Lee Eugene Michaels (born Michael Olsen, November 24, 1945, Los Angeles, California) is an American rock musician who sings and accompanies himself on organ, piano, or guitar. He is best known for his energetic virtuosity on the Hammond organ, peaking in 1971 with his Top 10 pop hit single, “Do You Know What I Mean”. (by wikipedia)
By the time of the release of: “Lee Michaels Live” in 1973, this musician was indeed well known in the San Francisco Bay Area. Lee, migrated from the central valley of California to San Francisco in the mid-sixties, and very quickly became known as: “The B3 Beast” By the end of that decade, Lee was a headliner on two coasts {Lee, was the headlining act at the Fillmore East in 1971 when Humble Pie recorded their: “Rockin’ The Fillmore” LP}.
By the early seventies the Lee Michaels Band consisted of Lee on Hammond Organ and a massive drumming army named Frosty. And at the time of this live recording Lee had five albums under his belt and was as popular as Steve Miller {Pre:”Joker”} His white soul was a force to witness in concert and with Frosty on his left side facing him these two men seemed to be having a duel on stage, and enjoying every second of it!
Well, for some reason, this 1973 record is without Frosty, and as Keith Knudsen, {a later member of the Doobie Brothers} is a fine drummer it was Frosty who was the ‘Yang’ to Lee’s ‘Ying’, and without him: “Live” is the begining of the end.
This album is a fine document of Lee Michaels in concert, and with “Heighty Hi” “Stormy Monday” “Forty Reasons” and “Day Of Change” it is peppered with Lee’s best known songs, performed with all the normal gusto in front of a very happy crowd.
Lee Michaels is all but forgoten today and few remember his greatness 30 Years on And that, is the real crime!
This was a record that meant a lot to me in the early seventies, and as it was always a pleasure to see Lee play live in San Francisco, he would all but disapear soon after this record was in the shops. This is a great album, it is too bad that just a very few of us are left to remember the great Lee Michaels, and enjoy this fantastic music.
This album is a direct reminder of an era, that we will never be a part of again. (by Philip S. Wolf)
Recorded in concert accompanied by drummer Keith Knudsen, Lee Michaels goes through mostly extended versions of various songs from five of his first six albums, interspersed with numbers unique to his concerts, such as “My Lady.” Oddly enough, Michaels doesn’t perform his biggest hit, “Do You Know What I Mean,” preferring numbers such as “Oak Fire” and “Rock Me Baby” from the same album. This is an honest presentation of a Lee Michaels concert, with a raw, un-retouched sound, and he is in excellent form, instrumentally and vocally, on numbers like “Hold on to Freedom,” “Stormy Monday,” and most of the rest of this album. It might not be the best way to start listening to him, however; Recital and the self-titled third album are better in that connection. Lee Michaels Live is a heavy dose of Michaels’ brand of bluesy, R&B-based rock, and while he does coax a nice range of sound out of his two-instrument combo, ultimately it lacks some of the variety found on his early studio albums, which also had more of a psychedelic feel than is to be found here. (by Bruce Eder)
If you like the heavy sound of a Hammond organ … this album is a must !
Personnel:
Keith Knudsen (drums)
Lee Michaels (organ, vocals)
Tracklist:
01. Hold On To Freedom (Michaels) 10.56
02. Call It Stormy Monday (Walker) 6.30
03. Mad Dog (Michaels) 4.54
04. My Lady (Michaels) 4.10
05. Thumbs (Michaels) 5.32
06. Day Of Change (Michaels) 7.27
07. Drum Solo (Knudsen) 6.31
08. War (Michaels) 4.55
09. Forty Reasons (Michaels) 4.42
10. Oak Fire (Michaels) 5.20
11. Heighty Hi (Michaels) 10.12
12. Rock Me Baby (King/Josea) 4.51
Taken from the Lee Michaels website (now deleted):
An eclectic singer, songwriter, and performer, Lee Michaels made music that had the physical impact of hard rock, the creative ambition of psychedelia and progressive rock, and the passion and grit of rhythm & blues, the latter facet reinforced by Michaels’ vocals, which could swing from sweet to soulfully gritty at a moment’s notice. Michaels was also a gifted keyboard player, and often played full concerts at the organ with only a drummer to accompany him. (Michaels was also a sure hand at the piano and harpsichord.) One could argue that Michaels’ wide-ranging sound was one of the reasons he didn’t enjoy greater commercial success despite the loyalty of his audience, though Michaels did enjoy a Top Ten hit in 1971 with “Do You Know What I Mean.”
