Cheap Live at Maritime Hall Sf (Music) (Soul Brains) Price

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Customer Reviews of Live at Maritime Hall Sf

mockery
i was at this show
this is not bad brains
this is a group of guys who would rather have nothing to do with each other but they don't want to go back to working in the auto shop or whatever other day jobs they have
yeah, they play well, the chemistry exists
but hr, just a puppet
lifeless
hollow
and if you don't have anything new to offer us, why record the same songs AGAIN? how many versions of sailin on do we need?
maybe brains can't move on
but we should
someone out there has a spark that deserves your attention
theory of ruin
last of the juanitas
fantomas
dillinger escape plan
lightning bolt

brains lost the spark YEARS ago
lets not lose it with them

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Gotta have it LIVE
For the new Brains fan, you may find it puzzling that there are nearly as many live recordings of Soul/Bad Brains as studio collaborations. The avid fan, however, knows how the Brains are best served: straight with a twist of live.
If you are just beginning your experience with this D.C. rooted band, this is a good start to your live collection. Grabbing deep into the back catalog, you will find a variety of the early hardcore material, with additional representatives from every Brains studio accomplishment (I do not include 'Rise' because there is no HR). Indeed this is a live journey through a rather bumpy career for the Brains, and what it lacks in production quality, it makes up in soul.
The avid, long-time listener will find this a reasonable effort with a few gems. Severely lacking the ferocity of Bad Brains 'Live' or the highly polished, uptempo flavor of 'Youth are Getting Restless', it will probably not be in your normal Soul/Bad Brains rotation. Nevertheless, there are highlights. HR's playful (and often funny) musings with the crowd and superb renditions of 'Sailin' On', "I n I Survive' and 'I Against I' make this a worthy buy.
One things for sure, if you are old school,you will be spinning 'Rock For Light' on the turntable by the time this one is over. And the new fan...no doubt you will be adding to your Brains collection soon.

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I and I Survive
Okay, so this isn't the BEST live Bad Brains album. When judged against, say, "The Youth Are Getting Restless," this should probably only get 3 stars. But when grading a band's albums, it should be done on what the album sounds like as its own entity, not compared to the artists' other work.
That said, this is a really great live album. The whole band sounds very fresh and energized despite the 20+ years that they've been together. Doc's chops are in full effect; Daryl's bass tone is insanely versatile - from the deep dub-reggae to the punchy hardcore to the "hunna-miles-an-owa" punk jams; and Earl is on point with almost metronomic precision.
Highlights are "Coptic Times," "I Against I," and "Re-Ignition." The end of "I & I Survive" absolutely shimmers, and it's interesting to hear H.R. eschew the personal pronoun - especially in "Sailing On" (good thing they didn't do the song "I"!). HR's crowd banter is hilarious ("Gettin' all moochy on me!") - he sounds like a little kid.
The mix is much better than on the SST Live album. The only problems with the Maritime mix is that sometimes the bass overpowers the guitar and sometimes the snare sounds a bit dead. Not enough to detract from a five-star rating.