DAVID CROSBY : KING BISCUIT FLOWER HOUR PRESENTS DAVID CROSBY

 

  1. Tracks In The Dust 

  2. Guinnevere 

  3. Compass 

  4. In My Dreams

  5. Drive My Car 

  6. Lady Of The Harbor

  7. Oh, Yes I Can 

  8. Monkey And The Underdog 

  9. Delta

  10. Déjà Vu

  11. Night Time For The Generals 

  12. Wooden Ships

  13. Almost Cut My Hair 

  14. Long Time Gone 

Label : King Biscuit Flower Hour Records

Time : 74:17

Venue : Tower Theatre, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

Date : April 8th, 1989

Quality : Soundboard Recording (A+)

Review : This album was actually recorded seven years before it's release in 1996. This live set captured David Crosby promoting his second solo album "Oh Yes I Can".  The definite split between acoustic and electric work well and remind us of how CSN&Y used to perform their  shows. He sounds in good form but not as strong as on "It's all coming back to me now". The new tracks (those from "Oh Yes I Can") are well received but the audience make it very clear what they are there to hear.  A brilliant version of "Guinnevere" without the customary Nash harmonies is a pleasure to hear. Not a real bootleg, I suppose, 'cause this King Biscuit release can be found in most discographies of David Crosby. Let me know if you think I should throw him out of my list.

Review (Allmusic) for the album "Live" (10 tracks) : This album is a budget-priced, abridged version of the David Crosby live album King Biscuit Flower Hour, originally released in 1996 and drawn from a concert held in Philadelphia in 1989. The more complete album contains four tracks not included here: "In My Dreams," "Drive My Car," "Monkey and the Underdog," and "Night Time for the Generals." The remaining ten songs are evenly divided between songs Crosby wrote in the late '80s after his recovery from substance abuse ("Tracks in the Dust," "Compass," "Delta," "Lady of the Harbor," "Oh Yes I Can") and songs he wrote in the late '60s for Crosby, Stills & Nash or Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young ("Déjà Vu," "Almost Cut My Hair," "Guinnevere," "Wooden Ships," "Long Time Gone"). Crosby performs acoustic and solo at first and is later joined by a band. He benefits from the familiarity of the CSN/CSNY material and from the conviction with which he performs the newer songs, but it is still easy to tell why he functions better in a group context than as a leading performer, since his songs, taken at slow or medium tempos (tempos that change frequently in the course of a single song), have complicated melodies and discursive lyrics that sometimes put them in the realm of recitative more than simple pop songs. Crosby was at the height of his fame as a reformed addict in 1989, which allowed him to tour under his own name alone, but he remains better appreciated as a key part of a group such as CSN.