Live At The Greek/Excess All Areas
Producer: Kevin Shirley
TVT Records
Genre: POP
SPOTLIGHT
Originally reviewed for week ending 3/18/00
EEEeeeyoooooww! Got a wicked hot one here: Live Brit wires fall into a mess o' biscuits
and gravy, and the sparks that fly make for an electrifying banquet that's sure hard
to handle, yes it is. Anybody praying that the astoundingly good Page & Crowes
tour of last October (Music to My Ears, Billboard, Oct. 30, 1999) would be preserved
for repeated listenings will be bowled over by the sheer aural joy of this document
from two nights (the 18th and 19th) at the Greek in Los Angeles. Page plays like
a man possessed--literally his most inspired live work in years--and vocalist Chris
Robinson is a rowdy revelation as all parties reinvent the Zep canon and a round
of blues ravers, including the Crowes' signature "Shake Your Money Maker."
Each of the ingeniously arranged 18 cuts ("Out On The Tiles"/"Whole
Lotta Love" appears as a nine-minute medley) is tinged with a tart dash of Southern
swing'n'swagger that's utterly addictive. Fans can buy the preselected/manufactured
two-CD set with eight-page booklet, order a customized version, or buy downloads
of individual tracks via the Internet at Musicmaker.com (and through various radio
station Web pages that link up to Musicmaker's Web site). From the blistering "Heartbreaker"
to the wondrously layered "Oh Well," this spectacular project is the concert
album of the year and the first truly indispensable rock document of the new century.