Wanted Dead or Alive (David Bromberg album)
Encyclopedia
Wanted Dead or Alive is an album by David Bromberg
. It was his third album, released by Columbia Records
as a vinyl LP
in 1974. It has been released as a CD
several times — by Sony Music Media in 2004, by SBME Special Markets in 2008, and by Columbia Records in 2011. It was also released as a double CD, combined with Bromberg's subsequent album Midnight on the Water
, by BGO Records in 2010.
The title Wanted Dead or Alive is a play on words, referring to how the record was created. Side one of the LP was recorded in the studio with various musicians, including four members of the Grateful Dead
— Jerry Garcia
, Phil Lesh
, Keith Godchaux
, and Bill Kreutzmann
. Side two was recorded live.
, Bromberg and cohorts... rarely let up. While his vocals were anything but luscious, Bromberg's deep, growl-like singing made every word heartfelt. Showing the depths of his songwriting with four self-composed tunes... Bromberg uses the guitar picking styles that he had learned as a student and protege of bluesman Reverend Gary Davis
as springboards for discovery."
According to Allmusic, "Some of Bromberg's strongest and best-loved material can be found here, including "The Holdup", "Danger Man", "Send Me to the 'Lectric Chair", "The New Lee Highway Blues", and Bob Dylan
's "Wallflower
"."
David Bromberg
David Bromberg is an American multi-instrumentalist, singer, and songwriter. Bromberg has an eclectic style, playing bluegrass, blues, folk, jazz, country and western, and rock and roll equally well. He is known for his quirky, humorous lyrics, and the ability to play rhythm and lead guitar at the...
. It was his third album, released by Columbia Records
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
as a vinyl LP
LP album
The LP, or long-playing microgroove record, is a format for phonograph records, an analog sound storage medium. Introduced by Columbia Records in 1948, it was soon adopted as a new standard by the entire record industry...
in 1974. It has been released as a CD
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
several times — by Sony Music Media in 2004, by SBME Special Markets in 2008, and by Columbia Records in 2011. It was also released as a double CD, combined with Bromberg's subsequent album Midnight on the Water
Midnight on the Water (David Bromberg album)
Midnight on the Water is an album by David Bromberg. His fourth album, it was released by Columbia Records as a vinyl LP in 1975. It was released in CD format by Sony Records in 1994, and by SBME Special Markets in 2009...
, by BGO Records in 2010.
The title Wanted Dead or Alive is a play on words, referring to how the record was created. Side one of the LP was recorded in the studio with various musicians, including four members of the Grateful Dead
Grateful Dead
The Grateful Dead was an American rock band formed in 1965 in the San Francisco Bay Area. The band was known for its unique and eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, folk, bluegrass, blues, reggae, country, improvisational jazz, psychedelia, and space rock, and for live performances of long...
— Jerry Garcia
Jerry Garcia
Jerome John "Jerry" Garcia was an American musician best known for his lead guitar work, singing and songwriting with the band the Grateful Dead...
, Phil Lesh
Phil Lesh
Phillip Chapman Lesh is a musician and a founding member of the Grateful Dead, with whom he played bass guitar throughout their 30-year career....
, Keith Godchaux
Keith Godchaux
Keith Richard Godchaux was a musician best known for his tenure in the rock group the Grateful Dead.-Biography:Keith Godchaux was born in Seattle, Washington and grew up in Concord, California...
, and Bill Kreutzmann
Bill Kreutzmann
Bill Kreutzmann is an American drummer who played with the rock band the Grateful Dead for their entire thirty-year career...
. Side two was recorded live.
Critical reception
Writing in Driftwood Magazine in 2011, Craig Harris said, "With their masterfully executed mix of America’s musical roots, the albums released by David Bromberg in the mid-1970s remain as much fun as they were more than a third of a century ago.... Reaching into what he does best, Bromberg came up with an album full of spirit, high energy and musical diversity. Opening with a galloping reprisal of "The Holdup", his collaboration with George HarrisonGeorge Harrison
George Harrison, MBE was an English musician, guitarist, singer-songwriter, actor and film producer who achieved international fame as lead guitarist of The Beatles. Often referred to as "the quiet Beatle", Harrison became over time an admirer of Indian mysticism, and introduced it to the other...
, Bromberg and cohorts... rarely let up. While his vocals were anything but luscious, Bromberg's deep, growl-like singing made every word heartfelt. Showing the depths of his songwriting with four self-composed tunes... Bromberg uses the guitar picking styles that he had learned as a student and protege of bluesman Reverend Gary Davis
Reverend Gary Davis
Reverend Gary Davis, also Blind Gary Davis, was an American blues and gospel singer and guitarist, who was also proficient on the banjo and harmonica...
as springboards for discovery."
