Etta James & the Roots Band
May 14, 2005
San Jose Metro Fountain Blues Festival

Few R&B singers have endured tragic travails on the monumental level that Etta James has and
remain on earth to talk about it. The lady's no shrinking violet; her autobiography, Rage to Survive,
describes her past (including numerous drug addictions) in sordid detail.
But her personal problems have seldom affected her singing. James has hung in there from the age of
R&B and doo wop in the mid-'50s through soul's late-'60s heyday and right up into the '90s and
2000s (where her 1994 disc Mystery Lady paid loving jazz-based tribute to one of her idols,
Billie Holiday). Etta James' voice has deepened over the years, coarsened more than a little,
but still conveys remarkable passion and pain.
In concert, Etta James is a sassy, no-holds-barred performer whose suggestive stage antics sometimes
border on the obscene. She's paid her dues many times over as an R&B and soul pioneer; long may
she continue to shock the uninitiated.

~ Bill Dahl, All Music Guide



SPCM-8 > SPBM-6@107HZ > NJB3
> USB > WAV > Sound Forge 7.0 > CD Wave Editor > FLAC
MD5 included.

(STEALTH-mics located in visor, ~40 feet back a bit stage right of center)

01. introduction (00:27)
02. Roots Band instrumental #1 (03:15)
03. Roots Band instrumental #2 (05:57)
04. Tell Mama (07:18)
05. I'd Rather Be a Blind Girl (06:24)
06. I Want to Ta-Ta You Baby (07:30)
07. Otis Redding Medley: Hard to Handle > (03:23)
08. I've Been Loving You Too Long (To Stop Now) > (05:02)
09. I Can't Turn You Loose (05:49)
10. At Last (04:46)
11. Baby What You What Me to Do? (11:22)
(includes: Bright Lights Big City, Things I Used to Do)
12. Love & Happiness (11:10)
(includes: Take Me to the River) ---------
(72:13)

filler: Tommy Castro Band (featuring Chris Cain)

13. Everybody Wants to Go to Heaven (09:30)
---------
(82:03)


Please Note: Burning all 13 tracks to one CD, as I did, results in an overburn.
The original plan was to arrive early & tape both Chris Cain & Tommy Castro.
Due to the prior evenings festivities that did not happen as we arrived after
Cain & during Tommy's set. However I felt that the closing number from Tommy's
set provides a nice bookend to Etta James' closing set, showcasing both Tommy &
Chris Cain's (!!) talents and giving the listener a nice appreciation of the 2005
San Jose Metro Fountain Blues Festival. YMMV of course.

Thanks for the first seeder.

it's a very good audience and a great voice.

Enjoy

lolita