Lang and his first-rate band tear through nine songs that are all taken from Lie to Me and Wander This World. He kicks off the set with the hit single from Wander This World, "Still Rainin'," and right away you can see that the audience was not only there to see Mr. King. Lang gives an enthusiastic and energized performance this night, and did not seem the least bit intimidated by some of the other blues-guitar talent at the festival that year, which also included Gary Moore, Robben Ford, and Jeff Healey.
If you have never seen Lang perform live, his over-the-top grimacing, and guttural-beyond-his-age vocal delivery, might make you wonder if he is trying to exorcise demons from his body, or just reeeally feeling those blues. He makes John Mayer seem perfectly composed.
There are no weak spots in this short set, and Lang deals out a few different shades of blues this night. The styles range between the old school boogie of the Sonny Boy Williamson classic "Good Morning Little School Girl," the poignant, slow-blues of "A Quitter Never Wins," the gorgeous acoustic ballad "Breakin' Me," and the fiery blues-rock of "Lie to Me," which closes out the set. The appreciative Swiss crowd immediately cheer Lang back to the stage for an encore, and he delivers in spades with a jazzed-up, extended rendition of "Rack 'Em Up."
The production quality of this DVD was superb, as with all of the Live At Montreux releases I have seen. Your audio options are DTS 5.1 Surround, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround, and PCM Stereo, and they all sound practically flawless. The widescreen picture is about as good as it can get for a 12 year old recording, and the camera work was also excellent. No special features are included.
Jonny Lang's Live At Montreux 1999 was a long time coming, and other than being much too short, it does not disappoint. Let's hope that this will signal a triumphant return for this very talented, and still very young, musician.
Set List
1. Still Rainin'
2. Good Morning Little School Girl
3. A Quitter Never Wins
4. Right Back
5. There's Gotta Be A Change
6. The Levee
7. Breakin' Me
8. Lie To Me
9. Rack 'Em Up
Ratings:
Performance 8/10
Production 8/10
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Article comments
1 - Glen Boyd
I saw Lang play here in Seattle at Bumbershoot (our annual music and arts fest) about ten or so years ago and was completely floored by the kid. His albums don't come close to capturing what he does live. Guess this'll have to go on my list for '09. Nice review Mr. Roy.
-Glen
2 - Paul Roy
Thanks Glen. I too was much more impressed with this kid's live playing than I was prepared to be.
3 - Mark Saleski
i saw Lang at a club in boston a few years ago and was surprised at how good he was. honestly, what he does is closer to a soul thing than a white boy blues concept.