Marshall Tucker Band  - Live From The Garden State
by Tony Foney

The Live from the Garden State is The Marshall Tucker Band's first DVD and features a concert from a 1981 MTV special. For fans of the MTB, that alone makes this worth buying. Footage of their New Jersey show sits alongside an interview with the band that touches on the many tragedies & deaths suffered by MTB, the etymology of their band's name, and good interviews with members of the Charlie Daniels Band & Travis Tritt. 
 
The concert however, is the highlight of the DVD. They cover all of their hits, 2 hours of show packed with excellent musicianship. I alone of my family like this kind of music, but even my critical wife Joannie agrees that this DVD might even make a fine tutor for our kids to learn something about playing the guitar & drum kit we just got them for Christmas. (Although she thinks they might be more inclined to watch it if they turned down the volume all the way & played some other CD for the soundtrack.)
 
Toy Caldwell, who died in 1993, makes the difference on every song on this DVD. Even you little thrasher metal head kids would be impressed by his technique & speed on a guitar. He was one of the very few musicians who used his thumb rather than a guitar pick, enabling him to play the guitar with incredible speed & control. He flies through jazz & rhythm & blues chords effortlessly, making the rhythm guitarist, who isn't a bad, talentless guitarist, look like an amateur trying to become a member of Blink 182. That's a real problem when you're in a band with someone great- just being good makes you look very poor indeed. The excellent guitars used for this concert, early 70's era Les Pauls, are an added fun bonus for guitar aficionados to see them getting a real workout. The singer shows incredible range, never wavering or faltering as he goes through the entire spectrum of vocals required to do the songs well. The bassist was a family friend of the Caldwell's, who took over and kept the band from disintegrating when Toy's brother & MTB bassist Tommy died in a car accident in 1980. 
 
"Searching for a Rainbow" formerly my favorite song, ended up the worst song on here, thanx to Toy's poor backup singing, I'll admit. The best song was probably "Ramblin'" an all out concert jam song. Since this is from 1981 it's a little dated looking, but listen to the music, don't critique their wardrobe & you'll enjoy this at least as much as I did & a lot more than Joannie did.
 
If I were going to rate this DVD I'd give 3.5 stars. I've always been partial to Marshall and it was a rare treat to see them onstage putting on such a phenomenal concert. 
 

Listen to Samples and Purchase This CD online

Visit the official website for more on the band