Notes from Robert Ross:
"The music on this CD was recorded LIVE in New York City on March 23, 1993, at Dan Lynch's Blues Bar, a funky, low-down and dirty joint which was the most popular real blues bar in New York. We haunted the damn place for about 15 years until it finally closed down not long after these recordings were made. It was a place you could go and hang with your friends and just be yourself...oh, and listen to outstanding music just about any night of the week.This recording is a sort of a companion to our earlier Brambus CD entitled, "Darkness...To Light" (Brambus 199682-2), because two tracks from that CD were recorded live on the same night and in the same club as this new CD. Same band, same night...but a completely different set of songs.I remember that night at Lynch as being an average night, and nothing more. There was only a small crowd there cheering us on because it was a very nasty Tuesday (or Wednesday) night right after all that St. Patrick's Day madness, so people were staying home and applying cold compresses to their heads. And after hearing the rough mixes, I wasn't very impressed with the whole thing. There was little orignal material (on the instrumental "Out Of The Blue"). I wanted to go back to the sweet confines of the recording studio...or else record every single live gig for a month and choose the best tracks. We ended up doing a mostly studio CD on "Darkness...To Light" and put this live stuff on the back burner for a while.Sometimes you need to put a little distance between you and your work in order to see it more clearly. About 4 and a half years later, Mark decided to check the stuff out and did a fantastic mix. I heard it and was quite pleasantly surprised.Theres's plenty to like here. First of all, the sound quality is really great now that it has been mixed and mastered. Another great thing about the recording is the energy and conviction of the band. I mean it may have been just an average night to us, but I think you will be floored. Howie Wyeth is totally awesome on every second of every track. We think this live set is a fitting tribute to his inspiring talent. Mark Dann is his usual amazing self on bass. As far as the choice of material is concerned, if you are going to do covers, these are some of the very best of all time. I mean, check out the writers, and/or artists who are associated with these tunes:
Willie Dixon, and Johnny Rivers ("Seventh Son")
Ray Charles, and Joe Cocker ("Let's Go Get Stoned")
Johnny Little John, and Peggy Lee ("Fever")
Stix McGhee, and Jerry Lee Lewis ("Wine Spo Dee O Dee")
Aretha Franklin ("Chain Of Fools")
Bessie Smith and Eric Clapton ("Nobody Knows You When You're Down And Out")
Amos Mildburn, and Jessica Rabbit from the movie "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?" ("When Don't You Do Right")
Wilson Pickett ("Ninety-Nine And A Half")
Muddy Waters, and Bo Diddley ("I'm A Man")
Howlin' Wolf, Cream, and the Mississippi Sheiks ("Sittin On Top Of The World")
