[rating-7.00]
The latest in the ongoing series of The Chris Robinson Brotherhood’s live concert releases, Betty’s Blends Vol. 3: Self-Rising Southern Blends, doesn’t exhibit quite all the discernible logic of a memorable live show by this band, but it’s probably not meant to (the last one, Best From the West didn’t either). Still, this collection of excerpts from CRB performances on a Southern tour swing through Atlanta, Raleigh and Charleston in November 2015, available in separate CD and LP packages, accurately depicts how the band offset any negative impact of personnel shifts that hit the group three years after the band’s one-two punch debut in 2012 with Full Moon Ritual and The Magic Door.
In fact, the set of two compact discs added to the limited-edition vinyl version of this title, comprising the entirety of the band’s June 2015 concert at the Warfield Theatre in San Francisco, is even more effective in capturing the intoxicating ambiance of the Brotherhood live. The sterling interplay between Neal Casal’s guitar and Adam MacDougall’s keyboards on “Honeysuckle Interlude,” is even more striking in density during “Tulsa Yesterday” and “!00 Days of Rain.”
That’s a marked exception to some overuse of synthesizers by the latter-day linchpin of the now-defunct Black Crowes. That approach can undermine, rather than effectively contrast, the earthy textures conjured up by the rest of the band, such as the tart harp of the namesake/frontman during blues icon Slim Harpo’s “The Music’s Hot.” Whatever the case though, Betty Cantor-Jackson preserves a clear sonic mix with all the sonic elements in proper proportion to each other, just as she did so skillfully in her days at the soundboard of the Grateful Dead.
That consistency of sound is evident over the course of the sixteen selections that comprise Betty’s Vol. 3, while electric piano and clavinet, along with MacDougall’s other instruments, maintain the continuity in the ensemble’s spontaneously fluid style. And those two attributes are particularly crucial, given how expansive Robinson and Co. are in compiling the material for this double CD (and triple LP). Few culls appear from previous studio releases and there’s a preponderance of cover songs (not to mention only four tunes overlapping from the double-compact disc recording included in the vinyl set).
In fact, the greatest distinction of Self-Rising Southern Blends may be its focus on the Brotherhood’s creative selection of non-original material. Some choices are more obvious that others, such as New Orleans icon Allen Toussaint’s “Get Out Of My Life Woman” and Bob Dylan’s “She Belongs To Me,” but there are also some arcane nuggets like “I’m A Hog For You,” from the Leiber/Stoller the songwriting team that composed “Hound Dog” and “Jailhouse Rock.” Meanwhile, any accurate representation of the Brotherhood’s roots must contain nods to the Grateful Dead, here appearing in the form of “Big River,” long a staple in the iconic band’s repertoire and “Catfish John,” an excerpt from the repertoire of the Jerry Garcia Band. It’s appropriate the quintet takes both at a happily relaxed gait.
The only ostensible drawback to Self-Rising Southern Blends is that its package design is expressly tailored for its vinyl configuration. To be sure, the psychedelic gold tones dominating the cover art are markedly more striking in the larger format, but the great b&w stage shots, as well as the group photo with Cantor-Jackson, are not part of the CD’s graphic design, while that latter format’s depiction of the otherwise identical song sequence is denoted in ‘sides’.
A more egregious shortfall for both configurations, however, (perhaps a result of cost-effective thinking), is the absence of recording details or musician credits. The latter is particularly worthy of note, given all these shows mark drummer Tony Leone’s early appearances with the group, while the performances also happen to document some of the final days of original CRB bassist Mark Dutton’s tenure with the group.
Ultimately, though, there’s much more to recommend than to criticize about this Betty’s Blend, because of the musicianship, not to mention the immaculate recording thereof, is so deceptively potent.
