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FRANK MARINO - "Mahogany Rush Live", 1978 (Columbia)
THE SKINNY: Canadian-born Marino is a guitar hero's guitar hero. Frankly, I've felt for years that only a handful of players since the early 1970s are in the same class in terms of fluid, shimmering blues-based guitar mastery. Marino's graceful, confident command of his vocal and guitar talent is absolutely remarkable. He has been compared to Hendrix relentlessly for practically his entire career by music critics. I can't argue that there aren't some similarities, but in recent years, my copies of Frank's albums have received many more spins than my Hendrix platters, but that's more of a matter of personal taste.
If you don't have any of the MARINO / MAHAGONY RUSH stuff in your collection, this disc is the perfect place to start. Frank has several live albums, and often includes live tracks on his studio albums like "Tales of the Unexpected". The reason? Because he absolutely rips live and he knows it! Even with all the live stuff he's released, the original '78 live disc just can't be topped as far as I'm concerned.
This live disc is crammed with goodies. Marino always mixes up covers and originals in a way that you hardly notice, because each jam grooves so hard, and he puts his personal stamp all over every song he approaches. The alluringly simple shuffle of "I'm a King Bee" , complete with some very jazzy interludes, and the smooth tiedyed carpet ride of "Dragonfly" resonate as examples of everything groovy about 70s live albums. The tracks are all peppered with Marino's incredible soloing, and the crowd eats it up (Marino's live albums tend to put the sounds of the crowd "up front" in the mix, obviously to give the listener an indication of the waves of tension and release that the band successfully takes their audience through repeatedly in their live sets).
THE "RAISE YOUR LIGHTER" MOMENT : His cover of "Johnny B. Goode". Yeah, I know you've heard this thing a million times before, and every bar band in the world has butchered it to varying degrees. But from the very start , this version is just stunning. Frank starts things off with a spectacular intro, alternating vocals and fire-breathing blues licks effortlessly....like he's changing channels with his TV remote and humming along. He rips into the track with reckless abandon, spouting off savage guitar wizardry and belting out soulful vocals. At about the halfway point in the track, the MAHOGANY RUSH band takes the volume level down to a hush, and Marino proceeds to deliver more of the goodies at extreme volume. Blizzards of cascading pentatonic sweetness drip from this man's axe like no other I've heard.
"Mahogany Rush Live" is a must for any fan of great guitar playing, blues rock, or live albums that demand repeat listens. It's a guitar album done right. Pre-Yngwie, Pre VH mania, this is a reminder that being a kickass guitar player is best delivered not with sweeping arpeggio exercises recorded over a drum machine, rather with great vocals, actual songs, and a foot in the blues. Go forth and seek out, my brethren.
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