CD Reviews on projects by Jam Band Artists
Warren Haynes’ “Million Voices Whisper” features eleven uplifting songs reflecting transformation and resilience. His passionate guitar work and distinct vocals are complemented by a talented band, including Derek Trucks. The album encapsulates various styles, blending blues and R&B, while exploring themes of love, loss, and resilience in contemporary society.
Jake Shimabukuro and Mick Fleetwood’s “Blues Experience” album showcases their collaboration, interpreting classic blues songs with an innovative touch. The album features notable tracks and contributions from renowned musicians, highlighting Shimabukuro’s ukulele prowess. Recognized globally, Jake has played with top artists and received prestigious accolades, making this album a notable release.
Adam Deitch Quartet Roll the Tape Golden Wolf Drummer and composer Adam Deitch is best known as the leader of the jazz/funk/jam band Lettuce, but he leads his soul-jazz quartet for the second time here on Roll the Tape. This is organ-oriented music featuring organist Wil Blades and two of Deitch’s Lettuce bandmates, Eric ‘Benny’ […]
Mike Miz Only Human Blackbird The singer/songwriter/guitarist Mike Mizwinski, better known as Mike Miz, took a major step by moving to Nashville three years ago. Miz has a strong following in his native Northeastern Pennsylvania as a jam band icon, from early band Morning Pride to his various Miz band lineups to Phish and Grateful […]
Zero Naught Again Omnivore Not being familiar with the band Zero, a quick scan of the personnel revealed all one needs to know. Surely Deadheads and Jerry Garcia fans know Robert Hunter, Vince Welnick, and John Kahn. The names of the co-founders, guitarist Steve Kimock and drummer Greg Anton should be familiar too as well […]
The Allman Brothers Band The Final Note – Painters Mill Music Fair 10-17-71 Warner Theater, Erie, Pa 7-19-05 (2 CDs) Allman Brothers Band Recordings/Peach Records These two live recordings of the Allman Brothers Band, as the dates suggest, represent two incarnations of the lineup, neither ever heard on record until now. The Final Note is […]
The Contribution Wilderness and Space LoHi The Contribution’s debut record, Which Way World (2010), had the band hailed as a “jamband supergroup.” With the band members having obligations in other bands, they do not record frequently but in 2017, The Contribution released seven tracks from this album, Wilderness and Space, with full proceeds from each single going to […]
PezBand Cover to cover “I thought of that name for the group because first, I always liked the candy and thought it was very special stuff; kind of like medicine that tasted good,” says lead vocalist and guitarist Mimi Betinis of the ’70’s “Power Pop” group PEZBAND. “What really kind of fascinated me was the letter combination; P E Z. I thought it […]
The Radiators Welcome to The Monkey House Radz Records In 1978 five New Orleans musicians jammed together in a garage for over five hours. The next day they all quit their respective bands to form a new one. The Radiators became the number one rock band in New Orleans by combining the traditional music of […]
The Allman Brothers Band Fillmore East February 1970 Bear’s Sonic Journals – Owsley Stanley Foundation It’s nearly impossible to resist one more chance to hear the Allman Brothers with their original lineup, featuring Duane Allman. The question many would have though, given the track selections, is what’s new here? Haven’t we heard most of this […]
“All Things Must Pass” The rise and fall of Tower Records (96 minute DVD) www.MVDb2b.com – MVDvisual The death of Tower Records was a major blow for many of us who grew up purchasing vinyl LP’s, seven inch forty-fives and CD’, laser discs, and DVD’s. This triumphant and reflective DVD “All Things Must Pass,” is […]
