Month: February 2006

Rory Gallagher’s mention brings a certain vision: denim jeans and a flannel shirt. An old Strat with very little finish left. High-spirited yet authentic blues and rock. Consummate musicianship. A CD box set also brings a certain vision: packaging the music parts into a greater whole.

Both are represented clearly in this new offering. Gallagher, the Irish troubadour-turned-working-class guitar hero, is fully represented on four live CDs. Three are previously released, the fourth only in bootleg form. And that’s where the packaging comes in.

The box (and unlike some box sets there really is a box) is filled with unpublished photos and an excellent booklet with extensive and complete notes about Gallagher and crew. They document a guitar-playing songwriter who charted his own path until a his death at age 46. Gallagher also assumed complete creative control of his music, produced all his recordings, and generally set the tone and direction for his career. He fronted one of the first power trios, Taste, in the 1960s, broke out as a solo artist in ’71 and got radio airplay on album-friendly stations, then became a big draw on college campuses across the U.S. His following in Europe was even larger, and he recorded and toured regularly until the late ’80s, when health problems forced a cutback.

Firmly grounded in the blues, but also informed by a jazz sensibility, Gallagher performed mainly his own compositions, which took the form of revved-up rockers mixed with slower 12-bar fare. Even so, Gallagher was proficient in acoustic, electric, and bottleneck guitar as well as mandolin, harmonica, and even saxophone. It’s a shame he left us before the “unplugged” trend, as he would have been a true force as a solo acoustic performer.

Indeed, Gallagher became known for the one electric guitar he was to use for his entire career, a late-’50s Fender Stratocaster with a rosewood fingerboard. The guitar lost nearly all of its finish over the decades of studio and road work, as Gallagher used it for nearly every live performance and recording session. No switching guitars in concert – he simply re-tuned the Strat to an open key and took off.

While he was occasionally spotted with a Telecaster, it was the prized Strat, that was the main axe. His amp selection was just as simple – a tube amp by Fender, Vox, or occasionally Marshall, and nothing but a cord between guitar and amp.

The music in this set captures Gallagher at his best and can be broken into four distinct periods. First is the original Rory Gallagher Live from ’73, which has Gallagher in his trio format. Another great packaging trick is employed in the form of previously unreleased bonus tracks, two on this CD. Several covers spice up the works, but it’s the encore number “Bullfrog Blues” that best defines the Gallagher sound and fury and also features brief bass and drum solos. Gallagher uses the Strat, mandolin, and Dobro to full effect on this CD, and shows that a trio can be as much of a band as one could need. But when a second live album was recorded only a couple of years later, a keyboard player had been added to the mix. Whether the electric piano improved the overall sound is debatable, but the energy on Irish Tour ’74 is compelling, either because Gallagher had returned home or because it was one of those special nights, the tracks here burn.

Irish Tour ’74 captured Rory doing what he does best, with a bevy of original numbers, the standout being a power ballad, “A Million Miles Away.” It’s a tour de force number about sitting in a bar but dreaming of being somewhere else, and features Gallagher’s patented volume swells, squawking lead-position Strat solos, and pinched harmonics.

The third CD is Gallagher’s original 1980 release, Stage Struck . Overall, this is a more straightforward rock record than the previous live offerings, which tended to mix tempo and instruments. CD number four is the new and aptly titled Meeting with the G-Man which was recorded in 1993 and, while bootlegged with dubious quality, is previously unreleased. The performance is surprisingly strong, coming as it did two years before Gallagher’s death, and song selection is more varied and with more covers. Gallagher’s production dropped off sharply in the ’80s, so there were few new originals. He even covers “La Bamba” and the Beatles’ “Revolution.” Sound quality is excellent, and the performance is energetic.
Again, packaging is a key in re-releases. In this case the original album covers are used for each CD and each mini-album has a slip case featuring one of Rory’s well-used amps. With Live in Europe it’s an old Vox AC-30, Irish Tour has a tweed Twin, Stage Struck features old Marshall combo, and G-Man shows the battle-scarred Strat. There are also two photo cards of Gallagher.

Another mark of the box set is sound quality, and this set delivers with a three original discs fully remastered and the final disc with excellent sound. At present, this box set is only available by import. This may have as much to do with Gallagher’s overseas following as its comparative lack in the U.S.

