• 2021 •

THE NOBS RELEASE LIVE ALBUM

GARTH THOMAS

MUSICNEWSREVIEWS

40 years ago the band The NoBS recorded their Davis, California, concert. The tight blues rock band are releasing the album The NoBS Live, 1981 to celebrate that pivotal concert. To hear the banter between songs, the audience shout outs to Skydog (whomever and wherever you are) feels very nostalgic these days. What doesn’t sound vintage, though, are the roaring guitar riffs, those invisible moments where the live stage evokes goose bumps to the listening audience. Filled to the brim with songs – what else would you expect from a live set – there are a few tracks The NoBS are releasing: “Bright Lights, Big City” and “One Woman Man”.

First released in 1961 by Jimmy Reed, the great American blues track was also recorded by country singer Sonny James in 1971. The NoBS version is absolutely solid showmanship. The guitar melts into the harmonica. The drum mix is higher – I felt the kick drum and could almost place myself in that sweaty bar scene, watching the drummer hit the skins. There is a rawness that hangs in the air listening to the song. The vocalist has some moments where his voice is breathy – just as you would expect in a concert. I don’t want a live album to sound perfect; I want it to sound like a band at work and doing their thing. This is definitely the case in “Bright Lights, Big City”.

HEAR NOW: https://thenobs.hearnow.com/

“One Woman Man” is not to be confused with the George Jones, John Legend or Dave Hollister songs with the same name. The NoBS song glides along like the perfect time for a slow dance. Just enough fever and percussion are in the mix to keep the heartbeat going, the adrenaline high. But, as you listen to this track in the contact of the live album, it makes sense they would slow things down for just a few minutes in order to ramp things up again. I loved the textures in this song – the way the vocals are wrapped around the bluesy-guitar. I closed my eyes and almost pictured Aaron Neville singing. There are some harmonies happening, but very subtly. Otherwise, the vocals have a gritty sheen that cuts through…slicing through like you would imagine a blues singer possessing. It has the mood of a song like “Tell It Like It Is”. I found myself lingering in the vocals of “One Woman Man” for hours.

APPLE MUSIC: https://music.apple.com/gb/album/the-nobs-live-1981/1549171828

 

The NoBS, are brothers Scott (guitar, bass, harmonica, vocals), David (Guitar, bass, vocals) and Brad Parker (guitar, bass, vocals) as well as Mike Harney on drums. These two tracks are a great gateway to the entire album. With 25 tracks total, there is much to choose from, and believe me, you will be highly engaged with the artistry and the virtuoso instrumentation. Maybe it’s wishful thinking, and maybe it’s sentimentality, but to hear a live concert like this is pure magic these days. Now, imagine, too, if this was on vinyl. My goodness, that would be a treat. Until then, I will take all that I can get of The NoBS. High marks indeed for The NoBS, Live 1981.

Garth Thomas

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 NEW REVIEWS!     

Released in 2021, but originally recorded back in the early 1980’s, The NoBS have officially shared their “new” record, The NoBS Live 1981. Read along with us as we share our complete thoughts on the record, in addition to a background on the band.

Recorded at a Brewery in Davis, California back in January of 1981, The NoBS’ live double album has finally come to life. An “album that will live on in infamy” is chock full of soaring guitar riffs and a taste of classic rock at its peak. For those who witnessed it live, they can now relisten to their liking in all its glory.

For those unfamiliar, The NoBS are made up of Scott (Guitar and Vocals), Brad (Lead Guitar, Bass and Vocals), David (Vocals, Guitar and Bass), and Scott (Blues Harp). Together they’ve come together to crank out a 25-track double album that spans the length of an hour and forty four minutes. Now while we’ve listened and can assure that it’s well worth your time, let it be known that there’s plenty to take in from start to finish. 

Instrumentally, they’ve knocked it out of the park and quickly proved that in a band of four, they make it sound like there’s ten guys on stage all playing at once. It’s succinct, classic sounding, but it also rocks equally. What we love most about live records, no matter when they were recorded, is that it takes you back to a specific moment in time. Whether you were there or not, you can hear a band at its absolute peak and for one night in time, the moment was captured and recorded for all to enjoy forever. 

While we can only imagine this wasn’t a massive brewery with thousands upon thousands in attendance, what we can assure is that whoever got to witness this in person was surely in for the time of their lives.  Through 25 songs, the band have ripped and roared through the best of their discography and put on a showcase of their finest talents.  It would be quite impossible to isolate a single track and say this was the best rather the entirety of the listen is the journey of where the band takes you by handpicking their set list for your enjoyment.

Americana, classic rock, and blues lovers will adore this record.  Whether you’re familiar with the work of the NoBS or this happens to be your first inclination of their existence, jump back into time 40 years and experience a wild night of music.