The Meters “A Message from the Meters” The Complete Josie, Reprise & Warner Bros. Singles 1968-1977 (2CD’s) www.RealGoneMusic.com This wouldn’t be the first time a label released a two-disc set on The Meters. Previously (1995) Rhino issued “Funkify Your Life: The Meters Anthology” that covered forty-three songs. Roll forward to 2016: Real Gone Music has […]
Grateful Dead “Dave’s Picks Vol. 19” Honolulu, HI – 1/23/1970 (3CD’s) www.Dead.net – www.Rhino.com Even though the front cover states (Honolulu Civic Auditorium, Honolulu, HI: 1/23/70,) this three CD box-set collects (on discs one and two) performances from Jan. 23rd. But disc three is entirely dedicated to the second Honolulu performance on Jan 24th at […]
Garcia Live Volume Six: Jerry Garcia and Merl Saunders 7/5/73 ATO Records – 3 CD’s www.JerryGarcia.com Timeline: July, 5th, 1973. Location: Small two-hundred person capacity club called The Lion’s Share in San Anselmo, in northern CA, now defunct. The band: Jerry Garcia guitar/vocals, Merl Saunders keyboards/vocals, John Kahn bass, and Bill Vitt drums. You’ll also […]
Sea Level “Sea Level/Long Walk on a Short Pier” (2 LP’s on 1 CD) www.RealGoneMusic.com Keyboardist Chuck Leavell organized Sea Level as a quartet in 1976 after the Allman Brothers Band’s first breakup of their post Duane Allman era. Sea Level’s bassist Lamar Williams and percussionist/drummer Jaimoe were also Brothers giving Leavell’s band a somewhat […]
Grateful Dead “Dave’s Picks Volume 18” Orpheum Theatre San Francisco, CA 7/17/76 – 3 CD’s Plus a 4th (limited edition) Bonus disc. www.Dead.net – www.Rhino.com This eighteenth edition of the Dave’s Picks series is taken from the Dead’s “comeback tour,” from a six night stretch at the Orpheum Theatre in San Francisco. The three CD […]
Grateful Dead “Dick’s Picks Volume One” Tampa, Florida 12/19/73 (2-CD’s) www.RealGoneMusic.com This was the first Dick’s Picks edition that was made available at www.Dead.net some twenty plus years ago in 1993. It’s also the last of a series of Dick’s Picks reissues from Real Gone Music. Real Gone started their countdown by first offering the […]
Festival Express New Line Entertainment DVD In 1970 the following bands got on a train and rode across Canada stopping to play in Toronto, Winnepeg and Calgary. The film which shows footage of them both in Concert and “ridin that train”, sat in a garage for thirty years. Imagine being on a week long train […]
Grateful Dead “Dave’s Picks Vol. 17” Fresno, CA 7/19/1974 <3CD’s> www.Dead.net – www.Rhino.com This seventeenth chapter of Dave’s Picks is resurrected from the Selland Arena in Fresno, CA recorded on July 19th, 1974. The performance occurred at a time when the Dead nearly bankrupted themselves hauling around their massive Wall of Sounds System which was […]
Grateful Dead “Dick’s Picks Volume Two” Columbus, OH 10/31/71 www.RealGoneMusic.com Dick’s Picks Two (originally issued in 1995) is the lone single disc release from the magnificent “Dick’s Picks” series. All told: There were thirty-six “Dick’s Picks.” Nonetheless: This one packs a powerful wallop – flowing for nearly an hour of non-stop dynamic jamming. Weir’s guitar […]
Grateful Dead “Dave’s Picks Vol.16” Springfield, MA 3/28/73 <3CD’s> www.Dead.net – www.Rhino.com Dave’s Picks 16 completes the 2015-fourth round of the latest series (four new box-sets of full performances are issued annually) with a show from Springfield, MA recorded 3/28/73 that requires three CD’s to capture this lengthy performance. Disc One: Trots out familiar first […]
