The legendary Frank Marino is one of the biggest Rock Music urban legends and myths to explore the genre. With his band Mahogany Rush, he has become a big talking point for those in Rock Music for his unique and strange biographical story, and also as one of the greatest Rock guitarists out there, at least during the 1970s. Although many have compared Frank Marino’s works to the likes of Jimi Hendrix, Frank Marino & Mahogany Rush are a purely original format within Rock Music. Their live performances were notably excellent and they toured with other big names around the time. Therefore, it makes perfect sense for Frank Marino & Mahogany Rush to release a live album back in 1978 that is the best representation of their style of music. Let’s take a listen and hear this live expanded album and we shall hear if it is as legendary as we have hoped for.

Introduction – Live begins with a fade-in of crowd cheering, followed by keyboards being played. There is a robotic voice that introduces the group. This is over very quickly.

The Answer – Live begins with chaotic guitars, drumming and other sounds before this nicely launches into a riff-heavy piece. Frank Marino plays and sings wonderfully here. To be fair, this is not the best music from the era but it is a good effort nonetheless. The whole group plays with fiery passion and purpose, however, and this is evident from the music of this song. It’s good but unlikely great. There is a good mixture of music from that point in time, but it hasn’t aged all that well. Nonetheless, a good start to this live album. A really interesting listening experience, this does look back to the music of Yes and Deep Purple, along with some very Jimi Hendrix-styled vocals throughout. A good listen but it sounds musically lacking. There is a very Fender Stratocaster-styled solo in the second half, and this tune sounds okay. Nothing overly exciting or innovative here, however. Frank Marino and crew do play nicely, however. This just isn’t overly appealing, and better Rock Music has been made both before and since then. It ends with some very good shredding at the end, which is actually quite a surprise. Soon enough, the band finish up to huge crowd cheers.

Dragonfly – Live begins with a brief introduction by Frank Marino, before launching into a watery guitar funky sort of groove. Soon enough, the rest of the band followed with a pseudo-Disco groove present. Nonetheless, this music sounds very good to listen to. It isn’t the greatest music ever made, but its appeal is an intellectual experience for those who loved such a thing in the 1970s. It sounds like these guys missed the heyday of Progressive Rock by a few years. Still, this is neither the greatest nor the most inspirational music out there. It is only really designed for Progressive Rock fans, and nobody else. It’s enjoyable but lacks magic. Good but not really worth hearing from a postmodern perspective. On the other hand, the band present are very accomplished and professional in their chops. There is a good guitar solo that wails nicely away in the second half of this tune. This quickly follows into some decent shredding and Frank Marino obviously could play extremely well. Frank Marino’s vocals are a nod to the spirit of Jimi Hendrix and Ian Gillian (Deep Purple), and he sounds better than expected. A solidly good live music listen, without being overly impressive. It’s okay, but music has done better. It ends chaotically, followed by loud cheers from the crowd.

I’m A King Bee – Live is a cover of a Blues staple. It begins with a vocal introduction from Frank Marino, followed by some insane guitar shredding that sounds very awesome. It is quite clear that Frank Marino indeed could play some fantastic music. It eventually heads into the slower, Blues-based jam and sounds quite good. This is something that retrospective Rock Music fans can really dig. An awesome, powerful and lively cover of the traditional Blues Music number which sounds incredibly cool. The Blues Music phrasing, playing and shredding sounds absolutely wonderful and amazing on this song. A really cool listen, this is where the live concert comes to life. This is a fine and fantastic listen with some perfectly aimed guitar shredding to inspire many musicians to play guitar to this very day. The music gradually gets to a more subtle feel in the second half, and the crowd is going nuts over the guitar work throughout. The backing band play an awesome tune along the way as well. This is a good mixture of songs and sound and will blow your mind away. A really great piece of music that sounds unbelievably cool, this has attitude and musical power. The guitar harmonics towards the end are quickly followed by some screamed vocals by Frank Marino: “Can you dig it?”. Soon enough, this concludes, leading into the next track.

(Excerpt from “Back Door Man”) – Live is another traditional number covered by Frank Marino & Mahogany Rush. Again, it is very Bluesy and wonderful to listen to. A surprisingly exciting listening experience about womanising with every single lady out there. This is followed by some insane wah-wah shredding that will blow your mind. Seriously cool guitar work to listen to here. Frank Marino and his friends play super well on this tune, and they sound like they are having fun throughout it all. A fantastic listening experience from start to finish. These guys certainly knew how to play. It ends with a grand finale and a load of crowd cheers. Sweet.

