Live at the Knite June 8th 1972

Flatlanders | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 29, 2004)
• Original Release Date: January 1, 2004
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: New West Records
• ASIN: B0002AZER2
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #100,624 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

RECORDED LIVE IN AUSTIN TEXAS 16 tracks from this elusive band recorded live in the One Knite bar in Austin, Texas, the tape of which has only recently been discovered and has now been made available for fans of the band to enjoy

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A perfect portrait of a real hard-country Texas bar band., July 9, 2004

By 

DJ Joe Sixpack (...in Middle America) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Live at the Knite June 8th 1972 (Audio CD)

What an amazing document of this legendary alt-country band, live in action during its faint, glimmering, short-lived first incarnation. These recordings were apparently made in front of an audience of less than a dozen people, the sum total of the patrons of a teensy Texas watering hole known as the Knite... You'd never know it was a near-empty room, though, from the intensity with which the threesome tackled each and every song. They were clearly a powerful, powerfully earnest band, covering oldies and adding new tunes to the hard country canon... These soundcheck recordings are remarkable for a variety of reasons... First off, songwriter Butch Hancock doesn't sing at all, while Jimmie Dale Gilmore was the main vocalist, surprising in itself, but made even more remarkable when you hear Joe Ely's vocals cut through on a couple of tunes -- Ely, the growling, grizzled road-warrior-to-be, singing with a high, youthful, almost nervous voice, singing beautifully, with a sincerity that matched the music. Although the studio album that came out of this group's first year was a bit on the reserved side, these live recordings are passionate and compelling: this is what a real 'billy band sounded like, back in the earliest days of the "outlaw" era. And it was mighty fine. Highly recommended!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Drab recording? DRAB recording?!!!! Harrrumph!!!!!, June 25, 2009

By 

Avocadess (Austin, TX United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Live at the Knite June 8th 1972 (Audio CD)

The Amazon.com reviewer who called this a drab recording must not appreciate REAL music. Maybe he likes the slick commercial stuff. Well, he has plenty of that to choose from. Those of us that like to hear people sing and play from their heart and talent WITHOUT screwing it up for some bar code rating find recordings like this few and far enough between!!

It's true that Jimmie was kind of the leader of the band back then -- and it IS amazing that Butch has NO lead songs on this CD. I'm a HUGE fan of Butch Hancock and I have at least 5 or 6 CDs of his solo work, so it does not bother me that he is not singing on this one, since I'm a fan of Jimmie's too. Joe Ely is great too, he has his own CDs aplenty now too, no problem.

I LOVE this CD. I'm slow to buy CDs so this is my first Flatlanders CD, even though I saw them play live June 2009. I SHALL get more, but hey, first things first, and this baby is not to be missed if you like "country rock." I think what I love MOST about this CD is that I can close my eyes and feel I am THERE at the nightclub back in 1972 -- and it is magic.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great show with bootleg sound, August 23, 2004

By 

Roger Jönsson (Lund, Sweden) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Live at the Knite June 8th 1972 (Audio CD)

This is a treaure, no doubt about it. For the fans, that is. If you've never heard the Flatlanders before, I would recomend that you start with their one and only studio recording (released as More A Legend Than A Band). The sound on this recording is closer to a bootleg than a professional live recording. It doesn't sound at all bad, considering the circumstances under which it was recorded. Jimmie Dale Gilmore's voice could cut through anything and he sounds great here, especially on the outstanding take on Townes van Zandt's classic Tecumsah Valley. Only three songs on this record appeared on their studio album, so if you like that one, this is a great follow-up.