Month: July 2011

The daughter of Tommy Tucker (of “Hi-Heel Sneakers” fame) has been playing the blues circuit for years. As a vocalist, she has made a name for herself with her brassy delivery and original lyrics.

All of that is featured on her latest release, with cuts like “Ain’t That the Blues” and its tale of woe. “Keep the Blues Alive” and “Respect Me and the Blues” talk about the history of the blues and what it means, as does the brilliant “John Cephas.”

Tucker’s cohort is guitarist Robert Hughes, who is skilled in all aspects of the blues. When a song needs slinky fills or big solos, he supplies them. When a gospel-tinged song calls for a melodic solo with a tough sound, he’s there. Shuffles with jazz turnarounds are no problem. A funky, almost disco-tinged tune gives Hughes the chance to play a pinched note solo that fits the music perfectly. On at least two cuts, he supplies perfect acoustic country-blues accompaniment for Tucker’s soulful vocals. And while his solos are always on the money, his support of the vocals with fills is uncanny.

While Tucker’s songs at times plead for the blues to live on, that shouldn’t be a problem with singers like her and players like Hughes, who so fully understand the music.

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This article originally appeared in VG’s Oct. ’10 issue.  All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine.  Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.

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Maybe it’s the name, maybe it’s the band’s insistence on turning everything from Michel Legrand to Sonny Bono into an epic, but Vanilla Fudge has never gotten the respect it deserves. But in its short span (forming in late ’65, splitting in ’69), the Fudge was as huge as its bombastic sound – headlining shows over opening acts like Steve Miller and Led Zeppelin. With its four discs and 44-page booklet housed in a sturdy gold-foil album, this is the most extensive, deluxe treatment the band has ever received.

The quartet borrowed heavily from fellow New Yorkers the Young Rascals, but with psychedelic trappings, classical predilections, and a heavier sound – anticipating groups like Iron Butterfly and ELP, not to mention the power ballads of countless metal and stadium bands.

Organist Mark Stein, guitarist Vince Martell, bassist Tim Bogert, and drummer Carmine Appice relied on covers (invariably slowed down and extended) to the point that it bordered on gimmickry. Only one of these – their dramatic reading of the Supremes’ “You Keep Me Hangin’ On,” yielded a Top 10 hit when it was reissued a year after its initial summer of ’67 release.

The real treat here, the group’s previously unreleased New Year’s Eve set from 1968/69 at Fillmore West, shows what a tight and adventurous band they were. What Martell hinted at on record (with Stein’s Hammond handling most of the soloing) comes full-throt;tle – his Indian-tinged cadenza on “Hangin’ On,” aggressive wah on “Shotgun,” and mix of power chords, blues bends, and jazz excursions in “Break Song.”

Bogert and Appice, of course, stayed together as the rhythm section of Cactus, which morphed into Beck, Bogert & Appice. Stein subsequently played with Tommy Bolin and others, but, save Fudge reunions, Martell has mysteriously eluded the radar.

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This article originally appeared in VG’s Oct. ’10 issue.  All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine.  Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.

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Coinciding with ELP’s recent reunion show is this quadruple-CD box set containing 40 years of unreleased live tracks.

The anthology is nicely arranged and annotated with one distinct era per disc – early-’70s, late-’70s, the ’90s, and a CD devoted to bootleg recordings. Disc one opens with the band’s debut gig at the Isle of Wight on August 29, 1970 – in a heartbeat, hundreds of thousands of English rock fans got their minds rearranged by Greg Lake’s simply thunderous fuzz bass in “The Barbarian.” Lake was equally well-regarded

as an acoustic balladeer, his talents displayed here on “Ballad of Blue” and, from ’74, the classic “Still… You Turn Me On.” One treat is a complete version of the fabled “Karn Evil 9” laced with Lake’s melodic electric work. Disc two is the weakest of the set, covering ELP’s woefully inconsistent “comeback” later in the decade. One highlight is the epic track “Pirates,” arguably the band’s best piece from this era, and a full reading of 17-minute “Tarkus,” but much of the rest is forgettable.

