In 1976, had hit bottom after the messy breakup of and he needed help, and when friend and fan offered to lend him a hand, he was smart and grateful enough to accept. produced 's first solo album, , and after set up a tour to promote the record, put together the band and tagged along as their keyboard player. 's presence insured a larger audience than had attracted during the grim final days of his band, and he was determined to prove he could deliver the goods without making a spectacle of himself or collapsing into a drug-sodden heap on-stage. Unfortunately, anyone familiar with 's body of work knows the last thing you want from one of his live shows is a professional-sounding performance without a sense of danger, and unfortunately, that's what the audience got during this March 21, 1977 show in Cleveland, OH, part of a three-night stand and the band would perform at . finds in fine voice, and at a time when he had a lot to prove, he leaves no doubt he was a solid musician and showman, singing with a sense of control and dynamics he couldn't approach with the -era . However, also seems clearly afraid to push this material too far, and the caution robs the songs (nine of which are drawn from ' songbook) of much of their life force. Even worse, guitarist doesn't seem to know what to do with the material -- he's at least as skillful as or , but his attack is so toothless and polite that he reduces some of the greatest songs ever to mush. ( 's keyboards are not nearly as ill-advised but they don't fit the old material very well, though and are a great rhythm section who do what they can to give the energy he needs.) Some of the material from this show also appeared on 's lamentable live album , and while the sound quality is better on this release and the songs work better in their original context, only fans grimly determined to find and collect every semi-authorized live album in existence should go out of their way to listen to this. (This same concert was also released in 1999 on the album .) ~ Mark Deming