San Francisco-based
Zero is very much in the mold of
the Grateful Dead, and on this live album, there are times during such lengthy instrumentals as "This Is Your Brain on Drums, Pt. 2" when you'd swear you were listening to the middle of a
Dead jam. Lyrical saxophone player
Martin Fierro (who has played with
the Dead) provides an alternate voice to
Steve Kimock's
Jerry Garcia-like guitar lines, and gruff singer
Judge Murphy, sometimes expounding former
Dead lyricist
Robert Hunter's words, adds an R&B element, notably on a cover of
the Temptations' "Papa Was a Rolling Stone." But soon enough, the band has taken off into musical exploration, building attractive melody lines over midtempo rhythms on tracks rambling on for up to 12 minutes each.
Quicksilver Messenger Service guitarist
John Cipollina was an early member of this group, and even without him they remain true to the '60s San Francisco dance hall esthetic, especially on this disc, which was recorded at the city's Maritime Hall. No wonder
Kimock joined the post-
Dead group the Other Ones. ~ William Ruhlmann