AMG Review of Breakdown: Live Recordings 1973

Thom Owens
All Music Guide

Breakdown: Live Recordings 1973 collects 18 unreleased tracks from Old & in the Way 's legendary 1973 concerts, including two Jerry Garcia banjo songs that aren't available on any other disc, and six alternate takes of songs like "Panama Red," "Pig in a Pen," ""Wild Horses" and "Midnight Moonlight." In short, it's quite similar to their second record That High Lonesome Sound, a compilation of leftovers from the original Old & in the Way album that was released the year before Breakdown, but when music is as joyous as this, there's no reason to complain. Old & in the Way were one of the greatest progressive bluegrass bands of the early '70s, and each subsequent release proves that they were a special band. Even if you are intimately familiar with its two predecessors, it's unlikely you'll be disappointed with Breakdown.