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Avg: 4.0 (32 ratings)
- Date Released: January 1, 2006
- Genre: Country/Folk
- Style: Alt-Country
- Label: Yep Roc Records / Redeye
Alt-country's very own Last Waltz.
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We Say...
The Sadies have spent the last decade mastering a mess of genres — electrified bluegrass, surf-twang instrumentals, wan Americana balladry, call-and-response gospel — and they run the gamut on the first half of this two-disc live set, recorded in their Toronto hometown. It's impressively adept, although not the stuff of legend. Then Jon Spencer shows up.
The former Blues Explosion/current Heavy Trash frontman opens disc two with a rousing four-minute testimonial to his friends "the Sadies-uh" that includes high-pitched woooo's, reverberated grunts, nonsense syllables, repeated exhortations for the crowd to "say 'Yeah!'" and barked asides like "it's star time," all set to a low-riding Bo Diddley beat. As if on cue, the Sadies catapult into awesomeness, ditching the genre workouts in favor of amped-up, incendiary noise. More pals materialize: Neko Case, who had the pleasure of the Sadies' backing on her 2004 live album, The Tigers Have Spoken, lends grace to a honky-tonk chestnut, "Home"; Jayhawk Gary Louris indulges his prog-rock side on Pink Floyd's "Lucifer Sam."
By the time Jon Langford leads a sing-along of the Mekons' "Memphis, Egypt," the Sadies have achieved the coveted title of Best Band in the World at That Moment. Phew — alt-country doesn't need its own Last Waltz anymore. -
They Say...
Over the course of five studio albums under their own name and a hatful of sessions with other acts (ranging from alt-country songbird Neko Case to R&B wildman Andre Ethier), the Sadies have firmly established themselves as some of the finest pickers on the North American continent. Dallas Good and Travis Good's guitars conjure up a twangy netherworld hovering somewhere between California surf and Nashville twang along the broad plains of the Canadian prairies, and Mike Belitsky and Sean Dean are a superbly malleable rhythm section, always giving the songs just what they need without getting in the way. What isn't as widely appreciated is how great a live band the Sadies can be, but this two-disc set recorded during a two-day stand at Lee's Palace in Toronto proves that whatever these guys can do in the studio, they can do just as well (if not better) in front of a cheering crowd. Like many of their studio discs, In Concert, Vol. 1 features an abundant helping of guest stars, ranging from the Good Brothers (the country act led by Dallas and Travis' parents), former Band keyboardist Garth Hudson and members of Blue Rodeo to Jon Spencer, Jon Langford of the Mekons and the Waco Brothers, Gary Louris of the Jayhawks, and frequent collaborators Neko Case and Kelly Hogan. Given the talent on-stage, it says a lot that the Sadies not only don't drown in the wake of their "special guests," but sound fiery and fully in control for more than 110 minutes, and they can leap from the country gospel of "Higher Power" and the honky tonk fire of "1,000,002 Songs" to the blues-punk blast of "Back Off" (with Jon Spencer adding his trademark spiel) and the flinty roar of "Memphis, Egypt" (as Jon Langford briefly turns the Sadies into the Mekons) and land firmly on their feet every time. Also, while there's a cool assurance to the Sadies' studio work, here the band isn't afraid to turn it up and draw sweat, and there's a level of excitement in these sessions that will please fans and surprise the doubters. Steve Albini, Ken Friesen, and Don Pyle get the whole shebang on tape with high fidelity without sacrificing the energy of the musicians or the audience in the process. If the title In Concert, Vol. 1 is meant to suggest the Sadies have another album like this in the works, let's hope it hits the streets soon if it approaches this level of excellence: this truly captures a great band at the top of their form.
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21 Total Tracks, 45:11 Total Length
eMusic Tip
Paid downloads are counted towards an album discount but free downloads are not.
COMPLETE FOR FREE!
You can download the rest of the tracks from this album for free! Just click the Complete Album button.