The live Gallagher was certainly a force, but his studio work is much more diverse and deserves equal scrutiny. One can hope that a complete retrospective is in the works. He didn’t have hits, he wasn’t the most popular, and lots of people never really heard his music, but Gallagher was a musician and performer of the highest caliber and he may yet get his day in the sun as more about his life and music is presented to a new generation.

When asked to name the two most influential mandolin players of the last twenty years most mandolin aficionados will say Sam Bush and David Grisman. Although they have shared the same stage and often jammed together, they’ve never released any joint studio recordings playing together. Hold On, We’re Strummin’ rectifies this serious oversight.

Recorded at Grisman’s Dawg Studios during April 2001, except for four tunes, Hold On, We’re Strummin’ consists entirely of new material composed especially for this release. Titles like “Crusher and Hoss,” named after their two primary signature mandolins, and “Hartford’s Reel,” dedicated to the memory of their friend, the late John Hartford, indicate the personal and intimate nature of the music on Hold On, We’re Strummin’. Besides their regular vintage Gibson F-5 mandolins Grisman and Bush play mandocello, octave mandolin, National steel-bodied mandolin, fiddle, octave mandola, banjo-mandolin, and even (sigh) banjo. Jack Lawrence and Dave Nunally on guitar, Jim Kerwin and Sam Bush on bass, and Hal Blaine on drums join the party.

Extensive liner notes by the fine jazz mandolin player Don Stiernberg and spirited Stax-Volt inspired graphics make a package that successfully foreshadows the eclectic yet erudite music within. As usual with Acoustic Disc CDs the sonics are first-rate throughout. Engineers Larry Cumings and Dave Dennison bring out the best from all the acoustic instruments used here, even the difficult ones to record like a National mandolin. I applaud their decision not to add artificial reverberation to enhance the warmth or space of the recording venue. The real sound of acoustic instruments recorded in natural way rules.

Several years ago David and Sam played together during a memorial service for Charles Sawtelle at the Boulder Theater. During their dual solos I couldn’t help but think “I sure would love to hear a whole CD of these two playing together.” Now my wish is a reality. As Charles Sawtelle would have said, “You need this CD.” Yup, you do.

Chet Atkins has a deserved reputation as a great guitar player and all-around nice guy. So it’s a pleasure to see a book that is part biography and part history of his personal guitars.

Atkins was no guitar collector. He owned a number of nice instruments over the years, but they were his tools of the trade. They weren’t babied, but rather used – some for decades – and their scars come not from abuse but from the touring trail and the studio log. So his D’Angelico Excel was modified over the years with pickups, switches, even a vibrola tailpiece!

There’s an assortment of archtops featured, many of them Gibsons, and a variety of flat-tops from the ornate to the sublime. Many of the guitars were used for album covers and these are included where appropriate. One would guess after reading the book that Atkins had about 50 guitars. And the point isn’t how many because the book isn’t about just guitars but about Chet and his guitars.

The narrative, recorded before his death, is told by Atkins in the first person. He recalls how he came to own the guitars, where they were used on recordings and at live shows, and he reminisces about other players and cohorts. Atkins has many stories, and they come alive in this book. The reader learns about Atkins’ involvement with Gretsch in the ’50s, which resulted in a line of guitars bearing his name, and again in the ’80s with Gibson to produce an electric archtop. It turns out that Chet prefers to set up his own guitars and likes to tinker with them and customize them to his taste.

One of the most telling photos in the book is one of Chet’s workbench. Here, one finds the true “tools” of the master: strobe tuner, files, saws, sanders, boxes of amp tubes, soldering iron, drill bits, screws and hardware… and a quart of Quaker State motor oil! At last, the secret to that smooth Atkins picking style is finally revealed! No wonder there are never any squeaks on his fretboard!

This book was previously available only as a limited (and expensive) edition. Here’s a version that everyone can afford.

This article originally appeared in VG‘s dec. ’03 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.

For his latest album, the “Swamp Fox” came up with a cool concept: half solo vocals, half duets with five of his favorite female singers, on a collection of new originals and collaborations, book-ended by a pair of instrumentals.

