Track Listing

1. Long Hard Ride
2. This Ol' Cowboy
3. Fire on the Mountain
4. Searchin' for a Rainbow
5. Take the Highway
6. Can't You See?
7. Blue Ridge Mountain Sky
8. Thrill Is Gone - Charlie Daniels, The Marshall Tucker Band
9. Ramblin'
10. 24 Hours at a Time
11. Hillbilly Band

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #74001 in Music
• Brand: Marshall
• Released on: 2003-11-04
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .22 pounds

Album Description
"The jams on Stompin’ Room Only are some of the best ever recorded by the band." —From the liner notes by Michael Buffalo Smith, editor of Gritz magazine

The Marshall Tucker Band, acknowledged as one of the founding fathers of the Southern rock movement, is celebrating its 30th anniversary as a recording group with a catalog restoration and release program. Stompin’ Room Only, part of this collection, is the long rumored and highly anticipated album of live material recorded between 1974 and 1976.

Recorded in London, Manchester (during their only European tour), in Milwaukee, and at Charlie Daniels’ annual "Volunteer Jam" in Murfreesboro during the years 1974-1976, the album was originally prepared for release in 1977 by producer Paul Hornsby and included the original lineup.

In an unusual series of events, the album’s release was first delayed by Capricorn Records and, ultimately, never released, as the master tapes could not be found for more than a quarter century. They were recently discovered in pristine condition and that long-awaited album, the virtual "holy grail" of jam band music is now available.

Customer Reviews

FINALLY! THANK YOU MUSIC GODS!
This CD is a must have for Tucker Boys fans or "southern rock" fans in general. To me the highlight is "Blue Ridge Mountain Sky", which includes a 3-minute plus solo by thumb-picking master Toy Caldwell. Long-time fans will really appreciate that song plus outstanding veresions of "This Ol' Cowboy", "Searchin' For A Rainbow" and "Hillbilly Band".

On a down note, I am not quite sure why they had to include two songs already released from a July '74 show in Milwaukee. But...what the hell.

One thing you can definitely feel is the driving force of Tommy Caldwell in most of the songs. You can feel his bass, plus on many songs he enthusiastically sings harmony with Doug Gray in the chorus. Now, Tommy (along with Toy) was not the BEST singer, but he sure seemed to enjoy what he was doing.

I am not sure if the reviewer who gave this 1 star actually has heard this CD, but please do not let him/her dissuade you. I am a fan of the original (and only) MTB, and I have no axe to grind. To me the band ended with Tommy's untimely passing in 1980. Nonetheless, this is a treasure. Enjoy!

Disappointing and Pointless-somewhat of a rip off
WARNING: 30 MINUTES OF THIS CD COMES FROM OTHER ALBUMS.
ONLY 41 MINUTES OF "NEW" MATERIAL.

....Somebody really hates what I wrote. But, I am just telling you what the CD is about, so you know what you will be getting if you buy it. I do have some opinions here, but most of what I list is basic fact. It is a disservice to the buyers to say what a great CD this is, without explaning all of the issues with it.

People who give this CD 5 starts are rating the concept and not the reality. We all loved our experiences seeing Marshall Tucker live. I am as excited as anyone about a chance buy a CD with more live material. Unfortunately, this CD is a huge disappointment. Sound quality is uneven; editing is poor; some of this material is already on other albums and there are better versions available of other songs.

The best tracks on this CD are already available on other albums. Ramblin' and 24 Hours At A Time come right off of the album, Where We All Belong (they are the exact same tracks). The Thrill is Gone came off of one of the Volunteer Jam albums (admittedly, that album is hard to get right now). So, over 30 minutes of the 72 minutes of this CD is from other albums.

There are other live versions of Take the Highway (Where We All Belong) and Can't You See (Searching For a Rainbow) that are longer, better and have superior sound quality.

The versions of Fire On the Mountain, This Old Cowboy and Hillybilly Band are nothing special, and I think the studio versions are actually better and more lively.

The sound quality on this CD is uneven. It is good on the "old" material taken from other albums. It ranges from OK to fair on the "new" material. The mix is poor in some parts, making it hard to hear the vocals. The editing between tracks was poorly done in some instances (I could do a better job on my PC).

