A lot of guitar players who spend most of their time playing for other people lack the charisma to be a front person, especially when they are predominantly instrumentalists. Dave Spectre plays with such poise and authority that he has sufficient presence onto himself that he and his band are a pleasure to watch and listen to without the need for vocalist. Even though Live In Chicago features the talent of three other lead performers through out the course of the recording, you are never in doubt that it is Dave's show.
As is usual for a Delmark DVD release the sound and audio are great. There are sufficient cameras that they have all the shooting angles you can think of covered, and some you wouldn't have thought of. This included some great close-ups on both Brother John Kottke's hands during piano solos and Dave's fingers working his fret board. While there's no difference between the quality of sound on the CD, the DVD comes with a couple of extra bonus tracks; one each from Jimmy Johnson and Sharon Lewis.
Dave Specter Live In Chicago on either CD or DVD is yet another example of why Delmark records at 55 years old are still going strong: Great music and great recordings are a combination that can't be beat.
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