Great American Music Galaxy

Dave Alvin | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 1, 2000)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Yep Roc Records
• ASIN: B000BYRA4E
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #162,155 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Tidal Wave of High Energy Rock and Roll, August 15, 2006

By 

Kurt Harding "bon vivant" (Boerne TX) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Great American Music Galaxy (Audio CD)

As it was for another reviewer, Great American Music Galaxy kind of slipped between the cracks for me. Though I have purchased most other Dave Alvin CDs, for some reason I didn't remember that this had been issued until I was perusing the listings here for anything I might have missed. And had I not read the reviews and discovered that it was not a recording along the lines of Rod Stewart's smarmy Great American Songbook, I really would have been missing something great.

I am usually leery about live albums, oft-times they are issued just to generate some income and to keep an artist's name before the public while he/she struggles with something new. Additionally, the quality of a live concert recording is often far inferior to a studio recording. Not so with Great American Music Galaxy. On this CD, Alvin and his Guilty Men give their all. There is a generous dash of rockabilly, a dollop of country, and a taste of the blues but mostly there is a massive tidal wave of high-energy rock and roll.

I like the whole CD, but the standout song is an absolutely blistering delivery of the very dark Out of Control. What a song! After that, my favorite cuts are the hard-rocking Ashgrove and Alvin's sinister tale of misguided and obsessive love, Mary Brown.

If you have not heard Dave Alvin live, you are in for a treat here. Great American Music Galaxy is probably very different from what you might expect. I strongly recommend getting this while its still around.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Captures Alvin & The Guilty Men At Their Very Best, August 16, 2006

By 

Scott Raber (San Francisco, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Great American Music Galaxy (Audio CD)

I had the tremendous fortune of actually attending the Great American Music Hall performance that partly appears on this album. This disk captures the energy and excellent musicianship that Alvin and his band regularly bring to their live performances. For example, terrific songs from the "Ashgrove" album such as "Out of Control" are further elevated, while older songs from the Blasters, like "Trouble Bound," sound better than ever. My only regret is that it's not a double-set.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another great performance by Dave & the Guilty Men, September 25, 2006

By 

Kenneth French (Montclair, NJ) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Great American Music Galaxy (Audio CD)

Alvin's is a great songwriter and his stuff really cooks live. It had better, since this is his fourth live album in the last decade (sixth if you count the two Blasters reunion albums). It follows "Interstate City," "Out in California," and the web-only "Outtakes in California." Still, it is always a treat to hear dave open up his songs with searing guitar solos and first-rate backing by the Guilty Men.