For years, guitarist Johnny Winter had one of the most electrifying live albums ever released, when he put out Live Johnny Winter And in 1971. This incredible live recording of the original Edgar Winter Group recorded at The Mosque Theater in Pittsburgh, PA in April, 1973, just may surpass that album as one of the most powerful kick-ass performances ever captured on tape.…entire summary
Edgar Winter - vocals, keyboards, sax, timbales, percussion
Ronnie Montrose - guitar
Dan Hartman - bass, vocals
Chuck Ruff - drums
For years, guitarist Johnny Winter had one of the most electrifying live albums ever released, when he put out Live Johnny Winter And in 1971. This incredible live recording of the original Edgar Winter Group recorded at The Mosque Theater in Pittsburgh, PA in April, 1973, just may surpass that album as one of the most powerful kick-ass performances ever captured on tape.
After spending several years as part of the back up band for his famous sibling, Johnny Winter, Edgar landed a record deal of his own on Epic Records (sister label to Johnny's label, Columbia Records). His initial solo debut, Entrance, in 1970, was praised by critics and had some great material (including his fiery remake of the 1963 Nashville Teens' classic, "Tobacco Road") but failed to make any substantial impact as a big seller.
Winter returned in 1971 with a stunning R&B/rock opus and an eight piece horn-driven band called Edgar Winter's White Trash (a reference to the fact that both he and Johnny are albinos). The group did a solid year of touring, and made one memorable double live album entitled Roadwork, before Edgar Winter decided it was time to get lean and mean.
The solution for Edgar Winter was to re-vamp his set up with down-to-the-bone four piece rock'n'roll machine. Hence, the Edgar Winter Group, which debuted in 1973 with Winter on keyboards, sax and percussion, Dan Hartman on bass, drummer extraordinaire Chuck Ruff, and a sassy Bay Area guitarist named Ronnie Montrose, who had worked with Van Morrison, among others.
The result was a brilliant pop album called They Only Come Out at Night, which included several hits singles ("Hangin' Around", "Free Ride", and his career single, the instrumental "Frankenstein"). This show was recorded at the onset of the band's 18-month run at the top of the charts. The record had just been released and there is a lot of non-LP material in this show (older hits from White Trash and covers like Little Richard's "Long Tall Sally" and Chuck Berry's "Johnny B. Goode"). All in all, this is a great recording from a band in the prime of their career.
collapse
