Live Two Five Anniversar [Import]

The highlights are numerous. My favorite cut is "Mr. Bojangles". Jeff Hanna sang great on NGDB's 1970 version, which is on the band's Uncle Charlie album. The song in my opinion sounds even better live. In addition to Hanna's singing, Bob Carpenter's stellar piano and accordion work highlights this track. Another older Dirt Band tune which is featured is Jimmy Ibbotson's "Ripplin' Waters", which originally appeared on NGDB's 1975 album Dream. This is a well-written, excellent song which in my opinion is often overlooked. On the live version, the Dirt Band plays all of their instruments except the accordion. Also, Ibbotson and Hanna both do some fine lead guitar work on this one, and Carpenter contributes a piano solo which had me mentally exclaiming, "Awesome!" the first time I heard it. The live version of "Ripplin' Waters", in my opinion, sounds better than the original studio version--and the original was a great song to begin with.

A third highlight is "El Harpo", an instrumental featuring Carpenter on piano and Jimmie Fadden on harmonica. Fadden's harmonica is heard frequently on Live Two Five, but on "El Harpo", a rollicking, bluesy number, he especially shines. Carpenter and Fadden practically outdo themselves on this one.

Besides the three previously mentioned songs, the Dirt Band does a lot of their other classic hits, among them "High Horse", "You Ain't Goin' Nowhere", "Fishin' In The Dark", "Long Hard Road", "Cadillac Ranch", and "Partners, Brothers and Friends". They sound to me as if they are really enjoying themselves.

I have been a Nitty Gritty Dirt Band fan ever since I was in college in the 1970s. The guys in the Dirt Band make excellent music and have fun doing it--and when they get on stage, as they did when they made this record, they are awesome. From start to finish, Live Two Five is a great album.