Robben Ford Discussion

[jdlwcec]

In my decades long pursuit of great guitar music, I have been blessed to hear in person the revived Allman Brothers Band play live on many occasions and their 'open source" policy of allowing fans to record their live shows has allowed me to spend countless hours enjoying the nuances of truly great musicianship (by the entire band). In the cases where I have not been able to trade someone for a show that has a set list that I love, I always have the ability to buy an Instant Live recording of any show during the year. This is a tremendous benefit to fans and to the band because a devoted fan base will buy tickets early, as well as CDs, DVDs, and other merchandise.

I have also been blessed to have seen Robben play on many occasions in the Washington DC area and a couple of times in Colorado since I moved to Boulder a few years ago. However, the periods between those fantastic shows are empty as far as being able to listen to Robben's live performances. I have worn out his only 2 live DVDs and YouTube is a poor vehicle for live music in most cases. This is a long winded way of asking why Robben doesn't take advantage of the Instant Live technology that is widely available and used by bands of far less skill than Robben's touring mates. Like the ABB, most of Robben's live shows are real gems that should be savored, and shared by fans in far flung places that would otherwise not have reasonable access to such musicianship. Please, Robben, give the world the pleasure of hearing your special talent over and over again. Your fan base will explode!

A devoted listener,
J.D. Leftwich
Boulder, CO USA

[Devin]

Hear, hear! I, too, am a rabid fan of incredible fretwork, and you can't get any better than Robben. Like most of us in the group, I've seen Robben many times, and though I love his studio albums, nothing compares to a live performance. The next best thing are live recordings, but sadly there are less than a handful of official live releases in the catalog--and while this is a shame for all of us, it's a tragedy for those who haven't seen him live (or can't, for whatever reason).

There are many of us here (admittedly or otherwise) who regularly trade the many unofficial live recordings of Robben that are available, and though you can endlessly debate the ethical issues, those of us who love listening to his live performances have few outlets. However, there's not one of us here who wouldn't jump at the chance to purchase legitimate live releases--both to support Robben as well as acquire great-sounding live recordings. I know I'd be first in line...