In the Midwest (Live in the USA 1973) - Commander Cody

While no specific date or venue is given, In the Midwest (Live in the USA 1973) (2004) is a single-CD collection featuring no less than 21 cuts from the 'classic' lineup of Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen. The aggregate centers on Commander Cody (aka George Frayne (piano/vocals)), Billy C. Farlow (vocals/guitar/trumpet/harmonica), Bill Kirchen (guitar/vocals), Bruce Barlow (bass/guitar/vocals), John Tichy (guitar/vocals), Lance Dickerson (drums), Andy Stein (fiddle/sax/trombone), and Stan Davis (pedal steel guitar). Granted the set list is indeed copious, this package suffers from mediocre sound quality, as well as the perpetually annoying and inappropriate abrupt fade-in and (even worse) fade-out's. This often results in incomplete performances that are undeniably jarring to listen to. That caveat duly noted, the material aptly represents the band's blend of traditional country with both Western swing and rural rock, falling somewhere between the New Riders of the Purple Sage and Dan Hicks & His Hot Licks. If this disc typifies the combo's concert repertoire, they draw heavily from their cache of well-received covers ranging stylistically from Merle Travis' upbeat and toe-tappin' "Smoke! Smoke! Smoke! (That Cigarette)," to the mellow tear-in-my-beer balladry of Buck Owens' "Crying Time." Plus, there are a host of originals that have become timeless in their own right. In fact, the platter commences with the down-home speed-freak anthem "I Took Three Bennies & My Semi Truck Won't Start." Among the Commander's other notable entries are "Lost in the Ozone," "Back to Tennessee," "What's the Matter Now," and the immortal "Seeds and Stems Again Blues." Enthusiastic responses are also given to the good-timin' "Sea Cruise," "Jailhouse Rock," the definitive "Beat Me Daddy Eight to the Bar," or the mile-a-minute pickin' and grinnin' of "Hot Rod Lincoln." For completists, In the Midwest (Live in the USA 1973) may be a welcome addition, however, the average enthusiast might want to begin with Live From Deep in the Heart of Texas (1974), which was documented in and around the same time frame as this somewhat faulty title. ~ Lindsay Planer, All Music Guide