The Best Of "King Biscuit": Featuring The Who, Queen, Foreigner and others
Written: May 14 '02 (Updated Oct 03 '02)
Product Rating:
Pros: Some great live performances by The Who,Queen,Foreigner,Pat Benatar, Blondie and many others.
Cons: As was common for '70s/'80s bands, some live performances become long jam sessions.
The Bottom Line: It's a real drive down the highway of memories. With songs that appeal to a diverse audience, this album will probably be popular at parties as background music.
Don_Krider's Full Review: 25 Years of Classic Rock
"The King Biscuit Flower Hour" began airing on hundreds of radio stations in 1973.
During a successful run into the 1980s, the show presented many of rock music's finest and most successful acts performing live before a concert audience (usually 2 acts per show with a half-hour devoted to each act).
This collection:
This "best of" collection from those performances is a gem because it has a little something for every style of rock fan. The sound is outstanding since the original broadcasts have been remixed and remastered for this release on the King Biscuit Flower Hour Records label (formed in 1995).
Among the acts performing the 24 tracks on 2 CDs: Genesis, Queen, The Who, Foreigner, Kansas, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Rush, Pat Benatar, The Kinks, America, Bachman-Turner Overdrive, Billy Squier, Rick Derringer (from The Edgar Winter group and The McCoys), Triumph, Blondie, Foghat, Pat Travers, Humble Pie, Greg Lake, GTR and Emerson, Lake & Palmer.
Some of the performances are more or less true to the original studio recordings, such as Genesis performing a fine rendition of "That's All" and "In Too Deep." Other performances are are more adventurous, creating near-alternate versions of a classic hit, such as Queen's "We Will Rock You" which sounds more revved-up when performed live than they ever did on their studio recordings.
"Won't Get Fooled Again":
The Who offer a stirring version of "Won't Get Fooled Again," from the opening synthesizers to the power chording of Pete Townshend's guitar as the band sings:
"... pick up my guitar and play / just like yesterday / and I get on my knees and pray / we don't get fooled again..."
Foreigner gets two tracks here, a pair of Top 5 hits: "Cold As Ice" and "Hot Blooded," both songs taking on an added dimension live. The band was much looser on stage, a bit more playful and fun than on their records, and that comes through in these performances (having seen them live three times, I rate these live performances to be among their best).
Kansas exhibits 1970s' excess with "Carry On My Wayward Son" (you'd have thought from its massive airplay it was a Top 10 hit, but it peaked at # 11 in 1976). Still, it was a song that fit the mid-'70s perfectly:
"... carry on my wayward son / there'll be peace when you are done / lay your weary head to rest / don't you cry no more..."
"Hit Me With Your Best Shot"::
Pat Benatar kicks things loose on "Hit Me With Your Best Shot," another tune that takes on a different dimension when she performes live. The guitars and drums are more agressive here, with Benatar's "I'm going to knock you out" vocal punch and vocal range to be appreciated:
"... you're a real tough cookie with a long history / of breaking little hearts like you wanna me / well that's okay, let's see how you do it / put up your dukes and let's get down to it / hit me with your best shot..."
"Lola":
The Kinks offer "Lola," complete with audience participation. The audience claps along and sings the chorus ("...L-O-L-A, Lola...") all the way through the song (when lead singer Ray Davies says, "everybody sing," the audience was already ahead of him). As always, The Kinks are stunning, though the lyrics were a bit controversial when the tune hit # 9 in 1970:
"...well I'm not the world's most physical guy / but when she squeezed me tight she nearly broke my spine / ... / well I'm not dumb but I can't understand / why she walked like a woman and talked like a man / oh my Lola la-la-la-la Lola..."
"Sister Golden Hair":
America gets two chances here: a poor version (the lead vocal seems a bit off) of "A Horse With No Name" (which is incorrectly listed here as simply "Horse With No Name") and a wonderful version of "Sister Golden Hair."
"Sister Golden Hair" shows off the band's fine pop harmonies and their ability to sound almost-Beatle-ish at their best:
"Well, I tried to make it Sunday / but I got so damned depressed / that I set my sights on Monday / and I got myself undressed / now I ain't ready for the altar / but I do agree there's times / when a woman sure can be a good friend of mine / well, I keep on thinking about you / Sister Golden Hair surprise / and I just can't live without you / can't you see it in my eyes..."