A New Rock & Roll – Live begins with some watery-sounding shredding on the guitar, which is different. Soon enough, this song launches into action and sounds thunderous, fast and great. The singing isn’t the best here, and it sounds rather lacking as a result. Nonetheless, this is a fairly decent and interesting listening experience. Being an ode to Rock Music itself, Frank Marino & Mahogany Rush sound powerful and unique in their own way. Some insane guitar playing is present in this song, particularly in the solo section. A really sweet and interesting listening experience, even if these guys were a case of the wrong time and the wrong place. Frank Marino does play some great lead guitar and the rest of the band try and keep up with him. If you like some insane 1970s-styled shredding, this music is up your alley. It ends with some loud and chaotic playing before it falls apart at the end with style and grace to loud crowd cheers. Excellent.

Johnny B. Goode – Live is a famous cover by Frank Marino & Mahogany Rush. It begins with some excellent shredding and sounds really brilliant as a result. This is a great introduction to a legendary song and it is very loveable and memorable. The precision and playing throughout are really excellent and insane. Soon enough, the song itself gets going and this tune grooves along very nicely. An awesome and spirited listening experience, this sounds really lively and supercharged throughout. The soloing on this song is insanely awesome and Frank Marino plays like a true Guitar God. This is a proto-1980s shred-style moment in musical history. It follows into a quirky bass guitar and drums section with muted guitar over the top of it all. A really nice listen for any Rock Music fan out there, this is extraordinarily good. The shredding continues throughout and one can hear the crowd cheering nicely throughout. It wraps up with some super cool shredding and a monstrous finale. Very cool.

Talkin’ ‘Bout A Feelin’ – Live goes straight into some hammer-ons and quickly launches into a powerful, energetic and very Jimi Hendrix sounding song. This does sound really sweet and different, and the whole band play with a different and unique ferocity that other bands can only dream of. There is a sped-up guitar solo section near the middle that sounds really cool and amazing. A winner of a tune, and something loud and incredibly good sounding. A great tune, period. Towards the end, things get more musically muted and Frank Marino sings softly over the top of it all. A really interesting, inspired and awesome listen, this finishes off by segueing into the next song.

(Excerpt from “Who Do Ya Love”) – Live is another cover that isn’t that great to hear initially. It quickly launches into some insane guitar shredding on this song, which does sound really quite good. It is a good listen if you like 1970s guitar shredding without tapping. A really cool listen, the guitar playing ends this song by itself, sounding amazing and extraordinary throughout, segueing into the next song.

Electric Reflections Of War – Live has a ton of awful whammy bar guitar work at the start. It sounds terrible, to be frank, just like a child playing with a toy. Soon enough, some dark and gloomy melodies are played here and this tune plays on. This is really horrible to listen to, even with the violining present, which doesn’t help things. If you need to skip a track, this may be your best time to do so. It sounds absolutely awful. Eventually, the drums enter and this sounds more decent and interesting. The drum solo present is very amazing and is very reminiscent of Cream’s performances. Eventually, this finishes with some guitars and electronics. Ordinary. It segues into the next track.

The World Anthem – Live sounds like a heroic piece from the start. It is a good listen, but then again, nothing too special is present on this track. It marches along, sounding very much like the tracks before it. In any case, this is good but not great music. It is rather dull and lacking musically. There have been better groups than Frank Marino & Mahogany Rush out there, before and since this album was released. In the middle of this song, it seemingly wraps up with some guitars, electronics and crashing drums, followed by Frank Marino shredding away on guitar. This concludes with some loud crowd cheering and is seemingly the end of the show, although it is not in this case.

Purple Haze – Live begins with some talk by Frank Marino, before launching into a terribly out-of-tune sounding piece of cover work that does not do just for Jimi Hendrix himself. This is okay but musicians have done a better job than this of playing Jimi Hendrix. In any case, one will be grateful that this song is the last one. An okay listening experience, but even so, it sounds a bit off. Frank Marino should tune his guitar before playing this song. The shredding in the second half is very good but one can’t help but feel that this could have been done better overall. Eventually, this wraps up with a lot of crashing drums and guitar work. This ends after three minutes to loud crowd cheers. The album ends here.

Although Frank Marino & Mahogany Rush may be a mythical Rock Music legend, their music doesn’t match up to their claim to fame. This is likely why they have not been as popular or successful as they could have been. The music present on this live album is very hit-and-miss. Some of the best moments are really worth it, but the lows are poor. Therefore, this is really only worth recommending to those who dig 1970s Rock Music. Should you listen to this album? It depends on if you like 1970s Rock or not. If you do, this is worth it, otherwise don’t bother with it.

Patchy.

6/10