Elf-Live At The Bank 1972 (1972)

Elf was a blues and heavy rock band formed in the late 1960s that remained active until the mid-1970s when several of its founding members were recruited by Ritchie Blackmore to join his new project after he left his beloved Deep Purple. These members were singer and bassist Ronnie James Dio, drummer Gary Driscoll, bassist Craig Gruber, and keyboardist Doug Thaler, who, along with guitarist David Feinstein, had released three noteworthy hard blues rock albums by 1975. In 1972, while touring in support of their self-titled debut album, Elf, they performed at a festival in Cortland, New York. This performance was available for many years as a bootleg titled "Live at The Bank, Cortland 1972", and was officially released in 2011, just a year after Ronnie James Dio's death, by the singer's family. With more than acceptable sound quality, this live recording is a historical document showcasing the band's enormous live potential, led by the diminutive singer. Packed with covers, delivered in the group's signature blues and hard rock style, it features a string of classics such as Jethro Tull's "Cross-Eyed Mary" and "Aqualung", Rod Stewart's "An Old Raincoat Will Never Let You Down", Led Zeppelin's "Black Dog", Humble Pie's "Four Day Creep", The Who's "Won't Get Fooled Again" and "Baba O'Riley", and a culminating version of Black Sabbath's "War Pigs".