Tower of Power 1977

[MilesColtrane]

Not the greatest incarnation of the band (with Ronnie Beck and Edward McGee replacing Dave Garibaldi and Lenny Williams), but this is a pretty smoking version of "What Is HIp?"

That tempo is more than a little bright.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SN8pWdZhVaM

[bluesbassman]

1. Hipness is: What it is!

Cool cut. First concert I ever went to was ToP. '73 at Winterland in SF. Saw them many times after that. One of the staples there. :)

Rocco Prestia does things on the bass I only wish I could. His percussive technique is amazing.

[Richardo]

2. I must have seen TOP and EWF a dozen times between 1976-78.

Tightest live bands in the history of history. :wow:

If I Play My Cards Right:
http://grooveshark.com/s/If+I+Play+My+Cards+Right/2LjpNV?src=5

[Bunny]

3. Those boys are crisp, aren't they?

:thumbsup:

[trof]

4. Gotta love the costumes and the HAIR!

WooHoo

[Amerigo Vespucci]

5. My favorite part of Little Feat's "Waiting For Columbus"...

...is when Lowell howls "Tower of Power HORNS" in "Mercenary Territory"...and even though this is a "sound check" performance and not part of the actual live show, I've long felt it is the single strongest track on one of the top ten concert albums of all time.

I just got my hands on "Can You Dig It? - The '70s Soul Experience," and Tower of Power is represented here by "You're Still A Young Man" and "So Very Hard To Go."

I don't think their overall level of influence has ever been accurately calculated.

They are truly a rare bird...their IMPACT has little to do with their own albums. They were a FORCE, and they made a MARK, and that mark is still valid, in 2011. They influenced the musicians of their day and all "serious" musicians that followed.

Color me a "fan."

:toast:

[bluesbassman]

6. Good point AV. ToP set the bar for groove.

Anyone ever wanting to set up a horn & rhytem section has no better model.

[Kat45]

7. I saw them in a club in 1973.

Good show.