Customer Reviews

Live / Backstage @ The Coffee Gallery

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

 

 

I will freely admit that I bought this more for James Lee Stanley than I did for former Monkee Peter Tork, but the two men have a good chemistry live. I picked this CD up after getting to see them play a duo show in Philadelphia. The real surprise here is that Tork is so willing to divorce himself from his past. There is only one Monkees song to be found in the Cd's hour-plus running time ("Pleasant Valley Sunday"). Instead, the songs are divided up into Stanley's fine solo compositions and a good many folk songs. Tork successfully takes on Pete Seeger and Robert Johnson here, and also covers Paul Simon's "One Trick Pony."

"Live/Backstage @ The Coffee Gallery" (Altadena CA, for the curious) is a true live recording. It includes the banter and the flubs that make any live show an experience. My recommendation is to see Stanley and Tork live, as they are an entertaining duo, but also to see Stanley should he play solo in your neck of the woods. (He also has another terrific duo album called "All Wood And Stones" that I highly recommend.)

What a great performance, I close my eyes and can actually put myself in the crowd and really enjoy the music. Both Peter and James are at the top of their game. The song choices were excellent and chit-chat in-between the songs make it that much more interesting.