Month: November 2013

Over the decades, the Grateful Dead played more than 2,000 concerts, but none are as fabled, as mythologized as their performances on the magical spring 1977 tour. This 14-disc box set collects five complete shows from that run, displaying the band at a peak of energy and experimentation.

The tour came at an opportune time in the Dead’s history. They had survived their psychedelic early years, then reinvented themselves with the rootsy Americana of 1970’s Workingman’s Dead and American Beauty. But now, they were in a middle age slump, seeking direction that resulted in three varied albums – 1973’s almost forgotten Wake of the Flood, ’74’s lackluster From the Mars Hotel, and a creative rebirth with ’75’s Blues for Allah. After losing their finances and the dreary live album Steal Your Face, they were standing on the threshold of failure.

The Dead headed out on the road in ’77 with the songs that formed Terrapin Station, to be released that July, in their back pockets. Those songs – especially Jerry Garcia’s Mu-Tron III anthem “Estimated Prophet” – and the jams on other recent tunes literally took center stage in the band’s shows.

This tour formed the basis of what the Dead would rely on for the rest of its long strange career. As Dead historian Steve Silberman writes in the liner book: “The spring tour of 1977… represented one of those Darwinian leaps, when the Dead took a bold collective step into the future, reinventing itself for a savvy audience eager to live on that edge where something new was always waiting to be born.”

The five shows here include stops at the St. Paul Civic Center Arena, Chicago’s Auditorium Theatre, St. Louis Arena, and the University Of Alabama Coliseum. Each night, the show included Dead chestnuts from all eras. But it was the new pairings of new songs and the extended jams that linked them that made these shows legendary.

Garcia’s guitar work was at a creative zenith in “Estimated Prophet”/“Eyes Of The World” and “Scarlet Begonias”/“Fire On The Mountain.” Bob Weir continued to prove himself one of the most innovative rhythm guitarists alongside the stellar bass playing of Phil Lesh. If it wasn’t for Donna Jean Godchaux’s “singing,” these would be the perfect Dead shows.

This gorgeous box set was designed by graphic artist Masaki Koike and includes a book filled with the story behind each show and an essay by Silberman on the tour and the turning point it represented.

This article originally appeared in VG‘s November. ’13 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.

One of the nice things about the surf revival, which started rumbling at the end of the ’70s and shifted into high after Pulp Fiction hit the silver screen in ’94, is that players who’d undergone various stylistic shifts returned to their reverb roots – witness Blue Cheer’s Leigh Stephens and his new Rocket Down Falcon Street.

Tom “Zippy” (or “Zip”) Caplan joined the Litter, the Minneapolis garage band of Pebbles/Nuggets fame, in 1967 – replacing Bill Strandlof, who played lead on “Action Woman.” His Surf Dawgs have released several CDs, including a Best Of. Unleashed is mostly covers, covering a widescreen panorama, from South Pacific’s “Bali Ha’i” to Michael Jackson’s “Beat It.” But Caplan misses a golden opportunity to give the latter a surf makeover – instead cranking the overdrive and leaving as is, albeit without vocals.

The Ventures’ Bob Spalding provides masterful lead on two covers from the iconic group’s catalog, while Caplan shines on Spalding’s power-packed “Bullet Wave” and a beautiful rendition of “Georgia On My Mind.”

Since emigrating from Austin, 3 Balls Of Fire leader Mike Vernon has taken full advantage of L.A.’s surf pool, including drummer extraordinaire Dusty Watson here. Eclecticism is a strength with Vernon, who has produced compilations by the Fireballs and Jerry Cole. He manages to successfully walk the line between surf and easy listening, with a bit of noir thrown in, as on his original “Blue Beat.” The three covers stick with that trend: finding common ground between Manfred Mann’s original version and Love’s edgier cover of Bacharach-David’s “My Little Red Book”; laying baritone guitar over Count Basie’s swing arrangement of the Bond theme “From Russia With Love”; and never lapsing into schmaltz in “Wave,” the Jobim bossa nova.

In the past, Vernon has sometimes relied on riffs more than melody. Here he shows that the latter is his strongest suit. It’s a bit of a stretch to dub Norway’s Steinar Karlsen “surf.” He lists Mickey Baker, Jimmie Vaughan, Peter Green, Marc Ribot, and Dan Auerbach as “some” of his influences (note absence of usual suspects like Dick Dale), and his 10 originals here have a very cinematic feel. The title track and “Cigar” are tangos – the latter of the Argentinian variety, perhaps with an added bit of Buena Vista Social Club.

The upbeat “Piggtra” sounds like spaghetti Western channeled through the Go-Go’s, with Link Wray (another of his influences) on guitar. “Kaktus” incorporates bluegrass, while “Sjeik” borders on Clapton à la “Steppin’ Out.”

The cool tools Karlsen uses include an Epiphone Sorrento (with P-90s), Gretsch Jet Baritone, Squier Telecaster converted to an Esquire, Epiphone Les Paul Goldtop, and Harmony/ Holiday Bobcat. All equal killer tone.

This article originally appeared in VG‘s November. ’13 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.

In the 40 years since Brothers and Sisters was released in 1973, we’ve lived roughly half our lives. And if you are a fan of classic rock, this album likely provided a soundtrack – and you probably wore out several copies of the original vinyl along the way.

It’s also an album with a story, the kind of tale most fans know by heart. And we all are probably telling that story to our own children – even grandchildren – now as we play “Ramblin’ Man,” “Southbound,” and “Jessica” for them.

