Customer Reviews

Rare on Air 1: Kcrw Live Performances

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Rare On Air Vol 1. is the first in a series of 5 live compilation cd's from southern california's KCRW. "Morning Becomes Eclectic" hosted by Chris Douridas was possibly the greatest music radio show of it's time in all of the U.S. On any given morning from 9am to noon, live performers from the likes of Beck to Joni Mitchell to Patti Smith show up to turn in intimate and often startlingly great performances. This first edition is the best so far and features excellent songs by John Cale, Michael Penn, and Tori Amos. After Douridas left the station for a new job at Dreamworks, the morning show fell flat with new DJ Nic Harcourt. Some say it's picking up steam again and luckily the whole world can tune in via the internet. The first 3 in the series are all worthwile and this particular addition shows why KCRW is a groundbreaking music radio station.

I bought this collection some ten years ago, and it has aged very, very well. The performances are great, and there's a real cohesion in them in terms of production. Whoever produced the CD really loves music, and must have made many mix tapes in his/her life, because it has the ebb and flow of a really excellent mix tape, with shifting moods and styles. I enjoy quite a bit of it, but the highlights for me are Lucinda Williams' cover of a Nick Drake song, the David Wilcox song, and the Peter Himmelman song, which also features an *amazing*, beautiful, lyrical guitar solo coming straight from the heart. In fact, "Always in Disguise" is really my favorite song overall from this collection. BUY IT TODAY!!!

This compilation is, at the time of writing, the best part of ten years old. And, in my humble opinion, it has never been bettered. Production quality is first rate, performances are almost flawless and the mix of music is spot on. You and yours can't fail to be sucked in by this one. John Cale's first poem blending seemlessly into Tori Amos doing 'Silent all these years', Beck's 'Mexico' is hilarious and wry even after all this time, The Modern's just don't want to end and you won't want them to, Lindsay Buckingham comes up with a magnificent arrangement for an old Fleetwood Mac tune (since copied badly by The Dixie Chicks) and a just wonderful ode to Chet Baker to finish. This is a CD that makes much of modern chill out laughable and shows what can be acheived by a group of people who really love music. It is a primer for the rest of the Rare on Air series and a great place to begin. Grab this while it is still in print.

This is a CD of 15 tracks of artists performing live on air to a two track DAT. One track contains overdubs, the rest features the musicians huddled around a couple of microphones, almost all of this music is acoustic.

The broadcasting station is KCRW, independent public radio for most of Southern California. The show is called: "Morning Becomes Electric", a very proper title. This is great radio, and it transfers to CD as an alternative to just about every other form of art, that you have been forced to undergo...this is a different experience for the ears...this is a pleasure.

With the exception of a couple performances that are a little harsh and disturbed, this is an easy flow, as if one artist finishes and another right by their side begins to play. And the artists? Well, with: Beck, Tori Amos, Lindsey Buckingham, X, Los Lobos, John Cale, Natalie Merchant and a spoken word prelude by Leonard Cohen, many different paths are explored herein over these 64 minutes.

Beck is weird, Los Lobos is cool as a night frog, Lindsey's nylon strings are outta-tune, Tori Amos & John Cale sound a world apart from each other on the exact same piano, Evan & Juliana are hangin' with their Drug Buddy, and Mark Isham sounds like Miles Davis chopped down his family tree!

The sound quality of this disc is as good as it gets, the performances are right in front of you from start to finish. This CD has been produced with great care and is well thought out. No, I don't care for every single song on this but, what I don't find pleasing might be your personal favorite. Some of this music may be of your past, but for me, most of this material is brand spankin' new to my ears.

This is one of the most unique discs that I have listened to in ages. Right here, on this disc...is my kind of radio!
4.5 Stars!!!

Natalie Merchant sings like an angel and this album is so cool
every song is a winner!

Face it, buying cds today is less practical than downloading but somethings just aren't available in any other format other than compact disc - like this album.

I used to listen to this while living in San Fran's Mission District with a houseful of bohemians. Most of us were supported by that city's municipal welfare program (General Assistance, or "G.A."). We did various things to have fun and feel better about ourselves, and this album was one of my favorite things. Someone had brought it home from her used-record store job... I think her name was Holly.

It's only just now, searching for it during this nostalgic evening of clicking-around, that it occurs to me why this compilation is so powerful. It's an album about addiction. This is perhaps most clear from the final track. Search for the lyrics to Wilcox's song. It's a powerful testament to the hope and sadness of recovery. The boat imagery there is wonderful. Take also the Dando & Hatfield track, which chants "I'm too much with myself, I wanna be someone else..."

There's a lot more on here about it beyond that... I mean, just scan the titles. Directly or sideways, this album is all about highs and lows. It's brilliantly compiled -- just wonderful. I could easily sit here for a few minutes and link every single song's title to the topic of substances and addiction. But won't. I have a full life to lead, now.

i originally bought it for "never goin back again" an acoustic version by lindsey buckingham. but there are about seven other really strong songs on the album. and how they tracked the selections is something you could tell a lot of thought and time was put into. songs in general flow one into the next beautifully, especially track twelve into thirteen. highly reccomend to anyone considering.