"Life on Six Strings Volumes 1-3" 

"Life on Six Strings" is packaged as three separate CDs. Below I have copied the liner notes
from the covers and the track information. The lineups and cross-references are too numerous to
list. The sound quality is varied. Most of the material has been taken from Japanese CDs that are
now fairly rare. Some of the tracks are a bit hissy, but no more than the original versions were.
The performances are all excellent, but when aren't they? (R.B.)


"Life on Six Strings Volume II" - Montserrat Records -BRCD 1907 - quality varied

Volume II begins with Last Night from the 1978 show at Santa Monica that was also prominently
featured on "Crossroads 2". While CD and vinyl recordings from parts of this show abound, this
song from "Slowhand" was absent from virtually every release. Guest appearances on this CD
include Muddy Waters, who joined E.C. on stage at the end of 1978 to perform "Standing Round
Crying", and Gary Brooker of Procol Harum who sang his hit "Whiter Shade Of Pale" to a
sorrowful guitar solo. "Watch Out For Lucy" is a very rare performance of a song originally
released on "Backless", while the familiar medley of "Have You Ever Loved A Woman" &
"Rambling On My Mind" is combined here with "Don't Say You Don't Love Me" in a unique
performance from 1983. Certainly one of the highlights of this CD is the first-ever recording of
"Same Old Blues". Taken from a January 1984 show in Milan, this version of the song predates
its recording in studio for "Behind The Sun" by nearly four months. The song underwent some
changes before its final release, as you will hear from the different lyrics of the first verse and the
three guitar solos. The studio outtake of "Say Hello To Billy Jean" is an unreleased song
intended for "Another Ticket". Forever was also never to be released or performed live and, like
the outtake of "Hard Times", was intended for the "Journeyman" album. The final two songs of
this volume were performed consecutively at a Brussels show in 1990. "Running On Faith" was
performed regularly at E.C.'s shows from 1990 to 1992, though rarely if ever with the level of
energy and enthusiasm that makes this performance so exceptional. That same energy
continues into "Breaking Point", also from the "Journeyman" album, which appears here in one of
its only two recorded performances.


Last Night - - - - - 11/02/78 - - - - - Civic Auditorium, Santa Monica
Standing Round Crying (w Muddy Waters) - - - - - 07/12/78 - - - - - Civic Hall, Guildford
Watch Out For Lucy - - - - - 02/06/79 - - - - - Richfield Coliseum, Cleveland
Say Hello To Billy Jean - - - - - 06-07/80 - - - - - Compass Point Studios, Nassau,
Whiter Shade Of Pale (w Gary Brooker) - - - - - 07/12/81 - - - - - Budokan, Tokyo
Don't Say You Don't Love Me &Have You Ever Loved A Woman &
Rambling On My Mind - - - - - 10/07/83 - - - - - Milwaukee Festival, Milwaukee
Same Old Blues - - - - - 24/01/84 - - - - - Teatrotenda, Milan
Forever - - - - - 03-04/89 - - - - - Various Studios in New York
Hard Times - - - - - 03-04/89 - - - - - Various Studios in New York
Running On Faith - - - - - 22/02/90 - - - - - Forest National, Brussels, Belgium
Breaking Point - - - - - 22/02/90 - - - - - Forest National, Brussels, Belgium