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Dixie Dregs — King Biscuit Flower Hour Presents
(King Biscuit Flower Hour Records 70710-88031-2, 1979/1997, CD)

by Mike Grimes, Published 1998-07-01

King Biscuit Flower Hour Presents Cover art

For a band that was fairly prolific during the late 70s and early 80s, it is interesting that the Dregs never released a full-length live album of that period of the band. Sure, Night of the Living Dregs was partially live, but didn't contain live versions of any studio tracks. Likewise, the 1992 reunion album Bring 'Em Back Alive, though a great live record, isn't an accurate representation of the band during their heyday. Enter King Biscuit. Recorded in June of 1979 fairly soon after the release of the aforementioned Night of the Living Dregs, this King Biscuit live set fills the gap. Keyboardist T. Lavitz had just stepped on board and, by this point, the band was a well-oiled machine. Contained herein are longtime live staples like "The Bash," "Cruise Control," and "Country House Shuffle" that have been part of basically every live show the band plays. In addition, there are nice versions of tracks like "Freefall," "Moedown," and the excellent "Night Meets Light," which weren't common components of latter-day Dregs set lists. Since the show was recorded in front of an audience at a recording studio, the quality is quite high for a live release. Mysteriously, however, the keyboards are sometimes inaudible and sometimes overbearing. Weird... The performance is energetic. The arrangements are extended and varied compared to the studio versions. It's everything that's fun, interesting, and amazing about a live Dregs show.

Filed under: New releases, Issue 15, 1997 releases, 1979 recordings

Related artist(s): Dixie Dregs, Steve Morse, Andy West

 

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