COMMANDER CODY AND HIS LOST PLANET AIRMEN
''LIVE FROM ARMADILLO WORLD HEADQUARTERS 1973 AND THE CAPITOL THEATRE 1975
SEP 2007
1973-1975
SPV
COMPILATION
129:41
DISC ONE
1/Blue Suede Shoes/Perkins/2:47
2/Down and Out/Cox/3:34
3/Ain't Nothing Shaking But theLeaves on te Trees/Schuler, Williams/3:05
4/Milk Cow Blues/Arnold/5:14
5/What Made Milwaukee Famous/Sutton/2:41
6/Hard Headed Woman/Demetrious/2:39
7/Beat Me Daddy Eight to the Bar/Prince, Raye, Sheehy/3:45
8/Wine Wine Wine/Frayne/2:55
9/Truck Driving Man/Fell/3:15
10/Hot Rod Lincoln/Ryan, Stephenson/2:57
11/Lawdy Miss Clawdy/Price/2:17
12/Hey Hey Hey/Penniman/3:07
13/Riot in Cell Block No. 9/Lieber, Stoller/2:46
14/Rock That Boogie/Farlow, Frayne, Tichy/2:42
15/Sea Cruise/Smith, Vincent/1:44
16/Oh Mama Mama/Farlow, Frayne, Tichy/3:59
17/Rip It Up/Blackwell, Marascalco/2:29
DISC TWO
1/Cajun Rag/Stein/1:59
2/Truck Driving Man/Fell/2:53
3/Everybody's Doing It/Black, Dickerson, Farlow, Frayne, Kirchen, Stein, Tichy/2:06
4/What's the Matter Now?/Farlow/5:07
5/It Should've Been Me/Curtis/3:19
6/My Window Faces the South/Wills/2:03
7/Down to Seeds and Stems Again/Farlow, Frayne/3:42
8/Mama Tried/Haggard/2:16
9/I Ain't Never/Pierce, Tillis/3:32
10/I Flew Over Our House Last Night/Hall/3:36
11/Oh Mama, Mama/Farlow, Frayne, Tichy/4:29
12/Hot Rod Lincoln/Ryan, Stephenson/3:48
13/Keep on Lovin' Her/Farlow, Frayne, Tichy/2:58
14/Hard Headed Woman/Demitrious/2:35
15/Steel Guitar Slide/Black/1:44
16/Good Rockin' Tonight/Brown/2:47
17/Wine Do Your Stuff/Farlow, Frayne/2:48
18/I'm Coming Home/Horton/2:15
19/Lookin' at the World Througha Windshield/Chestnut, Hoyer/2:26
20/Diggy Liggy Lo/Miller/2:42
21/Cryin' Time/Owens/4:30
22/Gypsy Fiddle/Stein/3:43
23/Beat Me Daddy Eight to the Bar/Prince, Raye, Sheehy/4:47
24/Riot in Cell Block #9/Lieber, Stoller/2:51
25/Don't Let Go/Stone/2:49
Bruce Barlow/Bass
Bobby Black/Guitar (Steel)
Commander Cody/Piano
Lance Dickerson/Drums
Billy C. Farlow/Guitar, Vocals
Bill Kirchen/Guitar, Vocals
Andy Stein/Fiddle, Saxophone
John Tichy/Guitar, Guitar (Rhythm), Vocals
Commander Cody/Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen: Commander Cody (piano); John Tichy (guitar); Bruce Barlow (bass instrument); Andy Stein, Bill Kirchen, Billy C. Farlow, Bobby Black, Lance Dickerson.
There have been many dubious live offerings by the classic Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen over the years. This is not to say that the tapes weren't licensed in some way -- perhaps they put some much needed pocket change in the various ex-members' pockets, which is fine. But this one is an authoritative reissue; one of these two discs has not previously been heard on CD. In some ways, this is the real Grail for those looking for Lost Planet Airmen rarities and shows. Issued on the SPV Blue imprint, disc one in this collection, recorded in 1973 at the Armadillo World Headquarters, contains the editing-room casualties from the band's first live album, Live from Deep in the Heart of Texas. While the released set has the official distinction of being one of Rolling Stone mag's greatest 100 records of all time, hardcore fans knew it was in some ways a hatchet job because it doesn't flow the way a Commander show usually did. What's on this disc is the reason: 13 of these cuts were issued on the Music Avenue label as Texas Roadhouse Favorites in 2006, but this set contains 17. It's the rock and blues set with a few country and trucker faves such as "What Made Milwaukee Famous" and "Truck Driving Man" thrown in. But this is a burning live rock and blues set. The horn section was especially tight on this night, and never sounded better. The second disc was recorded at the Capitol Theater in Port Chester, NY, in 1975, during the band's Warner Bros. period. For those in the know, the Warner recordings (reissued by Wounded Bird on CD, thank God) are vastly underrated and are essential for anyone interested in this band. (This does not include the live We've Got a Live One Here!, an abomination issued to fulfill a contract.) This set is a little dodgier in terms of sound, but the performance is even stronger. With 25 tracks clocking in at 78 minutes, this one is full of old and new tunes, originals, and covers: band standards like "Down to Seeds and Stems Again," "Truck Driving Man," "My Window Faces South," "Hot Rod Lincoln," and "Lookin' at the World Through a Windshield" are all here, but so are readings of "Cajun Rag," "Everybody's Doin' It," "Diggy Diggy Lo," "Keep on Lovin' Her," "Wine Do Your Stuff," "I'm Comin' Home," "Mama Tried," "Beat Me Daddy Eight to the Bar," and "Don't Let Go." It also includes the return of pedal steel boss Bobby Black to the band's fold after a stint with Barbara Mandrell. The rougher sound of the second volume does nothing to diminish the crackling energy and sheer sophisticated musicality of the performance. This double set -- at a reasonable price -- is a must for any fan of the Commander Cody/Lost Planet Airmen show. ~ Thom Jurek
Personnel: Bill Kirchen, Billy C. Farlow (vocals, guitar); John Tichy (vocals); Bobby Black (steel guitar); Andy Stein (fiddle, saxophone); Lance Dickerson (drums).
Liner Note Author: Fred James.
Recording information: The Armadillo World Headquarters (1973-1975); The Capitol Theatre, Port Chester, NY (1973-1975).
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