Customer Reviews

Real Live! (2CD)

5 star:		(57)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Like most of you, I've become very disillusioned with the music industry as a whole.
I lost track of Frank Marino & Mahogany Rush in the early 80's.
Not because he was not there, but the industry put up blocks to keep us buying the garbage they wanted to promote.
Thanks to the Internet, "Word Of Mouth Advertising" is back.
Not much I want to add that these other reviewers have not covered already.
I do like a good live recording. REAL LIVE is REAL GREAT.
Those who remember his live lp from the 70's LIVE.
Will find this, another cd you will not be able to take off once it's playing. As a matter of fact it will tend to get you to want to improve your stereo system so you don't miss a thing.
Sound, depth and clarity is perfect. Do yourself a favor and get REAL LIVE.
It may not change your world, but you will notice an improvement on your outlook on life.

This review is meant to let you know.
I do put my thumbprint on this, as a top #5 must have cd.
Where it takes you, and what you get out of it, is up to you.

Thank You Again, your Bro. JaminJim }:-)

I wasn't into Frank Marino and Mahogany Rush the first time around. I've just been on a mission to check out every guitarist who sounds like they're worth my time. Frank is certainly worth the time. I don't understand why he's not top five or top ten everytime somebody compiles another "Greatest Guitarists Of All Time" list. Do Hendrix comparisons hold him back? They certainly shouldn't. There's a real possibility that Frank's every bit as gifted as Jimi. So buy this double disc set. It's a substantial time investment to listen all the music that's on this release but if anything was ever worth it, it's "Real Live". No one who appreciates virtuoso guitar playing should be without it. I guess I wasn't really at a loss for words.

Holy mother of god!
When was the last time you heard a live Rock N Roll album with elements of the blues, jazz, middle eastern influences and pop music recorded as if it were intended for release in the late sixties? This is by far the best live album released in decades. Stellar playing, long muscial improvs (think Band of Gypsys and Miles Davis as we are talking quality here.) Absolutley essential listening !

Like many others, I lost track of Frank Marino back in the late 70's or early 80's and didn't know he was still playing. Well, is he ever!! I ran across his fan website ([...]) earlier this year and soon ordered a copy of "RealLive." I've probably listened to this double CD at least a hundred times so far. It clocks in at just over 2 ½ hours of the most incredible electric guitar playing I've ever heard. Here are my impressions on first hearing and every hearing since ...

Disc one starts with a cover of Jimi's "Voodoo Chile." Ten minutes later, as I pick my jaw up off the floor, Frank flows right into an excerpt of "Something's Comin' Our Way", a rocker from his 1980 release "What's Next."

As I catch my breath from that great start, Frank plays the opening riff of "He's Calling" from his 2000 album "Eye of the Storm." This is a great song that has a haunting rhythm and the solos, some with "Eastern" melodies, are mesmerizing. This cut runs just under 15 minutes, although it seems to go by too quickly!

Next is probably my favorite cut on the album - another Hendrix cover, "Red House." This song is filled with some of the most amazing electric blues soloing that I've ever heard. I've heard other covers of this song, including Gary Moore's, but this 12-minute live version by Frank blows them all away.

"Stories of a Hero" with a short (2-minute plus) intro is up next. This comes from the 1982 "Juggernaut" album. This is another of my favorite songs by Frank and this live version does not disappoint. It's kind of a ballad but has some intense soloing toward the end. With the intro, this one runs over 12 minutes.

Finally, at the end of disc one, we have "Poppy" which I believe first appeared on the "Double Live" album from 1988. The main themes of this instrumental have kind of a jazzy feel. In the middle of the opening section of this song, Frank injects some riffs from songs by the "Doors" and the "Allman Brothers." Then, after 17+ minutes of great soloing, the band breaks into "She's Not There" (the old tune by the "Zombies", I believe). A minute or two later, you hear the opening riff from "Crossroads" ("Cream/Clapton") and what a great version it is with Frank singing and playing. About 4 minutes later, the band plays a short return to "She's Not There" and then finishes up disc one with the main theme from "Poppy" again. This final medley runs a little over 26 minutes!

That's a lot of great music for one CD! Are you ready for disc two?! Well, it's also filled with great stuff. Most of disc 2 consists of four separate medleys. The first medley is centered on a piece called "Ode to Creation" which I don't remember hearing on any of Frank's older albums. This medley also contains a couple of excerpts from "Strange Universe", the title song from the 1975 album which was Frank's third.

The second medley on disc 2 has excerpts from "Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame", a real rocker introduced on "What's Next", and from "Ain't Dead Yet", another of my favorite songs that really rocks from the 1981 album, "The Power of Rock & Roll." This medley ends with a five and a half minute solo by the drummer, Josh Trager.

The next medley is centered around the song "Avalon" which is very "jazzy" instrumental from "Eye of the Storm." There is also an excerpt from "Tales of the Unexpected", another jazzy tune from the 1979 album of the same name. This medley contains a short solo from the bass player, Peter Dowse, who is one of the best. You have to be talented to play with Frank Marino.

The last medley contains Frank's "Electric Reflections of War" which has a very psychedelic, 60's feel, with sounds of bombs and explosions. I think it was first heard on the 1978 "Live" album. There's also an excerpt from the title track of the "World Anthem" album from 1977.

The last two tracks include Frank's incredible solo version of "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" (yes, from the "Wizard of Oz") and "Try for Freedom", again from the "World Anthem" album.

Frank still plays 3 ½ hour live shows and, from what I've read on the website (where Frank hangs out a lot of the time when he's not on tour, btw), this "RealLive" album recorded in Montreal in 2001 (and released in 2004) is very representative of his current concerts.

