Bring 'em Back Alive

Artist: The Dixie Dregs
Label: Warner Bros.
Category: Music

Average customer rating:

Format: Original recording reissued
Media: Audio CD
Number Of Discs: 1

UPC: 614223212524
EAN: 0614223212524
ASIN: B00005LMM0

Release Date: 1992-07-14

Bring 'em Back Alive

Related Categories:

Jazz Fusion

| Jazz | Styles | Music

General

| Rock | Styles | Music

Southern Rock

| Classic Rock | Styles | Music

Pop Rock

| Pop | Styles | Music

Tracks:

Road Expense
Assembly Line
Holiday
Country House Shuffle
Kashmir
Odyssey
Kat Food
Hereafter
Medley (Take It off the Top)
Divided We Stand
Bloodsucking Leeches
Cruise Control

Customer Reviews:

One of the best ever live albums!!!.......2004-02-27

Totally Awesome!!!....words won't do this album justice.

Buy it turn it up and enjoy one of the best live perfomances ever recorded.

Essential fusion........2003-09-18

After all the time I've tried to introduce others to the musical wonder that is the Dixie Dregs, I still find myself struggling for words that'll decently describe the music to someone who hasn't heard them. They blend every genre available into a wonderfully addicting hard-rock jambalaya, embellishing rock's standard guitar/bass/drum setup with an incredibly masterful violin and an array of jazz-based keyboards that know no boundaries of style. Beyond the group's skill and chemistry (which is a marvel in itself), just as astounding is the writing ability of mastermind guitarist Steve Morse. The man is a wellspring of musical ideas. Ultimately it's his talent for composition that boggles the mind more, but his fretboard dexterity is not to be missed either - he can make that six-string laugh and cry through moments of sublime beauty, then rip and shred through some superhuman feat of technical sorcery with the precision of an android and the calmness of a Zen monk.

Instrumental virtuosity and variety are the order of the day with this band. "Road Expense," "Bloodsucking Leeches" and the extended "Cruise Control" are all basically flat-out rockers, and as different as they are from each other, they're just the tip of the iceberg. "Kat Food" is equal parts sunny rock and upbeat jazz. "Hereafter" is a dreamy slice of pure heaven put into sound. "Holiday" wondrously mixes a Celtic jig and an ear-candy pop instrumental into something truly heart-lifting. "Odyssey" spans the range of a whole adventure story in a mere six minutes, from minor foreboding to gorgeous soaring violin to violent churning frenzy and back again. They paint all kinds of pictures in the air without even any lyrics present (or needed). The one traditional Dregs flavor that's missing on this record is the helping of country/bluegrass; "Country House Shuffle" does have a slight tinge, but there's no foot-stomping hoedown like "Pride o' the Farm" or "The Bash" (aka Wabash Cannonball). It's probably a good thing for those whose taste in fusion doesn't extend to cover hillbilly music.

The sound mix is wonderful, the boundless energy and joyous mood are more consistent than any other Dregs disc out there (no easy feat, let me assure you), and half the songs here are only otherwise available on import or out-of-print albums. They transform a tiresome plodder into something fresh and vital ("Kashmir"), they lighten things up with a whimsical medley of classic rock riffs ("Take it Off the Top"), they bring everything to life with an incredible chemistry that never lets up. Any album could serve as a starting point for anyone curious about the Dregs, but for my money this is the pick of the lot. Every song is a mood-lifting gem, every performance is inspired, everything is technically astounding but always beautifully listenable. I can't express my love for this band enough. Just listen.

All the Dregs' best tracks on one phenomenal live album!.......2003-05-12

If you consider yourself any kind of a fusion OR progressive rock fan, and you don't own this album, add it to your shopping cart NOW! This 1992 live album is right there with anything either genre has ever produced. The Dregs were a phenomenal band, with five virtuoso musicians playing the most intricate yet insanely catchy instrumental rock you can imagine, led by the world's best guitarist (and one of its best composers), Steve Morse. Morse was voted "Best Overall Guitarist" by "Guitar Player" magazine's readers for five straight years before the magazine created a Hall of Fame level to give others a shot at the title. This tour reunited Morse, drummer Rod Morgenstein, keyboardist T Lavitz, and violinist Allen Sloan, along with Steve Morse Band bassist Dave LaRue ten years after the Dregs' breakup. The album functions as a "Best of" collection -- the 12 cuts include 8 of the 10 songs on the "Divided We Stand" best-of album, and all of the Dregs' albums to date are represented. There are no bluegrass or baroque tracks, but the rockers, prog ("Odyssey" and "Divided We Stand"), funk ("Assembly Line" and "Kat Food"), and ballads ("Hereafter") are all here. The only song they could have included that might have made me any happier would be "Twiggs Approved". The highlights are "Country House Shuffle", an amazing 3-1/2 minute cover of Led Zeppelin's "Kashmir", and "Take It Off the Top", which is rearranged to include a medley of classic rockers like "Summertime Blues" and "Mississippi Queen". The 14-minute version of "Cruise Control" may seem excessive, but this is how the song was played as an encore in the early 80s, with a long segment where Morganstein soloed, Morse played with only Morganstein on stage, and Morse then went on an excursion on guitar synthesizer -- fans who've seen the Dregs live will find this track a lot more listenable than newcomers.

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