Live Embers
The Songs
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- World Without Love
- The Letter
- In My Hour of Darkness
- Hungarian Dance
- Sea of Heartbreak
- No Matter What
- Hale Bop
- It's All Right
- The Billy-Bob Tell Adventure
- Jet Airliner
- Dust in the Wind
- A Sign of the Times
- Tumbling Tumbleweeds
- Money
- Orange Blossom Special
- Annie's Rabbit (recorded live at the Westport Coffee House, February 1999.)
The Liner Notes
"Live Embers" is a combination of two projects we've always wanted to do. One of these was a "live" album, where we could record some songs the way we learned them, just standing around in a circle in the living room at home. The other was what we used to refer to as the "people's choice" album, songs that our audiences have heard us play on stage and wanted us to record, but for one reason or another, we never have.
In February of 2000, we brought our regular PA system to a small sound stage next door to Leo's office. We used our dependable Shure microphones, our trusty Mackie mixer, set the mics up in a circle and played our hearts out for three nights. Basically, our modus was to "mash red" (hit the record button) and play until the tape ran out, load up a new tape and play some more. Aside from about an hour the first night as we were setting levels, there wasn't even a recording engineer present. There were no headphones, no pickups, and no producer. Just our instruments and us.
Unlike your typical "studio" recording, these songs were recorded with no overdubs. The cover art by Don Dane closely represents the approach we took to capturing these songs and speaks to our fourteen years of playing together.
Releasing an album like this is a scary proposition. As we listened to the results of our recording session, there was a big temptation to go back and "fix" a few things. But aside from some mixing, EQ and a light touch from Adam, our post-production engineer, what you hear is pretty much just the way it happened on those evenings in February. If you've ever heard a live album without defects, it wasn't live. Listen closely and you'll hear a few clunkers, some laughter, and maybe the furnace kicking in occasionally. This album is for Spontaneous Combustion fans, past, present and future, who have an appreciation for what can happen when four old friends get together and just let it happen.
Hope you enjoy it.