Spooky Tooth - Live In Europe

Year of Release: 2001
Label: Bluestorm Music
Catalog Number: 6 70211 30022 2
Format: CD
Total Time: 00:00:00

Spooky Tooth's Live In Europe is a cross section of previously unreleased live, rare, and outtakes. Some of these recordings came out of the archives from 1968. Tracks one through eight are live sessions (1968), and seven through eleven are studio recordings all the way up to recently (1999). This is a real mixed bag. Some of these tunes are real throwaways; others are standup rocking blues numbers. The group was vocalist Mike Harrison, keyboardist/vocalist Gary Wright, guitarist Luther Grosvenor, bassist Greg Ridley, and drummer Mike Kellie. They were certainly a talented bunch, so much so that they all went on to successful careers with other popular groups and as solo artists.

Because of the range in dates and song selection the prevailing factor is inconsistency on this CD. What really surprised me was the terrible quality of the outtakes from the 1999 sessions. "Better You Than Me" sounds like a badly tuned in radio station, just dreadful. The next song "Soulful Lady" is a bit better, but the sound quality is muddied and leaves a lot to be desired. It's apparent why these were outtakes. They should have kept them that way. The live material from 1968 sounds a lot better. Not all of it is mind you, just some of it. "Sunshine Help Me" gets things started and it doesn't impress as a jump-starting tune for an opener. "I Can't Quit Her" and "Blues Town" do the group justice. It's a shame such a great group doesn't have any other existing quality live material available.

My advice? If you are looking for some high quality Spooky Tooth recordings, don't start here.

[This release also known as BBC Sessions (?) -ed.]

Tracklisting:
Sunshine Help Me / Too Much Of Nothing / Feelin' Bad / The Weight / I Can't Quit Her / Blues Town / Pretty Colours / Sunshine (Original Studio Outtakes/Long Version) / How (Original Studio Outtakes) / Better By You Better Than Me / Soulful Lady

Musicians:
Mike Harrison - vocals
Gary Wright - keyboards, vocals
Luther Grosvenor - guitars; vocals (7); percussion (8,9)
Greg Ridley - bass
Mike Kellie - drums; percussion and backing vocals (8,9)
Jim Capaldi - lead vocals, drums (7)
Gordon Jackson - guitar (7)
Dave Meredith - bass (7)
Poli Palmer - vibes, flutes (7)

Discography:
It's All About (1968)
Spooky Two (1969)
Ceremony (1970)
The Last Puff (1970)
You Broke My Heart So I Busted Your Jaw
Best Of Spooky Tooth (1976) (Germany, w.different tracks)
Best Of Spooky Tooth-That Was (1994)
Cross Purpose (1999)
That Was Yesterday: Introduction (2000) (Remastered)
Comic Violence (2000)
Live In Europe (or BBC Sessions) (2001)

Nomad Poets - Live In Germany 2004 (DVD/CD) (2007)

Genre: Progressive Rock

Origin UK

Added: August 31st 2001
Reviewer: Keith "Muzikman" Hannaleck

Artist website: www.spookytooth.co.uk
Hits: 1703
Language: english