and features the same lineup blasting out an audience at the famed NYC club. All the cuts from Warriors are great, with "Cold Hearted Woman" and "Nobody's Perfect" hammering the heavy metal beat like a sledge. "When the Cat's Away" and "Shot Down by Love" are the best numbers on the set; Kim Simmonds guitar work and John Humprey's stellar bass lines are amazing! Great licks!!! Unfortunately, singer Ralph Mormon sounds hoarse throughout the set, and the lead-in jam on "Tell Mama" is totally unnecessary. And yet, as always, there is plenty of excitement to be had on this album, so you should at least give it a listen or two. This CD proves that while nobody's perfect, Savoy Brown came awfully close many, many times!

If you like the same stuff you have heard over and over before, buy this one, hopefully from me. The long blues jam by Kim Simmonds on "Tell Mama" helps this one go down a little easier. Keith Boyce, the drummer du jour, plays well. For a live recording, Ralph Morman unfortunately sang like he couldn't wait to get his paycheck. The rest of the ensemble played their parts like supporting players waiting for Kim to carry them home. Probably the most disappointing part was that Simmonds didn't seem like he knew if they wanted to be a blues band, metal or boogie, so it came out as blootal. When I saw Savoy in the early 80's they were a power trio that weaved various moods of the blues through the set. Kim did the singing and took charge. On this one Ralph took over and Kim played. I'm afraid the band has seen its best days.

it is a pretty good cd,it does'nt compare to most savoy brown,but you can get it pretty cheap,usually in bargain bins,if you are a fan of old savoy(the great years)maybe pass it up,but really it is not that bad.