The Beau Brummels - Live!

This is a very alluring and also a somewhat misleading CD. On the plus side, just to dispel any doubts, it is live, and it does feature the five-man Beau Brummels (Sal Valentino, Ron Elliott, Ron Meagher, Dec Mulligan, and John Petersen). And this is a good, professional recording. The rub is that it does date from their reunion in 1974, appearing live at the Shire Road Pub in Fair Oaks Village near Sacramento, CA; although the sound is fine, the playing is precise (and occasionally flashy), and the singing is very pretty, they just weren't a very exciting band at this point -- definitely not the same band they'd been in 1965-1966, despite the fact that they were probably better musicians. Read More