Live at Liberty Lunch [Live]

Joe Ely | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 27, 1990)
• Original Release Date: October 16, 1990
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Live
• Label: Mca
• ASIN: B000002OEW
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #63,000 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hands Down, The Best Live Rock 'n Roll Album Ever!!!, April 1, 2002

By 

the Digital Dinosaur "camkeller" (Roseville, California United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Live at Liberty Lunch (Audio CD)

Hard rocking honkytonk music of the highest order. Joe led the tightest 4-piece combo on the planet & had the smarts to employ the most evocative guitarist to come along since Duane Allman died (David Grissom). Then he gave him room to cut loose - solos, fills, & riffs straight out of Heaven! "Letter to L.A." alone is worth the price of the CD - seriously! "Row of Dominoes" & "Cool Rockin' Loretta" are too, for that matter. But although he lets Grissom shine, it's never to the detraction of the rest of the band. The solos are always riding the groove and interplaying with the other instruments, while always being built upon the melody & emotion of the song. There's something more than just playing music here-this band has achieved symbiosis.
Ely's bandleading skills cannot be underestimated at this point-under his direction, the band has a command of dynamics to rival Van Morrison's (you can't go higher than that!). Great songs, wonderful audience interaction, & a generous amount of playing time - over an hour - make for a complete CD package.
Be forewarned though, this is more of a headphones album - NOT background music. There's so much going on, it demands your attention or else you might not get the gist. But trust me, it's worth devoting your whole attention to.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars an excellent album!, February 20, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Live at Liberty Lunch (Audio CD)

_Live at Liberty Lunch_ is probably the best single Joe Ely album you could buy (although afterwards you will want more). The material on this album is uniformly excellent, and the fire of Joe Ely's live sets has been captured as well as could be reasonably expected (nothing beats being there yourself!) This album has the added bonus of being one of the finest examples of David Grissom's guitar playing around. Grissom covers the range from soaring solos on "BBQ and Foam" to raging crunchy excursions on "Cool Rockin' Loretta". Buy it!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Joe Ely's Greatest, and One of the Greatest Live Albums, March 4, 2011

By 

Old T.B. (Cheyenne, Wy USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Live at Liberty Lunch (Audio CD)

In 1990, I didn't know much about Joe Ely. I knew he wrote "Me and Billy the Kid." I heard Marty Stuart's cover of that song; frankly, I didn't get it. I worked in a record store at the time and was asked by the owner to take a promo copy of Live at Liberty Lunch home to determine if we should carry it. I couldn't imagine carrying it, I'm not a big live album fan, and I really didn't want to listen to it. One night, I was on the phone with a friend of mine. He was singing the praises of this Ely album. Respecting his musical tastes, I decided I'd better give it a fair shot.

I listened to it daily for two or three months.

Live at Liberty Lunch is a testament to the incredible live performer that is Joe Ely. The man never lets up. Every song is a keeper, even my least favorite track, the too-slow-and-too-long "Letter to L.A." Many of these live versions are definitive: "Me and Billy the Kid," "Are You Listening, Lucky?," "Dallas," "Musta Notta Gotta Lotta," "BBQ and Foam," "Row of Dominoes," "Cool Rockin' Loretta," and "She Gotta Get the Gettin'." Ely's take on David Halley's "Where is My Love" is stellar and poignant.

Live at Liberty Lunch led me to discover Ely's pre-1990 work, and to keep track of his work to this day. Get it; you will not be disappointed.