Customer Reviews

Live at La Paloma

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(Title of this review comes from a line by Randy on this album.) It's a Randy California produced live album and one of the last discs I needed to have a complete collection. I've been spoiled by all the posthumous live Spirit releases that ebb and flow. This was one of the last Randy releases and as long as you skim the top off, you get really good performance(s).

First off, I'll agree with Mick Skidmore (keeper of the Spirit flame and producer of lots of posthumous live Spirit recordings) in my dislike for the crowd noise. It's fake, fake, fake. Fading in and out between songs or brought up at critical moments, I'd rather hear the music and not the same whistles at the beginning and end of each track. Plus, it all has the same overpowering echo, even the songs not recorded at La Paloma, to make it all sound the same. Then there's overdubs. Lots of overdubs. This isn't so bad, Frank Zappa did it all the time in the 70's. Plus, considering the bass parts are played with keyboards, the fattening of sound is welcome. The important thing is, it's overdubs done by Randy himself, so that's a plus.

The songs on this disc are quite a mix. There is some good "first four" Spirit tunes but the acoustic "Give A Life Take A Life" is very good. I'd never heard "Sadana" before, a plus. A few solo things and later creations make a decent showing. The "La Paloma Jam-Electro Jam" is always a personal favorite. Maybe "Like A Rolling Stone" is my least favorite on here, but I'm spoiled by "Spirit Of '76" and other live versions of that song that Randy did.

All in all, if you're deep into Spirit, this is a good addition. Casual fans may want to get "Live From The Timecoast" or even "The Last Euro Tour" if starting out. (Rockpalast is also great if flawed by the mixing issues.) Because it was Randy's WERC CREW label, he released what he felt was great performances and I'll have to agree.