Widespread Panic - Live In The Classic City

Year of Release: 2002
Label: Sanctuary Records Group
Catalog Number: 84552
Format: CD
Total Time: 197:23:00

Just lookin' for a place to shed your skin? I have just the place for you, a Widespread Panic concert. If you haven't been to one, or even if you have, these three discs of live material will get yer motor runnin' in no time flat. This group has done a great job helping to find a home for all the displaced Grateful Dead faithful. I personally don't count myself amongst those groups of diehard followers to the live events. I certainly do love this group's music and would jump on the first opportunity to see them though.

The group asked their fans to leave their recorders at home for this event in their hometown of Athens, Georgia. For those of you that don't know, jambands are very cool and let their fans record their live concerts. They promote a real family atmosphere at all of their concerts. You get 27 tracks of prime WSP on this set.

Their music is a real melting pot of genres featuring sizzling ever changing compositions with searing guitar leads, an unbelievable rhythm section, ferocious percussion, churning keyboards, and emotional lead vocals. They have a southern flavor with a little bit of everything stirred around in their boiling musical cauldron including rock, jazz, blues, and country. Anyone that is into progressive rock would get off on this music. It's very complex and each track goes for an extended length of time. In fact there is only one track on this entire set under four minutes and a few them go over 16 minutes. So if you can appreciate the intensity of music like this and the fine musicianship that is necessary to produce it, this is your ticket to one helluva show. This CD set will satisfy the most obsessive dyed-in-the-wool Deadhead and any WSP loyal fanatic. I loved every second of this. They are tremendous live. I feel that in the studio they are excellent; hearing them play live gives weight to all the talk about why you have to see them perform to understand the difference. Like great jazz or prog-rock bands, playing live is an opportunity to show your fans what you are made of, with improvisation being the focus. WSP doesn't waste any time and proves beyond the shadow of a doubt that they are indeed one of the very best jambands in the universe.

Tracklisting:
Disc 1: Action Man (4:34) / Chilly Water (4:02) / Pleas > Chilly Water (12:05) / C Brown (5:41) / Lilly (8:22) / I'm Not Alone (6:09) / One Arm Steve (3:33) / Flat Foot Flewzy (5:43) / Surprise Valley (7:08) / Blight (6:58) / Walkin' (4:56)

Disc Two: All Time Low (5:00) / Mercy (9:07) / Ride Me High (16:21) / Drums (16:35) / Time Is Free (11:39) / Climb To Safety (8:16) / Blue Indian (5:39)

Disc Three: Bear's Gone Fishin' (6:21) / Waker (3:57) / Dyin' Man (4:29) / Stop And Go (10:32) / Hatfield (12:07) / Tall Boy (6:01) / Red Hot Mama (5:48) / Worry (10:51) / Let's Get The Show On The Road (7:34)

Musicians:
John Bell -vocals, guitars
John Hermann - keyboards, vocals
Michael Houser - guitar, vocals
Todd Nance - drums, vocals
Domingo S. Ortiz - percussion, vocals
David Schools - bass, vocals

Special Guests: Bill Berry (R.E.M.); Count Mbutu; Charlie Pruet (Allgood); Dr. Arvin Scott; Chuck Leavell (Rolling Stones); Randall Bramblett (Traffic, Steve Winwood); Yonrico Scott (Derek Trucks Band); Anne Richmond Boston (Swimming Pool Q's); Col. Bruce Hampton; Derek Trucks and John Keane, Peter Jackson and Garrie Vereen.

Discography:
Space Wrangler (1988)
Widespread Panic (1991)
Everyday (1993)
Ain't Life Grand (1994)
Bombs & Butterflies (1997)
Light Fuse, Get Away (1998)
'Til The Medicine Takes (1999)
Another Joyous Occasion (2000)
Don't Tell The Band (double) (2001)
Don't Tell The Band (single) (2001)
Live In The Classic City (2002)
Bell (2003)
Night Of Joy (2004)
Über Cobra (2004)
Jackassolantern (2004)
Live At Myrtle Beach (2005)
Earth To America (2006)
Choice Cuts: The Capricorn Years 1991-1999 (2007)
Free Somehow (2008)
Dirty Side Down (2010)

Live From The George Theater (DVD) (1992)
Panic In The Streets (DVD) (1998/2002)
Live At Oak Mountain (DVD) (2001)
The Earth Will Swallow You (DVD) (2002)
Live At The Backyard In Austin, TX (DVD) (2003)
Earth To Atlanta (DVD) (2006)
Live From Austin, TX (DVD) (2008)

Genre: Jam Band

Origin US

Added: August 11th 2002
Reviewer: Keith "Muzikman" Hannaleck
Score:
Artist website: www.widespreadpanic.com
Hits: 2175
Language: english