fuche_bu's Full Review: Al Kooper & the Rekooperators
Al Kooper is a well respected musician. He is probably best known for his 60s group Blood, Sweat & Tears. He's also a respected session musician. He plays keyboards, guitar and mandolin. He has worked with many of the best musicians in the world. He also tours with various bands. One of these bands is the ReKooperators. This is a touring band that puts on some great shows.
I have gotten to see Al Kooper & the Rekooperators perform live. This is a band that features Jimmy Vivino on guitar, Anton Fig on drums and Mike Merritt on bass. Vivino and Merritt are known for their work with Conan O'Brien. Fig is noted for his time with David Letterman. This is a crackerjack band. Most musicians from TV talk shows are quite good. It was nice to see that there is a DVD to capture their live performance.
Simply titled Al Kooper & the ReKooperators, this is a DVD that captures the band in fine form. This show is from a PBS broadcast in 2006. The band was put together to have a good time. This is an opportunity for each of the musicians to go out and have a good time. That is obvious from the set. They are all just going out and jamming. It's a nice albeit short set. The DVD runs just under an hour. It also includes interview segments with each member of the band.
The chat sections are my least favorite part of the set. This is something that has always bothered me with many live music DVDs. Why do musicians feel compelled to throw chat segments in the middle of the set? I want to hear the music. Couldn't we put the interview segment as a special feature? If they did that, they could have squeezed another song or two into the set. It may be interesting to hear the thoughts of the musicians one time but I'm going to want to play the music multiple times.
The music on the set is superb. They start off with a blues classic Birds Nest On The Ground. This features some great guitar work from Vivino. He doesn't get much chance to let loose like this on the show. He is up to the task here. He will get in a lot of great licks throughout the set. Kooper gets in some great riffs on How Come My Bulldog Won't Bark. This is a fine blues number. Merritt and Fig are superb holding down the rhythm throughout the set.
There is a cover segment that includes some of Kooper's famous songs from Blood, Sweat & Tears. The audience is treated to I Love You More Than You'll Ever Know and Season of the Witch. Songs like Whiter Shade of Pale and Green Onions are interspersed in the medley. There is also a nice version of You Can't Always Get What You Want. This helps cap off a great set.
The sound quality on this DVD is very good. The music comes through brilliantly. This is not a visual feast. There is a minimal amount of lighting for the show. The band playing is the show. This can be entertaining although, Al is not really much as easy on the eyes as someone like Beyonce. This set is really about some top notch musicians going out and playing. I think fans of rock, blues and soul will greatly enjoy this music.
I think that anyone who is an Al Kooper fan will want to get this DVD for their collection. The version of I Love You More Than You'll Ever Know is worth the price of admission on its own. I also recommend this one for those who like to hear great musicians get together to have a good time. You may have to plan on programming the chat out or hitting the skip button but it is a fine addition to a music lover's live music library.
Set list:
Birds Nest On the Groud Glamour Girl Goin' to Heaven in a Pontiac Comin' Back in a Cadillac How Come My Bulldog Won't Bark I Love You More Than You'll Ever Know interpolating: Whiter Shade of Pale/Green Onions/ Blue Rondo a La Turk/Chest Fever You Can't Always Get What You Want/ Season of the Witch
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