R.I.P. Goldy McJohn (Steppenwolf)

[Bucka001]

Posted on his FB page 3 hours ago. Heart attack on the morning of August 1st.

[ronmac]

Bummer, man. One of my favorite bands and he was a key reason.

RIP

[Lopez]

Bummer indeed. Goldy's B3 with Steppenwolf got me into the heavier side of rock music as a yout in 1968.

[ronmac]

Unfortunately, he tended to be buried in the mixes far too often. You can barely hear him on Steppenwolf Live (a desert island disc of mine). I realize Jon hated that album and felt it really didn't sound like their live shows. But, the material rules, despite three of the "live" tracks being studio recordings.

[Bucka001]

Unfortunately, he tended to be buried in the mixes far too often. You can barely hear him on Steppenwolf Live (a desert island disc of mine). I realize Jon hated that album and felt it really didn't sound like their live shows. But, the material rules, despite three of the "live" tracks being studio recordings.

JK thought it was a subpar perf captured for that album (Santa Monica Civic Center) and that Nick's bass was out of tune on some tracks (which is true). But it definitely is what they sounded like in that period and I'm with you; I love that album and have since the early 70s. The packaging was great (the band looked so cool in the center spread individual photos) and the perf was on fire, raw and ballsy as hell. A GREAT album.

[ronmac]

JK thought it was a subpar perf captured for that album (Santa Monica Civic Center) and that Nick's bass was out of tune on some tracks (which is true). But it definitely is what they sounded like in that period and I'm with you; I love that album and have since the early 70s. The packaging was great (the band looked so cool in the center spread individual photos) and the perf was on fire, raw and ballsy as hell. A GREAT album.

Totally agree. Ultra-cool. I just cannot get enough of this one. My sister got it when it first came out and never listened to it. Somehow it ended up in my collection.

I agree about the performance sound. I have another recording from the same tour and it does pretty much sound like they did. But, the earlier tours not so much. I would love to hear the whole show. If anything deserves an expanded release, it's this one. Larry Byrom's guitar playing is fantastic. He clearly shows that you don't have to be a virtuoso to still be a great player.

[spellbound]

Rest in peace, Goldy.

[Bucka001]

Re performance sound. I have another recording from the same tour and it does pretty much sound like they did. But, the earlier tours not so much. I would love to hear the whole show. If anything deserves an expanded release, it's this one. Larry Byrom's guitar playing is fantastic. He clearly shows that you don't have to be a virtuoso to still be a great player.

Steppenwolf 'live in concert' with Monarch vs. with Byrom are two different things, agreed. I like Monarch in the studio, but Larry is smoking on the Live album, I'd put him toe to toe against Clapton, Beck, et al. Btw, there would be no expanded Live album from the show they recorded. It was one night at the Civic Center in Santa Monica (January 1970). Everything is on the album. They had too much for a single album but not enough for a double, which is why they put three studio tunes on there and dubbed audience applause on them (to fill out a double album).

[ronmac]

Btw, there would be no expanded Live album from the show they recorded. It was one night at the Civic Center in Santa Monica (January 1970). Everything is on the album. They had too much for a single album but not enough for a double, which is why they put three studio tunes on there and dubbed audience applause on them (to fill out a double album).

Interesting. I figured there would be a couple other tunes. I know the set lists were a bit longer the prior year. This is pretty short then. I know it was early 1970, but I just assumed they were a headliner and would have played longer. But, hey, thanks for breaking my heart. Did you miss the part about it being a desert island disc of mine?