Reviewed by Mike Rimmer

Having been touched by the anointing I on the 'Rooftop' series and enjoyed their festival appearances, this latest | release is much anticipated. It doesn't disappoint! Maintaining a loose, musically improvised feel, this has a high quality bootleg sound - raw but never muggy! Tony's self-styled brand of eclectic folk takes various elements of roots music and fuses them together into a powerful and anointed whole. Sometimes it sounds like Santana. sometimes like Johnny Cash or T Bone Burnett but always it's Tony Loeffler. His choice of covers is impeccable and surprising, a wonderful bluesy take on Dylan's "Willie McTell". including a wonderfully understated sax solo from Linda Salisbury is excellent. Equally good is his Loefflerisation of Julie Miller's "All My Tears" and Glenn Kaiser's "Lord Of AM" - both stonking cuts. If like me you enjoy Tony's songwriting, you'll be pleased to see old favourites "Finish Line" and "See The Valley" making a welcome return in new clothes much changed from previous incarnations and musically fresh. My favourite is the extended blues of "INRI". White three percussionists on duty, a lot of this stuff has real punch and John Zarra and John Concepcion's guitar work is top class. For variety, you get a soulful "Silling Here In Limbo" and a rootsy "I Shall Not Be Moved" polarising the performances recorded here. Still anointed. "Bootleg Live' does the business.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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