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March 15, 2021

 

More Reviews......it's absolutely outstanding!

 

With a band name like The NoBS, one is sure to think that it’s all about the music. Though they recorded the songs on The NoBS Live 1981 album 40 years ago, the music and the commitment to their sound still holds up for the California blues/rock band. Featuring an odyssey of 25 tracks, The NoBS Live 1981 easily transports the listener back to that packed-club in Davis, California. The two lead singles, “Wait On Time” and “Further Up On The Road” give the listener a taste of something special that went down, and all these years later, it continues to elicit the applause.

 

It’s an interesting thing to listen to a song recorded so long ago and still feel that magic hanging with each riff, making yourself a part of that audience. “Wait On Time” has a history of its own, it’s a song that The Fabulous Thunderbirds released in the late seventies. I think the guys in The NoBS (David, Brad and Scott), bring a lot of their zest to the recording. The blues riffs are tight in this track. I felt the guitar sliced through the percussion – leaving this vapor of passion and power in its wake. So much of this song is that nocturnal energy, a generous amount of bluesy tones. The guitar just elevates the vocals – I was ensconced by the subtleties of the percussion, mixed in. Don’t get me wrong, there’s still a lot of rhythm and soul happening in “Wait On Time”.

The vocals (David) in “Wait On Time” are raspy, everything you’d want in a blues rock sound. Well, I don’t live like a king, and I don’t drive a big car, the gypsy woman was right, when she said I would go far, he sings. The final mix is great because it has that feel of the live performance, clanging beer glasses and some murmured conversation, but once the music starts, it’s all eyes and ears on the band.

 

In “Further Up On The Road” The NoBS increased the tempo even more. When Chuck Berry sang about playing a guitar like ringing a bell, this song comes to mind. It’s just as devilishly bluesy rock as “Wait On Time”.  The guitar work really swells. David’s tenor in the vocals is a mixture of amber and whiskey. He, like the guitar, belts it out more in this one. One of the reasons I enjoyed this live album approach is that not only can you hear the crowd, but you can also hear the way the singer reacts to the crowd. It’s an invisible communication. I’ve noted in numerous reviews about the way bands bring the same energy from a live concert into the studio. Well, this reverse is just as tasty. I think the fiery energy, especially from the guitar, in “Further Up On The Road” is tangible for the listener. I felt that chasing feeling, like I was searching for something and my heart raced faster and more focused. The drum work and bass grooves made me think of a gallop. It has a vintage sheen to it, and I think fans of Johnny Cash, Berry and rockabilly will even dig this burner.

John McCall

 

 

 

The Indie Pulse Music – the NoBS 1981 review

Mindy McCall March 9, 2021

Releasing an album so long after its initial recording is a testament to the band and the genre of music. The band, The NoBS, have released their 25-song album, The NoBS Live 1981. There’s no dusting off the cover of this one, it sounds as if it were recorded last night. How did the band come up with the lead single? They decided on two. The hits “Wait On Time” and “Further Up On The Road”. Like a ripcord, there’s no time to think, just groove and move to the music. These blues rock gems give the listener two very cohesive listening experiences. 

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Recorded at an undisclosed venue in Davis, California, a town near Sacramento, the band’s presence in what I can only assume to be an indoor venue is positively electric. The crowd’s enthusiasm and exuberance is heard between tracks, but it does trickle its way into these two tracks. The NoBS, a trio made up of David, Brad and Scott, make these tracks sound much larger, and almost something a bigger band would present. They tear down that fourth wall and as a listener, I snuck up front to hearing this live concert. 

“Wait On Time” comes first and it’s a heckuva improvement on the 1979 The Fabulous Thunderbirds’ version. I know listeners can often find it difficult to love a cover rather than the original, but in this case, my opinion is that The NoBS deliver a superior track. The guitar work and the vocals are riveting. I can see why they chose this song as a single to release – it showcases the band’s astute blues work. They aren’t just playing the song, either. They are really conveying the grit and the grime. The vocals, a man’s voice that has that muddy-tones and that was made for singing above loud voices at a bar, is great. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The NoBS have returned to the stage and we are releasing a new Live Double CD album in 2021... This recording was made at the Brewery, in Davis, California, on January 16 & 17, 1981. It's a double album that will live on in infamy and in its dedication to the Nob Mob that was there that night and has grown around the world since then. The double CD, "the NoBS • LiVE • 1981," will be pre-released on January 16th, 2021, marking the 40th anniversary of its recording... In 2019, we retook the stage, first at the magical Pappy & Harriet's, in Pioneertown, California, and when the stages around the world are ready to spin the mystic of the American River of Music -- we will be there!

Thanks to all of you who have supported us throughout the years, made our 1981 single, "Fever/Fire & Mystic Eyes," a hit across the USA and who are clamoring for more...