The band was formed in Los Angeles in 1967, by guitarist Tom Marshall, bassist Brent Block, second guitarist Glenn Schwartz (previously of The James Gang) and drummer Charlie Allen, who had previously played in the band Bluesberry Jam. When it became clear that Allen was the best singer in the new group, he became the front man, and Frank Cook, previously of Canned Heat, came into the band on drums. Originally known as the Pacific Gas and Electric Blues Band, they shortened their name when they signed to Kent Records, releasing the album Get It On in early 1968. The record was not a success, but following the band's performance at the Miami Pop Festival in May 1968 they were signed by Columbia Records.
Their first album for Columbia, Pacific Gas and Electric, was issued in 1969, but they achieved greater success with their next album, Are You Ready in 1970. The title track reached # 14 on the Billboard Hot 100.[3] After the album was recorded, Cook was injured in a car accident and was replaced on drums by Ron Woods, Cook staying on as manager. Marshall and Schwartz left, and were replaced by Frank Petricca (bass) and Ken Utterback (guitar), with Brent Block moving to rhythm guitar before leaving later in 1970. Unusually for the time, the band contained both black and white musicians, which led to rioting and gunfire on one occasion when the band, who toured widely, performed in Raleigh, North Carolina.
In 1971, the band changed their name to PG&E, following pressure from the utility company of the same name. The band also expanded, Allen, Woods, Petricca and Utterback being joined by Jerry Aiello (keyboards), Stanley Abernathy (trumpet), Alfred Galagos and Virgil Gonsalves (saxophones), and Joe Lala (percussion). They recorded the album PG&E, and also appeared in and provided music for the Otto Preminger film Tell Me That You Love Me, Junie Moon starring Liza Minnelli. The band then split up. A final album using the name, Pacific Gas & Electric Starring Charlie Allen, was recorded by Allen with studio musicians and released on the Dunhill label in 1973. For a time the group also included Rick Durrett formerly of the band The Coven on keyboards.
A real nice 5-piece blues-based, rock and roll band kickin' out the jams, live in Lexington, KY. I'm glad someone realized they had this concert and released the audio for our enjoyment. This is 2 guitars, bass and drums blues-based rock and roll at its finest, vintage 1970. Yowza!(By Ted J. Wagner "Teddy James")
Tracklist
01- Old Slop In "A"(11:20)
02- Are You Ready (6:25)
03- Next Time You See Me (2:38)
04- Elvira (3:16)
05- 32-20 Blues (6:09)
06- One More River To Cross (3:12)
07- Motor City Is Burning (12:40)
08- Jelly Jelly (16:30)
Credits
Charlie Allen - Vocals
Brent Block - Guitar
Frank Petricca - Bass
Ken Utterback - Lead Guitar
Ron Woods - Drums
Link
j'ai un peu le neurone qui fait le ying et le yang mais je crois bien que Block quitta le groupe après but i'm not sure
RépondreSupprimerthis is great sounding but wheres the video footage?
RépondreSupprimerHi!
RépondreSupprimerMany times I read about this live show, and never saw it on the web in lossless, but exactly a year ago 02.06.2011'thanks to the generosity of my loving sister Val got it in great quality,Thank you very much Silverado for this post live Lots of music from this prison Because so many jazz musicians were jailed there. Great stuff!
August 8th and 9th of 1970, PG&E did 2 shows at the federal drug rehab center in Lexington, KY. The filmmaker Lawrence Schiller was there to make a documentary of the band, the facility and it's inmates. Columbia (now owned by Sony) was also there, recording the shows for a planned live album. When Schillers film didn't go into national release (it was only shown twice in California before being shelved by a judge) Columbia chose to stop work on the record.
Recent research has uncovered that Sony still has the tapes... about 9 unmixed multi-tracks and 4 stereo masters. These stereo masters are now available on CD thanks to Wounded Bird. This is a once in a lifetime chance to hear the band in their natural element, on stage. No other full live album has ever been released by PG&E.
It took quite a while, but in February of 2005, Sony Music (who now owns Columbia) sent the surviving band members copies of the songs they had mastered for this album. It was supposed to have been released at the same time as the Lawrence Schiller movie “The Lexington Experience” (a documentary of the band playing at a federal drug rehab center). Disputes with a music publisher caused the movie to be shelved by court order, and the Live and Kicking album never released.
The master tapes reveal a fierce energy by all the players, along with masterful playing. You could tell this band knew what they were doing, and having been recorded in 1971, this is a true live album, no studio tricks or enhancements to get in the way of a superb performance. It’s great to hear how this band let loose outside the confines of the studio.The engineer who dubbed the master tapes told one band member that he was so impressed, he gave a copy to the head of Sony Legacy for consideration to be released. If you’re a PG&E fan, or a Blues and R&B fan, it would be well worth dropping a note to Sony Legacy…. really worth having!
Silverado once again Thank you very much!
…warm greetings from Polish
Oldfuzzface: good concert,good sound!Thanks for sharing,Silverado
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