''Alive'' is the 1969 album from The

Nitty Gritty Dirt Band The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band is an American country rock band formed in 1966. The group has existed in various forms since its founding in Long Beach, California. Between 1976 and 1981, the band performed and recorded as the Dirt Band. Constant ...

. Liberty Records released this album after the original version of the band broke up and before the next version of the band re-signed with them. John McEuen would later recall that "we did

he album He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...

at the Troubador and there were mountains of equipment on stage because Poco were on the same bill with us." Given McEuen's comment, it appears that the documented performance occurred on either December 6 or 7, 1968. The band would break up within weeks of this show.

Reception

The

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

review by Bruce Eder awarded the album 4 stars stating "How many live albums -- forget decent ones -- were left behind by bands in 1967/68? This is one, and it's better than decent, and almost a gift from heaven, capturing an early incarnation of the group (circa 1967) on a good night at the L.A. Troubadour. Someone has earned a place in musical heaven for seeing to recording the show.".Eder, B
Allmusic Review
accessed February 26, 2011

Track listing

# "Crazy Words, Crazy Tune" (

Jack Yellen Jack Selig Yellen (Jacek Jeleń; July 6, 1892 – April 17, 1991) was an American lyricist and screenwriter. He is best remembered for writing the lyrics to the songs " Happy Days Are Here Again", which was used by Franklin Roosevelt as the th ...

Milton Ager Milton Ager (October 6, 1893 – May 6, 1979) was an American composer, regarded as one of the top songwriters of the 1920s and 1930s. His most lasting compositions include " Ain't She Sweet?” and “ Happy Days Are Here Again”. Biography ...

) – 1:39 # "Buy for Me the Rain" (Steve Noonan, Greg Copeland) – 3:12 # "Candy Man" ( Rev. Gary Davis) – 2:36 # "Foggy Mountain Breakdown" ( Earl Scruggs) – 5:04 # "Rock Me Baby" (

B.B. King Riley B. King (September 16, 1925 – May 14, 2015), known professionally as B.B. King, was an American blues singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. He introduced a sophisticated style of soloing based on fluid string bending, shi ...

, Jules Taub) – 5:51 # "Fat Boys (Can Make It in Santa Monica)" (Jeff Hanna, Chris Darrow) – 1:41 # "Alligator Man" (

Floyd Chance Floyd Taylor Chance (21 December 1925 – 11 April 2005), often credited as Lightnin' Chance, was an American session musician who played bass on many successful country and pop records, especially in the 1950s and 1960s. His bass playing can be ...

, Jimmy C. Newman) – 3:43 # "Crazy Words, Crazy Tune" (Jack Yellen, Milton Ager) – 3:48 # "Goodnight, My Love, Pleasant Dreams" (

George Motola George Louis Motola (November 15, 1919 – February 15, 1991) was an American record producer, songwriter and sound engineer from the 1950s until his death. Early life and career Motola, whose last name is often misspelled as Mottola, was born i ...

John Marascalco John S. Marascalco (March 27, 1931 – July 5, 2020) was an American songwriter most noted for the songs he wrote for Little Richard. He was born in Grenada, Mississippi and died in Los Angeles, California. Career Marascalco co-wrote several ...

) – 10:11

Personnel

* Ralph Barr – guitar, kazoo, lead vocals on "Crazy Words, Crazy Tune" *

John McEuen John McEuen, born December 19, 1945 in Oakland, California, is an American folk musician and a founding member of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. Career Solo work John McEuen was born in Oakland, California. In 1964, at age 18, he became interested ...

– banjo, piano, accordion, tambourine * Jeff Hanna – rhythm guitar, washboard, harmonica, drums, lead vocals * Jimmie Fadden – drums, harmonica, washtub bass, jug, lead vocals on "Rock Me Baby" * Les Thompson – bass *

Chris Darrow Christopher Lloyd Darrow (July 30, 1944 – January 15, 2020) was an American multi-instrumentalist and singer-songwriter. He was considered to be a pioneer of country rock music in the late-1960s and performed and recorded with numerous groups, ...

– fiddle, mandolin, lead vocals on "Alligator Man" and "Goodnight, My Love, Pleasant Dreams"

About The Songs

''Crazy Words, Crazy Tune'' is not significantly different from the version on their first album. ''Buy For Me The Rain'' is introduced by Jeff Hanna. He makes a few jokes about how fleeting was the fame of this hit record from their first album. ''Candy Man'' is also from their first album and is close to that version. ''Foggy Mountain Breakdown'' is a banjo instrumental played by John McEuen. He pulls a false start for laughs. It is introduced by Jeff Hanna with a long story about how John won the King O Da Banjo contest. ''Rock Me Baby'' is a B. B. King blues song originally released in 1964. This version was dedicated by the band to a couple celebrating their first anniversary. It starts with harmonica for 16 bars, and then joined by electric guitar for 16 more. Vocals are bluesy. Piano comes in later. ''Fat Boys (Can Make It In Santa Monica)'' is a silly song written by band members Jeff Hanna and Chris Darrow. They both sing and play acoustic guitar. The lyric implies that the girls in Santa Monica are not picky. The title is given as Fat Boys (''Can't'' Make It In Santa Monica) on a British CD release. ''Alligator Man'' was written by

in 1962. It has an upbeat Cajun feel, featuring harmonica, accordion, and fiddle. The lyrics are the Alligator Man describing his life in the bayou hunting alligators. While introducing the song, Jeff talks about spending the summer of 1968 filming "Paint Your Wagon". ''Crazy Words, Crazy Tune'' is sung in slow motion this time for laughs. ''Goodnight, My Love, Pleasant Dreams'' was written by John Marascalco and George Motola in 1956 and originally released by Jesse Belvin the same year. It is a romantic ballad in a 50s style. It is introduced with a long, humorous description of young people in the 50s.

Production

* Producer – Dallas Smith

Discography

Nitty Gritty Dirt Band discography Nitty Gritty Dirt Band is an American country rock band. The group has existed in various forms since its founding in Long Beach, California, in 1966. The band’s membership has had at least a dozen changes over the years, including a period from ...

References

All information is from album liner notes, unless otherwise noted. ''Alive/Rare Junk'', The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, BGO Records BGOCD245 (1994) CD"Alive", The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Liberty LST-7611 (1969) LP {{Nitty Gritty Dirt Band Nitty Gritty Dirt Band albums 1969 live albums Liberty Records albums Country rock albums by American artists Folk rock albums by American artists Bluegrass albums