Customer Reviews

Live

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

 

 

Rights to the Bears' wonderful intial two albums sit in some kind of legal limbo. To re-release some of the music to fans and capture the spirit of their live performances, they recorded this CD on their Bears re-union tour. The sound is true to the studio releases and the band does not explore much new ground. But the music remains enjoyable. The disk can be purchased at the bands' website and at concerts. People interested in a more thorough catalog should consider The Psyschodots or The Graveblankets, side projects of the Bears without Belew. Also interesting is Rob Fetters' solo CD Lefty Loosey Righty Tighty.

I doubt that the Bears would remember, but in 1988, I interviewed them in their hotel room in Santa Barbara while they were on tour. I was a college d.j. and was just hooked by their debut self-titled release (nearly impossible to find these days!). The fact that Adrian Belew is in the band speaks to a lot of people, as well it should. I'm a fan of his work from Bowie through Crimson. But Rob Fetters, Chris Arduser and Bob Nyswonger along with Belew are the tightest, most intelligent, most energetic pop outfit around. Belew and Fetters provide both brilliant guitar pyrotechnics and what I can only characterize as beautiful and uplifting harmonizing vocals, while Arduser and Nyswonger create a rhythm section that rivals any out there. The result is pure magic. I've seen the band 3 times live, all during the 1980's, but their new songs (from the album Car Caught Fire-check their website) are even more powerful, more mature and carry the same power pop orchestrated brilliance. Thier live shows were among the very best, most influential (to me) musical experiences I ever had. The Bears are in my top 10 favorite bands category. The thing is they still have all of that energy and all of that power today. This album captures that. Buy it. You won't be sorry.

If you are looking at this incredible music effort (and my review) to make a purchasing decision, I immediately surmise you have heard of and may be familiar with Adrian Belew.
For that reason only, I am comfortable to order you to buy this CD and make it an integral piece of your collection. This is a legitimate 6 star piece of work.