Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. Ain't Life Grand
2. Conrad the Caterpillar
3. Don't Wanna Lose You
4. Dirty Business - John Keane, Widespread Panic
5. Stop Breakin' Down Blues - John Keane, Widespread Panic

Disc 2:

1. Papa's Home
2. Henry Parsons Died
3. Action Man
4. Postcard
5. Bowlegged Woman
6. Chilly Water

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #85302 in Music
• Released on: 2005-02-22
• Number of discs: 2
• Format: Live
• Dimensions: .25 pounds

Amazon.com
Well into their third decade as heirs to both the Grateful Dead's jam band mantle and the roots-entangled legacy of Southern rock, this 11-track double-disc live set showcases Widespread Panic's loping, energetic charms well. Recorded before an enthusiastic live audience of Spread Heads at Myrtle Beach's House of Blues, the five veterans turn in a workmanlike set fueled by flawless rhythmic interplay and tastefully succinct soloing, the byproduct of decades of ceaseless touring--and apt tribute to the wishes of late band co-founder Mike Houser, who succumbed to cancer in 2002. They dose "Conrad the Caterpillar" and "Henry Parsons Died" with bracing, jazz-head interludes, lube "Don't Wanna Lose You" with the greasy, slide-guitar driven spirit of classic Little Feat and evoke Lynyrd Skynyrd's grit on "Postcard." But while they make room for the tasty, Southern fried licks of guest guitarist John Keane on covers of NRPS' "Dirty Business" and Robert Johnson's "Stop Breakin' Down Blues," there's a nagging sense that this is a band content to preach to the converted. That's a shame, because their stellar musicianship promises so much more. --Jerry McCulley

Customer Reviews

Solid Live Album, Better than Uber Cobra
I have a tendency to compare all live WSP releases to "Light Fuse, Get Away", which I think is clearly their best live release to date. Even though this release is from the same set of shows as "Uber Cobra" and "Night of Joy", there is a tightness and comfort to these songs which seems oddly absent from the others. Maybe because Uber Cobra is an acoustic set, and the flaws are easier to pick out, I'm not sure. George seems to be coming into his own with the band and I hear it more here. If you don't own any live Panic, start with "L.F.G.A." and then pick this or "Live in the Classic City" next. Either way you can't go wrong with a great live set of music.

It's Live Panic. Nothing more, nothing less.
This is pretty good. One thing of note is that if you couple this with the Uber Cobra CD, you get Panic's full 11/8/03 show
in its entirety. Cobra being the first set. Disc 1 here being the second set. Disc 2 being the 3rd set plus encore.

Enjoy.

New era for Widespread Panic
WIDESPREAD PANIC HAS CHANGED AND THIS ALBUM IS DIFFERENT FROM PREVIOUS LIVE RELEASES.

The is a 2 CD album that contains the second and third set plus encore from a concert in 2005. (The first set, which is acoustic is on Uber Cobra). The first CD is 52 minutes long and the second CD is 62 minutes. The sound quality is very good. An added plus is that most of the between song chat as been edited out and the audience noise is kept to a minimum.

Widespread Panic has changed since Mike Howser died in 2002. This album is different than previous live releases in style and song selection.

Mike Howser had a unique guitar style that drove the sound of the band. He has been replaced by George McConnell who has a more traditional southern jam style of playing. He isn't as good as Howser, but in some respects, the band has gotten better due to the change.

Previously, Widespread Panic had a very muddled sound, featuring Howser's screaming guitar. With McConnell, the sound is brighter and clearer and the individual members of the band are easier to hear.

Previously, Widespread Panic would play up to 20 songs in a concert. They would blend one song into the next so sometimes the individual songs were indistinguishable. Although they were constantly jamming, song length would typically be 5 to 10 minutes. The jamming mainly ocurred during the segues between songs. But, solos were usually shorter and between songs.

Now, Widespread Panic is not combining songs and each song is distinct. Songs can now be much longer, with long, drawn out jams in the middle.

The band has also begun to experiment a little more and branch out from the original sound. For instance, there is a little space jam in Dirty Business and some vocalizing during Chilly Water. It isn't a lot of innovation, but it is a start.

What is good about this CD is that most of the material has not been available on other live CD's. Half the songs are covers of other groups or traditional blues numbers.

The group still suffers from some horrible piano solos. John Herrman makes some interesting rhythm contributions, but is really not a great soloist. The band should take a clue from groups like the Grateful Dead, who kept the keyboards in the background and the solos simple when they had Keith Godcheax.

While this is not a great album, it is a good addition to Widespread Panic's library of live CD's. It is certainly different than the previous releases.

My favorite Panic live CD is Classic City.