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Leftover Salmon
Live
(Compass)
First Appeared at The Music Box, August 2002, Volume 9, #8
Written by John Metzger
Let’s face it — Leftover Salmon has had a spotty recording career. In its
eleven-year existence, the group has managed to release only three studio efforts, the best of which
is a guest-laden affair (The Nashville Sessions) that finds the band
taking a backseat to its musical compatriots. Even if one gives Leftover Salmon
the benefit of the doubt and concedes that it is undeniably a group that is best
seen in concert, neither of its previous live efforts really does much to
showcase the ensemble at its best. Fortunately, for those who have yet to give up hope, Leftover Salmon
has released its third live album Live — pronounced "liv" — which finally captures at least
some of its concert magic.
For sure, Leftover Salmon has come a long way in recent years. But, the
additions of keyboardist Bill McKay and drummer Jose Martinez, along with the replacement of bassist
Tye North with Greg Garrison, has helped the band take a huge step forward in terms of both
songwriting and musicianship. Although hijinks and silliness still seep into
ensemble's sets and songs,
it’s nowhere near the ridiculous and often distracting levels it once was, surfacing here only in
the annoying and overly lengthy funk-jam Unplug That Telephone and a rambunctiously
too-cute-for-its-own-good rendition of David Bromberg’s Danger Man.
As for the rest of Live, the members of Leftover Salmon either make the
goofiness work for them or avoid it entirely. Either way it allows the music to move front and
center where it belongs. The traditional Let’s Give a Party is perfectly suited to the band’s
often adolescent antics, but here, the group turns it into a whirlwind of instrumental chops,
highlighted by McKay’s New Orleans-tinged piano.
Indeed, it’s McKay’s repeatedly brilliant performances that help
to make Live so special. On a solid cover of John Hartford’s Steam Powered Aeroplane, he hovers just
beneath the surface, playing perfectly off the banjo of Mark Vann. Likewise, he contributes the
album’s two best compositions (Bill’s Boogie and Railroad Highway), each of which
bakes the band’s Rocky Mountain bluegrass into a Southern-fried mixture of Little Feat and the Allman Brothers Band — a blend that has long bubbled beneath the surface of Leftover Salmon’s music,
but has never materialized fully.
And that’s just it. Leftover Salmon always has been a group with a lot of
talent, but far too often, it’s been squandered and unrealized. Like any teen in search of the
perfect buzz, however, there comes a time to grow up and take life a little more seriously. Not an
easy process, perhaps, but Leftover Salmon has been making great strides of late. With Live,
the ensemble proves that it most definitely has matured, while also demonstrating that it can still
have a whole lot of fun.  ½
Live is available from Amazon.com.
To order, Click Here!
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Ratings
1 Star: Pitiful
2 Stars: Listenable
3 Stars: Respectable
4 Stars: Excellent
5 Stars: Can't Live Without It!!
Copyright © 2002
The Music Box
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