Recorded Live in Europe from 1990-1992
Design: Peter Dako
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Double CD Set of Live Recordings, (c) 1992 Shuffle Demon Productions
Recorded Live in Europe from 1990-1992 | |
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| Recorded by Rich during two years of European travel, the energy and creative enthusiasm of their concerts is conveyed wonderfully. There are a few enthusiastic paragraphs about the venues, the travel, and the food of their six tours. The music displays their wide range of talents, but most of all their enthusiasm for their profession! Many unfamiliar songs join the array of enthusiastic tunes from Streetniks through What Do You Want. Enthusiasm's the word! Sound quality is surprisingly good, with the vocals being the only weak spot. It sounds like these guys had fun in Europe! | Photos: Rick McGinnis Design: Peter Dako |
| The Boys of Maple Syrup | Les Gars de Syrop d'Erable | Demon Rich Underhill | alto/bar sax, lukophone, accordian, vocals | Demon Dave Parker | tenor sax, vocals, dance, map work | Demon Perry White | tenor/bari sax, vocals, fun | Demon George Koller | acoustic bass, mandolin, accordian, vocals, howls, roach death | Demon Stich Wynston | drums, percussion, vocals, dance, roach death |
| # | Title | Length | Info |
| Set 1 | |||
| 1 | The Boys of Maple Syrup | 1:07 | G. Koller / Shuffle Demons Small Wood, Big Fire |
| A theme for the CD Set with accordions etc. Pretty funny, wish there was one full track of this rather than a verse here and there. | |||
| 2 | The Opening Tune | 7:13 | David Parker Roach House Music |
| Great feel, upbeat catchy opening number, strange bass solo using the bow | |||
| 3 | Pavin' My Road | 7:00 | David Parker Roach House Music |
| Beautiful bass intro, great song, vocals are more easily heard in What Do You Want. The vocal/sax call & response style verses are very characteristic of these guys. | |||
| 4 | Pipe Dream | 2:19 | Underhill / Parker / Wynston / Koller / White Wild Moose Publishing |
| Whistling, Drumming & Wailing results in a surprisingly neat sound. | |||
| 5 | Scraggle from the Dirt Bog | 9:05 | R. Underhill / Shuffle Demons Wild Moose Publishing |
| Good groove, melodic basslines, overtone solo, cool bass solo playing a lot between the bridge and tailpiece. | |||
| 6 | Demon Reggae | 9:34 | R. Wynston / V. Bateman Stichness Music |
| Stich's strange Reggae is improved by extended vocal improvisation with a little Monty Python twist at one point! Better than the Bop Rap version in my opinion. | |||
| 7 | Bemsha Swing | 7:52 | Thelonius Monk / Denzel Best Bayes Music / Second Floo Music |
| Surprisingly straight ahead jazz for these guys, showing that they can do it as well as the rest. But don't worry, the Demons can't last too long without letting their true personalities shine through in solos. | |||
| 8 | Awaken the Sfinks | 3:48 | Underhill / Parker / Wynston / Koller / White Wild Moose Publishing |
| Indescribable, high energy piece which shows how much fun the boys had in Europe. Accompanied by incredibly energetic conga line and equally enthusiastic crowd. Impressive call & response improvisation. | |||
| 9 | Gamis Gimi Suit | 13:59 | Underhill / Wynston / Murley Wild Moose Publishing |
| A few great examples of the live version of what the demons seem to call "shufflin" where everyone improvises at once for a few bars, playing off of each other. Some inspired solos, George Koller is amazing with his bow and these guys like wailing. | |||
| 10 | Out of My House, Roach | 7:31 | David Parker Roach House Music |
| The bari solo on Streetniks will be forever engraved in my head, so it's odd to hear different solos. However, the alto solo at the stop-tempo here mesmerizes me everytime, it's just unbelievable and might beat that bari one! | |||
| 11 | The Girl From Impanema meets T-shirt Salesman from Canada at the Cafe Du Congo | 3:52 | Antonio Carlos Jobim / Morales / Gimbal - Underhill / Manitou Dutchess / Wild Moose Publishing |
| Surely Rich could have found some better example of goofing around than this to put on the CD. Nonetheless, it's fun to hear him attempting to create a song to sell T-shirts. | |||
| 12 | Low Life | 0:52 | Richard Underhill Wild Moose Publishing |
| Extra Crispy is the only bop-rap Demon album you'll find without this little ditty on it. More great shufflin'! | |||
| 13 | Les Gars de Syrop d'Erable | 0:39 | Koller / Shuffle Demons Small Wood, Big Fire |
| Another verse of the theme. | |||
| Set 2 enthusiasm | |||
| 1 | Ankles of a Pig | 0:49 | G. Koller / Shuffle Demons Small Wood, Big Fire |
| It's The Boys of Maple Syrup with yet another title! | |||
| 2 | Brownskin Girl | 8:02 | Sonny Rollins Son Rol Music |
| Another straight-ahead jazz tune with some very melodic solos from the Demons. | |||
| 3 | Barmp your Horn | 9:06 | Underhill / Koller / Shuffle Demons Wild Moose Publishing |
| Starts out with a beautiful little melody, works it's way up into a frentic pace, then slows into a groove, which gives way to that quick bassline under some mild shufflin', then back to the head which sounds like you could find it in any fake book. | |||
| 4 | Les enfants de Trudeau (medley) | 1:43 | Shuffle Demons - Lennon / McCartney - Ray Gilbert / Allie Wrubel Wild Moose Publishing / Northern Songs / Atv Music PRS / Walt Disney Music Co |
| Digeridoo and banjo with a hilarious Demon medley of Zippity Doo Dah and Hey Jude thrown in with their own vocal imitations of the Australian instrument. | |||
| 5 | Culture House | 8:44 | George Koller Small Wood, Big Fire |
| I don't know why this one never made it on a studio album. George's writing is aparantly as agile as his basslines and solos! Just a great head with some great solos. | |||
| 6 | Cheese on Bread | 8:17 | Underhill / Wynston / Parker / Bateman Wild Moose Publishing |
| A great funneling of the energy into one of my favorite of Demon's vocals (with some of those vocals in Dutch this time). I wish I could blend the bass solo which introduces it into the Studio version on What Do You Want. | |||
| 7 | Happy Birthday, John Zorn | 4:04 | Mildred & Patty Hill Summy-Bichard / Warner Bros. |
| Played for John Zorn himself, it's the best Demon rendition of such a traditional tune since Jingle Bells on Bop Rap -- admittedly it's the only one since then, but still... | |||
| 8 | Wed Night Prayer Meeting | 16:58 | Charles Mingus Jazz Workshop |
| Check out those blues, Demon style. No point attempting to summerize 17 minutes in this little box! It takes 7 minutes to get to the melody. You can here them walk through the crowd as they're shufflin' at the beginning. | |||
| 9 | Spadina Bus | 8:24 | Parker / Underhill / Wynston / Murley Roach House Music |
| 10 | Low Life | 1:39 | Richard Underhill Wild Moose Publishing |
| 11 | Free Mouth Adventure | 1:51 | Underhill / Koller Wild Moose Publishing |
| 12 | Another Story | 3:59 | Koller / Saar / White / Wynston / Parker / Underhill Small Wood, Big Fire |
| 13 | Everything is still OK | 0:54 | G. Koller / Shuffle Demons Small Wood, Big Fire |
| The Boys of Maple Syrup bid the land farewell. | |||
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