Live! Go For What You Know
Live album by
Pat Travers Band
Released1979
RecordedJanuary and February 1979
StudioAt Great Southern Music Hall,Gainesville, Florida & Opry House, Austin, Texas & Gusman Hall, Coral Gables, Florida
Genre
Length42:12
LabelPolydor (LP (1979) and CD (1993), #841904[1])
ProducerPat Travers, Tom Allom
Pat Travers chronology
The Pat Travers You Missed Mini-Album (EP)
(1978) 		Live! Go For What You Know
(1979) 		Crash and Burn
(1980)

Live! Go For What You Know is a live album by the Pat Travers Band, released in 1979 on Polydor Records. It reached platinum status in the US,[2] and was re-released on CD in 1993.

Background

The album was recorded on tour in the US in early 1979, and featured the guitar tandem of Travers and Pat Thrall, who had joined the Pat Travers band in 1977 and had recorded Heat In The Street (1978) with them. According to Legends of Rock Guitar, on this album and the follow-up, Crash and Burn (1980), the duo of Travers and Thrall bridged the gap between what it calls "dramatic changes" in metal in the late 1970s: Travers emblematized "the blues-rock sound of sixties and seventies metal" whereas Thrall's playing represents the newer wave in metal (represented by Eddie van Halen): "The combining of the two players' solos during this time showed a rare detente between two generations of hard rockers and, although short-lived, it was extremely exciting."[3]

The album was produced by Tom Allom, who had worked on the first five Black Sabbath albums as a sound engineer, had produced two albums by The Tourists, and would afterward produce nine albums by Judas Priest and the debut album On Through the Night by Def Leppard.[4] Besides praising the guitar playing of Travers and Thrall, critics have also hailed Tommy Aldridge, a drumming pioneer who after leaving the Pat Travers Band played with Ozzy Osbourne; one critic called him "the definitive double bass drummer" on the basis of this album.[5]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[6]

The album garnered positive reviews. It came recommended by Billboard magazine,[7] and received positive reviews in the Los Angeles Times[8][9] and The Daily Collegian.[10] Years after its release, the live album is often referred to by critics as the pinnacle of Pat Travers' career.[1][11][12] Especially the "live classic"[13] song "Boom Boom (Out Go the Lights)" (a Stan Lewis cover), which was released as a single,[14] is frequently associated with him and continues to be an audience favorite.[1][15][16][17] The song was included on a 2001 compilation CD called Goin' South. In July 2007, a forum of Guitar Player magazine readers voted Live! Go For What You Know in their top 40 of live albums.[18]

Track list

Side one

  1. "Hooked on Music" (from Makin' Magic) (Pat Travers) – 6:26
  2. "Gettin' Betta" (from Putting It Straight) (Mars Cowling, Travers) – 4:52
  3. "Go All Night" (from Heat in the Street) (Travers) – 4:02
  4. "Boom Boom (Out Go the Lights)" (from Pat Travers) (Stan Lewis) – 5:05

Side two

  1. "Stevie" (from Makin' Magic) (Travers) – 6:21
  2. "Makin' Magic" (from Makin' Magic) (Travers) – 4:00
  3. "Heat in the Street" (from Heat in the Street) (Jeffrey Lesser, Travers) – 4:24
  4. "Makes No Difference" (from Pat Travers) (Travers) – 7:03

Personnel

Production

References

  1. ^ a b c "Live! Go For What You Know". Allmusic. Retrieved 2009-08-10.
  2. ^ Futch, Michael (1992-10-16). "Back to Basics: Pat Travers Rediscovers the Blues". Fayetteville Observer.
  3. ^ Brown, Pete; HP Newquist; Jon F. Eiche (1997). Legends of Rock Guitar: The Essential Reference of Rock's Greatest Guitarists. Hal Leonard. p. 172. ISBN 978-0-7935-4042-6.
  4. ^ "Judas Priest Album Soars First Week in Britain". Los Angeles Times. 1980-06-13. p. K.14.
  5. ^ "Bang the Drum Slowly? Not These Guys". Contra Costa Times. 2002-09-13.
  6. ^ Allmusic review
  7. ^ "Billboard's Recommended LPs". Billboard. 1979-07-14. p. 17. Retrieved 2009-08-09.
  8. ^ Goldstein, Patrick (1979-07-22). "Pat Travers Goes Heavy a la Nugent". Los Angeles Times. p. L.80.
  9. ^ "Album Briefs". Los Angeles Times. 1979-09-09. p. L.89.
  10. ^ "Pat Travers: New Directions and Less Guitar". The Daily Collegian. 1980-04-07.
  11. ^ Miers, Jeff (2006-05-26). "Down Pat". The Buffalo News.
  12. ^ Hunt, Dennis (1980-05-18). "Faces: Pat Travers--He's Mr. Cool". Los Angeles Times. p. T.87.
  13. ^ "For rock music fans who grew up in the late 1970s, hearing the name Pat Travers immediately brings back the live classic, 'Boom, Boom (Out Go The Lights.'"Peterson, Stacy (2005-12-16). "Strumming with Pat Travers". Fayetteville Observer. Retrieved 2009-08-10.
  14. ^ "Pop: Recommended singles". Billboard. 1979-08-18. Retrieved 2009-08-10.
  15. ^ "Many classic rock fans consider Pat Travers to be a monster on guitar, thanks to such blistering hits as "Boom Boom (Out Go the Lights)," in Yampert, Rick de (2002-09-06). "Pat Travers Still Monster of Rock". The Daytona Beach News-Journal. p. 1D. Retrieved 2009-08-10.
  16. ^ "Travers has written hundreds of songs and released nearly 30 albums in his long career, but he is still most recognized for his late '70s cover of bluesman Stan Lewis' 'Boom Boom (Out Go the Lights),'" in Burkhart, Jeff (2006-01-26). "Guitarist to Deliver Scorching Sounds". Marin Independent Journal. p. 1D. Retrieved 2009-08-10.
  17. ^ "The blues-rocking Pat Travers Band, best known for the sing-along hits 'Boom Boom (Out Go The Lights)' and 'Snortin' Whiskey'...," in "Out Go the Lights". Miami Herald. 2007-07-27. Retrieved 2009-08-10.
  18. ^ "The Top 40 Live Albums: As Chosen by GP Forum and Seymour Duncan User Group Members". Guitar Player. July 2007.
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