Commander Cody & His Lost Planet Airmen - Live From Armadillo World Headquarters 1973 & The Capitol Theatre 1975

Double ration of vintage live sets from the cosmic cowboys

Famed for their ability to cut it live, it’s only appropriate that Cody and the Airmen’s most celebrated album (one of Rolling Stone’s 100 greatest of all time) should be Live From The Armadillo World Headquarters 1973. Despite the largely identical title, however, this isn’t a straight reissue, but rather a collection of 17 outtakes from the same show. Completing the set, the previously unreleased 25-track recording from New York’s Capitol Theatre survives as one of the last hurrahs from the classic Airmen line-up (they disintegrated following a problematic European tour the following year).

The Airmen regularly found themselves pigeonholed as country-rock but, rather than operating under any narrow definition of the term, their cosmic-cowboy take on the genre as showcased here incorporated elements of boogie-woogie, western swing, blues and good ol’ rock’n’roll. This jumble of roots influences is reflected in a choice of repertoire that mixes and matches such staples as Blue Suede Shoes and Riot In Cell Block No 9 alongside the Airmen’s lifestyle anthem Truck Driving Man, their one major hit, Hot Rod Lincoln, and originals by Bob Wills, Merle Haggard and Buck Owens.

SPV Blue Label | SPV 49922 (2-CD)

Reviewed by Grahame Bent
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