A surprise best-seller when it was first released, this mostly improvised pairing of singer/keyboardist/producer Al Kooper with two major guitar heroes of the day sounds fascinating all these years later. Nobody makes records like this any more. The material runs the gamut from folk pop (covers of Donovan and Dylan), to blues ("Albert's Shuffle," "You Don't Love Me"), to heady jams ("His Holy Modal Majesty"), to big-band jazz ("Harvey's Tune").

All the tunes make effective templates for the kind off-the-cuff music-making that in less capable hands might have resulted in simple noodling. In fact, although Bloomfield and Stills don't play together on any of the cuts (Bloomfield played on one side of the original LP, Stills on the other), all three principals get off lots of good licks and producer Kooper has some interesting tricks up his sleeve, as in the over-the-top phasing he lavishes on "You Don't Love Me." The only real disappointment here is that Stills, a far better singer than Kooper, never opens his mouth.

Those familiar with the Live Adventures album these two recorded at the Fillmore West know how brilliant they could be on stage, and here's another gem, recorded at the Fillmore East this time and featuring 'One Way Out,' 'It's My Own Fault' (with Bloomfield trading licks with Johnny Winter...Johnny was signed to Columbia after this gig!). Newly remastered & now with 4 bonus tracks, 'Albert's Shuffle' (2002 Remix w/o Horns), 'Season of the Witch.' (2002 Remix w/o Horns), 'Blues For Nothing' (Studio Outtake) & 'Fat Grey Cloud' Previously Unreleased Live Track). Features 12-page booklet with unpublished photos from the recording session, new liner notes by Al Kooper & the Rolling Stone Hall Of Fame review by David Fricke. 60 scintillating minutes! 13 tracks. Colunbia/Legacy. 2003.

Includes liner notes by Al Kooper, Michael Thomas.


  Soul On Ten CD
  by Robben Ford
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Some of guitarist Robben Ford's weaknesses, such as song composition and vocals, are rectified or at least made less obvious, on this predominantly live release. On his fourth release for the Concord label, Ford is able to cherrypick better ... material from inconsistent albums, unearth choice covers, and generally broaden the music with his fiery playing. This, along with the natural energy generated by the stage environment, focuses attention on the guitarist's skills as a creative six-string bluesman who expands the narrow confines of the genre by adding soul and jazz influences. He kicks off the set with a lazy, wah-wah enhanced "Supernatural," the title track to his 1999 disc, and revs up the energy from there, jumping into the instrumental "Indianola." This is where Ford seamlessly combines rock, blues, jazz, and surf into a five-minute tour de force, leading one to believe that a vocal-free show might display his superb guitar talents even better.

Recording information: Stagg Street Studio, Van Nuys, CA; The Village Studios, Los Angeles, CA; The Independent, San Francisco, CA.


  Seven Moons Live CD
  by Jack Bruce
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2009 live release from the two legendary musicians recorded in February 2009.

Personnel: Robin Trower (guitar); Jack Bruce (vocals); Gary Husband (drums).

Recording information: De Vereeniging, Nijmegen, Holland (02/28/2009).

  Tough CD
  by John Mayall
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Photographer: Maggie Mayall.

Personnel: John Mayall (vocals, guitar, 12-string guitar, harmonica, piano, organ); Rocky Athas (guitar); Tom Canning (piano, organ, background vocals); Greg Rzab (bass guitar); Maggie Mayall (background vocals).

Recording information: LAFX, North Hollywood, CA (03/21/2009-03/30/2009).

Record Collector (magazine) (p.91) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "The easygoing, organ-based 'An Eye For An Eye' harks back to the mid-60s, while guitar ballad 'How Far Down' is deeply contemplative."

  Four Kings Of Blues Guitar CD
  by Paul Butterfield Blues Band
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The '60s Blues Revival begins here. Calling this album influential is an understatement akin to calling the Grand Canyon a rut; suffice to say that an entire generation of musicians (mostly young and white) heard this and had their lives changed forever. In fact, for at least a year after the album's release in 1965, it was impossible to walk down the hall of any college dorm in America without hearing one of the songs here echoing from somebody's room.

Heard today, the thing still packs a wallop. Butterfield's harmonica and vocals are utterly idiomatic, without a hint of minstrelsy. Michael Bloomfield's lead guitar is stinging and eloquent, and the rhythm section, on loan from Howling Wolf, swings like mad. The only fly in the ointment is the fairly primitive production, which often makes Mark Naftalin's keyboards sound like a horde of angry bees, but that's a small criticism in the face of blues playing as passionate and accomplished as this. A genuine classic.

Live Recording


  Live From Nowhere In Particular CD
  by Joe Bonamassa
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Although his previous studio albums have rightly positioned him as the king of electric blues guitarists, Joe Bonamassa's gut-wrenching expressiveness and technical wizardry are best experienced live. This blistering two-disc concert set captures Bonamassa's brilliance on strutting stompers ("Bridge to Better Days"), aching laments ("So Many Roads"), and-the highlight--a sweat-inducing medley of "A New Day Yesterday"/ "Starship Trooper" / "Wurm."

Personnel: Joe Bonamassa (vocals, guitar); Rick Melick (keyboard); Carmine Rojas (bass guitar); Bogie Bowles (drums).


  Bad Influence CD
  by Robert Cray
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Cray's second effort hews to the same musical template as TOO MANY COOKS, his under-appreciated debut. That is to say that BAD INFLUENCE is hardly the work of a blues puritan. There's just as much Memphis-style R&B and soul as blues in the mix, making for a potent fusion. Cray's guitar work is more impressive than ever, particularly on "No Big Deal," where he rips jagged metallic lines out of his Stratocaster as if he were channeling Otis Rush. The two bonus tracks are particularly entertaining, as Cray offers a suitably rowdy version of Texas bluesman Peppermint Harris' often covered "I Got Loaded" and an intense, almost gospel-style reading of Booker T.'s "Share What You've Got, Keep What You Need."

  Come On In This House CD
  by Junior Wells
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(vocals, slide guitar, 12-string dobro); Derek Trucks, Bob Margolin (acoustic & electric guitars); Tab Benoit (acoustic guitar); Corey Harris, John Mooney ... Full Description(slide guitar); John Cleary (piano); Bob Sunda (acoustic & electric basses); Herman Ernest III (drums).

Recorded at Dockside, Maurice, Louisiana; Soundtrack Studios, New York, New York between April 16 and May 31, 1996. Includes liner notes by Frank John Hadley.

Personnel includes: Junior Wells (vocals, harmonica); Alvin "Youngblood" Hart

This is a hybrid Super Audio CD playable on both regular and Super Audio CD players.


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