Posts by Doug Collette

[rating=9.00] The two CD ‘Deluxe Edition’ of the Allman Brothers Band’s Idlewild South achieves what so very few such archive titles accomplish: placing the original work in a context that illuminates the artist’s evolution. Arguably the finest studio recordings this iconic Southern band ever completed are further  refined  in this package by remastering that also […]

[rating=8.00] As their website so proudly and accurately notes, Let Me Get By is an album of firsts for the Tedeschi Trucks Band. Their debut for Fantasy Records, this early 2016 release is more importantly, an in-house product of creativity. All the material is original, in various combinations of what’s now a twelve-piece band, was […]

In one way, shape or form, Gov’t Mule virtually always surprise in concert, so it only stands to reason that the element of novelty would be elevated for their annual New Year’s run at the Beacon Theatre in NYC. And that holds true even if, as with the most recent two nights, the concept of […]

There’s a deceptive clarity in the way John Fogerty tells his story in Fortunate Son: My Life My Music. At the very start he adopts an ‘aw shucks’ tone that suits the earliest portions of  his autobiography, devoted to his small-town childhood, and even as it becomes slightly more formal, it remains ingratiating as he […]

[rating=9.00] By the time the July 5th Fare Thee Well show at Chicago’s Soldier Field rolled around, the so- called core four of the Grateful Dead—Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, Bill Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart—plus Trey Anastasio, Bruce Hornsby and Jeff Chimenti really had nothing to prove. From somewhat wobbly beginnings at the hometown shows in […]

In writing the biography of Tom Petty, author Warren Zanes creates a narrative so compelling it’s difficult to stop reading. Interweaving interviews with his main subject, past and present members of his band The Heartbreakers, plus friends, family, crew members and management; the author effectively (re)creates a wide-ranging conversation that, as it evolves, has a […]

Sliding off the crimson and electric blue slipcase from the hardcover book in which the Beatles 1+ discs and book are enclosed is testament in itself to the scrupulous attention afforded the work of these cultural icons. But taking just a cursory look beyond the matching suits and ties that replaced their equally stylized black […]

With “I Was There When…,” veteran music journalist Doug Collette reflects on his experiences in the glory days of live rock music. With each column, he takes us back to a specific concert he attended way back when, spotlighting bands like The Who, Pink Floyd, and The Allman Brothers Band, among many others. How could you […]

The inclusion of elements from various phases of Pat Metheny’s career gives deeper meaning to the title of this DVD. The Missouri-born guitarist/composer has made himself an icon of contemporary jazz by effectively playing off the Grammy-award winning accessibility of ‘The Pat Metheny Group’ with more challenging projects such as recordings and tours with various trios, […]

[rating=8.00] ChessBoxer’s public profile has leapt upward dramatically concurrent with their collaboration with Warren Haynes (and Jeff Sipe) on the road during the fall of 2015. It only makes sense for the band to have recordings available, even if not the full length sort due next year, to solidify the impression the band makes on […]