Grateful Dead “Dick’s Picks Volume Three” Pembroke Pines, FL 5/22/77 (2-CD’s) www.RealGoneMusic.com This is a prime edition snapshot of the Dead’s 1977 late springtime tour that was recorded at the now defunct Sportatorium in Florida. Releasing the entire evening performance would’ve necessitated a three disc box-set, and the powers at www.Dead.net didn’t think there would […]
2015 Stocking Stuffers: For Heightened Holiday Cheer – A Half Dozen Grab-bag CD’s The Soulful Strings “The Magic of Christmas” www.RealGoneMusic.com Originally issued via the Cadet subsidiary of Chess Records this collection makes its debut on CD. Chess/Cadet house-band studio players; harpist (not harmonica) Dorothy Ashby, Charles Stepney, Lenard Druss, Bunky Green, Phil Upchurch, Cleveland […]
Grateful Dead “Dick’s Picks Volume Four” Fillmore East 2/13-14/1970 – 3 CD’s www.RealGoneMusic.com February 13-14, 1970 is one of the Dead’s most memorable appearances at Bill Graham’s historic Fillmore East. This NYC Fillmore run was partially released on vinyl in ‘73 “History of the Grateful Dead, Vol. 1 (Bear’s Choice,)” named after (Bear) Aka: Owsley […]
Grateful Dead “Dick’s Picks Volume Five” Oakland Auditorium Arena 12/26/79 – 3CD’s www.RealGoneMusic.com This full concert is taken from the first of the Grateful Dead’s run-up to New Year’s Eve at the Oakland Auditorium Arena; it also includes a hot preview of “Alabama Getaway” that preceded its appearance on the “Go To Heaven” album by […]
Grateful Dead “Dave’s Picks Volume 15” Nashville, TN – 4/22/78 – Three-CD’s www.Dead.net – www.Rhino.com Mr. Lemeieux whose first name is Dave the namesake for the “Dave’s Picks” series that’s now reached its fifteenth volume. Dave states in the liners that when he released “Dave’s Picks 7” a concert that was recorded two days prior […]
Review of Randall Bramblett’s DEVIL MUSIC New West Records – release Sept. 18, 2015 By Bruce Yandle One of the things you can generally expect when Randall Bramblett releases a new album is that it won’t be what you expect…or, at least, that it won’t sound like the last one. There are consistent thematic and […]
Grateful Dead “Dick’s Picks Volume Six” Hartford Civic Center 10/14/83 3-CD’s www.RealGoneMusic.com The first five Dick’s Picks were all taken from seventies concerts; this sixth Dick’s Picks installment was the first that yielded a live performance from the eighties. The two set show is delivered in its entirety on three discs with approximately three hours […]
Grateful Dead “Dick’s Picks Volume Seven” Alexandra Palace London, England – September, 1974 www.RealGoneMusic.com The seventh volume of the Dead’s “Dick’s Picks” series is a no-frills and no liner notes Dick’s Picks/three disc box with approximately three and one half hours of music. At this time the Dead’s recent studio album “From the Mars Hotel” […]
Grateful Dead “Dick’s Picks Volume Eight” Harpur College Binghamton, NY May 2nd, 1970 www.RealGoneMusic.com Harpur College May 2nd, 1970 is often ranked as one of the band’s best shows ever; it’s also a three-hour three disc box-set. This concert was captured around the time “Workingman’s Dead” was about to be released so the band was […]
Grateful Dead “Dave’s Picks 14” Academy of Music, NYC 3/26/72 – 3 CD’s – www.Dead.net – www.Rhino.com This is the fourteenth edition of the “Dave’s Picks” series of live performances from the bands vast tape vault. Recorded on March 26, 1972 in New York City at the now defunct Academy of Music, that was located […]
Grateful Dead “Dick’s Picks, Vol. 11” Stanley Theater Jersey City, NJ 9/27/72 – 3 CD’s www.RealGoneMusic.com With the popular three LP “Europe ’72” set available decades prior, it took ten “Dick’s Picks” releases and nearly twenty-five years for the Dead’s archivist Dick Latvala to exhume this 1972 three CD release. Latvala selects the middle date […]