We’re sorry this album can only be downloaded using paid subscription download credits.
We recommend you Save it for Later by clicking the Save for Later button shown just above this message. For a list of related albums you can download right now, check out these recommendations.
We'll give you 24 additional free credits to download this album and start your paid subscription.
Get 24 bonus credits on us if you download this album. Sweet!
20 Total Tracks, 66:27 Total Length
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Credits
- Steve Albini - Engineer // Angie Carlson - Producer // Angie Carlson - Assistant // Jim Cuddy - Guitar // Jim Cuddy - Vocals // Jim Cuddy - Guest Appearance // Sean Dean - Bass // Sean Dean - Artwork // Sean Dean - Group Member // Bazil Donovan - Guitar (Acoustic) // Bazil Donovan - Guest Appearance // Ken Friesen - Mixing // Ken Friesen - Tape Supervision // Brian Good - Guitar (Acoustic) // Brian Good - Vocals (Background) // Brian Good - Guest Appearance // Bruce Good - Autoharp // Bruce Good - Vocals // Bruce Good - Guest Appearance // Larry Good - Banjo // Larry Good - Guest Appearance // Jan Haust - Producer // Jan Haust - Assistant // Kelly Hogan - Vocals // Kelly Hogan - Vocals // Kelly Hogan - Guest Appearance // Kelly Hogan - Guest Appearance // Garth Hudson - Accordion // Garth Hudson - Accordion // Garth Hudson - Keyboards // Garth Hudson - Keyboards // Garth Hudson - Guest Appearance // Garth Hudson - Guest Appearance // Greg Keelor - Guitar // Greg Keelor - Drums // Greg Keelor - Vocals // Jon Langford - Guitar // Jon Langford - Guitar // Jon Langford - Guitar // Jon Langford - Guitar // Jon Langford - Vocals // Jon Langford - Vocals // Jon Langford - Vocals // Jon Langford - Vocals // Jon Langford - Guest Appearance // Jon Langford - Guest Appearance // Jon Langford - Guest Appearance // Jon Langford - Guest Appearance // Gary Louris - Guitar // Gary Louris - Vocals // Gary Louris - Guest Appearance // Doug McClement - Producer // Doug McClement - Assistant // Matt Verta-Ray - Guitar // Matt Verta-Ray - Vocals (Background) // Matt Verta-Ray - Guest Appearance // Rick White - Guitar // Rick White - Vocals // Rick White - Cover Art // Rick White - Guest Appearance // Neko Case - Guitar // Neko Case - Guitar // Neko Case - Vocals // Neko Case - Vocals // Neko Case - Guest Appearance // Neko Case - Guest Appearance // Mike Belitsky - Drums // Mike Belitsky - Group Member // Don Pyle - Assistant Engineer // Don Pyle - Mixing // Bob Egan - Pedal Steel // Bob Egan - Guest Appearance // Steve Lindsay - Producer // Steve Lindsay - Assistant // Dallas Good - Vocals // Dallas Good - Mixing // Dallas Good - Photography // Dallas Good - Group Member // Travis Good - Fiddle // Travis Good - Guitar // Travis Good - Vocals // Travis Good - Group Member // Peter J. Moore - Mastering // Peter J. Moore - Advisor // Jennifer Temple - Producer // Jennifer Temple - Assistant // Glenn Dicker - Producer // Glenn Dicker - Assistant // Gavin Brown - Drums // Bob Packwood - Keyboards // Bob Packwood - Guest Appearance // Mike Bulington - Drums // Mike Bulington - Shaker // Susan de Cartier - Producer // Susan de Cartier - Assistant // Andre Ethier - Vocals // Andre Ethier - Guest Appearance // Paul Rigby - Mandolin // Paul Rigby - Guest Appearance // Margaret Good - Vocals // Margaret Good - Guest Appearance // Amanda Schenk - Photography // Brian Taylor - Producer // Brian Taylor - Assistant // Brian McCullough - Live Sound
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