Tower of Power/Live Anthology 1975-1986

A live anthology series that thoroughly compiles Tower of Power’s live sound sources. The third edition is here. An amazing 6-disc set, all soundboards, all great performances, this is an absolutely must-have title! A sound board sound source with a heavy bass sound from the peak of 1975 that resonates in the lower body, and although it is recorded for about 41 minutes, it makes you feel as if you were listening to an official analog live album. It’s Garibaldi’s drums (at the beginning of the first song, before the introduction of the band, the drums sound like they’re asserting themselves!), and the vocals are by Hubert Tubbs (because he has lower-range vocals than Lenny). The first thing that surprises me is that the first song is Stroke 75, a single from that time. It’s also great to have a medley with Walkin’ Up Hip Street and further development. The 1975 album is In The Slot, but no songs from there are played. Rather, the set list centered on songs from the previous album 1974’s Urban Renewal, such as Willing To Learn, I Believe In Myself, and It’s Not The Crime. At least it is certain that it is a live performance after strengthening the band, that is, when Garibaldi returns, and the performance is still powerful and funky. I think there are many fans who say they prefer Lenny Williams’ vocals, but it’s also hard to abandon Hubert, who left the band after a year. He sings the classic dance floor killer Only So Much Oil In The Ground with his own low-range vocals. I wrote that it was their peak, but more than that, they played songs from 1974 with the face of 1975, and it’s a live show that I would rather push for its freshness. And the second half is a sound board sound source carefully restored from a cassette tape that was air-checked over 40 years ago. Therefore, although it cannot be said to have the highest sound quality, it was included in the Live Anthology series because it was a valuable live performance. There’s no Garibaldi at the S.N.A.C.K. Benefit (Students Need Athletics, Culture and Kicks) show, and there’s no Lenny. However, its popularity was at its peak at this time, and at least you can feel the atmosphere. The performance is also amazing as it responds to the excitement of the audience. Disc 1 Bottom Line, New York City, NY 1975 1.Stroke 75 – Matanusuka – Walkin’ Up Hip Street 2.It’s Not The Crime 3.This Time It’s Real 4.You Strike My Main Nerve 5.Willing To Learn 6.Only So Much Oil In The Ground 7.So Very Hard To Go 8.I Believe In Myself 9.What Is Hip? S.N.A.C.K Benefit, Kezar Stadium, San Francisco, CA March 23rd 1975 10.Bill Graham Intro/Oakland Stroke/What Is Hip ? 11.Down To The Nightclub 12.Sparkling In The Sand 13.You’re The Most 14.You’re Still A Young Man Live in New York on April 11, 1975, higher sound quality than the existing master, especially heavy bass It has a punchy sound quality centered around. It is said that Garibaldi is not there, but it may be him because it includes his unique “zuzukka” drum sound that he tries out between songs. It’s true that they aren’t playing In The Slot songs, so there’s a high probability that they won’t be there. As with Bottom Line, the vocalist is Hubert Tubbs, not Lenny. It’s interesting that the vocals are a bit out of place. Assuming that Garibaldi is present, it will be a performance by the face of that masterpiece official live album Live And In Living Color, and if you listen to it with that feeling, it can certainly be said to be an amazing performance. The beginning of Oakland Stroke is similar to 1974, and it can be assumed that the band brought a familiar song to the first song in hopes of Garibaldi’s recovery. It’s actually pretty cool. Although the setlist is centered around Urban Renewal, the songs themselves are all in one piece, and the performances are amazing. Calderone Concert Hall, Hempstead, NY April 11th 1975 Disc 2 1.Oakland Stroke 2.Squib Cakes 3.It’s Not The Crime 4.This Time It’s Real 5.You Strike My Main Nerve 6.Willin’to Learn 7.Down To The Nightclub 8.Only So Much Oil In The Ground 9.Sparkling In The Sand Disc 3 1.I Believe In Myself 2.What Is Hip? 3.So Very Hard To Go 4.Knock Yourself Out 5.You’re Still A Young Man 6.You’re The Most Soundboard recording of New Year’s Eve live in Hawaii. The live performance during the album In The Slot, when David Garibaldi, who is the mainstay of the lower half, returned to the band, the polyrhythm’s wonders show off their brilliance. This sound source actually has some problems, and it’s due to the mixing, but there are variations, so there are places where the sound is broken, the sound is cut out, and the sound is unbalanced. However, it was still a great live performance, so I recorded it. Speaking of members of that legendary