Recorded between 1976 and 1977 Double Live Gonzo! captures Ted and band at their zenith and the results aren't for those who can't handle sensory overload (if you were to go by the pictures in the gate fold you'd think that it was all Ted all the time). My first experiences with Ted's music was in my cousin's pickup truck with an 8 track (trying to visualize whether it was a CRAIG or Lloyd's - can't remember, it's not important) cranked and the windows rolled down. It was the soundtrack to a summer. It was also really annoying to listen to on 8 track when things would fade and click and fade back in.
This guitar right here is guaranteed to blow the balls off a
charging rhino at sixty paces it is. That’s my baby… This guitar
definitely refuses to play sweet shit. It just refuses…
When I got the record I could at least listen to a full side before having to get up and turn it over. Getting the CD was particularly awesome, just start it and go all the way through with no breaks. It didn't hurt that the liner notes had a great essay on the album too.
That was the thing, this was Ted at his absolute loin cloth Tarzan rope swinging gonzo best. I'm not sure how much tweaking and editing was done post, but I always felt like I was at the concert - even if it was pieced together over a number of shows. These versions of his classics are to me definitive. I spent the last hour and a half on the floor in the basement with the album cranked, pouring over the gate fold looking at the pictures and feeling like a 15 year old kid.
Yeah baby, this is just what the doctor ordered.
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