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Cactus: Live, Loud and Proud (DVD)

As rough and raw as Live, Loud and Proud is, there's no denying that the great 70's heavy blues/hard rock outfit known as Cactus, still deliver the goods nearly 40 after their formation. Recorded at various locations on their reunion tour of 2006-2007, this DVD (much of which was shot at New York's BB Kings Blues Club) gives you a glimpse of the band that no doubt influenced many heavy rock groups over the years. Though they might be a bit older now, original members Carmine Appice (drums), Tim Bogert (bass), and Jim McCarty (guitar), along with former Savoy Brown belter Jimmy Kunes, can still rock with the best of them. Lizards bassist Randy Pratt also contributes some harmonica on a few numbers here as well.

Much of the production techniques used on this DVD are pretty amateur by today's standards, but it's still completely watchable and shows the rejuvinated Cactus in all their power. Many of the classic Cactus tunes you've come to love over the years are played here, including "Parchment Farm", "Oleo", "Let Me Swim", "Long Tall Sally", and "Evil", plus tracks from the Cactus reunion CD V, like "Muscle and Soul", "The Groover", "Part of the Game", and "Cacus Music", all of which are heavy blues rockers that keep the true Cactus sound intact. If you like distorted, heavy blues drenched riffs, then you'll love what McCarty has to offer here, and also look out for spectacular bass & drum solos from Bogert and Appice. Kunes has that 70's gritty blues rock wail, and fits in with the band perfectly.

There's a boatload of special features included on the DVD, including interviews with the band members, a hilariously cheesey video of "The Groover", testimonial interviews with some heavyweight rock players from a music convention, and a sizzling jam with the band as they are joined by Warren Haynes, Joe Bonamassa, and Pat Travers. Despite the obvious budget restraints in putting this together, Live, Loud and Proud is a ton of fun, and proves what a vastly underrated hard rock band Cactus was and still is.


Track Listing

  1. * Let Me Swim
  2. * Long Tall Sally
  3. * One Way Or Another
  4. * Cactus Music
  5. * Brother Bill
  6. * Muscle and Soul
  7. * Oleo / Bass solo
  8. * Evil / Drum solo
  9. * The Groover
  10. * Part of the Game
  11. * Rock and Roll Children
  12. * Big Mama Boogie
  13. * Parchman Farm


Bonus Materials:
* Bonus Interviews with the Band
* Music Video for 'The Groover'
* Featurette: ' Testimonials About Cactus' with Vinnie Moore (UFO), Shawn Drover (Megadeth), Ty Tabor (Kings X), Uli Jon Roth (Scorpions), Chad Smith (Red Hot Chilli Peppers), and more.

Added: October 17th 2010
Reviewer: Pete Pardo
Score:
Related Link: Band Website
Hits: 5118
Language: english

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» SoT Staff Roundtable Reviews:

Cactus: Live, Loud and Proud (DVD)
Posted by Scott Ward, SoT Staff Writer on 2010-10-17 16:18:15
My Score:

One year as a kid my older brother sent me 2 albums for Christmas that were instrumental on leading me down the treacherous path of rock and roll. The first one was Alice Cooper's Love It To Death. The second was Cactus' One Way Or Another. Those two pieces of vinyl may not have been the first time I became aware of this so called evil music but they were like road maps that lead me down the path to the magic I would find in heavy metal.

Now, a few years later (quite a few) Cactus reformed with Jimmy Kunes from Savoy Brown on vocals replacing Rusty Day who died in 1982 along with original members Carmine Appice, Tim Bogert and Jim McCarty. Taken from the tour in support of their newest release V this is a movie made on a shoe string budget and with some very cheesy moments to boot but when it comes to the music it is as tight as it gets.

They rattle off many of the old Cactus standards and hit many that have been a piece of my life since their creation. "Long Tall Sally", "One Way Or Another", "Rock And Roll Children" and "Big Mama Boogie" are all songs that are taken from that Christmas present from so long ago. I wondered about Kunes vocals on these songs but he pulls off a really cool bit of rock and roll singing that takes nothing away from the originals. Add to that the searing guitar work of McCarty and the legendary drumming of Appice along with some terrific work by Tim Bogert on bass and you have a real winner of a DVD no matter how you slice it.

The new music is as solid as the older tracks with "Muscle And Soul" and "Part Of The Game" sounding like vintage Cactus and a little more funk added to the mix with "The Groover". They have held the boogie banner high for a number of years and this new stuff shows that they are not going to let it fall anytime soon.

The bonus material on the DVD is really highlighted with a jam session featuring guitarists Warren Haynes, Pat Travers and Joe Bonamassa lending their collective talent to the song "Oleo". The video for the song "The Groove" gives you visions in a way of Robert Palmer with a few more pounds added to the dancers. It is a goofy video but still some fun. The testimonials on there are hilarious to me. Those involved act like they had a mic thrust in their face with Appice who is behind the camera getting most of the praise.

This is one just to sit back and enjoy. One of the original jam bands are back and picking up right where they left off!



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