To wit: Brothers and Sisters was to be the Allman Brothers Band’s fifth album, but it was a record that almost didn’t get made by a band that almost didn’t survive. Since forming in 1969 in Jacksonville, Florida, the group had slaved its first couple years building ts collective chemistry and crafting a new fusion of blues, country, rock, and even jazz. They finally broke out with the live double-set At Fillmore East in 1971. Then tragedy struck.

Founder, leader, and visionary Duane Allman died in a motorcycle crash on October 29, 1971. Bassist Berry Oakley too died in motorcycle wreck one year and two weeks later – and just three blocks from Allman’s crash site.

The band itself now stood at a crossroads. Following Duane’s death, they questioned whether they could soldier on. The remnants rallied, and with Dickey Betts as the lone guitarist and brother Gregg Allman’s organ playing a more prominent role, they cut Brothers and Sisters.

The album bested the sales of any of their previous releases, spent five weeks at #1, and became the first Allman Brothers Band Platinum-seller.

Which brings us, 40 years on, to this anniversary Super Deluxe Edition. The collection includes four discs: the original album remastered; a second CD of previously unreleased rehearsals, jams, and outtakes; and two discs encompassing the entire legendary live show from San Francisco’s Winterland on September 26, 1973.

The unheard studio tracks are where things get interesting. Betts’ plays slide guitar on a lazier version of “Wasted Words,” then blazes through an instrumental of “One Way Out.” “I’m Gonna Move To The Outskirts Of Town” blends Betts’ countrified fretwork with Gregg’s jazzinflected organ. Good stuff.

But it all gets great at the Winterland show, which features the band playing with renewed fire. Betts’ slide on Blind Willie McTell’s “Statesboro Blues” sizzles. The album’s “Come And Go Blues” and “Jessica” – as well as Betts’ “Blue Sky” – are glorious. And the finale of “Whipping Post” displays the band’s creative rebirth loud and proud for all to hear.

This is an anniversary collection done right. Period. It pays homage to the original with a remastered version plus supports that classic with worthwhile, insightful outtakes and wraps it all up with a stunning live show.

And hopefully, in another 40 years your children or grandchildren – or even greatgrandchildren – will be playing this album and telling the story still.

This article originally appeared in VG‘s November. ’13 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.

If anybody is keeping the raw spirit of the blues alive, it’s the North Mississippi Allstars. And this new album is guitarist Luther Dickinson’s reaffirmation to honor his elders and keep the traditional integrity of North Mississippi blues vibrant, primitive, and thriving. It’s also the soundtrack to his brother Cody Dickinson’s film about modern Mississippi.

This is a raw, ethnic record packed full of earthy slide guitar, unintelligible drawls, and the strongest Hill Country influence on any NMA album. The R.L. Burnside presence is strong, particularly on “Get The Snakes Out The Woods” and “Snake Drive,” with the late master’s sons Garry and Duwayne Burnside making an appearance.

The rural gutbucket feel is offset by inspired electric guitar sounds by Dickinson. It also features a harmonica solo by Robert Plant on “Goat Meat.” Other guests include Lightnin’ Malcolm, the London Souls, Sharde Thomas, and Alvin Youngblood Hart. Willie Dixon’s “My Babe” is played with unadulterated humanity, while Bukka White’s “World Boogie” is Dickinson at his nastiest.

World Boogie Is Coming is an auditory taste of the deep South and a dissertation on the glories of the one-chord boogie.

This article originally appeared in VG‘s December. ’13 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.

That Lowell George could play the guitar has never been in dispute. But most of the rest of the story of Little Feat is.

To start with, no one can quite agree on how the band’s name originated, and it only gets more convoluted from there. That only makes the band’s story – or we should say “stories” – all the more intriguing.

Rolling Stone vet Ben Fong-Torres takes it all in stride with a wink and a knowing grin. Amassing numerous interviews with band members, compatriots, and hangers-on, he’s dug deep to find and present the various takes on everything from the band’s origins to who was smoking what when. The result is an enticing, entertaining read.

And that’s only fitting for a band that produced such glorious music during such a short time under George’s leadership. Fong-Torres naturally focuses much of the story on George – his slide and fretted guitar skills, his stellar songwriting, and his charismatic, humor-loving, and, at times, dark personality. But he also makes sense of the numerous band lineups and its ongoing legacy.

As a band back in the day, Little Feat might have had a tough time agreeing on much. But as on the refrain to “Dixie Chicken,” they could all put it together to harmonize and sing along.

This article originally appeared in VG‘s January. ’13 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.

Jonny Lang’s career has taken a turn that should befuddle the folks who saw him as a pretender to the Blues King throne. He started young, playing biting lead guitar and spitting gravelly vocals that sounded like they should be coming from someone much older.

For several records now, he’s moved into the world of soul. In fact, the influences on this new album lean much more toward Stevie Wonder (especially), Van Hunt, and Sly Stone than they do Buddy Guy, B.B. King, or Stevie Ray Vaughan. There’s still plenty of fine guitar, but the solos are short and melodic for the most part, not the machine-gun bursts of his past.

There are insanely good songs on the record. In fact, “Seasons,” with a great melody, reflective lyric, and gorgeous acoustic guitar builds to a climax that finds Lang trading fours with himself, going from the bass strings of his guitar to the high frets on the bottom three strings. “All Of A Sudden” is a ballad that finds Lang showing off a fine falsetto voice. “We Are The Same” has a brilliant string arrangement and a bold melodic solo.

He used to be known as “Kid Jonny Lang,” but he’s definitely all grown up.

This article originally appeared in VG‘s December. ’13 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.