Did not expect this one. Better get it if you have the other two.


Cactus - Fully Unleashed: The Live Gigs, Vol. 2

An individually numbered limited edition
of 5000 Copies.
13 Tracks
12 Unreleased
2 Discs
Catalogue Number:
R2 7751
$39.98

>>BUY NOW
Can ship to: World










Down To Track Listing



Rhino Handmade's got blisters on its fingers from all of the Cactus it's been handling! With the last highly-collectible release of live mayhem from Cactus fully sold out, we mined the archives to create another super sonic treat to quench your thirsty ears, FULLY UNLEASHED: THE LIVE GIGS, VOL 2.


Offered in an individually numbered, limited edition of 5,000 copies, the 2-CD set presents a live recording of the last ever concert performed at Gilligan's in upstate New York by the legendary supergroup's original line-up - Tim Bogert (bass), Carmine Appice (drums), Jim McCarty (guitar) and Rusty Day (vocals). The concert is presented in its entirety, and twelve of the thirteen full-tilt tracks are previously unreleased.


The date was June 26, 1971, “when,” writes veteran music journalist Bill DeYoung in his essay, “Cactus was at its take-no-prisoners peak. He later notes, “Cactus toured incessantly, sharing bills with the top bands from both sides of the Atlantic. There was never anything 'showbiz' about them; the goal, both onstage and off, was to rock like there was no tomorrow.”


In suburban Buffalo, New York, the now defunct Gilligan's - once upstate NY's hottest rock venue - may have been a non-descript, cavernous club, but the incendiary Cactus date captured here is nothing short of extraordinary. Behind the mixing board of the Electric Ladyland Mobile Unit that night was the venerable Eddie Kramer, who, in addition to Cactus, engineered and produced for a who's who of rock and roll greats including The Faces, Led Zeppelin, the Beatles and Jimi Hendrix, whose Electric Lady studios he helped establish.


“When I first listened to tapes of this show,” Appice says, “I thought, 'Man, what a great band.' I was just really proud of the fact that the band kicked such major ass. In those days, we blew everybody we played with off the stage.”


The music backs up the recollection. Always cranked to 11 for a Gilligan's gig, Cactus' breakneck blues-rock boogie and sheer decibel force blasts the senses on stand-outs including an epic version of Mose Allison's “Parchman Farm” - one of the band's signature songs - the originals “Down Easy,” “Walkin'” and “Bro. Bill” and the classic “Long Tall Sally.” One can only imagine that just as Cactus blew other bands away night after night, the capacity crowed must have been fit to be wiped off the beer-soaked floor at show's end.


The seminal quartet incarnation of Cactus formed in 1969. Originally, Tim Bogert and Carmine Appice - Vanilla Fudge's former rhythm section - conceived it as a supergroup that would include guitar-slinger Jeff Beck and Rod Stewart on vocals. As things happened, though, Stewart went off to join the Faces and Beck was sidelined by a serious auto accident. They then enlisted ex-Buddy Miles and Mitch Ryder's Detroit Wheels guitarist Jim McCarty and former Amboy Dukes singer Rusty Day.


Often called “the American Led Zeppelin,” this powerhouse line-up delivered three albums - Cactus, One Way…Or Another and Restrictions - before McCarty and Day departed in '72. Appice and Bogert recorded one more album, 'Ot 'N' Sweaty, with a different line-up before leaving to form Beck, Bogert and Appice. Appice and Bogert have continued to collaborate over the years, and in 2006, reformed Cactus with Jim McCarty and singer Jimmy Kunes (Savoy Brown).


Rhino Handmade's FULLY UNLEASHED: THE LIVE GIGS, VOl. 2 is available as an individually numbered limited edition of 5,000 copies for $39.98. It is dedicated to the memory of original Cactus lead vocalist Rusty Day, who died in 1982.



TRACK LISTING
WITH QUICKTIME AUDIO SAMPLES
JUST CLICK ON THE BEFORE EACH TITLE TO LISTEN
ALL TIMES APPROXIMATE
TRACK LISTING

INTRO/TUNING
LONG TALL SALLY
PARCHMAN FARM
DOWN EASY
FEEL SO BAD
WALKIN'
SCRAMBLER/ONE WAY…OR ANOTHER
OLEO
BRO. BILL
TOKEN CHOKIN'
SLOW BLUES (MEDLEY)
HEEBIE JEEBIES/WHAT'D I SAY
EVIL

If you're in the Detroit area Cactus is playing their first show in over 35 years at the Magic Bag tonight~

$39.98 is pretty expensive for this release.

Gouging is more like it. How much could this have cost to produce? Those guys aren't exactly demanding top dollar these days.

The last two Cactus Handmade CD's - Fully Unleashed and Barely Contained sold out very quickly. So obviously somebody out there wants and is buying the Cactus stuff.

Mine has been shipped

This CD is great, but the artwork and digipack blow. For 40 bucks, they could have at least put a picture of the band on the thing.

Rhino Handmade's standard per disc price is $19.98. While it is a bit high, I guess the rationale is that they are limited edition. Once they're sold out, the price skyrockets in the secondary market (unless Collector's Choice reissues them). Plus, RHM figures (correctly) that obsessive collectors, such as me, will pay the price.

Anyway, I ordered mine today and am looking forward to it. These guys could really rock out but, for some reason, were somewhat overlooked back in the day. If you ever got the chance to catch them in person, they absolutely smoked!

I agree. If these live albums had been released in 1971, I think it would have put them on the map. I imagine the reason was the original band broke up at the time.

It's really good and it is too bad that they were overlooked. I agree with Billy on the packaging. I do not like digipaks in general and yes they could have included some more photos unless they ran out after the other two releases. Performance and sound quality are excellent. Mine is number 696.

I am still sore at RHM for letting Collector's Choice release Eddie Hazel's "Game, Dames and Guitar Thangs". I got it from RHM but I feel sorry for the true fans who got shut out and had to pay secondary prices for it.