Even when played by a full-tilt electric band, Paul Kelly's best songs capture the detail of those moments in life that stop us in our tracks to consider how we will change (or already have) as a result of those moments. In the intimate, spare setting of Spring and Fall, the sound mirrors the lyrics, and each resonates off the other to vivid effect.
Rare it is to hear the Grateful Dead's singing as a key to their overall state of being but on this show from September of 1976 at William & Mary College, the sound of their voices is key indicator of their rested and rejuvenated state of being.
Just as there was much more than meets the eye to Tommy Bolin, so is there much more than meets the eye to The Definitive Teaser Collector’s Edition. Enclosed in a slipcase of distinctly budget design, the five CDs within reaffirm why the late guitarist is so rabidly revered to this day, close to four decades after his most untimely death.
Neil Young’s second record of the year with Crazy Horse, Psychedelic Pill, is an excellent piece of work. With some slightly more astute editing, this long-awaited album might well rank with the best Young’s ever done. A collection of traditionals and covers, the previous 2012 release, Americana, is permeated with a ramshackle charm that’s in marked contrast to the studied approach of its successor. Still, this record of original material has, as its foundation, the natural chemistry between Young with his beloved backing band.
With a simply but eye-catching package inside and out, The Georgia Bootleg Box documents the process by which the original Gov’t Mule trio, two years into its existence, was well on its way towards a mission of fine-tuning a repertoire that provides a foundation for the group even today, in its third formal incarnation.
It was only when Hiatt began to trade his acoustic guitars for a Fender electric that the vibrations from the stage grew in proportion to the volume.
Carefully compiled and co-produced by chief archivist David Lemieux (who contributes an essay of fond remembrance), So Glad You Made It displays the same impeccable logic as its companion piece culled from 2011’s Europe '72: The Complete Recordings.
It is extremely rare for a band to achieve a creative advance simultaneous to its breakthrough to a mainstream audience. But that's exactly what R.E.M accomplished with the ever so appropriately titled Document. Accordingly, more so than perhaps any other of its anniversary reissues (except perhaps the two CDs of the Fables of the Reconstruction box), this landmark album deserves the deluxe treatment it receives.
In a photo on the inside liner of his thirty-fifth album Tempest, Bob Dylan stands in the middle of his decidedly-roguish looking band, assuming the body language and facial expression of a musician knowing he’s produced something memorable and daring those about to listen to think otherwise.
The Chris Robinson Brotherhood’s chemistry informs their material as much as their musicianship.
