A
live CD will never supplant seeing a band perform live. That is
especially the case for groups as funky as the Average White Band.
However a live CD is sometimes the best one can do (unless, of course,
a group also decided to release a DVD). Still, a listener can learn
things of value by listening to a CD such as the Average White Band's Times Squared: Live From New York, Vol. 2.
Times Squared is a follow up of AWB's 2006 live album Soul & the City. Like that recording, Times Squared
includes live versions of songs from the band's heyday, as well as
material recorded from later albums. That means that most AWB fans will
be at least somewhat familiar with some of the songs on these albums.
Concerts
are supposed to be different experience than listening to a studio
album. The uninformed might leave a concert wondering why the band
didn't play it the way they played it on the record. That's not what I
plunked down my hard earned money to see when I go to a concert, and I
imagine that is not what people who buy a live album want a band to
paint in audio pictures.
When
I get my hands on a live album, I want the band to make me want to see
them in concert. In that regard, AWB accomplished their mission with Times Squared.
On this live album, AWB fans hear the jazz, soul and rock infused funk
that made all those albums must buys. Listeners also hear musicians who
can more than hold their own in concert. This is a band that has the
kind of jam band sensibilities to go on improvisational journeys that
don't seem self-indulgent. Listeners also get a sense that the band has
a friendly and approachable stage presence.
And
then, there are the songs such as 1970s classics "A Love of Your Own,"
"Person to Person," "Nothing You Can Do" and "Get It Up For Love" that
need no introduction. A band puts itself on display when they go live -
all of those artificial enhancers are gone. There are no second takes
on stage. AWB didn't need any on Times Squared. Recommended