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Wanted Dead or Alive (David Bromberg album)

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Wanted Dead or Alive
A black and white picture of a giant David Bromberg on top of the Empire State Building, like King Kong. He is holding a biplane, and is seemingly being attacked by flying women who look like Fay Wray.
Studio album / Live album by
Released7 January 1974 (US)
GenreFolk, folk rock, blues
LabelColumbia
ProducerDavid Bromberg
David Bromberg chronology
Demon in Disguise
(1972)
Wanted Dead or Alive
(1974)
Midnight on the Water
(1975)

Wanted Dead or Alive is an album by David Bromberg.[1][2][3] 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.[4]

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 DeadJerry Garcia, Phil Lesh, Keith Godchaux and Bill Kreutzmann. Side two was recorded live.[5]

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Christgau's Record GuideB+[6]

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 Harrison, 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 protégé of bluesman Reverend Gary Davis as springboards for discovery."[4]

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"."[1]

Track listing

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Side one:
  1. "The Holdup" (David Bromberg, George Harrison) – 3:03
  2. "Someone Else's Blues" (Bromberg) – 8:00
  3. "Danger Man" (Bromberg) – 3:05
  4. "The Main Street Moan" (Bromberg) – 5:13
Side two:
  1. "Send Me to the 'Lectric Chair" (George Brooks) – 4:52
  2. "Statesboro Blues" / "Church Bell Blues" (Blind Willie McTell / Luke Jordan, arranged by Bromberg) – 5:08
  3. "Wallflower" (Bob Dylan) – 2:57
  4. "Kansas City" (Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller) – 3:57
  5. "The New Lee Highway Blues" (Bromberg) – 5:40

Personnel

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Musicians

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Production

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  • 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

References

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  1. ^ a b c Wanted Dead or Alive at AllMusic
  2. ^ David Bromberg discography at wirz.de
  3. ^ Wanted Dead or Alive at Billboard.com
  4. ^ a b Harris, Craig (March 4, 2011). "Rerelease Review: David Bromberg, Wanted Dead or Alive / Midnight on the Water", Driftwood Magazine
  5. ^ Wanted Dead or Alive at the Grateful Dead Family Discography
  6. ^ Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: B". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved February 22, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.