Way Out West!: Live From San Francisco 1973

The Marshall Tucker Band came out of the same era that brought us the Allman Brothers and Lynyrd Skynyrd. All three were great southern rock bands, although Tucker had more of a country flavor than the other two, and all three were great road bands. "Way Out West" was a live concert aired on FM radio back in 1973, just as the Tucker band was beginning to build it's cult following. Recorded between the release of their first album ( The Marshall Tucker Band ) and their second ( A New Life ) the set included 8 classic Tucker songs.What makes this a good addition to any Marshall Tucker collection is you can hear the raw energy that was always present at a MTB concert. Probably more than any other group, this band loved to get up on stage and rock your socks off. Toy Caldwell's thumb-strumming guitar riffs are amazing, especially in the 14 minute jam piece "Everyday I have the Blues".There are some issues with this release though. The sound quality is average at best having been recorded for 1973 radio. The vocal harmonies of Toy Caldwell and Doug Grey never really blend and at times even contrast. Add to that there is an occasional bad note, or two or three. Jerry Eubanks' flute solo on "Take the Highway is rather painful to listen to as well. This set is far from the polished live tracks included on the later releases of  Where We All Belong  and  Searchin' for a Rainbow . But in a way that makes this almost a must have, to hear the band from the very early years.Overall I would recommend this to any MTB fan as well as anyone into 1970's southern rock. Plain & simple, it's a good recording of a great Southern Rock Band!

I was really surprised today when I put this CD on. I gather that Doug Gray mixed this album. He did an outstanding job. I really didn't expect the sound quality to be as good as it is.I started out loving a regiment of guitar players from Eric Clapton, Pete Townsend, Al Lee and many others. When I heard Toy Caldwell on a faithful night in 1974 I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I started playing the guitar at 9 so I had a vested interest in his ability. To me he is probably one of the best ever. All of Marshall Tucker albums especially the live ones, are great. I had some of the bad recordings from the early seventies. They sounded really bad but the band itself was great. Back in the beginning the recording was terrible. People should not judge the band by some of these bad recordings. All of the remixed live albums have been very good.

Think of Marshall Tucker's first album. Played live. An amazing recording of the band at their best. I never even knew this album existed until recently. And now it's in heavy rotation here.

Great recording from FM broadcast, great performance, and great introduction by Bill Graham at the one and only Winterland.

The first time I saw Marshall Tucker was on this tour in 1973 and they opened for the Allman Brothers Band in New York. I had no idea who Marshall Tucker was at the time and I was sorry I didn't pay more attention. Well now I can hear them all over again. This CD is full of the fire the Marshall Tucker band brought to the stage. What I like about Toy Caldwell is how he always did his lead slightly different each time so no performance is the same. The band is tight and this performance is outstanding. A must have for any Tucker fan and a lot of fun for those of you just tuning in.

We had gone the night before at the Oakland Coliseum Arena...Bill Graham added this show the next day and put it on KSAN radio....my bro taped this and the Allmans...always remember Gregg's classic line from this show..."one good thing about this place is it doesn't close down like those coliseums...."I remember how Marshall Tucker just knocked our socks off.....raw...live...warts and all...The Marshall Tucker Band was MEANT to be heard live and this CD proves it....to me it's worth the money for the Bill Graham intro alone...man those were some good days...buy this and crank it loud...

WAY OUT WEST: LIVE IN SAN FRANCISCO 1973 is a great live recording of the Marshall Tucker Band on their first tour, having been recorded in San Francisco in 1973. This CD includes the first live recording I know of of the classic "24 Hours At A Time", as well as the only live recording I'm aware of of "See You Later, I'm Gone." This CD is a must-own for anyone even remotely interested in Southern rock or country-rock.

Awesome concert, Marshall Tucker was young and hungry and blew the roof off the venue.. A must have for all MT fans... Fast and courteous service I've come to expect from Amazon.. Thank you so much..

I just love this band. And live they really cook as this release well shows. Toy Caldwell is for me one of the greatest unsung guitarist. His playing here is true brilliance. just get a load of his amazing playing on 'Everyday (I have the blues)'and Ramblin. On tracks like 'Take the highway' Jerry Eubanks flute adds an original sound to the southern music mix and sax on some others. 'Can't you see' is true classic and was a Stateside hit single.This show was as support to the Allman Brothers Band on their 'Brothers and Sisters tour'. I have heard that show and its hot too, had to be to follow the MTB. After ABB I rate MTB as the best southern rock band. Buy this and the equally briliant 'Where we all belong' which has more live material on it similar to here and on the studio tracks the great 'This ol' Cowboy' where Toy dazzles too.I own the original vinyl of the first 8 albums and and will now be purchasing the 'Live on Long Island' 1980 2CD show next.