Since finding Frank's website and "re-discovering" his music (I had 3 of his albums on vinyl back in the 70's), I've managed to find and purchase all of his albums on CD. They are all great but this one is probably my favorite. Absolutely and without a doubt well worth more than the fifteen bucks you'll pay for it - especially if you like great blues, rock, and other styles of guitar playing by one of the all-time greats who seems to get better every year.

if you were to take all of the following guitarists; hendrix, stevie ray, satriani, vai, malmsteen, clapton, roy buchanan, duane allman, tony macalpine, santana, frusciante, gary moore, eric johnson, et. al., and combined them into just one guitarist, the end result would be something very close to frank marino. beautiful melodies and gorgeous tone? it's here. psychadelic, overdriven, blues/rock on par with anything you've heard? it's on here. blistering, cutting edge guitar, in the same vein as vai, satch, etc.? it's here. the man simply encompasses all of it in a way that no other single guitarist, that i am aware of, does. this cd is incredible in its scope. parts of it will make the hair on your arms stand up. parts of it will touch you deep in your soul and may even move you to tears. there are other times when all you can do is shake your head in disbelief and laugh. amazingly gifted musician.

I've never heard anything like this. A guitarscape of three dimensional presentation that is unforgettable. Frank makes his guitar speak like a living, breathing thing. It's as if his guitar is a part of his body. After listening to these CD's I had to just sit and wait until I could bring myself back from the mind vacation that Frank had taken me. My jaw just sat on the floor. This rendition of "He's Calling" is astonishing. Simply astounding. You want entertainment? Well let me tell you, this is it. I said it before and I'll say it again. I've never heard anything like this.

This concert melted my face off! If I were Jeff Beck,Jimmy Page,Eddie Van Halen,Eric Clapton,etc.,I would really not want to get into a guitar showdown with Frank Marino.It is almost scary how good he is.So amazingly good in fact it even occurred to me that Frank may have sold his soul to the devil.He played this set for three solid hours with no break whatsoever,just one heavy song after another.He just loves to play and play it all...rock,blues,jazz,and the solos...very hot.It's far out and it's perfect.Frank Marino is the man!

Good Grief!!! I just finished listening to this mind-blower. You know, its really not fair that this guy can burn a guitar like that and also have a great soulful voice. I became a Frank Marino fan in 1975 (yes I'm old) after taking a chance on a weird looking record called Strange Universe. I have all the early stuff (on vinyl of course) but sort of lost touch after Juggernaut. If all there was on Real Live was the 12 minute version of Red House it would be worth the price alone. I've always loved Jimi Hendrix and the guitar players that he had a huge influence on such as Robin Trower, Stevie Ray Vaughn, and of course, Frank Marino. I was fortunate to get to see some great guitar players in my life including Randy Roads, Uli Roth, Eddie Van Halen, and Stevie Ray but for me, Marino was better than all of them. This live collection is just incredible from start to finish. If you love great guitar playing, don't miss it.

Frank Marino is one of the special ones; a musician who has kept learning all these years. He absorbs everything he hears, and gives it back with his own flavor and soul. Marino is fluent in many scales: major, minor , blues, melodic minor, whole tone, various eastern scales from Greece to India. He uses the vibrato tailpiece masterfully to get the authentic in-between notes of scales otherwise impossible for guitar to convey , using it on blues so well that I thought he was playing with a slide for a couple of minutes. FM has an organic relationship with effects , using echos, sustain, organ effects, and who knows what else, to enhance specific sections of pieces to the best 'effect'. He can play well over interesting chord changes, as when he reworks Hendrix's 'Red House' from a Jimi's straight 4/4 12-bar into a more complex jazzy 16-bar 6/8 arrangement. He is adept at using open strings to precisely simulate sitar, bagpipes, and instruments that either I haven't heard before or simply don't exist! Frank quotes Clapton with more feeling than EC's had for 36 years, shreds with the best of them, and taps quite well, (although he only does so for a minute out of his three-hour-plus set). He knows a slew of little memorable melodies to sneak into other songs. In his 190 minute set, he breaks for a minute here and there,(during parts of others solos), totaling less than seven minutes. He's not as 'rootsy' as some prefer, but he has moments as deeply rooted as anyone. Frank is Frank; Just when you think he's the man to take SRV's place, he's off into madrigals, two-part organ works, and his own horror-flick sound tracks for movies that haven't been made. Frank uses only -one- guitar for the entire three hours and ten minutes.... Marino's band is great: The second guitarist is restrained and disciplined, fleshing out what would be -almost- perfect as a three-piece into -the- perfect four-piece; then getting his attention when he elequently solos on violin. The bassman is solid throught the show, revealing his sophisticated chops only when soloing. The drummer is an insane machine, expending energy that no human could possibly have, for well over two hours, then playing an incredible solo, only to keep charging on another hour afterwards. THIS IS THE BAND TO SEE!

I SAW FRANK MARINO & MAHOGANY RUSH BACK IN THE 70'S WHEN THEY RELEASED "CHILD OF THE NOVELTY".HE WAS A GREAT GUITAR PLAYER BACK THEN BUT HE IS A GUITAR MASTER NOW.HIS GUITAR CHOPS ARE JUST AWESOME ON THIS LIVE CD.I HONESTLY BELIEVE HE SHOULD BE IN THE TOP 5 GUITAR PLAYERS AS OF NOW.HE IS JUST AS ORIGINAL AS EVER.IF YOU WANT A GOOD "LIVE" GUITAR PERFORMANCE" CD,THIS IS THE ONE TO GET.FRANK MARINO'S GUITAR RIFFS ARE JUST "BREATHTAKING".HE GOES TO ANOTHER UNCHARTED LEVEL WITH A MESMERIZING DISPLAY OF HIS TECHNIQUE.AAAAA+++++