Welcome to another edition of From My Collection. If nothing else, the ’70s was the era of the guitar hero and the live album. And if you were a guitar hero with a live album, all the better. It’s no wonder albums like Ted Nugent’s Double Live Gonzo, Robin Trower’s Live!, and Mahogany Rush’s Live (minus the exclamation point) are still held in high regard by heshers to this day. Another album we can throw into this bunch is Live! Go for What You Know: The breakthrough album from Pat Travers. Today, we go back in time 45 years and explore this powerhouse of a live album. Brace yourself, because this essay is guaranteed to kick your ass!
Like most great musicians, Pat Travers spent years cutting his teeth in bars, garages, and other various dives, working his ass off to hone his craft, before being propelled to the limelight, a distinction that was rightfully earned. He started playing the club circuit in his native Toronto at a very young age, slaving away for the better part of the ’60s and early ’70s, before pursuing his own musical calling come the mid ’70s. Dismayed with the state of the Canadian scene, a 21 year old Travers made his way to London, in hopes of finding better luck there. He did, in the form of a multi-album deal with Polydor.
Come 1976, Pat Travers released his self titled debut album, which consisted of both originals and hard rocking renditions of old blues classics. Makin’ Magic and Putting It Straight followed in ’77, with Heat in the Street scorching the masses in ’78. In other words, Travers and his band, who now featured Pat Thrall on rhythm guitar and backing vocals, Mars Cowling on bass, and journeyman drummer Tommy Aldridge holding down the beat, had dropped four albums in the course of two years. All this, mind you, while simultaneously touring non-stop, including frequent jaunts alongside fellow Canadians Rush.
Although Travers’ studio output didn’t translate into mass commercial success in terms of record sales and AM radio airplay, he did gain a cult following on FM radio. This, coupled with his growing reputation on the concert circuit, resulted in Travers being propelled to a headliner in his own right. Polydor quickly noticed this ascension and decided to capitalize on it they only way they knew how, with the obligatory live album. The result was Travers’ finest hour, Live! Go for What You Know.
Following in the footsteps of KISS, it became near mandatory for bands to have a massive intro leading up to their hero’s welcome onstage. PT and company followed suit. As we drop the needle on Live!, we’re greeted by a voice that says, “Hello music lovers. From the streets of Toronto to the streets of London, they’re here to kick your ass: Pat Travers Band!” With that introduction, the band bursts into a swaggering rendition of the deliciously funky “Hooked on Music”. Travers’ tone is fat and flanged, giving the songs an extra oomph and guiding the way for an equally sharp band. As he alternates between mega riffage and sizzling solos, it becomes apparent that this is a guy who could hold his own against Nugent, Marino, or any of the premiere axe slingers of the day.
The equally funky “Gettin’ Betta” follows, albeit played at a slightly faster tempo than its studio rendition. It’s easier to draw comparisons to Hendrix on this one, but let’s not kid ourselves: Which guitarist of the past 55 years wasn’t influenced by Hendrix? As noteworthy as Travers’ guitar work is the precise drumming of Aldridge and sweet vocal harmonies of Thrall. In many ways, this isn’t far removed from the high energy rock of early Van Halen. As “Go All Night” takes charge, it takes the funk flavorings of the first two cuts and puts ’em front and center. Travers unleashes some truly nasty riffs and gutsy vocals. By no means was he a virtuoso vocalist, but his stylings sure serve the spirit of the song. This is loud n’ proud lowdown party music, tailormade to drink whiskey to (or snort if that’s your preference) and crank to 11.
Side A closes with a song that has since gone down as one of Travers’ signature cuts, “Boom Boom (Out Goes the Lights)”. Originally released in 1957 by blues harmonicist Little Walter, it’s Travers’ rendition that has since gone down as the definitive version. Travers and his band take a metallized spin on this old time blues classic, reinventing it from ’50s barroom brawler to a ’70s arena anthem, complete with a shout-along chorus. You’ve definitely heard this bad boy on FM radio enough over the years to know when Travers says, “Boom boom!”, you go, “Out go the lights!” It’s a loud, raunchy, beautifully insane rocker that wouldn’t fly today lyrically in the slightest, which is all the more reason to revel in its old school glory.
As we flip over to side B, we’re greeted by a towering rendition of the jewel in Travers’ crown, “Stevie”. For those who simply dismissed Travers as a straightforward blues rocker, think again. Sprawling and vast in its composition and arrangement, “Stevie” is a tragic tale of addiction gone awry, set to a tapestry of lethal twin guitars, morose atmosphere, and intense contrast between light and heavy passages. It is as compelling as anything Judas Priest or Rainbow was releasing at the time, and I’ll fight anyone who says otherwise. Even if Travers’ fare is too boogie n’ blues based for your taste, Live! is an essential release if only for this song alone.
The mood quickly lightens with the powder keg of a title cut off Travers’ second album, “Makin’ Magic”. Like most songs in the Travers canon, the riffs and solos walk hand in hand, showing off a truly dynamic guitarist who never got his fair due amongst the masses. In a way, that almost makes him cooler, you know? It’s as if, and I type this with the utmost selfishness, Travers is playing for US. This vibe continues into the bonafide headbanger that is “Heat in the Street”. One of my personal favorite Travers songs, I always viewed it as arguably the closest Travers got to pure traditional metal. It’s loud, aggressive, and sharp, as if foreshadowing what lurked around the corner in the early ’80s with the NWOBHM. Indeed, the times they were a changing, and Travers was ready for it, guitar locked and loaded.
The band “leaves us with one from their very first record” (Travers’ words), “Make’s No Difference”. Whereas the studio rendition is 4 and a half minutes on the nose, this version stretches things out to a whopping 7, and really gives the individual members of the band space to show off their chops. Sure, it was the “Pat Travers Band”, but every member brought their own significance to the group. Travers and Thrall trade absolutely unhinged licks, Cowling holds down the fort with his mighty basslines, and Aldridge beats his drumkit as if it owes him money. Put it all together and you’ve got an atomic bomb of a show closer.
To the surprise of nobody, Live! was a smash hit, both critically and commercially. It set the stage for Travers to take 1980 by storm with his best selling studio outing, Crash and Burn, which boasted his other signature hit, “Snortin’ Whiskey”. While the ’80s and beyond proved to be a harsh landscape for Travers to navigate commercially, he never slowed down or stopped rocking, and is still touring relentlessly to this day with a new incarnation of Pat Travers Band. For well over half a century of busting his hump in the name of rock n’ roll, I offer a toast to the legendary Pat Travers. Let’s raise our whiskey glasses and snort to him!