Customer Reviews

The Subdudes Live at the Rams Head : Double Audio Cd

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

 

 

One listen to this toe tapp'n, knee slapp'n music fest and you'll be anything but subdued. This CD is a front row seat to a live performance by one of the best things to come out of New Orleans since red beans and rice. Set back, relax and enjoy.

Take 20 plus years of The subdudes best, compressed into one of their greatest live performances to date ... and put them into one album... what you have is 17 delicious cuts of prime New Orleans Blues served up in a tasty gumbo. So when you're out on the highway "Late at night" trying to stay awake, forget the No Doze and coffee... driving music doesn't get more lively than this folks. You'll be playing the dashboard tambourine along with Steve Amedee all the way home.

Take one part Beausoleil, one part Allen Touissant, and three parts The Band. Substitute an amazing tambourine for a drum kit, and an accordion - excuse me, lap organ - for traditional keyboards. Have the group play together for 20 years. And you will have an inkling of The Subdudes live. Like The Band, they pass the lyric lead around during a song, and their rough voices produce astonishing harmonies. Like Beausoleil, they are unmistakably a Cajun band, even when they are exploring other music.

I had the pleasure of watching them live last month, and "Live at the Rams Head" captures all the joy of a live Subdudes concert, including the plain delight they have in playing together. It's great fun, and it's impossible not to tap your toe, stomp your feet or simply get up and two-step to these songs.

You can lighten up a rainy afternoon, or make a party seriously rock with these guys. Very highly recommended.

I've been to rock concerts throughout the years since 1966. Whenever possible, I've found live releases of the bands that bring joy to my life. Almost without exception, the live music wears thin over time. By definition, live music is a one time event each time a band does a session. From late folk (Simon and Garfunkel) to rock (Jefferson Airplane) to jam bands (The Dead, Phish, String Cheese Incident) the live experimentation last for awhile then just wears thin. The warts float to the surface and the music recedes.

This recording may be the exception. Sure hearing Tommy Malone asking for a chair or talk about pole dancing during the 50th replay gets a little old, but the music doesn't seem to. The cuts contained on this recording span a 20+ year career, and yet each time these guys play live (and I've seen them fairly often, I can vouch for this) they are looking for ways to make each song "new for tonight" all over again.

The best live acts don't play their legacy creations like a visit to a nostalgia act, they find ways to make the music reflect their band's sense of collaboration in the moment. There's a whole lot to be satisfied with in this effort.

I can only rate this a 4 star, not a 5, because it doesn't reach the level of "polished yet full of life" that their reunited studio albums offer, but it's a fine live effort, not to be missed.

interesting take of mixed funk,New Orleans style music. Helped to open up to other studio CD's

One of the best CD purchases of 2009 for me- it stays in constant rotation. Caution to those listening while driving- supress that urge to boogey until you get to a red light!

didn't think these guys could sound better then they did at herman's hideaway in denver, but new and old songs on this cd are magnificent, awesome, and hard to describe. they have always blown me away. they are still my all time favorites.

I first heard the Subdudes on XM radio Margarettaville/Jimmy Buffett station. I loved their energy and was excited to get the CD. I was not as taken by it, hard to say why. I didn't want to rate it low, like three stars is a 60% and they are much more cool than that. I think the best thing would be for me to see them live and then listen to the CD again. It just didn't have the same "zing" throughout the CD that I was picking up from the radio air time.