Marshall Tucker Band
- Live From The Garden State
by
Tony Foney
..
The Live from the Garden State is
The Marshall Tucker Band's first DVD and features a concert from a 1981
MTV special. For fans of the MTB, that alone makes this worth buying. Footage
of their New Jersey show sits alongside an interview with the band that
touches on the many tragedies & deaths suffered by MTB, the etymology
of their band's name, and good interviews with members of the Charlie Daniels
Band & Travis Tritt.
The concert however, is the highlight
of the DVD. They cover all of their hits, 2 hours of show packed with excellent
musicianship. I alone of my family like this kind of music, but even my
critical wife Joannie agrees that this DVD might even make a fine tutor
for our kids to learn something about playing the guitar & drum kit
we just got them for Christmas. (Although she thinks they might be more
inclined to watch it if they turned down the volume all the way & played
some other CD for the soundtrack.)
Toy Caldwell, who died in 1993, makes
the difference on every song on this DVD. Even you little thrasher metal
head kids would be impressed by his technique & speed on a guitar.
He was one of the very few musicians who used his thumb rather than a guitar
pick, enabling him to play the guitar with incredible speed & control.
He flies through jazz & rhythm & blues chords effortlessly, making
the rhythm guitarist, who isn't a bad, talentless guitarist, look like
an amateur trying to become a member of Blink 182. That's a real problem
when you're in a band with someone great- just being good makes you look
very poor indeed. The excellent guitars used for this concert, early 70's
era Les Pauls, are an added fun bonus for guitar aficionados to see them
getting a real workout. The singer shows incredible range, never wavering
or faltering as he goes through the entire spectrum of vocals required
to do the songs well. The bassist was a family friend of the Caldwell's,
who took over and kept the band from disintegrating when Toy's brother
& MTB bassist Tommy died in a car accident in 1980.
"Searching for a Rainbow" formerly my
favorite song, ended up the worst song on here, thanx to Toy's poor backup
singing, I'll admit. The best song was probably "Ramblin'" an all out concert
jam song. Since this is from 1981 it's a little dated looking, but listen
to the music, don't critique their wardrobe & you'll enjoy this at
least as much as I did & a lot more than Joannie did.
If I were going to rate this DVD I'd give
3.5 stars. I've always been partial to Marshall and it was a rare treat
to see them onstage putting on such a phenomenal concert.
More on this DVD
Listen
to Samples and Purchase This CD online
Visit
the official website for more on the band
tell
a friend about this article
Fans Speak
|