official live album Live And In Living Color, it can’t be bad. In addition, songs from the following year’s album Ain`t No Stopping Us Now are performed (although it’s a shame that the sound is unstable in that area), and Stroke ’75, which was only released as a 7-inch single record at the time, is performed. It’s amazing to hear it performed live. It’s also nice to be able to listen to Urban Renewal’s songs with Garibaldi’s drums. And above all, I’m happy to be able to confidently write that it’s Garibaldi. And at the end, there is a performance of Knock Yourself Out that lasts less than 30 minutes, and the content is agony. I want people to feel that if Rocco and Garibaldi were together, TOP would be the best performance. Disc 4 Diamond Head Crater, Honolulu, Hawaii December 31st, 1975 1.Squib Cakes 2.It’s Not The Crime 3.You’re So Wonderful, So Marvelous 4.You Got To Funkfize 5.Stroke 75 / Matanuska 6.On The Serious Side 7.What Is Hip? 8.Treat Me Like Your Man 9.Just Enough And Too Much 10.You’re Still A Young Man 11.In The Slot 12.Ain’t Nothing Stopping Us Now 13.You’re The Most 14.Knock Yourself Out You might be surprised to know that Tower Of Power was performing live at this time, complete with perfect sound board recording at Hyatt Regency, Minneapolis, April 4, 1986. Recorded. The 80’s were a period of boredom, that’s true. In the latter half of the 1970s, despite Columbia paying him a large contract fee, his sales were not very impressive, and his contract was terminated after 1979. However, he continued to record new songs throughout the early 1980s, and these recordings can be seen in Rhino’s Dinosaur Tracks Previously Unreleased Tracks. On the other hand, he was active as a backing horn for Huey Lewis and others in the 80’s, but his only original album was Power, released in 1987. Naturally, there were very few opportunities to perform live to promote their albums, including their new songs. And this year, 1986, was a bit too early for promotion of that album. However, in fact, it was released as a Scandinavian-only album under the title TOP on a Danish label the year before Power was released. This album has almost the same songs as Power, but three re-recorded songs, You Ought To Be Havin’ Fun, Heartbreakin’ In The Makin’, and Doggin’ At The Cathouse, are not included in Power. In that sense, this live show was a live show at a time when it was either decided to release a new album or not, and new vocalist Ellis Hall did his best to liven up the stage, and while retaining the R&B style of the 80’s, he broke new ground. You can see them eagerly trying to open it. Some people may think that he is a normal black vocalist since he has not been particularly active elsewhere, but after all, he is the main vocalist of TOP, and he proudly sang Johnny Guitar Watson’s famous song Don`t Change Horses. She sings, giving us a funky voice with some scatting. Buck also reacts to your mood and can’t help but smile. Anyway, I’ll do my best from now on! This live shows a great spirit, and the first song is Down To Night Club, so Tower is already in its prime, isn’t it? Don’t worry, you can now immerse yourself in the live performance with peace of mind. The performance of Waiting for Only So Much Oil In The Ground is also good. Baby`s Got The Power and Count On Me are new songs at the time and are also included on the album. Count On Me is amazing with Rocco’s driving bass play. The hit songs of the past continue, and Doggin’ At The Cathouse is a live version of a song that can only be heard on the limited album, where Emilio Castillo MC says it is a song from the new album. And the vocals are also Emilio. Boys Night Out is a song that is not included in the limited edition album. I mentioned that a lot of songs were being composed around this time, but this live performance features a lot of sound sources from that time, so core fans should be able to resist it. The famous song You`re Still A Young Man was sung with great emotion and played for 14 minutes. This song will be the highlight of this live show. You can hear Greg Adams’ best trumpet solo. And finally, You Out To Be Havin` Fun, a song from the album Ain`t Nothin` Stopin` Us Now. However, not only this song but also other hit songs are played like a medley and it ends with Rocco’s bass playing roaring in the second half! Hyatt Regency, Minneapolis, MN April 4th 1986 Disc 5 1.Intro 2.Down To Night Club 3.Can’t You See (You Doin’ Me Wrong) 4.Only So Much Oil In The Ground 5.Baby’s Got The Power 6 .Don’t Change Horses 7.Count On Me 8.So Very Hard To Go 9.What Is Hip? 10.Instrumental Disc 6 1.This Time Is Real 2.The Skunk, The Goose & The Fly 3.Doggin’ At The Cathouse 4.Boys Night Out 5.You’re Still A Young Man 6.You Ought To Be Havin Fun 7.Knock Yourself Out