Posts by Doug Collette

Dave Binney's Aliso is a vigorous piece of work where the production values of sparkling sound and astute track sequencing are wholly in line with the stellar musicianship.

Mulennium is the first archival project ever released by Gov’t Mule, accurately timed for debut in the general time-frame of the loss of bassist Allen Woody a decade ago. Recorded at the cusp of the millennium on New Year’s Eve 1999-2000, this triple-disc package sounds (splendid) and looks like a blueprint for the band’s music throughout what is now a redoubtable sixteen year stint on the road and in the recording studio.

The challenge for a band with the longevity of Big Head Todd and The Monsters is how to subtly reinvent themselves without undermining the style they’ve cultivated during the course of their career. The Colorado group has struggled in that regard (see 2004’s Crimes of Passion), but Rocksteady is fresh in ways even the band might not expect.

Without any overtly topical songs within these eleven tracks, Los Lobos manage to capture the precarious tenor of our times and their cover of the Grateful Dead’s “West LA Fadeway” is particularly resonant in that regard. Like the iconic San Francisco institution, his band from East LA offers respite that’s as self-renewing as their own creativity and the music that arises from it.

Just as both camps will be attracted by the gorgeous color packaging of You Hear Me, newcomers to the music of Tommy Keene who hear the double CD set  will no doubt be as impressed by the consistency of this Retrospective as long-standing fans. Yet the most beautiful virtue of this music may be that it’s equally satisfying to play in the background or sit down and listen closely.

There is a  warmth in Jacky Terrasson's piano playing on Push not unlike that which pervades his previous work. But in combination with the playful charm he exudes throughout this disc, along with the simpatico relationship evident with his accompanists, the sensation runs deeper than in the past.

John Hiatt's latest release The Open Road is a loose, very spontaneous affair, much like its predecessor Same Old Man. But unlike that prior album, where the focus remained on the songs, the material on this new album is the means to the end of making music, during the course of which Hiatt himself is an integral member of  highly-skilled band.

If ever a classic rock album was not suited for a deluxe reissue, it's The Rolling Stones' Exile on Main Street. The textbook definition of a whole being (far) greater than the sum of its parts, the album works in strange mysterious ways, and the various packages can only go so far to reveal exactly how that process worked.

The Plimsouls were virtually alone as an authentic rock and roll band within the lemming-like procession of New Wavers that followed the punk explosion of 1979. In this Halloween 1981 recording from the Whiskey A Go Go in Los Angeles, this group's savvy fusion of influences is absolutely galvanizing.

Graham Parker is as comfortable in his skin and niche as an artist could be, a good nature curmudgeon if there ever was one (if there is in fact such a thing). He's too prickly for a mainstream audience to embrace him, but that doesn't deny this transplanted Brit's prowess for writing great pop songs, only that his persona doesn't lend itself either to the warm and fuzzies, contrived melodrama or the slavish idolatry that fuels the cult of personality.

Doug Collette looks at releases from: Jeff Hamilton Trio,  Gary Peacock & Marc Copland, Ben Goldberg, The Monterey Quartet, Vince Guaraldi

Dr. Dog's initial project for the Anti label after a string of releases on Park the Van that, along with their infectious live shows, has helped the Philadelphia group redefine grassroots appeal, Shame, Shame is also the first project on which Dog has collaborated with an outside producer.  Rob Schnapf, who's worked with Beck, The Vines and Elliott Smith among others, helps bring a clarity to the sound (preserved, no doubt, by the mastering of Greg Calbi), most obvious in the impact of the rhythm section, as on the opening "Stranger". The density of the music hasn’t decreased, compared to 2008’s Fate, but the components of the arrangements are rendered more distinct.

There's a tremendous irony arising from the plethora of posthumous Jimi Hendrix releases following his unexpected death in 1970.  The early Alan Douglas productions, a steady stream of shoddy bootlegs, the MCA repackages in 1993 (followed closely by the first Experience Hendrix releases in 1997 and their own Dagger series) as well as the deluxe packages of the newly-introduced Experience Hendrix/Legacy Recordings partnership, to a great degree reflect the restless creative urge of the guitar icon. That said, it's hard to resist the temptation to ask when is enough enough, particularly when it comes to ostensibly official releases.

Forgive David Fricke if he succumbs to hyperbole in his liner notes to Moby Grape Live. This collection of concert recordings captures the band's skill and effervescence to such a degree, they do sound like that spirit of those times when everything seemed possible.

Perhaps only a fan who truly appreciates Graham Parker as much for his non-conformist attitude as his aptitude with a pop tune might find the unconventional approach of his April 24th Vermont show satisfying. In a sojourn through his independent discography of the 80's and 90's, the transplanted Brit spent most of his 90 minutes on stage picking and choosing tunes like "Bean Counter," from Acid Bubblegum, and offering a handful of culls from his newly released Imaginary Television (the source of the sole stage production in the form of a small TV on a barstool center stage).

It's not necessary to be aware of the thought process behind Graham Parker's Imaginary Television to appreciate the rare combination of immediacy and understatement that permeates its material and musicianship. But knowing the story behind the album's concept elevates the author's acerbic commentary on the television medium (and the culture at large it reflects) while also reaffirming the record album as a potent means of making a statement.

Equal parts quirky and kick-ass, Dr Dog has defined the D.I.Y approach to making music. In the span of a decade, they've redefined and reaffirmed the process of building a grassroots fan-base with a series of increasingly sophisticated recordings and regular touring. The logical culmination of their creative voyage was signing to Anti- and recording their newest album – Shame, Shame.  

Having debuted on the roots-oriented Slash Records in 1986, making Americana music years before the term was coined alongside labelmates The Blasters and Los Lobos, Kurt Neumann and Sammy Llanas have remained staunchly independent during the course of their career as BoDeans. Mr. Sad Clown is their tenth studio album , a collection of fifteen original songs that stays true to that direct means of communication they've always preferred and that approach generally stands the duo in good stead.

Volume 3 Number 2 is one of the best of the Grateful Dead's Road Trips and augurs well for the redefinition of this archival project. Originally conceived to highlight particular phases of the band's career, this series has more recently come to reflect its esteemed  precursor, Dick ‘s Picks, in offering complete performances from the group's history.

Dave Holland is a deceptively unassuming man. His deliberate manner of speaking belies a passion laced with a mystical undercurrent that may in fact explain the unusual combination of talent that has him compared to great bassists in jazz like Scott LaFaro as well as the genre's outstanding composers like Duke Ellington.