Record Reviews

GREGG ALLMAN ~ SOUTHERN BLOOD (DELUXE EDITION) ROUNDER 888072033689 (Barcode: 888072033689) ~ USA ~ Blues-Rock Recorded: 2016 Released: 2017 This is the 7th and last studio album by American keyboardist / vocalist / songwriter Gregg AllmanFind albums by this artist, recorded in 2016 and released posthumously shortly after his death. The album presents ten songs, only one of which was co-written by Allman and the guitarist Scott SharrardFind albums by this artist. The rest are covers by other American songwriters, including Jackson BrowneFind albums by this artist, who guests on one track. A brass section and several background vocalists appear as well. This Deluxe Edition includes a couple of live bonus tracks and a bonus DVD, which presents a documentary about the recording of this album, entitled “Back To The Swamp”. Despite the fact that Allman was gravely ill by the time this album was recorded, his vocals are still in perfect form and he sings his heart out, creating a remarkable result. The music is typical Southern Rock, as well as Country and Blues influenced Rock, which was Allman’s home turf, and he performs it with great feeling and panache. Allman’s life story depicts the fate of many American Rock musicians, including long episodes of drug addiction and alcoholism, which tragically robbed them from a chance to achieve much more in their careers and finally costed them their lives. But Gregg Allman’s recorded legacy, both with the Allman Brothers BandFind albums by this artist and as a solo artist, is some of the best American Rock ever produced, and is worth being remembered. Overall, this is the last chapter of a long and troubled career, which left us with some incredible music, which still sound better today that most of contemporary efforts. American Blues-Rock fans should definitely have this one in their collections, as it does not get any better elsewhere. Wholeheartedly recommended!

Updated: 10/07/2024Posted: 14/05/2024

CD+DVD 2 Mini-Sleeve Recommend To A Friend

CROSBY & NASH ~ WIND ON THE WATER MCA 008811204327 (Barcode: 008811204327) ~ USA ~ Classic Rock Recorded: 1975 Released: 2000 This is the second album by the celebrated team of singer / songwriter friends, American David CrosbyFind albums by this artist and British Graham NashFind albums by this artist. It followed the debut after a three years gap, presenting a new set of songs performed by the same team of musicians that recorded the debut: guitarist Danny KortchmarFind albums by this artist, keyboardist Craig DoergeFind albums by this artist, bassist Leland SklarFind albums by this artist and drummer Russell KunkelFind albums by this artist. Multi-instrumentalist David LindleyFind albums by this artist and bassist Tim DrummondFind albums by this artist complete the band. Musical friends: Jackson BrowneFind albums by this artist, James TaylorFind albums by this artist, Carole KingFind albums by this artist and others, perform on some of the songs. Crosby and Nash are in charge of the vocals, Crosby plays guitars and Nash plays the piano. The album presents eleven songs, the last of which is in fact a two song medley. Crosby wrote four of the songs, Nash five songs and two (including the medley) are co-written by them both. This is the remastered edition of the album, first time on CD, with a much improved sound clarity, but with no bonus material. The songs are all exquisite, as expected from this talented team, definitely as strong as those on the stunning debut album. Considering the fact that the band accompanying the two singers is much tighter this time, the album overall sounds even better than the debut in many respects. As usual the stylistic, personal and cultural differences between Crosby and Nash create a unique amalgam, which combined with their fabulous vocal harmonies results in some of the best Classic Rock music ever recorded. They are simply one of the most perfect partnerships in Rock history. The album also emphasize the political / social opinions both these artists never feared to voice, standing firmly for the values of freedom, social justice, environment issues etc., continuing the "protest song" tradition cultivated in American music since the 1950s, sadly to disappear almost completely by the end of the 1970s. Overall in historic perspective this is a milestone album in every possible meaning of the phrase, which lost absolutely nothing over time in any aspect; it is still beautiful, relevant, and meaningful as a piece of an aesthetics that is long gone. Of all the Crosby, Stills, Nash & YoungFind albums by this artist many sub-groups, Crosby & Nash have been the most consistently excellent outfit. I can´t imagine any decent Classic Rock collection not including this album. Beyond essential!

