Audio CD review:
Widespread Panic - Live at Myrtle Beach

Widespread Panic - Live at Myrtle Beach

Band: Widespread Panic Title: Live at Myrtle Beach Rating: Release Date: 22 February, 2005 Media: Audio CD Tracks: 1: Ain't Life Grand 2: Conrad the Caterpillar 3: Don't Wanna Lose You 4: Dirty Business - John Keane, Widespread Panic 5: Stop Breakin' Down Blues - John Keane, Widespread Panic 6: Papa's Home 7: Henry Parsons Died 8: Action Man 9: Postcard 10: Bowlegged Woman 11: Chilly Water

Editoral Review Recorded before an enthusiastic live audience of Spread Heads at Myrtle Beach's House of Blues, the five veterans turn in a workmanlike set fueled by flawless rhythmic interplay and tastefully succinct soloing, the byproduct of decades of ceaseless touring--and apt tribute to the wishes of late band co-founder Mike Houser, who succumbed to cancer in 2002. Well into their third decade as heirs to both the Grateful Dead's jam band mantle and the roots-entangled legacy of Southern rock, this 11-track double-disc live set showcases Widespread Panic's loping, energetic charms well. They dose "Conrad the Caterpillar" and "Henry Parsons Died" with bracing, jazz-head interludes, lube "Don't Wanna Lose You" with the greasy, slide-guitar driven spirit of classic Little Feat and evoke Lynyrd Skynyrd's grit on "Postcard. " But while they make room for the tasty, Southern fried licks of guest guitarist John Keane on covers of NRPS' "Dirty Business" and Robert Johnson's "Stop Breakin' Down Blues," there's a nagging sense that this is a band content to preach to the converted. That's a shame, because their stellar musicianship promises so much more. --Jerry McCulley .. You can see a complete list of all Widespread Panic discography, or go back to the Widespread Panic tabs