But, there are some great moments on this CD. The Thrill Is Gone is one of the best songs Marshall Tucker has done, and up until now, it has been hard to get. I rank it right up there with 24 Hours At A Time. Searchin' For A Rainbow is done in a great funky style. Blue Ridge Sky and Long Hard Ride are also very good.

This single CD is rather expensive (Allman Brothers recent 3 CD set is cheaper). For the price, you get 3 very good songs (about 15 minutes of music) that have not been available anywhere. If you don't already have it, it is also your chance to get the incredible 10 minute Thrill Is Gone. You can decide if it is worth it.

It is such a disappointment, since we all know how great Marshall Tucker could be in concert. They had some incredible jams, like on Never Trust a Stranger. It's a shame that a CD with that time of material has not been released. And, now it is possible.

This album was originally to be released as a 41 minute LP back in 1976. But, Marshall Tucker was changing record labels and this album got lost in the transition. But, it is a good thing it wasn't released, because it probably would have tarnished the band's reputation.

All of Marshall Tucker's tapes were lost for a long time. The first CD's released by Marshall Tucker had poor sound quality. A couple years ago, someone found all the Marshall Tucker master tapes, plus tapes with hundreds of hours of live material. The tapes were put up for auction on Ebay. But, whoever had the tapes, did not have the license to the music, so some sort deal would need to be worked out with the license holder, whoever that is. (I know, I saw the auction and half way considered bidding on it, but I don't know what I would do with the tapes.)

The original band stayed together for an unheard of 9 years, until Tommy Cadwell died in 1980. The band continued on for a few more albums with a new bass player and then broke apart. Vocalist Doug Gray and reed man Jerry Eubank reformed the band, with Eubank eventually leaving. The group has experimented with all kinds of music styles from straight up country, gospel and blues. I have heard the country and gospel albums and did not like them. I haven't heard the blues version of the band.

Toy Cadwell went off on his own solo career and released a studio album. He also "has" a live album called "Can't You See", which is kind of rough but certainly better than Stompin' Room Only. However, Cadwell's widow is not happy with the release and I don't think the family is receiving any residuals from it. Toy Cadwell died in 1993.

Marshall Tucker could be uneven in concert. The first time I saw them as a headliner in an arena, they only played 20 minutes. Then they came back and did a 20 minute encore. The next time I saw them they played 2 hours (they played with Fleetwood Mac in front of 70,000 fans when both groups were at the top of their popularity). Next time I saw them, 3 years later, their popularity dropped to such a level that they were playing in bars.

The Allman Brothers have always been the kings of the Southern Rock jam bands. No one comes close to being on the same level as the Allman Brothers. Musically, the Marshall Tucker Band was the next best Southern Rock band. They had a great sound, with Tommy Caldwell's bass guitar being a very important part. He had more to do with a band's sound than most bass guitarists. Jerry Eubanks reeds added a depth that no other band had. Any one of the musicians could create a great backdrop of rhythm or come up front and take a lead.

READERS OF AMAZON REVIEWS TYPICALLY GIVE A "NOT HELPFUL" VOTE TO A REVIEW THAT GIVES A LOW RATING FOR SOMETHING THEY LOVE. I THINK IT IS SOMEWHAT OF A RIP-OFF TO ADVERTISE "UNRELEASED LIVE RECORDING" WHEN ALMOST HALF OF THE MATERIAL HAS ALREADY BEEN RELEASED.

Live Fire!
It's a great thing to see all the early Marshall Tucker Band albums being remastered and rereleased. Apparently, this CD is an unreleased live album with a few added tracks. The main album was recorded on two nights in England in late 1976. The added tracks are the ten-minute-plus "The Thrill Is Gone" from the 1975 Volunteer Jam (featuring guests Dickey Betts, Chuck Leavell and Charlie Daniels), and "Ramblin'" and "24 Hours At A Time" from 1974 (and previously released on "Where We All Belong"). Sound quality varies on the tracks, but most of the performances are amazing. You can hear why this band was such a hot live commodity. I wish the editing between tracks was better; that would give more of a semblance of a real live show. Still it's great, just having this stuff..........