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Bob Bradshaw
Live in Boston
Review by Gary Hill
I’m not sure I go along with the title to this album. I mean, yes, this is a live recording, meaning the band performed this stuff, and it was recorded as they played it as a group. In other words it wasn’t assembled one piece at a time like a true studio recording. There is no live audience, though, so I’m not sure if it really qualifies as a live album.
Beyond that, though, this has a lot of great music. Bob Bradshaw’s musical style is best described as Americana, but there is more to it than that. He get into rocking territory at times, country at others. Overall it probably sits well in the singer-songwriter vein. Personally, I think it might have been a stronger release if it had been a couple tracks shorter. Nothing here is bad, but it just starts to feel a little monolithic late.
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| Track by Track Review
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Talkin' About My Love For You
This comes in with an instrumental introduction that feels almost proggy. The track morphs into more of reggae rocker with plenty of singer-songwriter angles at play. This is a very classy track that has a real 1970s rock vibe. It also have some killer guitar work in the instrumental breaks. |
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Material For The Blues
A mellower, slower, balladic piece, this has some hints of country music in it. Overall it’s more of a roots music kind of approach with plenty of folk at its heart. |
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Hot In The Kitchen
A pretty basic singer songwriter rock vibe is at play here. This is another classy tune. It’s another that feels like it would have been at home in the 1970s/ |
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Albuquerque
There is a lot of country twang on this slower moving, balladic piece. It’s a total roots styled number. The pedal steel work on it is a nice touch. |
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The Art Of Feeling Blue
This is another classy tune. It lands sort of in the mainstream 70s rock zone. It still has some country music in the mix, and it has some great slide guitar. The instrumental break on this is pure magic. |
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High Horse
The guitar solo section on this really elevates it. It’s on fire. Beyond that this is pretty basic 70s styled rocker. That instrumental section just ignites the whole proceeding and escalates everything. |
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Everybody's Smalltime Now
A slow, moody bluesy jam is on the menu here. It’s not quite a ballad, but the intensity definitely lowers from the previous cut. |
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The Assumptions We Make
More driving and rocking, the 70s rock vibes on this work really well. This is nothing Earth-shattering, but it is cool. |
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Somebody Told Me A Lie
Slower, and much mellower, this has lot of old-time country music in the mix. That includes more pedal steel. |
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Sideways
This bouncy roots rocker is fun. It has a lot of old time rock and roll at its heart, but also a bit of a punk sneer. |
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Every Little Thing
I like this rocker quite a bit. In fact, I’d say that it’s one of my favorites on the disc. It’s all class. |
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High On Our Own Supply
This is another solid rocker. It’s actually one of the better songs here, but the formula is starting to wear thin by this point. |
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Exotic Dancers Wanted
I like this classy tune packed full of folk and singer-songwriter vibes quite a bit, but again, it’s a little too samey to really stand out.
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