CACTUS LIVE FULLY UNLEASHED 2CDS RARE OUT OF PRINT

Rhino Handmade's got more Cactus than Death Valley! With the release of two new double-CDs, the complete live and studio output of one of the most powerful acts of the 1970s is once again available to quench the thirsts of hard rock fans.  

"Each gig was the equivalent of tripping…one in five is the magic gig," recalls road manager Richard "Paco" Zimmer in the liner notes to Fully Unleashed. Of the numerous Cactus concerts recorded, we've culled through the tapes to present what is surely the ultimate look at the band's onstage attack, which, barring the half-live 'Ot 'N' Sweaty, has never before been documented.  

This two-disc set includes tracks cut at England's Isle Of Wight Festival in August 1970 (less than four months after the band's first show), a June 1971 gig at the Gilligan's club in Buffalo, NY (including blink-and-you've-missed-him member Ron Leejack), and those 'Ot 'N' Sweaty selections (recorded at the Mar-Y-Sol Pop Festival in Puerto Rico in April 1972). But the heart of this collection was played at Ellis Auditorium in blues-friendly Memphis, Tennessee on December 19, 1971 -- the original quartet's final performance. That last concert is here in its entirety, and shows Cactus in all their amp-blowing glory.  

This Rhino Handmade release features 18 high-energy live workouts from the three-year juggernaut that was Cactus. Of those, 12 are previously unreleased and two more are new to CD. With music and lifestyle in constant overdrive, it's a wonder Cactus members and roadies remember anything; the liner notes from Russell H. Tice prove that they do, and the music on Fully Unleashed proves memorable as well.  

Fully Unleashed: The Live Gigs is available as an individually numbered limited edition of 5,000 copies.