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RATINGS: A = must own B = buy it C= average
D = yawn F = puke |
Long John Baldry – Live: Iowa State University 1987
Angel Air
http://www.angelair.co.uk/
Rating: B
In my opinion the late British R&B singer Long John
Baldry got a bit of a raw deal. The man who in the early
60’s sang with Alexis Korner’s Blues Incorporated,
rubbed shoulders with The Beatles and The Stones, and
was literally responsible for launching the careers of
both Rod Stewart and Elton, somehow never quite managed
to achieve the same kind of success for himself.
Almost five years since he passed away at the age of
sixty four, this recently unearthed live concert from
the folks at Angel Air, is a definite testament to the
world being a slightly darker place without the big
man’s gentle spirit and warm booming voice.
While the exact details are a bit sketchy, this
abbreviated concert recorded at Iowa State University in
1987 finds Baldry in his natural environment, on stage.
After a brilliant ten minute run version of “Going Down
Slow”, Long John mentions how warm the stage is and
calls out to have “six cold Heineken’s” delivered to the
stage. Ahh… but the festivities are just getting started
as his band tears into BB King’s “Every Day I Have The
Blues” and “It Ain’t Easy” the title track of his 1971
album. Baldry presumably goes in search of those elusive
beers and hands the microphone over to Kathi McDonald,
another legendary vocalist in her own right. Kathi who
has sung albums by Leon Russell, Joe Cocker and Big
Brother, wastes little time during her moment in the
spotlight as she absolutely tears into “Respect” and
“You Make Me Feel Like A Natural Woman”. Long John
returns for the island flavored calypso on “Iko Iko” and
concludes the set with a scorching rendition of his
signature song “Don’t Try To Lay No Boogie Woogie On The
King Of Rock ‘n Roll”.
Live at Iowa State University is flawless seven song
show, with the only drawback being that it only clocks
in at a shade over forty minutes. One can only imagine
what the rest of this show must have been like. While a
complete concert would have been the best case scenario,
with the man sadly no longer among us, I can’t help but
feel that any unreleased recording from Long John Baldry
at this stage is certainly good enough for me.
-Ryan Sparks |
