Although
Live & Well wasn't a landmark album in the sense of
Live at the Regal, it was a significant commercial breakthrough for
King, as it was the first of his LPs to enter the Top 100. That may have been because recognition from rock stars such as
Eric Clapton had finally boosted his exposure to the White pop audience, but it was a worthy recording on its own merits, divided evenly between live and studio material.
King's always recorded well as a live act, and it's the concert tracks that shine brightest, although the studio ones (cut with assistance from studio musicians like
Al Kooper and
Hugh McCracken) aren't bad. ~ Richie Unterberger