Pat Travers:
Pat Travers offers some prime guitar solos on "Boom Boom (Out Go The Lights)" (which, at 8:42 minutes in legth, is amazingly not the longest song on this album), while Foghat proves why they were such a huge live concert attraction despite never having a Top 10 hit with "Fool For The City" (which peaked at # 45 in 1976 despite massive airplay).
Another huge concert act appears here, Humble Pie (a band that featured Steve Marriott of The Small Faces and future superstar Peter Frampton). They offer a rocking "30 Days In The Hole," showing a sound that inspired acts from Kiss to The Black Crowes, full of agressive lead guitar work and pounding drums beneath a screaming lead vocal.
GTR, featuring guitarist Steve Howe, a veteran of both Yes and Asia, perform a cover of the 1972 Yes hit, "Roundabout" (which was co-written by Howe and Yes frontman Jon Anderson). GTR's version is wonderful, with some stunning acoustic guitar work.
"One Way Or Another":
Blondie performs one of my favorite tunes of their's, "One Way Or Another," their # 24 chart hit from 1979. It's another agressive performance, putting the band somewhere between punk and new wave, but with pop gloss. Debbie Harry's lead vocals are too cool:
"...one way or another / I'm gonna get ya..."
Guitar gods of the 1980s get their due here, with Billy Squier (of Piper) performing "The Stroke," while Rick Derringer does a wild version of "Rock & Roll Hoochie Koo."
"Takin' Care Of Business":
The album also includes Emerson Lake & Palmer's "Lucky Man," Triumph's "Allied Forces" and Greg Lake's "21st Century Schizoid Man," but in the middle of it all is a song that describes what a series like "King Biscuit" did best in showcasing the life of a rock star, Bachman-Turner Overdrive's "Takin' Care Of Business":
"...get a second-hand guitar / chances are you'll go far / if you get in with the right bunch of fellows / people see you havin' fun just a lyin' in the sun / tell them that you like it this way / it's the work we avoid / and we're all self-employed / we work at nothin' all day / and we've been takin' care of business..."
Summary:
With two hours of music (four of the songs are over eight minutes long) packing the 24 tracks on the two CDs here, this album offers a generous sampling of the "King Biscuit" experience: pop, punk, rock, new wave, boogie --- it's all here, a little something for every music fan.
It's kind of like reliving '70s and '80s radio with every song, like them all or not, because I can remember something I was doing when I first heard each song, so it's a nice reference point for one's memories.
The CD:
The 8-page CD booklet is okay, with several photos. It would have been better with some additional info.
While artist, song title and song length are easy to find, the dates the shows aired and personnel involved in each recording are nowhere to be found. For me, knowing which drummer was playing with The Who, for instance, would have been nice (was it the late Keith Moon or not?).
The 24 tracks:
"That's All" by Genesis, "In Too Deep" by Genesis, "Cold As Ice" by Foreigner, "Hot Blooded" by Foreigner, "A Horse With No Name" by America, "Sister Golden Hair" by America, "We Will Rock You" by Queen, "Won't Get Fooled Again" by The Who, "Lola" by The Kinks and "One Way Or Another" by Blondie.
Also, "Carry On My Wayward Son" by Kansas, "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" by Pat Benatar, "The Stroke" by Billy Squier, "Rock & Roll Hoochie Koo" by Rick Derringer, "Fool For The City" by Foghat, "Call Me the Breeze" by Lynyrd Skynyrd and "Lucky Man" by Emerson, Lake & Palmer.
Also, "Limelight" by Rush, "Allied Forces" by Triumph, ""Boom Boom (Out Go The Lights)" by Pat Travers, "30 Days In The Hole" by Humble Pie, "21st Century Schizoid Man" by Greg Lake (which, at 8:45 minutes in length, is the longest song on the album), "Roundabout" by GTR and "Takin' Care Of Business" by Bachman-Turner Overdrive.
On The Web:
The official "King Biscuit" website (where you can read about their many live releases, including complete live albums by Steve Miller, The Romantics, 10CC and others): http://www.kingbiscuit.com/
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