Live Meat and Potatoes
Chad Smith’s Bombastic Meatbats
Label: CD Baby
Release Date: July 9, 2012
Review Date: August 12, 2012
Okay, folks, I ain’t gonna lie to you. Until this last week, I had never heard of “Chad Smith’s Bombastic Meatbats”. So, when I received the review copy of Live Meat And Potatoes that has just been released by Chad Smith’s Bombastic Meatbats, I really, honestly didn’t know what to expect and predicted to myself that it would be something I wouldn’t like.
Boy, was I ever wrong.
Live Meat And Potatoes is one great two disc set! I love this live collection of fifteen tunes that are an incredible mix of jazz, funk, rock and fusion and mixed to perfection it is.
But I’m getting ahead of myself here. Let me introduce the band to those of you who aren’t familiar with them.
The band formed in 2008 and consists of Chad Smith (drummer for the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Chickenfoot), Ed Roth on keyboards (Coolio and Ronnie Montrose), Jeff Kollman (Cosmosquad) on guitar, and bassist, Kevin Chown (Uncle Kracker, Tarja Turunen).
Live Meat And Potatoes is the third album for the band who enjoyed success with their earlier albums. Those discs debuted in iTunes’ top 20 of their jazz chart. Also, their tune, Shag, enjoyed the distinction of being one of the most added tunes in jazz radio in 2011 as well as being featured in USA Network’s Covert Affairs.
This live set presents the Bombastic Meatbats as a fully developed and mature band – at top peak performance at all times. Tight, flawless, and sensitive to what the other musicians are doing, this band is a well-oiled musical machine. I can’t wait until I can see them live sometime.
As I said, the whole set is excellent. However, three tunes to highlight are:
Shilo’s Forbidden City Blues is clearly a Boomerocity favorite. This tune warranted multiple slaps of the repeat button and is worth the price of the set alone.
Second is Nightsweats. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if this tune winds up as music on TV or movie soundtrack. The mood and atmospheric effects of this song are amazing.
Finally, Into The Floyd rounds out the Boomerocity highlights. Smooth, fluid, and mood affecting, this song could be set to repeat while working on an intense project, reading or going to sleep. I love, love, love this tune!
If you’ve never heard of Chad Smith’s Bombastic Meatbats, then you’ll want to pick up this album and soon! You’ll become a fan for life!
Written by Randy Patterson
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