If you are into the music of this era and you want to hear this band when they were about to break through, buy this CD. The Tuckers are a fine example of what was to be coined Southern Rock and you hear them on this recording during their support act on the Allman Brothers 'Brothers and Sisters' tour in 1973. Enjoy ! Jjohn

Took me back to the seventies,a time when music was truly alive. No effects,no lights how,just a gang of guys playing real music

excellent

Der Konzertmitschnitt "Way out west! Live from San Francisco" der Southern Rocker Marshall Tucker Band weckt Erinnerungen an die Live-Scheibe vom herausragendem Doppelalbum "Where we all belong". Die Aufnahmen von "Way out west!" sind aus dem Frühjahr 1973. Im Vergleich zu den im Juli 1974 mitgeschnittenen Live-Songs auf "Where we all belong" klingen sie eine Spur rauer, ungeglätteter. In ihrer atemberaubenden Dynamik und Spielfreude stehen sie diesen aber in nichts nach. Viele in späteren Jahren veröffentlichte Tonträger der Band wirken dagegen wie ein laues Lüftchen. Die Brüder Toy (l-g) und Tommy Caldwell (bg), George McCorkle (r-g), Paul Riddle (dr), Jerry Eubanks (fl) und Doug Gray (voc) - Letzterer zugleich Produzent von "Way out west!" - lieferten im Winterland Ballroom in Frisco einen fulminanten Gig ab. Von den acht Songs stammen sieben aus der Feder von Toy Caldwell. Fünf der Tracks finden sich auch auf der "Where we all belong"-Live-LP. Die Setlist spiegelt die Mischung von Country Rock, jazzigen Anklängen, Blues-Elementen und rockigen Einsprengseln wider, die die Musik der Marshall Tucker Band im Southern Rock-Genre so einzigartig macht. Los geht's mit dem vorwärtsdrängenden Countryrocker "Hillbilly Band". Toy Caldwell glänzt darauf mit tollen Gitarren-Breaks, während Eubanks inspirierte Flöten-Parts beisteuert. "Another cruel love" ist ähnlich angelegt wie der Opener, freilich stärker jazz-betont. Bereits hier zeigt sich, dass insbesondere Eubanks, aber auch der federleicht agierende Drummer Riddle, für die angejazzten Beiträge der Combo verantwortlich sind. Mit "Take the highway" folgt einer der Klassiker der Formation aus Spartanburg, North Carolina. Tommy Caldwell glänzt auf dem jamrockig in Szene gesetzten Song mit massiven Bass-Parts. Sein Bruder zeigt aufs Neue seine Gitarrenkünste. George McCorkle's Rolle ist nicht nur auf dieser Nummer strikt auf die des Rhythmusgitarristen beschränkt. Diese allerdings füllt er mustergültig aus. Eubanks bekommt im Übrigen auch auf diesem Song sein Flöten-Solo. Weiter geht's mit "Can't you see". Auf dieser Country Rock-Hymne zeigt Doug Gray sein ganzes Können als Vokalist. Toy Caldwell lässt dazu seine Gitarre jubilieren, dass es eine wahre Freude ist. "See you later, I'm gone" ist dann Country pur, Steel-Guitar inklusive. Das anschließende "Ramblin' ist Hochgeschwindigkeits-Country Rock vermischt mit bluesigen Boogie-Sounds. Toy Caldwell bearbeitet auf dem Publikums-Favoriten brillant seine Axt und Doug Gray röhrt seine Vocals raus. Mit Memphis Slim's "Every day (I have the blues)" folgt eine 14minütige Verbeugung vor den Größen des Blues. Auf der Basis treibender Basslinien und dynamischer Schlagzeug-Parts wird der Blues-Klassiker zum ausgiebigen Jammen genutzt. Stürmisch vorwärts drängende wechseln sich mit getragenen Passagen ab. Toy Caldwell entfacht eine regelrechte Gitarren-Orgie. Die Nummer verdeutlicht aber auch, wie wichtig George McCorkle's Rhythmusgitarre für den typischen Marshall Tucker-Sound ist. Mit der Country Rock-Hymne "24 hours at a time" klingt das Livealbum aus. Jerry Eubanks stellt darauf nochmals unter Beweis, dass seine Flöten-Beiträge tragender Bestandteil des Band-Konzepts sind. Wie schreibt Barry Alfonso doch in seinen Linernotes zu "Way out west!": "You can hear Marshall Tucker pushing against their limits in these performances". Dem ist nichts hinzuzufügen.