Henry McCullough Band: Live at Rockpalast (CD on Repertoire Records)

Band: Henry McCullough Band
Label: Repertoire Records
Title: Live at Rockpalast

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Band:Henry McCullough Band
Title:Live at Rockpalast
Reviewed By:Lisa Torem
Date Published:08/10/2015

Label:Repertoire Records
Format:CD
Release Year:2015
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Formed in 1974 and based out of Cologne, Germany, the program Rockpalast has a reputation as a veritable launching pad for artists. This CD/DVD package shows Irish guitarist/songwriter, Henry McCullough, with his band Mick Weaver (keyboards), Jeremy Harvard (bass), Neil Hubbard (guitar), Terry Stannard (drums), Dave Brooks (brass), playing for a live audience on April 22nd, 1976.

McCullough hails from Northern Ireland near the Giant’s Causeway and began seriously performing with older musicians at the age of seventeen. Honouring his great love of roots music, he played in the Irish band Sweeney’s Men. His clear, clean guitar tone has intrigued many popular musicians.

By this point in his career, McCullough had backed up Joe Cocker in Woodstock - they toured nine months out of the year. He also performed in one of the first line-ups with Paul McCartney’s Wings for a year and a half; his solo on ‘My Love’, which was completed in only one take in the studio still astounds. George Harrison related immediately to the guitarist and offered him a solo record deal based on ‘Lord Knows’. Harrison felt they had both been overshadowed by Paul McCartney and felt an immediate kinship. The album, ‘Mind Your Own Business’, would not receive the attention it deserved when Harrison’s Dark Horse label folded after a lawsuit. Fortunately, the title song found an appreciative audience on the Rockpalast Stage. The CD features seven McCullough originals and two versions of ‘Mind Your Own Business’.

McCullough had also worked with Jimi Hendrix in Eire Apparent. You can hear many influences in his playing on this performance, although McCullough was such an innovator that he could never been pinned down as an imitator of just one.

With his long, brown hair framing his blood red jacket, which matches his electric guitar, McCullough breaks into a huge smile. He was born for the stage and looks extremely comfortable and cool. The first number, ‘I Can Drive a Car’ shows off his band and their attentiveness. This song is really mellow and McCullough makes sure that the vocals remain upfront and convincing. Clean keyboard riffs add variety and help make it soar.

‘You’d Better Run’ has an air of a threat to it, of course, and McCullough adapts. The rhythm guitar is contagious. ‘Baby What You Do To Me’ is a fun blues; a sultry slow cooker with a reggae lining — there’s plenty of room for band expression and they make the most of it.

The mood shifts for the traditional Doc Watson penned ‘John Henry’. McCullough nurses the phrases and mutes his guitar. The song is given a country rock spin and Henry, again, sensitively concurs. His tone is immaculate.

Hank Thompson’s ‘Honky Tonk Angels (The Wild Side of Life)' is about being rejected. It’s played with real strength and commitment. ‘Lord Knows’ is back to the basics, built over a bright progression. ‘All I Wanna Do’ finds McCullough in outstanding voice. This tune is swampy and sensual. The band follows with supreme swagger. Sax and screaming organ provide more than enough punctuation. The rhythm guitarist looks like he’s been inducted into Heaven.

‘Let It Be Gone’ is deep and evocative. McCullough sits down for this one and picks up his acoustic. There are two versions of the Hank Williams hit, ‘Mind Your Own Business’ — one has an aggressive edge and the other is more psychedelic and subtle. McCullough’s solo work shines.

Between these two versions are the introspective ‘I’m In Heaven’, where McCullough lowers his voice to stress the affection of the lyrics, and Fats Domino’s ‘Blue Monday’, where the band kicks in heavily with their own flavours. McCullough’s own song, ‘Failed Christian’ has been covered by Dave Alvin and Nick Lowe.

In 2012, Henry McCullough had a heart attack, which left him in a wheelchair so that he is no longer able to perform, but it’s imperative to keep his talent uppermost in our good graces. This is a joyful package containing the concert CD and DVD and a colourful booklet detailing Henry McCullough’s inspiring career. There are few entertainers that express the joy of life as exuberantly as Henry McCullough, a born showman.

Track Listing:

01) I Can Drive a Car (Remastered
02) You'd Better Run (Remastered)
03) Baby What You Do to Me (Rem
04) John Henry (Remastered)
05) Honky Tonk Angels (The Wild
06) Lord Knows (Remastered)
07) All I Wanna Do (Remastered)
08) Let It Be Gone (Remastered)
09) Mind Your Own Business (Versi
10) I'm in Heaven (Remastered)
11) Blue Monday (Remastered)
12) Mind Your Own Business (Versi

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Related Links

https://www.facebook.com/Henry-McCullough-217928884902166

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Sparkling live CD/DVD, which was recorded for long-running German TV music programme 'Rockpalast' in 1976, from ex-Wings guitarist Henry McCullough and his band

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Live at Rockpalast - CD
Sparkling live CD/DVD, which was recorded for long-running German TV music programme 'Rockpalast' in 1976, from ex-Wings guitarist Henry McCullough and his band

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