According to Allmusic, "Some of Bromberg's strongest and best-loved material can be found here, including "The Holdup", "Danger Man", "Send Me to the 'Lectric Chair", "The New Lee Highway Blues", and Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
's "Wallflower
Wallflower (Bob Dylan song)
"Wallflower" is a song written and recorded in 1971 by Bob Dylan. Dylan's own recording, however, was not released until twenty years later as part of The Bootleg Series Volumes 1–3 1961–1991. The song was recorded, with Dylan's backing vocal, for Doug Sahm's 1973 recording Doug Sahm and his Band...
"."
Track listing
- Side one:
- "The Holdup" (David BrombergDavid BrombergDavid Bromberg is an American multi-instrumentalist, singer, and songwriter. Bromberg has an eclectic style, playing bluegrass, blues, folk, jazz, country and western, and rock and roll equally well. He is known for his quirky, humorous lyrics, and the ability to play rhythm and lead guitar at the...
, George HarrisonGeorge HarrisonGeorge Harrison, MBE was an English musician, guitarist, singer-songwriter, actor and film producer who achieved international fame as lead guitarist of The Beatles. Often referred to as "the quiet Beatle", Harrison became over time an admirer of Indian mysticism, and introduced it to the other...
) – 3:03 - "Someone Else's Blues" (Bromberg) – 8:00
- "Danger Man" (Bromberg) – 3:05
- "The Main Street Moan" (Bromberg) – 5:13
- "The Holdup" (David Bromberg
- Side two:
- "Send Me to the 'Lectric Chair" (George Brooks) – 4:52
- "Statesboro BluesStatesboro Blues"Statesboro Blues" is a blues song in the key of D written by Blind Willie McTell; the title refers to the town of Statesboro, Georgia. Covered by many artists, the version by The Allman Brothers Band is especially notable and was ranked #9 by Rolling Stone in their list of the 100 Greatest Guitar...
" / "Church Bell Blues" (Blind Willie McTellBlind Willie McTellBlind Willie McTell , was an influential Piedmont and ragtime blues singer and guitarist. He played with a fluid, syncopated fingerstyle guitar technique, common among many exponents of Piedmont blues, although, unlike his contemporaries, he used exclusively a twelve-string guitar...
/ Luke JordanLuke JordanLuke Jordan was an American blues guitarist and vocalist of some renown in his local area of Lynchburg, Virginia....
, arranged by Bromberg) – 5:08 - "WallflowerWallflower (Bob Dylan song)"Wallflower" is a song written and recorded in 1971 by Bob Dylan. Dylan's own recording, however, was not released until twenty years later as part of The Bootleg Series Volumes 1–3 1961–1991. The song was recorded, with Dylan's backing vocal, for Doug Sahm's 1973 recording Doug Sahm and his Band...
" (Bob DylanBob DylanBob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
) – 2:57 - "Kansas City" (Jerry Lieber, Mike StollerJerry Leiber and Mike StollerJerome "Jerry" Leiber and Mike Stoller were American songwriting and record producing partners. Stoller was the composer and Leiber the lyricist. Their most famous songs include "Hound Dog", "Jailhouse Rock", "Kansas City", "Stand By Me" Jerome "Jerry" Leiber (April 25, 1933 – August 22, 2011)...
) – 3:57 - "The New Lee Highway Blues" (Bromberg) – 5:40
Musicians
- David BrombergDavid BrombergDavid Bromberg is an American multi-instrumentalist, singer, and songwriter. Bromberg has an eclectic style, playing bluegrass, blues, folk, jazz, country and western, and rock and roll equally well. He is known for his quirky, humorous lyrics, and the ability to play rhythm and lead guitar at the...
– acousticAcoustic guitarAn acoustic guitar is a guitar that uses only an acoustic sound board. The air in this cavity resonates with the vibrational modes of the string and at low frequencies, which depend on the size of the box, the chamber acts like a Helmholtz resonator, increasing or decreasing the volume of the sound...
and electric guitarElectric guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
, lead vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments... - Steve Burgh – bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
- Peter EcklundPeter EcklundPeter Ecklund is an American jazz cornetist.Ecklund graduated from Yale University in 1967, then played with Gregg Allman, Maria Muldaur, Leon Redbone, and Paul Butterfield. He formed the Galvanized Jazz Band in the late 1960s and toured with Paula Lockheart, in addition to working with many pop...
