Customer Reviews

Rearranged

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

It's interesting to read the reviews here. Some love it, some hate it, and some are indifferent. As a fan of LRB since the beginning (let's just say I'm near 60); I "grew up" with them as well as many of the greats. My days partying with friends, my first "true love," my times in the back seat of my '64 Chevy at the drive in; all have inextricable memories of Little River band songs playing in the background. Even my days in the military during Vietnam were eased with LRB playing in the background.

Like so many great bands, it's true; this current version is not the original. However, Wayne Nelson has been with the band over 30 years, and sang lead vocals on both "Night Owls" AND "Take It Easy On Me." There's an interesting back story there, with the album that song appears on, being produced by the great, George Martin (producer for the Beatles). George had originally chosen one of the founding members to sing lead on that song (sorry, I forget which one it was), but during rehearsals, he also had Wayne (on bass) sing lead. Just before pressing, he decided to include the Nelson version and the rest is history.

I've attended seven or eight LRB concerts in the past few years and find them to be more professional and dedicated than many of the current, "wonders." I think their harmonies are well rounded and delicious. Greg Hind's guitar is superb and, with the current addition of Rich Herring on guitar as well, I forget that this is not the "all original" cast. The songs are as good, and sometimes even better (Wayne Nelson's voice is as clear and superb as you could want) than the original. If you've not caught one of their shows, it's a must see! As for their detractors, there are always purists and die-hards who can never accept the fact that anyone could replace the first members, but that is but one opinion and this is another.

Can you rate a CD "0"? It is truely criminal how this current lineup can push themselves off as the "real deal" when they will never be Birtles, Shorrock and Goble. To fight and win in court to not let the original artists use or reference their name is appauling. I will never buy anything from this band. Long live the real Little River Band - Beeb, Glenn and Graham, rock on. If you want to listen to greatness, check out the album Full Circle by the founding members, after all these years they still sound wonderful.

Okay, so the players in this project are no more the original LRB than Pink Floyd. Whether you want to describe this as a cover band or a hybrid, this carries the LRB torch with a classy subtlty that makes other attempts at this idea pale in comparison. Each track is masterfully done with dead on arrangements and just the right amount of emotion. The harmonies are surprisingly in tact. There is little to miss in this project that likely has purists screaming that their stereo. Fear not. This is as good a redo as can be done under the circumstances. Check out "Happy Anniversery" with it's smooth as silk production and acapella intro. That about sums up how good this collection is. They pull everything off and with increased production value.

Even the Amazon "review" has inaccurate information concerning this album. The statement from Glenn Frey was not said about the people who recorded this album. Not a single one of them were part of the original Little River Band. Glenn Frey said that about Glenn Shorrock, Graeham Goble, Beeb Birtles, and Derek Pellicci. These guys are a completely different lineup. They were not present on any of these songs on the original recordings with only one exception that of Wayne Nelson singing on "Night Owls".

If you want to hear the original Little River Band, look for Birtles, Shorrock, & Goble or make sure that any CDs you buy were originally recorded from 1975 to 1981 (Little River Band, After Hours, Diamantina Cocktail, Sleepcatcher, First Under The Wire, and Time Exposure. After 1981, there were five more albums with one or two of the principal players missing, but hey all feature the fine songwriting of Graeham Goble.

What's sadder than a bunch of guys touring under the name of a historically-great band even though they have only the most tenuous connection to the original lineup? The same bunch of guys re-recording great songs *they had nothing to do with* and passing it off as "new" product, presumably as a way to make money that would otherwise flow to the current rights-holders.

Be clear: none of the songwriters and only one of the performers from the original versions of *any* of these songs participate here. I don't know what kind of legal maneuvering allows these guys to continue to operate as LRB (rather than the more accurate "LRB tribute band"), but I hope they can look at themselves in the mirror and be confident they would have made it without the name.

Having said all that, there is nothing wrong with the performances here; these are highly competent players and the vocal harmonies are tight. Only a couple of songs are significantly "rearranged", mostly these are just slightly more contemporary-sounding (often busier) versions with the current set of less-distinctive singers. Okay, so these are still great songs and it might be worth it to see them performed live by a band of this caliber, but why buy this when there are several excellent collections containing the music these guys are covering?

Recently saw LRB live for the first time. Afterwords, i was thinking they sounded even better live after all these years than the recordings. I purchased this CD at the show and they autographed it for me.

Well, i listened to it and it is more similar to the show sound than the older sound and it is great, the additions of extra guitar is great. I love the extended guitar solo on Cool Change.

Both the CD and the show are well worth the money spent.

I really wanted this to work out...but, these guys have managed to take something fantastic and turn it into a series of songs by a nightclub act. Seriously, it's that bad. Even the mid-80s' virtually unknown 'Forever Blue' is ruined here.
Do not waste your time and money on this.

There is a long history behind the original LRB losing their title, when some original members left and (non original)guitarist Steve Housden kept the name. Listening to this album is like fingernails across a blackboard, after listening to the originals. Music purists listen to an album for their favorite riffs, and perfect harmonies - these are missing on this album. While the songs on this album are well sung, quite simply, it is not the original LRB. If you want the original, look for Shorrock, Goble, Birtles, Pellici etc. Even those albums with John Farnham on lead vocal, (when Glenn Shorrock left the first time,) and David Hirschfelder on keyboard, are well worth a listen.This is second class stuff.

There has been much controversy concerning the incarnation of The Little River Band that exists today. We all know about how today's LRB came about. And purists continue to argue about the legitimacy of this group continuing on under the Little River Band brand name.
But, let's face it. These guys are for all intends and purposes the one and only true continuation of a band we have all come to know and love for their ability to write great lyrics and put them forth musically in a way that has pleased and rocked a huge fan base across the world for decades now.
The current LRB is a very hard working band that is out on the road faithfully to provide us all with the LRB-fix we have come to expect and love.
But over the years they have developed a sound that is slightly different from the original founding members.And some the songs we know so well now do sound slightly different from when we first heard them on the radio. And in a group that is alive and vital I would expect that to happen. They should and do evolve and they do grow up. And that is why Re-Arranged was such a great idea. It gives you their basic concert play-list as they perform the songs the way that they bring them to us today. They have stayed true to the original recordings but they have also updated the sound to what we - the listener - prefer to hear when we crank up the speakers in our cars and homes. The hard driving bass sounds that Wayne produces are a little more pronounced now. The familiar leads are still there but just a bit more defined and crisper then we remember them.
All in all, I was very happy to see this album come out. I expect every great band to evolve. If that does not happen then you are just has-been rehashing your old stuff.Nice to listen to occasionally but - really - what's the use??
These guys are taking their music and continue to sound up to date and relevant. And - for me - after hearing very clearly what the Little River Band sounds like in this new millennium, would very much like to hear some newly written songs and an album with the new , crisper LRB writings on it.

Buy this album - it is part of of a true Little River Band listener's collection. It is recorded well and the voices and harmonies are better then ever. It is a great album for a seasoned LRB - fan . And it is a wonderful introduction to the Little River Band if you have not had the pleasure yet.

I know a lot of people are complaining that this lineup is not the original band lineup and that they are close to being a cover band, but let's face it, great music is great music. I grew up with the keyboard player, Chris Marion, and his is so incrediabily talented not only on the keys but with his harmonies as well. And, well, that's what makes LRB the band they are.

If you like good music and don't care about all the original line up junk, grab this album. You won't be disappointed.