TRAVERS & APPICE – Live At The House Of Blues

Not content with just a joint studio effort in 2004 with It Takes A Lot Of Balls, legendary Blues-Rock guitarist, Pat Travers, and the multi-faceted drummer, Carmine Appice, now see fit to release a joint live CD endeavor. Live At The House Of Blues sees the dynamic duo once again teaming up with T.M. Stevens (bass) for 12 energetic, upbeat, live tracks.

The release immortalizes tracks taken mostly from the aforementioned Travers & Appice studio effort and throws in a few solo Travers and Appice selections for grins. The production is crisp, airy, has plenty of channel separation, and is full of that “good ‘ole time” feel. Especially effective is the mix on Appice’s drum kit. It comes through loud and clear, along with plenty of bottom end. This statement is no truer than on the live rendition of “Better From A Distance,” definitely this release’s highlight, with Appice’s drumming providing the foundation for a mean, beefy, bouncy groove. He definitely has one of the best drum sounds in Rock … period! This track just reeks of a good time, it just sounds like the band is having pure fun.

“Crash And Burn,” which is culled from Travers’ solo work, sounds exceptionally well done too. The band seems to pull it off quite well while adding a slight edge to the song. Of course, the band can’t completely deter from the live trend of performing the obligatory musician solos. “Gotta Have You” opens with Stevens showing his prowess, while “Evil” ends with a three-minute Appice Drum “clinic.” One has to speculate, though, about why a true “solo” provided by Master Travers has been overlooked.

The “curve ball” of the release is inclusion of a live rendition of Rod Stewart’s “Do Ya Think I’m Sexy.” While the band provides an interesting “Plodding Brontosaurus” rendition of the track, it just seems out of place with the surrounding, which is predominately Blues-Rock based entertainment (not to mention the non-Rod Stewart vocals on the “oh-oh-oh-oh-oh’s” do little to make the song more attractive).

The album clocks in around 78 minutes, and contains all music, no soliloquies, minimal interludes that try to invoke crowd participation, etc. The downside to this, of course, is in order to get all of this musical muscle squeezed in, the tracks have to suffer from fade-ins and fade-outs. These deter slightly from the live experience, but are reasonable sacrifices to get those extra precious musical seconds on disc.

Bottom line, this CD is a worthwhile pickup, especially if you’re a fan of “It Takes A Lot Of Balls.” It represents three timeless, legendary Rockers having a good time, putting down a live set for a group of appreciative fans. The performance is full of energy and overflows with a good time feel. For the devoted fan, a DVD of the same show, sporting only 11 tracks, is also available.

Tracklisting

1. Taken 2. Better From A Distance 3. I Don’t Care 4. Crash and Burn 5. Living Alone 6. Gotta Have You 7. Turn Me On 8. Can’t Escape The Fire/La, La Love 9. Evil 10. Do Ya Think I’m Sexy 11. Boom, Boom 12. Keep On Rocking (Bonus Track)

Lineup

Carmine Appice – Drums, Vocals
Pat Travers – Guitar, Vocals
T.M. Stevens – Bass, Vocals on “Gotta Have You”