Search - Steppenwolf :: Live

POLITICAL MUSIC WITH MEANING AND INTENSITY...

kevorkian | San Diego,California | 03/22/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"STEPPENWOLF;LIVE;1970;John Kay,Jerry Edmonton,Nick St.Nicholas,Goldy McJohn,Larry Byron...Together these guy's cranked out alot of Rock and Roll Classics.(most bands have covered at least one Steppenwolf track) This album (cd-I'am old)showcase's so much Heavy Music in a live setting,and proves that STEPPENWOLF are the original Badass Rock and Roll Band! ..Right here on these tracks is where HEAVY METAL WAS BORN, RAISED,AND PERFECTED...John Kay set the look of Rock and Roll(still today)as we know it...Now the music-STEPPENWOLF begin with a cover of Sookie Sookie the way it was ment to be played, as a Heavy little opening song to get everyone's blood circulating..DON"T STEP ON THE GRASS SAM is John Kay's Opening folley at our government's ignorance set to flashing Guitars..TIGHTEN UP YOUR WIG is another political jab,as the band starts to heat up,jamming into.. HEY LAWDY MAMA this is where the hot leads start to become extended Jams that are smoking hot..MAGIC CARPET RIDE is just that a slick musical ride featuring some fine organ & guitar exchanges under John Kay's lurid vocals..Hoyt Axton's THE PUSHER is next,who would believe STEPPENWOLF did not write this song,I'am sure no one else ever performed it as hot,John Kay's voice becomes more menacing than the Guitars,as they rip into the heart of the Pusher..BORN TO BE WILD is pure killer Rock and Roll,lots of flash...MONSTER is very political(and still relevant today) this is where STEPPENWOLF shine,the lyrics make you think, as the Guitars overwelm your senses with intensity..(OUTSTANDING)..DRAFT RESISTER(some of us remember what the draft was)speaks volumes about the way America treats it's own,as the Guitars cutloose showing off some speed..POWER PLAY is another political smack in the face of all U.S. politicians(Remember if you plan to stay,those who give can take away,Don't Bite The Hand That Feeds You)It makes you want to VOTE,while enjoying the clash of electric guitars and bellowing organs..CORINA,CORINA slows down a touch but it does not relax,nice clean blues style guitar..TWISTED picks it up with a bit of voicebox style guitar in a blues based beat from a powerful drum & bass guitar duo..FROM HERE TO THERE EVENTUALLY finishs off this set,once more the politics of life are layed out in the vocals,with a nice organ,guitar jam to end this PRIME EXAMPLE OF ROCK AND ROLL, WHEN TRUE ROCK AND ROLL WAS JUST CUTTING IT'S TEETH,AND STEPPENWOLF WAS DOING THE BITING! IT'S HARD TO BELIEVE THIS CD WAS ORIGINALLY RECORDED THIRTY YEARS AGO...CHECK IT OUT MAYBE IT WILL IGNITE YOU POLITICALLY,if not it is still GREAT ROCK AND ROLL.....STEPPENWOLF:LIVE."

Best of the Wolf

Arctic Voice Earl | 12/07/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If you lived through the 1960s, this hard-driving live album by Steppenwolf will bring back lots of memories of the struggle---the demonstrations, the idealism, the raw energy we all had back then to work for noble causes. If you are younger, this album will show you one of the best rock bands of that decade at its best. I think the lineup of John Kay, Jerry Edmonton, Nick St. Nicholas, Larry Byron and the unique Goldy McJohn on the Hammond B3 Organ is one of the best for this band. It is certainly one of the best for the 1960s and early 1970s.Incredible to listen to songs like "Monster" as we endure the current presidential campaign and all the fallout. "our vote is a meaningless joke....." The song sings of an America that stood for freedom and justice, with a strong enduring spirit.And then songs like "Draft Resister" and "Power Play." "It's time we got our heads together. Let them (the politicans) know that we are awake."So there you have it -----great hard-driving music; vocals as only John Kay can deliver and super drum and guitar work; along with Goldy on the Hammond B3 Organ ---truly a master. buy this CD, listen to it often,and treasure it. Earl Finkler"

It's not a completely live album

R. L. MILLER | FT LAUDERDALE FL USA | 06/18/2004

(3 out of 5 stars)

"There is a 2-song medley of the rarity "Hey Lawdy Mama" and "Magic Carpet Ride" that is a splice job done in mixdown. You can hear the switch in accoustics when the first song moves on to the second. Compared to today, live album sound was horrible back when this album was recorded, but "Lawdy" is as good as the studio sound of the day, but it makes an abrupt drop in clarity when "B2BW" kicks in. So I dug out my copy of the now out-of-print "Steppenwolf Gold", which I bought for the song "Screaming Night Hog", a song which appeared on no other album at the time. Sure enough, "Lawdy" sounds studio-quality because it is. Both versions are identical, note-for-note and syllable-for-syllable in the vocals. They chopped the fade-down a studio cut and spliced it onto a live track, which wouldn't be so bad except the sudden drop in fidelity between the two halves of the "medley" makes you head for your player, thinking something's gone suddenly wrong. It was a good idea, though, to include John Kay's announcement of the magnum opus "Monster", which includes his qualifier "There are too many good things about Our Country to just let the whole thing go down the drain, so we should get together however best we can and bring about change." That was a good comeback to those who attributed the whole protest era back then to a mass hatred of America by Americans."