Live [MCA]

by Steppenwolf

Overview

Recorded at various concerts in 1970, this double LP (single CD) also infamously includes a handful of studio-created "live" cuts with overdubbed crowd noise on top of what are some surprisingly lean and effective live-in-the-studio performances. It isn't half-bad musically, roughly on a par with Happening Live by the Outsiders (another fake live release) for musical value, and it is one of the choicer pop-culture documents of its era, featuring such topical songs as "Don't Step on the Grass, Sam" (which opens with an offhanded spoken critique of Operation Intercept, the crackdown on marijuana smuggling instituted by the Nixon administration) and "Draft Resister," and longtime parts of their repertory such as "Tighten up Your Wig," "Corina, Corina," "Power Play," and "The Pusher." The obligatory hits, "Magic Carpet Ride" and "Born to Be Wild," are also present, and it is fun listening, featuring essentially the same lineup that recorded the Monster album that preceded it. The guitars of John Kay and Larry Byrom interweave beautifully, and there isn't much excess, even allowing for the presence of a ten-minute version of "Monster." And assuming that the repertory is appealing, listeners should love the longer versions of most of the songs present here, whether they were really live or not. ~ Bruce Eder

Product Details

Release Date:	07/26/1989
Label:	Mca
UPC:	0076732601327
Rank:	82456

Tracks

1. Sookie, Sookie
2. Don't Step on the Grass, Sam
3. Tighten up Your Wig
4. Monster
5. Draft Resister
6. Power Play
7. Corina, Corina
8. Twisted
9. From Here to There Eventually
10. Hey Lawdy Mama
11. Magic Carpet Ride
12. The Pusher
13. Born to Be Wild

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Steppenwolf   Primary Artist

Technical Credits

Gabriel Melker   Producer
Rushton Moreve   Composer
John Kay   Composer,Musician
Wardell Gray   Composer
Hoyt Axton   Composer
Ray Thompson   Engineer
Goldie McJohn   Composer
Goldy McJohn   Composer,Musician
Annie Ross   Composer
Steve Cropper   Composer
Bo Chatmon   Composer
Larry Byrom   Composer
Mars Bonfire   Composer
Nick St. Nicholas   Musician
Jerry Edmonton   Composer,Musician
Tom Gundelfinger   Design,Photography
Larry Byron   Musician
Don Covay   Composer
Amos Easton   Composer
Steppenwolf   Composer
J. Mayo Williams   Composer
Gabriel Mekler   Producer