Updated: 29/06/2018Posted: 28/06/2018

CD 1 Remastered Essential Recommend To A Friend

DAVID CROSBY ~ OH YES I CAN A&M 600753650158 (Barcode: 600753650158) ~ USA ~ Classic Rock Recorded: 1989 Released: 2015 This is the second album by the iconic American singer / songwriter David CrosbyFind albums by this artist, released eighteen years after the release of his epic debut album "If I Could Only Remember My NameFind albums with this title" in 1971. The prolonged silence, caused by the chaotic circumstances of his private and artistic life, was broken by a relatively short period of solo recording activity, which produced this album and the follow up album "Thousand RoadsFind albums with this title" (1993) as well as the live album "It`s All Coming Back To Me NowFind albums with this title" (1995), but then another long (nineteen years) period followed again until the resurrection of his recording career in 2014, which so far produced three new albums: "CrozFind albums with this title", "LighthouseFind albums with this title" and "Sky TrailsFind albums with this title". The album presents eleven songs, nine of which were written or co-written by Crosby, and a great support band featuring some of Rock´s most reliable studio players like drummers: Russell KunkelFind albums by this artist and Jim KeltnerFind albums by this artist, bassist Leland SklarFind albums by this artist, guest guitarists: Steve LukatherFind albums by this artist and Larry CarltonFind albums by this artist and guest vocalist and old buddies: James TaylorFind albums by this artist, Graham NashFind albums by this artist, Jackson BrowneFind albums by this artist and others. The album presents the usual mixture of Rocky songs and heartwrenching ballads that only Crosby is able to write. His vocal abilities are at their best and the superb instrumental (and vocal) support are as usual top rate, The album does not disclose any new facets in Crosby´s songwriting, but proves that his creativity remains intact. Of course Crosby´s figure has a meaning way beyond his musical activity. For people my age Crosby is a voice of a generation and in retrospect a symbol of the tragically short lived American cultural and social Revolution of the late 1960s, which is sadly almost completely forgotten by now. His recent activity is a proof that our generation is not completely dead yet, although the light at the end of the tunnel is getting dimmer. Everything Crosby touched during his lifetime eventually turned to gold, and this album is a classic of the genre, definitely worth returning to or being discovered by the generation of our children and grandchildren. Peace!

Updated: 03/06/2018Posted: 23/03/2018

CD 1 Recommend To A Friend

DAVID CROSBY ~ THOUSAND ROADS ATLANTIC 075678248429 (Barcode: 075678248429) ~ USA ~ Classic Rock Recorded: 1993 Released: 1993 This is the third studio album by the iconic American singer / songwriter David CrosbyFind albums by this artist released four years after its predecessor "Oh Yes I CanFind albums with this title". The album was recorded in different studios, with many different musicians (almost fifty), including the "regulars" like bassist Leland SklarFind albums by this artist, drummer Russell KunkelFind albums by this artist and keyboardist Craig DoergeFind albums by this artist, as well as a long list of guest appearances by such legends as Phil CollinsFind albums by this artist, Jimmy WebbFind albums by this artist, Graham NashFind albums by this artist, Jackson BrowneFind albums by this artist and others. The album presents ten songs, only one of which (the title song) was written by Crosby and two were co-written by him (one with Collins and one with Joni MitchellFind albums by this artist). Although this is still very much Crosby at his best as a singer, the fact that the songs are not his in most cases create an overall orientation towards Pop, more apparent than on any of his other albums. The instrumental work is of course superb all the way through, although again suffering a bit from the 1990s production drawbacks (too much keyboards). In retrospect this is still very much an album worth remembering, despite the fact that it was rather neglected by his fans over time. Crosby is simply way too talented to make music not up to par with the best efforts out there. Sadly this album was to mark a twenty one years long period of absence as far as solo albums were concerned, except for the live album "It`s All Coming Back To Me NowFind albums with this title" released in 1995. His triumphant comeback with the album "CrozFind albums with this title" in 2014 marked a new period of ferocious activity, which continues to this very day. This is definitely an album worth being rediscovered by all those Crosby fans that missed it at the time of its release, and of course a valuable lesson to young listeners, to get idea about what music is all about!

Updated: 10/07/2018Posted: 10/07/2018

CD 1 Recommend To A Friend