After the opening gut-string instrumental, “Gabriella,” the first voice heard is Shelby Lynne’s on “Can’t Go Back Home,” which she co-wrote with White – her southern mix of country and soul a perfect match for his style. Emmylou Harris is featured on “Wild Wolf Calling Me,” and Jessi Colter and White sound like they’ve been singing together for years on “Fireflies In The Storm.” The latter two were co-written by Tony Joe and his wife, Leann.

Lucinda Williams’ slurred vocals are right at home on the CD’s funkiest track, “Closing In On The Fire,” which features Tony Joe’s Strat at its squawkiest – employing his Colorsound fuzz and Boomerang wah simultaneously. And amid the female stars, Tony Joe’s daughter, Michelle White, holds her own, on the tropical-tinged “Playa Del Carmen Nights.”

The solo material is equally solid – from the Jimmy Reed groove of “Back Porch Therapy” to the somber, Hookeresque “Rich Woman Blues.” Tony Joe White’s instantly recognizable singing, guitar playing, and songwriting are always cause for celebration, and for the past 10 years, White has taken control of production and simplified things, making the purest, best records of his career. And this is one of them.

Don’t let the spelling of her first name lead you to believe Alecia Nugent is one of those overly affected country divas the labels trot out with lugubrious regularity. Instead, her debut album harkens to the days when bluegrass was new and unadorned voices with a country twang were the norm.

Populated by refreshing neo-traditional arrangements, this self-titled release presents a strong case for Alecia Nugent’s imminent stardom.

Producer Carl Jackson assembled a stellar group of pickers for Alecia’s first release. He handles guitar and banjo duties, while Ben Isaacs plays bass, Aubrey Haney fiddle, Ronnie McCoury mandolin, and Randy Kohrs dobro. Harmony vocalists include Jackson, Rhonda Vincent, Jimmy Nugent, Rebecca Lynn Howard, Larry Cordle, Jerry Salley, and Sonya Isaacs.

Material here ranges from standards such as Lester Flatt’s “I’ll Stay Around” to contemporary tunes by Jackson and Larry Cordle. Regardless of the author, every song feels as if it was written for Nugent.

Jackson’s arrangements highlight Nugent’s voice the way a fine haircut frames a face. Each player delivers wonderful musical moments, and in every case, their contributions add to the songs’ power, rather than draw attention away from the tunes. The cover of Carter Stanley’s “Think of What You’ve Done” typifies the album’s approach. The pace is slowed so Alecia’s voice can soar. The solos swing, rather than race, through their moments in front, echoing Alecia’s bluesy phrasing.

Engineer/mixer Luke Wooten delivers a sonic package with bows on it. The sound is clear, warm, and inviting. Alecia’s voice is always front-and-center, but never too out front. Instead, her supporting superpickers surround her so they sound like a band, not a solo act.

I hope this is a rousing success, not for altruistic reasons, but selfish personal ones – I want to hear another release from her.

After doing one thing for 40 years, you either get really good or you die. Larry Sparks refers to himself as “The youngest of the old-timers,” and on his latest, he delivers bluegrass that even Bill Monroe would call “powerful good.”

Here, Sparks is joined by a galaxy of bluegrass luminaries, including Vince Gill, Ricky Skaggs, Ralph Stanley, Alison Krauss, Dan Tyminski, Rhonda Vincent, Carl Jackson, Larry Cordle, Rebecca Lynn Howard, Kenny Smith, Tim Stafford, Jim Hurst, Chris Jones, and Ronnie Bowman. Core band members on many of the tunes include Larry D. Sparks on bass, Stuart Duncan on fiddle, Randy Kohrs on dobro, and David Harvey on mandolin. Producer Don Rigsby joins in for an occasional harmony vocal and contributes insightful album notes.

Tunes on 40 cover the gambit from hell-raisers such as a rousing version of “Blues Stay Away From Me” to gospel tunes such as “I Need Jesus.” In between there are Larry Sparks classics such as “Tennessee 1949,” John Deere Tractor,” and “City Folks Call Us Poor.” My favorite cut, “The New Highway,” has Sparks singing lead, tenor, and baritone parts, as well as playing guitar. David Harvey’s mandolin and Larry D. Sparks’ bass complete the roster for the final song on this stunning CD.

40 ranks as a essential bluegrass. If you consider yourself a fan, you’ve got to have a copy.