SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: PAT TRAVERS – HIGHWAY 61 REVISITED – LIVE IN HOUSTON, TX – MARCH 20, 2004

PAT TRAVERS
HIGHWAY 61 REVISITED – LIVE IN HOUSTON, TX – MARCH 20, 2004
CLEOPATRA RECORDS

Pat Travers continues to mine his live archive for never-before-released concerts for fans to enjoy. And it’s great that he does it too. This concert, from Houston is a great example of his then-current touring band and his willingness to perform a variety of songs, some of which he never released as studio recordings. Travers and his band give it their all with this recording, and no doubt, no one in the audience left that night disappointed.

Montreal-born Pat Travers is well known, but I am not sure he has ever received accolades for both his singing and his guitar playing. Listen to his solo in “Voodoo Child (Slight Return)” which gives Jimi Hendrix a run for his money. Of course, he is different from Hendrix, but it is just as fascinating and enjoyable. Or his playing on “Crash And Burn”, which is every bit as exciting as the original studio version. In fact, a few songs from the album Crash And Burn are performed here, with “Snortin’ Whiskey” really rocking compared to the original.

Of course, having a fantastic rhythm section helps Travers, too. Greg T. Walker and Simon Wright provide the perfect backing for Travers to do what he does best, to solo and to play his guitar. Of course, he does his best-known songs, “Boom Boom Out Goes The Lights” and “Born Under A Bad Sign,” which he performs well, but he seems to have more drive when he is doing lesser-known songs, such as “Little Susie.”

Travers has always incorporated the blues and rhythm and blues into his own distinct style of playing and performing. Highway 61 Revisited – Live In Houston, TX – March 20, 2004, is yet another argument that Travers never really captured his live sound in the studio, which is what makes these live recordings not only historic but also enjoyable. The album is well recorded and is a great live album. It may not win over new fans, but his followers will certainly enjoy Highway 61 Revisited – Live In Houston, TX – March 20, 2004.

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