Fire Up Plus
| Fire Up Plus | |||||
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| Compilation album by Merl Saunders and Friends | |||||
| Released | July 9, 1992 | ||||
| Recorded | 1971 – 1973 | ||||
| Genre | Rock, funk | ||||
| Length | 68:53 | ||||
| Label | Fantasy | ||||
| Producer | Merl Saunders, Tom Fogerty, Brian Gardner | ||||
| Merl Saunders and Jerry Garcia chronology | |||||
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| Merl Saunders chronology | |||||
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| Jerry Garcia chronology | |||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |
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| The Best Of Website | B |
Fire Up Plus is an album by Merl Saunders and Friends. It contains most of the songs from two LPs from the early 1970s — Heavy Turbulence, and Fire Up. It was released on CD by Fantasy Records on July 9, 1992.
Fire Up Plus features Merl Saunders on keyboards and vocals, Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead on guitar and vocals, Tom Fogerty of Creedence Clearwater Revival on guitar, John Kahn on bass, and Bill Vitt on drums.
Heavy Turbulence was recorded in the fall of 1971 and released in 1972. All six tracks from that album are included in Fire Up Plus.
Fire Up was recorded between November 1972 and January 1973, and released in 1973. Six of the eight tracks from that album are included in Fire Up Plus. The songs "Charisma (She's Got)" and "Chock-Lite Puddin'" were omitted due to space considerations.
On Allmusic, Lindsay Planer said, "Here, [Saunders, Garcia, Fogerty, Kahn, and Vitt] lay down their substantially funky existence onto a considerably eclectic mix of cover tunes and highly inventive originals. Saunders' arrangements — particularly with the Tower of Power brass on "Man-Child" and "Soul Roach" – reveal a hidden talent for the keyboardist. That blending of styles results in a hearty big band sound with the horn section taking a backseat to no one. Saunders alternates between the rubbery funk of "Expressway (To Your Heart)" through to a comparably leaner sound on their redux of JJ Cale's "After Midnight." The lead vocals are split between Saunders and Garcia.
On The Best Of Website, Barry Small wrote, "There are many solid moments on this release, though none better than the lovely blues inspired riffs that Garcia lays out on "Lonely Avenue". I generally prefer the cover versions to the original Merl compositions. John Lennon's song "Imagine" is done instrumentally. The rendition of JJ Cale's "After Midnight" is top notch.... Merl Saunders' Fire Up Plus is a more than worthwhile addition to a CD collection.
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Wikipedia