801 Live

Studio Album - October 1976

A new deluxe CD edition of 801 Live was released in July 2009 with extended sleeve notes and a second CD with the Shepperton Studio rehearsals.

Buy the collector's edition of 801 Live here

Without question, this 1976 release is one of the best live modern rock albums of any century. It documents the third and final concert of 801 with the superstar line-up of: Phil Manzanera, Brian Eno, Francis Monkman (from Curved Air) on keyboards, Quiet Sun's bassist Bill MacCormick, the slide guitar of Lloyd Watson and drummer extraordinaire Simon Phillips.

Featured among the songs captured live by this powerhouse union of talent are: Eno's "Sombre Reptiles" (unexpectedly uptempo), "Baby's on Fire" (the all-time classic), and "Third Uncle" (in monstrously epic form); Manzanera's "Diamond Head" (superbly re-enacted with astral style); the Manzanera/Eno collab "Miss Shapiro" (making perfection better); Quiet Sun's "East of Asteroid" (shriller than ever), "Rongwrong" (transforming experimentalism into soft rock); Lennon/McCartney's "Tomorrow Never Knows" (no slicker rendition exists); and the Kinks' "You Really Got Me" (adding smoothness to power chords).

Manzanera's guitars are brilliant, versatile and straining toward hyperspeed. Eno's vocals are miraculous, captivating the dynamics of rock and the cool of croon with every syllable, while Eno himself also contributes synthesizers and guitar tapes to the dense mix. Monkman's keyboards are swift and have no difficulty keeping up with the rest of the sonic busy-ness. McCormick's bass thunders with such speed that it's a miracle the man has any fingers left. Watson's slide guitar adds a country twang to the modern sound, while Phillips' drumming is simply beyond any human velocity.

A new CD edition released by Expression in 1999 clocked in at 56 minutes with two previously unreleased bonus tracks from this historic concert (Eno's "Golden Hours" and "The Fat Lady of Limbourg").

Album Track Listing

Other Tracks of Interest

Golden Hours (Live 1976) Added to the CD version.
Fat Lady Of Limbourg (Live 1976) Added to the CD version.

Album Musicians & Credits

Phil Manzanera Guitar
Lloyd Watson Slide Guitar, Vocals
Francis Monkman Fender Rhodes, Clavinet
Bill MacCormick Bass, Vocals
Eno Vocals, Synthesizer, Guitar, Tapes
Simon Phillips Drums, Rhythm Box
Basing Street Studios Mixed At
Rhett Davies Engineer
Chris Michie Sound
Chris Adamson Equipment
Richard Wallis Photography
801 Produced and arranged by.