Things rebound on disc three, documenting the band’s excellent ’90s reunion with everything from the anthemic “Touch and Go” to Lake’s deft acoustic on “From the Beginning,” originally from 1972’s Trilogy album. The final disc is a treasure trove of fan bootlegs, including a rare recording of one of their best songs, “The Endless Enigma,” as well as more of Lake’s gentle balladeering on “C’est La Vie” and “Closer to Believing.” While ELP lost a great deal of credibility in the late ’70s and then missed the ’80s gold rush enjoyed by fellow Brit-bands like Genesis, Yes, and Pink Floyd, their cumulative work brims with spectacular moments.

Whether you liked the trio for their songs and virtuoso musicianship – or found their music pompous and overblown – no one can deny ELP was an arena-rock powerhouse in its day. And this excellent box set proves that mightily.

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This article originally appeared in VG’s Oct. ’10 issue.  All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine.  Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.

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Debates will forever rage regarding the dawn of jazz-rock fusion – its birth attributed to everyone from vibraphonist Gary Burton (and/or his guitarist, Larry Coryell) to Cream. There were definitely examples prior to Miles Davis embracing the hybrid, but when the jazz icon “went electric,” it shook up jazz much as Dylan had turned folk music on its head when he plugged in a few years prior.

Though electric instruments appeared on previous albums, 1969’s In A Silent Way marked the trumpeter’s first fusion album (and it – better still, The Complete In A Silent Way Sessions box – is highly recommended, for giving Brew context and just because it’s so sublime). One of Silent’s electricians was guitarist John McLaughlin.

Brew was recorded just six months later, by which time Miles was openly absorbing rock and soul influences like James Brown, Jimi Hendrix, and Sly & The Family Stone. This was less linear, more African than the bebop and cool/ modal-oriented Miles of yore or even the ambient Silent. In hindsight, it’s arguably the blueprint for groove-based jazz and, for better or worse, jam bands – distinguished by the fact that this was a jam band of virtuosos.

The meandering pieces, mostly ranging from 11 to 27 minutes, contain moments of brilliant spontaneity, as multiple keyboardists and percussionists and the tandem basses of Dave Holland (upright) and Harvey Brooks (electric) anchor while jarring jagged bursts from hornmen Davis, Wayne Shorter, and Bennie Maupin, as well as McLaughlin.

Two editions are available – “Legacy” has the original 94-minute album, out takes, and truncated singles on two CDs and a DVD of Davis’ 11/69 Copenhagen concert (sans McLaughlin). The “Collector’s” edition has all that, a CD of Davis’ 8/70 Tanglewood concert in Massachusetts (again, without McLaughlin), a vinyl double-LP of the original album, and other memorabilia.

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This article originally appeared in VG’s Oct. ’10 issue.  All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine.  Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.

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Marty Stuart is a musician, cultural historian, collector, photographer, and prodigal son-in-law. All these facets come together on his new album, Ghost Train, a pretty darned brilliant piece of work.

For those unfamiliar, Stuart’s curriculum vitae reads like the history of Americana music. His first regular pro gig, at the ripe old age 13, was playing mandolin and guitar with Lester Flatt. He stayed with Flatt until 1979, when Flatt passed away. Stuart then joined legendary fiddler Vassar Clements, playing on sessions with Doc and Merle Watson, Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, Neil Young, and Billie Joel. In 1980, Stuart met Johnny Cash, who invited him to join his band. After six years playing guitar with Cash, Stuart signed a solo recording contract with CBS that yielded only one album, Marty Stuart, in 1986. In ’89, Stuart released an album on MCA, the first of four for the label. He also developed his “Marty party” hillbilly rock brand of commercial country that drew heavily from honkytonk and roots music. Since 2000, Stuart has released albums on his own label, Superlatone.

For Stuart, Ghost Train is a return to his roots. Recorded in RCA’s Studio B, it was the site of the first recording session in which he participated, and in the ’50s and ’60s it was used to record all of the label’s A-list pop acts, including Elvis, Homer and Jethro, often under the supervision of RCA’s principal A&R man, Chet Atkins. The album opens with “Branded,” a Stuart original that encapsulates what makes his music special – addictive melodies, hooky lyrics, and of course, hot picking. Joined by his regular band, the Superlatives, which includes Kenny Vaughn on guitar, Harry Stinson on drums, and Paul Martin on bass, Stuart romps through 11 originals supplemented by three covers. His rendition of “Crazy Arms” features steel guitarist Ralph Mooney sharing solos with Stuart and Vaughn, turning it into a twangfest.

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This article originally appeared in VG‘s Nov. ’10 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.

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