'Live'
What The Critics Say
The 16 songs here consist of demos that Carl Perkins recorded during early 1964, just before he went on tour in England with Chuck Berry, the Animals, and the Nashville Teens, augmented with some slightly later tracks from the following year. In any case, they show Perkins more animated and spirited than he'd been in several years on record, and a number of these songs, including "Help Me Find My Baby," later found their way to the public in finished versions as part of his brief stay with Decca and Brunswick Records. "Big Taxes" has an edgy sound that mixes rockabilly with a guitar style that's definitely early-'60s Brit-beat in nature, while "A Man Without a Home" has a more traditional country sound in just about every nuance, and "Big Bad Blues" has Perkins trying for a sound not too far removed from Chess Records' output of the period -- the latter song ought to be dragged down by the female chorus backing him, but his vocal performance and the punky playing just can't be derailed, and the girls add an element of camp that works. And somewhere in the midst of this, a live cut ("Turn Around") has found its way onto this CD. The sound on some of the songs is a bit uneven, as several appear to have come from something other than original master tapes, but it's generally decent, if a bit bass-heavy and slightly ragged. ~ Bruce Eder, All Music Guide
'Silver Eagle Cross Country Presents Live: Carl Perkins'
What The Critics Say
Recorded live at New York's Lone Star Cafe on June 25, 1983, this show -- originally broadcast nationwide -- captures Carl Perkins in excellent form before a highly enthusiastic audience. Perkins was still going strong in the early '80s. He was always more complex a performer than any one of his songs would have indicated, and the repertory here shows why, juxtaposing an ebullient "Got My Mojo Working" between "Matchbox" and "Gone, Gone, Gone." "Blue Suede Shoes," "Dixie Fried," and "Honey Don't" are also here, along with "High Heel Sneakers" and Perkins' cover of Arthur Crudup's "That's Alright." The sound is excellent, and the only drawbacks are that the band is never identified, and that the disc runs a mere 44 minutes -- one wishes he could've worked in a few more numbers. ~ Bruce Eder, All Music Guide
