Customer Reviews

Live in Japan

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

 

 

This one was first released as " Hot Tuna Live at Stove's " a few years back. This is the expanded ( 4 extra tracks ) and remastered edition and it's one of the very best CD's of live Tuna available right now.

It was recorded in Yokahama, Japan at a tiny club called Stove's that on a normal night has a about 2 dozen people soaking up it's funky hippie chic ( Back in the nineties when I was stationed in Japan, I stopped by this cool watering hole more than once ). It must have blown more than a few minds to see Tuna in this this little place !

Tuna was on tour in Japan in January of 1997 and when they got to Stove's the band found the venue was packed and they had to climb throught a window behind the stage to get their gear and bodies into this place. With no room to set up the amps & drums Electric Hot Tuna quickly became Acoustic Hot Tuna for this very special night.

Things begin here with " Walkin' Blues" and the band is having a good time with Pete Sears playing funky piano lines like nobody's business. Second up " Parchman Farm " is a welcome addition to this CD and it's just as good as the one on the " Live at Sweetwater " release, "Been so Long " is a rarity in the acoustic format and the band sounds very relaxed on this one ( very cool ).

You get very good readings of " Uncle Sam " and " Vampire Woman " then comes the highlight of the night as the band erupts into " Follow The Drinking Gourd " this rarity is done real jazzy and Jorma gives it his all... Fantastic playing here, this one is really special. "Keep Your Lamps Trimmed & Burning " is next and sounds so different as an acoustic piece without the fuzzy electric guitars it's like a brand new number...great and really different from earlier versions.

This version of " Let Us Get Together " gets a "Bayou" treatment with wonderful Accordian from Pete, and the J. Airplane song " 3rd Week In The Chelsea " is a stunner, best version that I have heard of this classic by far. To finish things up you get "San Francisco Bay Blues", "Folsom Prison" (yep, THAT Folsom Prison!) and "Mann's Fate" the great instrumental that has closed many a Tuna and Jorma Concert.

If you like Tuna, you should own this one and if you are new to the band this would be a fine place to start. Sound quality is 5 Star and the band's performance is as Spinal Tap would say an 11.

This a GREAT Disk, and at 74 minutes a great value.. BUY IT !!!

Culled from a 1997 concert, the acoustic format is intimate yet versatile, featuring Jorma in good voice and the band providing tight backing and some musically satisfying highlights. Typical of Hot Tuna, there is an eclectic mix of traditional blues, Tuna originals, and Rev. Gary Davis covers. The inclusion of the Jefferson Airplane song "Third Week in the Chelsea", the rarely recorded "Been So Long", and the instrumental "Mann's Fate" (which appeared on Hot Tuna's first recording) are pleasant surprises and make this an essential example of later period Hot Tuna.

This is an incredible album. It is real bluesy with a definite vibe to it. I have all of the Hot Tuna recordings and this is posibly the best. They seem to get better with age.

I had the previous edition of this and I always liked the sound but the show seemed to lack flow, with a couple of lackluster versions killing a nice cohesive listen. Hesitation Blues, which simply did not open the disc the way it did on their debut has been removed, making the, originally subsequent, tight as hell Walking Blues the new opener. The Keep on Trucking closer was removed, how do you top Mann's Fate, anyway ? You don't. Instrumental newcomer Follow the Drinking Gourd and a crisp Keep Your Lamps Trimmed and Burning replace a bloated Candyman round 'bout mid-set. Rounding out this improved version are relative rarities Parchman Farm and Folsom Prison. They just add to a much more cohesive, listenable, sequence of events on a night when the fellas were feeling the spirit.

If you don't know Jorma, you don't know Jack !

I really enjoy this CD. The guys are on! 15 great songs, some hard to find elsewhere. There isn't a weak moment anywhere in this set. You get the gorgeous Airplane ballad "3rd Week at the Chelsea," Hot Tuna classics like "Vampire Woman" and Mann's Fate," and great blues staples like "Walkin' Blues," "Parchman Farm," "San Francisco Bay Blues," and so many more. There are tons of great vehicles for Jorma's masterful picking and shredding. This is one of the best live recordings of this Hot Tuna Electric era. Definitely a good purchase!