Customer Reviews

Live at Liberty Lunch

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

_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!

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.

Joe Ely's live shows during the late 80's through the 90's are somewhat of a legend. If you were lucky enough to catch him live during that time, you know what I mean. Blistering and intense, a how-to on kickin' a** live. I was lucky enough, and I have seen many shows before and since (from the Stones to Willie and all in between) and NOTHING compares to Joe Ely. This album captures that energy like few live albums ever do. This is Texas Roadhouse Rock at its finest. From country to americana to staight up rock, and ROCK IT DOES!!!!!! 'Cool Rockin Loretta' (a Texas favorite), 'She's Gotta Get To Gettin', 'Are you Listen, Lucky?', are much better live than they were on any studio recording. My favorites are BBQ and Foam, Row Of Dominoes, and Letter to LA. There is just something about this album that defies any genre or style. YOU WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED, GUARANTEED!!!!

Joe Ely, unfortunately, is a relatively well-kept secret of the Lone Star State. He is one of the rare individuals who can flat-out rock and maintain the integrity and intelligence of a good song at the same time. However, like fellow Texas legend Jerry Jeff Walker, Ely's greatest moments (which are on par with any artist's greatest moments) are sometimes bookended by filler that doesn't truly represent his true talent. This CD is an example; you get doses of Ely's songwriting wit ("Me & Billy the Kid"), his rock abandon ("Are You Listenin' Lucky") and his soulful singing ("BBQ & Foam"), but sometimes have to wade through endless Dave Grissom guitar solos on slop like "Cool Rockin' Loretta" and "LA Blues". Hell yea it's worth it, but Ely's CDs Honky Tonk Masquerade, Love And Danger, and Letter to Laredo give you infinitely more bang for your buck.

No hype, no string of adjectives, just a straight forward 'Buy this CD' , listen and love it.

This live album returned Joe Ely in fine style to MCA after a six year absence from the label which saw him record two albums for the Hightone label. As a result, Joe Ely and band were not promoting a new album. His last for Hightone was Dig All Night in 1988 and only "Grandfather Blues" comes from that album. He does, however, include four tracks from 1987's Lord of the Highway, including a powerful solo acoustic rendition of "Me and Billy the Kid" and a scorching version of "Are You Listening Lucky?"

To date, Ely has released three live albums, and they all are super-charged affairs. On this album recorded in Austin, Ely touches bases with all of his albums except Honky Tonk Masquerade and offers two new songs: the tear-jerking "Where Is My Love" and the hard-driving original "Drivin' To the Poorhouse in a Limousine." Ely's stripped-down band features Jimmy Petit on bass, Davis McLarty on drums, and David Grissom--certainly the most rock-oriented of Ely's lead guitarists over the years and a gifted artist in his own right.

The energy on this live set is something that Ely has never fully captured on a studio album. This is the next best thing to actually being there. RECOMMENDED

This is THE album to have if you want to hear Joe Ely at his best. Joe lets you relax with your favorite beverage and listen to some honky tonk testimonials about love & life..or...tap that foot or cut that rug with some rockin' good tunes.
You'll hear some blistering guitar solos that will have you checking the band roster to see "who is that?...
My personal opinion..this is the album to share if you want to introduce someone to Joe's music.

I was surprised to see this hasn't been reviewed yet. This is a remarkable set. It rocks all the way through. Recorded way back in April, 1989, the sound is fine and the playing is great, spectacular in spots. The high point for me is "Letter to L.A.", but the thing is excellent all the way through. Special mention for David Grissom's guitar pyrotechnics. Remember, when in doubt, turn it up.

This is a great album, much less an awesome live album. the recording and production quality is excellent, which is my biggest gripe with live releases.

Joe is a Texas Institution. One reviewer wrote the south's Bruce Springsteen. I agree in many ways, but Joe needs no comparison - he was jammin honky tonks when E Street was released. I much prefer Joe to Bruce, although I'm not knocking Bruce.

A great singer/songwriter who pays homage to his contemporaries such as the excellent duet on this CD with Butch Hancock. He does awesome renditions of other Texas musicians Jimmy Dale Gilmore (Saturday Night) and Rober Earl Keen (The Road Goes on Forever) on other albums as well.

This album was recorded with David Grissom on lead guitar. David Grissom was a young Austin guitar protege when he started playing with Ely. Ely produced Will Sexton's album "Will and the Kill" where Grissom was playing lead guitar (check it out too).

Live at Liberty Lunch is worth buying if only for Grissom's excellent second lead in Letter to L.A. that is not on the Lord of the Highway version. If you like the guitar work here also check out Storyville.

I have seen both these guys on stage together and apart. Grissom and Ely onstage together is better than the sum of the parts. I highly recommend this album to anyone who enjoys straight up guitar jams with excellent songwriting.