– trumpetTrumpetThe trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
, mellophoneMellophoneThe mellophone is a brass instrument that is typically used in place of the horn in marching bands or drum and bugle corps.... - Joe Ferguson – altoAlto saxophoneThe alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in 1841. It is smaller than the tenor but larger than the soprano, and is the type most used in classical compositions...
and baritone saxophoneBaritone saxophoneThe baritone saxophone, often called "bari sax" , is one of the largest and lowest pitched members of the saxophone family. It was invented by Adolphe Sax. The baritone is distinguished from smaller sizes of saxophone by the extra loop near its mouthpiece... - Hungria Garcia – timbalesTimbalesTimbales are shallow single-headed drums with metal casing, invented in Cuba. They are shallower in shape than single-headed tom-toms, and usually much higher tuned...
- Jerry GarciaJerry GarciaJerome John "Jerry" Garcia was an American musician best known for his lead guitar work, singing and songwriting with the band the Grateful Dead...
– acoustic and electric guitar - Keith GodchauxKeith GodchauxKeith Richard Godchaux was a musician best known for his tenure in the rock group the Grateful Dead.-Biography:Keith Godchaux was born in Seattle, Washington and grew up in Concord, California...
– pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal... - Jeff Gutcheon – piano
- Bill KreutzmannBill KreutzmannBill Kreutzmann is an American drummer who played with the rock band the Grateful Dead for their entire thirty-year career...
– drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person .... - Phil LeshPhil LeshPhillip Chapman Lesh is a musician and a founding member of the Grateful Dead, with whom he played bass guitar throughout their 30-year career....
– bass - Tony MarkellisTony MarkellisTony Markellis is a bassist and record producer from Helena, Montana, now residing in Saratoga Springs, New York. His career spans nearly forty years, playing blues, folk, jazz, rock and country music with musicians such as Trey Anastasio, Paul Butterfield, The Mamas & the Papas, Johnny Shines,...
– bass - Steve Mosley – bass
- John Payne – alto fluteAlto fluteThe alto flute is a type of Western concert flute, a musical instrument in the woodwind family. It is the next extension downward of the C flute after the flûte d'amour. It is characterized by its distinct, mellow tone in the lower portion of its range...
, bass clarinetBass clarinetThe bass clarinet is a musical instrument of the clarinet family. Like the more common soprano B clarinet, it is usually pitched in B , but it plays notes an octave below the soprano B clarinet...
, tenor saxophoneTenor saxophoneThe tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor, with the alto, are the two most common types of saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B, and written as a transposing instrument in the treble... - Neil Rossi – fiddleFiddleThe term fiddle may refer to any bowed string musical instrument, most often the violin. It is also a colloquial term for the instrument used by players in all genres, including classical music...
- Andy StatmanAndy StatmanAndy Statman is a noted Klezmer clarinetist and bluegrass/newgrass mandolinist.Andy Statman was born in Brooklyn, New York City. He first gained acclaim as a mandolinist in pioneering bluegrass bands Country Cookin' and Breakfast Special. Statman, who grew up in a traditional but secular Jewish...
– mandolinMandolinA mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family . It descends from the mandore, a soprano member of the lute family. The mandolin soundboard comes in many shapes—but generally round or teardrop-shaped, sometimes with scrolls or other projections. A mandolin may have f-holes, or a single...
, tenor saxophone - Jay UngarJay UngarJay Ungar is an American folk musician and composer. -Biography:Ungar was born in the Bronx , the son of immigrant Jewish parents from Eastern Europe. He frequented Greenwich Village music venues during his formative period in the 1960s...
– fiddle - Winnie Winston – banjoBanjoIn the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...
- Jack Lee – background vocals
- Andy McMahon – background vocals
- Tracy NelsonTracy Nelson (singer)-Youth in Wisconsin:Nelson was born and grew up in Madison, Wisconsin. There she first learned about R&B music from WLAC radio in Nashville. In her teens, Nelson sang folk music in coffeehouses and with a group called The Fuller's Wood Singers and was lead singer in a band called The Fabulous...
– background vocals - The Sweet InspirationsSweet InspirationsThe Sweet Inspirations were founded by Cissy Houston , mother of Whitney Houston, and sister of Lee Warrick...
– background vocals
Production
- Produced by: David Bromberg
- Production coordinator: George Eichen
- Horn arrangements on "Danger Man" and "Kansas City": Peter Ecklund
- Engineer, side 1: David Brown
- Engineers, side 2: Buddy Graham, Jerry Smith, Pete Weiss, Frank Laico
- Tape recordists: Louis Waxman, Lehman Yates
- Remix engineer: Tim Geelan
- Mastered by: Jack Ashkinazy
- Photography: Jim McGuire
- Album design: Karen Lee Grant
- Cover concept: Tony Markellis