Customer Reviews

Live in San Francisco 1979

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

There's only one way to describe this album--awesome. In 1979, Graham Parker was at the peak of his powers--a top selling album with Squeezing Out Sparks, and several tours into his association with the Rumour, one of the best live bands of the 70s. This show from San Francisco hits all the great moments from the aforementioned album, as well as tunes from previous albums, and each and every one of them sounds better in this iteration than they did in the studio.

Bob Andrew's keyboards lend piano flourishes to songs such as "Discovering Japan" and "Back to Schooldays," which adds a new texture to songs that were already great on record. Brinsley Schwartz is at his best, his lead guitar weaving in and out of each song, bringing something new to it while still serving the song. Bodnar and Goulding keep things pinned down nicely, and Martin Belmont's second guitar provides the perfect backing for Brinsley to do his thing.

And then there's Parker himself. His songs, always urgent, gain even more immediacy in this setting...every song seems to be a matter of life and death to Parker at this point, and his vocals show that without becoming histrionic at any point. From sharp to soft to full throated, you'll never hear Parker sing better than this.

This album is electric in all the right ways. The few bits of stage patter that are included here sound a little bit forced, but that just adds to the tension. Compared to the easy banter of his excellent 1988 acoustic tour documented on Live! Alone in America, Parker here sounds like someone who wants nothing more than to get back to sharing the music. And that's a very good thing here.

For those of you who are fortunate enough to already have 'Live Sparks,' the promo album included on the first 'Squeezing Out Sparks' remaster 13 years ago, and are therefore waffling about this one (same tour, after all), this is completely worth it. To have a full show from that era, and not just live versions of the 'Sparks' songs makes this into a must-buy.

Parker's always been good, often great, but rarely better than here. Get excited.

The is a great sounding live recording of Graham Parker and The Rumour during the best time of their career together. I was lucky enough to see them twice during this tour in 1979, once at the Spectrum (opening for Cheap Trick), and later that summer as headliners at the Shubert Theater in Philadelphia. This CD brings back great memories of those smokin' hot shows. If you love GP, you will love this complete show. Includes a spirited Mercury Poisioning, and ode to their former label.

I'm not sure what the other reviewer is listening to but this is "Perfect Parker." The sound of this album is as good as you'd ever want for a live recording. There is no hiss - it has great bottom and punchy mids. Unless he's listening at a volume too loud for humans to bear, he must have a hearing problem. And I should know since I mastered this recording! If you want to listen to full 2 minute samples just go to ItsAboutMusic-com. If you're a real fan of this band then you will not want to be without this recording.

First I would like to thank Dean for Dean & [...] for resurrecting this recording. I was fortunate enough to see Parker and team during this period and have tried to collect everything recorded ... from Live at the Marble Arch (wonderful) to the Live on the Test (not so much), and several others. IMHO, this does the best job of capturing one of the truly electrifying groups of the period. Graham Parker's songs are probably best experienced on his studio recordings, but the Rumour needs to be heard live. Always grounded by an incredibly tight rhythm section, I always loved the guitar interplay between Brinsley Schwartz and Martin Belmont. However, I must admit that on this recording Bob Andrews keyboards really shine.

If you have any interest in GP & the Rumour, you need to snatch this one up. The sound and mastering is just fine. However, heed GP's warning that like their live shows during that period it captures them at breakneck speed, "in our usual rocket launch mode." Finding this recording has been a real joy and brings back a lot of very pleasant memories.

A tremendous show by Graham Parker and the Rumour at their peak, this comes from a live broadcast on KSAN-FM, from The Old Waldorf in San Francisco. I was lucky enough to be there (I was a KSAN dj at the time) -- and I can testify that this recording captures the spark, the passion, and the heat treatment at its very hottest.

I'd love to know how this show ended up on disc and MP3 -- many other KSAN shows by many artists have been bootlegged, some from listener recordings off the radio, others from master tapes, but few with the sound and impact of this one. Is this an "official" release, cleared by the artist and rights owners? Whatever the answers are, the results are spectacular. A must for GP fans!

This live album contains some of the best songs written during the first part of Graham Parker's career.

It is simply a concentrate of creativity and energy where Parker is fully supported by the Rumors, a fantastic rock band considered the second English band after the fabulous Rolling Stones.

This music belong to any R&R fan and any R&R fan should have this album on his archive. ABSOLUTELY NOT TO BE MISSED !!!!

just finished playing this through and my reaction is: OMG WHERE HAS THIS BEEN FOR THE LAST 30 YEARS AND WHAT ELSE HAVE YOU GOT IN THE VAULT!!!!! GP & THE RUMOUR RULE!!!!

now for some lower case thoughts: what a recording. the sound quality is just awesome for a live record from 1979. you hear every word, every syllable of GP's great songs. the band is in top form. it's worth the price of admission just to hear the white hot version of "Heat Treatment" and the incendiary "Don't Ask Me Questions" with Brinsley Schwarz's piercing guitar solos. (amusingly, the liner notes misspell Brinsley's last name, adding a "t") I had to play those tracks a couple extra times, they're so great, and it's not like I haven't played the originals more times than I can possibly count.

there isn't a weak track to be found. I haven't listened to Squeezing Out Sparks in a long time, but this brings it back to life in all its glory and then some. GP himself hasn't mellowed -- I heard him play Heat Treatment at a solo acoustic show at Joe's Pub in NYC (at the Public Theater) within the last year. but oh what a band were the Rumour. Back when rock 'n roll mattered.

If you're a GP and the Rumour fan you must have this disc.

I have a number of Graham Parker's live CDs. This one with the Rumour is solid material (though I prefer his pre-Squeezing Out Sparks material).

Be aware, however, that ths is a hissy recording; sounds like it was either MP3-sourced or from a highly compressed master.