Live at Perkins Palace

Banyan | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 19, 2004)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sanctuary Records
• ASIN: B00049QJZC
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #110,309 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars if this album was clothing it'd be underwear...that shrank., February 26, 2006

By 

Stargrazer "the lost mixtape of my life" (deep in the heart of Michigan) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Live at Perkins Palace (Audio CD)

The self-titled debut bore incredible promise amongst its spiky edits and cascading samples...which is what made the follow-up "Anytime at All" a bit of a letdown. In place of the debut's adventurousness was a decidedly conservative (albeit stylistically expansive) funk album. It had its moments but suffered overall from too much polish, not enough focus.

"Perkins' Palace" is a significant step forward from "Anytime at All" -- much richer and darker soil is tilled up for this crop of songs. Though it is Stephen Perkins' project and though he is a superb drummer, he's the weak link here. Drum parts are often busier than necessary, and overwrought when simplicity or delicacy would have served the songs better. Perkins overstates his percussion skills throughout.

And it is a shame to waste Nels Cline's talents on what amounts to a jam-funk-fusion record -- albeit a good one. He's as inventive as always, but his defining no-holds-barred style of playing makes the groovy funk being laid down here sound positively starchy and constricting by comparison.

Criticisms aside, this incarnation of Banyan has been playing together live a lot, and it shows. They are tight and have obvious personal chemistry.

4.0 out of 5 stars For a chilled out evening...., February 28, 2008

By 

Chris Ridgway - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Live at Perkins Palace (Audio CD)

Being influenced by the very influences of the musicians I can really appreciate this album. I first got into their 1999 album, "Anytime At All" I really enjoyed some of their more funky grooves. It is important to know that the previous album had many, many, different musicians playing on every other track. Live at Perkins' Palace is very different from Anytime At All, in a good way. The band has a very interesting sound, and the percussion makes you feel like you are traveling the tribal world sampling the menu of drums. Live at Perkins' Palace is a static lineup that is similar to their west coast touring lineup. The album is deep, and filled with influences of jazz, punk, funk, and fusion. The chemistry between Perkins, Cline, Watt, and Waldman is certainly one of a kind.