the debut album of the sunshine pop band the Holy Mackerel (featuring songwriter and media personality Paul Williams). Michaels later moved on to play in the band the Strangers, led by future Canned Heat guitarist Joel Scott Hill. Michaels soon bowed out of the Strangers, and his tenure in the Family Tree, a San Francisco band featuring future power pop icon Bob Segarini, was also short-lived, though Michaels opted to stay in the Bay Area. In time, Michaels struck out as a solo artist, and he landed a record deal with A&M Records, which released his debut album, Carnival of Life, in 1968. The psychedelic-influenced effort produced only marginal sales, and Michaels returned with the tougher-sounding Recital before the year was out.
made for a power duo with enough muscle to share stages with the leading hard rock acts of the day. (by Mark Deming)
After a somewhat uneven debut album, Lee Michaels found his footing on this record. Michaels, a keen student of R&B as well as classical music, was obviously able to wrangle a bit more artistic control at A&M, and it shows. Overdubs of piano, harpsichord, and organ by Michaels created a wonderful sonic depth, and along with John Barbata’s solid drumming, the result is staggering. Michaels was not exactly a singer/songwriter, but on this record, songs such as “Blind” and “Fell in Love Today” find a real voice for his R&B leanings. The record also contains the fabulous single “If I Lose You,” which should have been a Top 40 hit. In the end, Recital is a very funky pop album that was ahead of its time. (by Matthew Greenwald)
artists made effective, prolific use of the harpsichord? Only an odd guy named Lurch who sat behind the pearly whites once a week comes to mind. Still, it’s the presence of the harpsichord and occasional piano displacing Lee’s compelling Hammond B3 organ runs that lowers my opinion of this, Lee’s sophomore effort from 1968. When I’m in the mood for some Lee Michaels, I’m in the mood for some thick, solid, boisterous organ propping up Lee’s wailing, bluesy vocals.
An eclectic singer, songwriter, and performer, Lee Michaels made music that had the physical impact of hard rock, the creative ambition of psychedelia and progressive rock, and the passion and grit of rhythm & blues, the latter facet reinforced by Michaels’ vocals, which could swing from sweet to soulfully gritty at a moment’s notice. Michaels was also a gifted keyboard player, and often played full concerts at the organ with only a drummer to accompany him. (Michaels was also a sure hand at the piano and harpsichord.) One could argue that Michaels’ wide-ranging sound was one of the reasons he didn’t enjoy greater commercial success despite the loyalty of his audience, though Michaels did enjoy a Top Ten hit in 1971 with “Do You Know What I Mean.”
John Barbata (who later played with the Turtles), and he wrote a tune that appeared on the debut album of the sunshine pop band the Holy Mackerel (featuring songwriter and media personality Paul Williams). Michaels later moved on to play in the band the Strangers, led by future Canned Heat guitarist Joel Scott Hill. Michaels soon bowed out of the Strangers, and his tenure in the Family Tree, a San Francisco band featuring future power pop icon Bob Segarini, was also short-lived, though Michaels opted to stay in the Bay Area. In time, Michaels struck out as a solo artist, and he landed a record deal with A&M Records, which released his debut album, Carnival of Life, in 1968. The psychedelic-influenced effort produced only marginal sales, and Michaels returned with the tougher-sounding Recital before the year was out.
The success of Fifth and “Do You Know What I Mean” made Lee Michaels a genuine rock star, but his next album didn’t connect with his new fans; 1972’s Space & First Takes was dominated by a pair of semi-improvised extended jams (each in the neighborhood of 15 minutes) that found Michaels swapping his keyboards for a guitar. The album brought tensions between Michaels and A&M to a head, and by the end of 1972 Michaels gave the label Lee Michaels Live, a concert set recorded in New York that fulfilled his commitments to the label. Michaels promptly signed a new deal with Columbia Records, but neither 1973’s Nice Day for Something or 1974’s Tailface made much of an impression with fans or record buyers, and Michaels and Columbia soon parted ways. Within a few years Michaels went into semi-retirement, and while he released Absolute Lee in 1996 and My Life in 2008, for the most part Michaels stayed out of the public eye. After his music career faded out, Michaels opened a restaurant in Marina del Rey, California centered around a spicy shrimp dish he’d created; Killer Shrimp became a success, and the family-run business now boasts six locations in California and Nevada. (by Mark Denning)
problem is that A&M saw Michaels as sort of a psychedelic singer/songwriter/rocker. In reality, he was sort of a California version of Steve Winwood. Carnival of Life has some excellent performances by Michaels and especially drummer Eddie Hoh. Both rock hard on the album’s nine cuts, but the material is a bit dated and tends to end up in some hard-rock clichés of the period. Still, it’s a promising if quirky start of what would be a fine career. (by Matthew Greenwald)
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