Customer Reviews

Santa Monica Concert

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

 

 

I was too young, not even in high school yet, and in the wrong place (the East) at the time this remarkable evening of music by Bud & Travis, at the height of their powers, was recorded, but this has to be folk music heaven at its best.

Even for one who wasn't there, for all those like myself who loved this group and its music, it gives chills...and then provides thrills as it did when it was originally released as separate vinyl offerings, one memorable double lp long ago entitled Bud and Travis In Concert, and a second album of more offerings from the Santa Monica concert of March, 1960 spurred by its predecessor's popularity, In Concert Volume 2. So on these two CD's are combined 6 vinyl sides' worth of music, so this is actually a pretty good deal for your money.

With the whole show now here from start to finish, and the recording(s) take on a new quality of intimacy for the sake of that authenticity. All the original between songs humor, patter and intro descriptions for the various songs (they did sing quite a variety of things indeed that night) is included here, and in separate tracks, so one can pretty them out if one just wants to listen to the performances (music) by themselves.

This concert recording was/is indispensable for lovers of the folk boom times of the late 50's/early 60's; this is real quality, and I don't know how to convey it, even by half. Bud and Travis were special talents, less commercial in their approach, and going for more steak and less sizzle, but very polished nevertheless. Theirs was a vibrant, and well-rounded act, most of all, which didn't stoop for greater popularity at a cost to art. Here they were loved and rewarded for staying close to their muses, and the audience responds heartily at the close of the songs, in their Southern California home base.

Adding to the Best of CD which came out over 4 years ago, now we have one more Bud and Travis CD. It is great to hear their live versions, their own arrangements and visions for songs like "Delia's Gone", "Raspberries, Strawberries" (a song which they found and translated from the French), "They Call The Wind Mariah" in a full high-energy but folk treatment, "Bonsoir Dame", "Suzanne, Every Night When The Sun Goes Down", "Cloudy Summer Afternoon", a noble version sung in Spanish of the great Mexican love song "Malaguena Salerosa", a firey "La Bamba" with real Latin feel, and a hilarious, mock-disputed version of "Sloop John B." near end of the concert, in which they send up the song and themselves and just about everything else.

This CD is like a great lost love back from the grave for folk-boom fans. It is worth the price, and the effort it will take to special order it here or elsewhere, before it becomes more widely available. There are nice extensive liner notes on developing the re-issue, including commentary from one of the pair still with us, Travis Edmonson (!).

One Thomas Straw, the webmaster for the Bud & Travis site, ..., tells me that if this sells well, then Folk Era may consider re-issuing the entire wonderful catalog of Bud & Travis. That would truly be a gift from Heaven.

I love this album and grew up listening to it on LP so my 2 star review has nothing to do with the music and everything to do with the remixing quality. While the LP occasionally sounds "muddy" or like the sound is coming through a long tunnel, the CD is universally muddy. The music and tweener chats are extremely low in volume and don't sound as good as the LP version. These flaws can be slightly corrected with an equalizer but I wonder why the CD manufacturer didn't correct this problem by remastering the album prior to releasing it on CD? As it is, I plan to remix the CD or digitize the LP and reburn a copy onto CD myself. While I highly recommend this album to anyone who loves folk music, I'd suggest getting an LP rather than purchasing this very poor sound quality CD.

The only other Bud & Travis CD I have is the _Latin_Album_ and this CD version of a studio-mixed LP sounds fine, I suspect it is only the live shows that will require remixing before CD release.

The original Santa Monica Concert LP by Bud & Travis was/is a fabulous showcase for their talents. However, if you value your ears don't play this audio CD at any volume level above a whisper. This CD was "recorded" by rip-off artists". There are so many clicks and pops and gain riding that it is virtually unlistenable at any reasonable volume level.
If you like Bud & Travis buy the "Best of" CD or any of their LP's. Stay away from this recording, save yourself some bucks and a big disappointment.
Given the poor quality of the recording, I cannot believe that it is authorized.

This album is a true gem! The artistic chemistry between Bud and Travis is a true rarity. Absolutely brilliant communication between the two to produce some of the most beautifully heart wrenching and humorous stories ever told through the medium of guitar and song. You can feel the magic and warmth of their interaction with the audience and you just know that those who came to listen to them left the auditorium changed by what they experienced. It's hard to believe that the album was recorded in 1960! I am amazed by this performance. I regard myself as extremely fortunate to have their album in my collection.

I almost wore out the original LP. The music was wonderful and the repartee between Bud and Travis was very funny. However, this CD is a miserable copy of the original and should never have been released. Please don't make the mistake I did. Amazon should take this CD off the site. The recording is muddy and the jokes are almost inaudible. What a wasted $30.00.

The critics are right. The sound quality here isn't the best and some of the humor gets lost in the background. And yet . . . Bud and Travis was the most entertaining act of the whole folk era, and this CD does a good enough job of recapturing that experience that I have to love it despite its flaws. Anybody who saw them will treasure this as an audio memory. For those who didn't, it's as close as you can come.

I have long been a fan of this duo. The vinal disc of the concert was greaaaaaat, but this CD gives so much more and is a joy to listen to,

I bought what was billed as the last of this album. I had a specific song in mind I wanted, even though the entire concert was great. When I recieved the 2 cd set what I found was that there 2 identical cds of the same half of the concert. The cd with the song I especially wanted was missing.