Product Description:
Personnel: Johnny Rivers (vocals, guitar); Joe Osborn (bass); Eddie Rubin (drums).
Producer: Lou Adler.
Compilation producer: Dan Loggins.
Recorded live at The Whiskey A Go-Go, Los Angeles, California between April & July 1964. Originally released on Imperial (LP 9264) & (LP 9274). Includes liner notes by Mugsy.
Digitally remastered by Kevin Reeves (Tower Mastering, Hollywood, California).
The "totally live" appellation is a bit of a reach (translation: there are obvious after-the-fact overdubs), but nevertheless this is a pretty faithful representation of what a good mid-'60s rock & roll club band sounded like. Rivers was (and remains) a flexible, expressive singer, equally at home covering R&B, rockabilly, country, and the Beatles, and as a guitarist, while no virtuoso, he was occasionally capable of the sort of stinging, bluesman's attack associated with original '60s axe heroes like Lonnie Mack (as on the hit version here of Chuck Berry's "Memphis"). In retrospect, this is all a bit shagadelic, but it's fun nonetheless.
Entertainment Reviews:
Q - 9/95, p.138
3 Stars - Good - "...Rivers proved himself to be one of American pop's smartest operators, clocking up a couple of dozen hits from the mid-'60s onwards, while barely breaking a sweat...[TOTALLY LIVE] capture[s] the time and place to perfection..."
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