Jimbo Mathus is almost impossible to categorize. This Mississippi native’s music is a combination of all sorts of Southern styles from gospel to blues to country to rock, fueled with mysticism and given a psychodelic twist. Add Mathus’s growling vocal and masterful storytelling and you have something strange and wonderful. You feel at times as though […]
Grateful Dead “Dick’s Picks Volume 12” 6/26 & 28, 1974 www.RealGoneMusic.com These shows occurred during the same season and year that the Dead released “From the Mars Hotel” in fact, but they also continued to explore music from their previous album, “Wake of the Flood,” which was released just eight months prior. Though not indicated […]
The Best of the Grateful Dead (2 CD’s) www.Dead.net – www.Rhino.com Issued as part of the Dead’s fiftieth anniversary, their “long strange trips” will (supposedly) conclude over the Fourth of July weekend (2015) with three shows titled “Fare Thee Well: Celebrating Fifty Years of the Grateful Dead” at Chicago’s Soldier Field. Previously there have only […]
Vanilla Fudge was one of the most interesting groups of the late ’60s, with a sound that was definitely psychedelic but also heavy enough to verge on the later heavy metal. Amazingly, almost 50 years later they still have the same sound! Not only that, but all but one of the original members are recording […]
Grateful Dead “Dave’s Picks Vol. 13” 2/24/74 (3 CD’s) www.Dead.net – www.Rhino.com The bottomless Dave’s Picks series presents handpicked Grateful Dead performances from over four decades of thousands of gigs. Volume thirteen unearths the entire three-set performance from the final night of their three-night run at San Francisco’s legendary (previously an ice-skating rink) Winterland Ballroom/Arena. […]
Gregor Hilden “In Phase” www.acoustic-music.de From Germany guitarist Gregor Hilden’s all instrumental “In Phase” recording is a joy from beginning to its almost sixty minutes end. Thirteen tracks are included, ten authored by Hilden and three are fairly well-known covers. Setting the tone; Ralph MacDonald’s forever classic “Mr. Magic” (made enormously famous by Grover Washington […]
Gov’t Mule Featuring John Scofield Sco-Mule Evil Teen Records In 1994 Gov’t Mule was formed as a side project by Allman Brothers Band members Warren Haynes, guitar; and Allen Woody, bass. Joining them was Matt Abts who had formerly played drums in The Dickey Betts Band. Gov’t Mule has ten studio albums and numerous live […]
JP Blues recently released a digital only live recording from a show at Darwin’s Burgers and Blues in Marietta, GA. JP is a favorte there and the crowd was thrilled to see him and his band. Reviewing an earlier show at Darwin’s, I wrote, It’s a cliche’ to speak of musicians making a guitar “sing” […]
Grateful Dead “Dick’s Picks Volume 13” Nassau Coliseum 5/6/81 www.RealGoneMusic.com This is only the second of the (than) thirteen Dick’s Picks series that Dick Latvala selected from the eighties. Latvala kept no secrets about his preferences for early seventies sets, and was quoted “the eighties are a challenge for anyone.” I concur with Latvala as […]
Grateful Dead “Dick’s Picks Vol. 14” Boston Music Hall 11/30 & 12/2/1973 (4 CD’s) www.RealGoneMusic.com The deceased Grateful Dead tape archivist Dick Latvala selected the concerts for the Dick’s Picks series, “Dick’s Picks 14” is culled from their three-night run (only two nights are offered here) at the intimate Boston Music Hall, Latvala presents edited […]
Grateful Dead: “Dave’s Picks Volume 12,” 3 CD’s, Hamilton, NY (discs 1 & 2) Toronto, Canada (disc 3.) www.Dead.net – www.Rhino.com This twelfth edition is taken from the band’s performances at Colgate University in Hamilton, NY on November 4th, 1977 plus a third disc of (bonus) material recorded two days prior in Toronto, Ontario. Only […]
Jerry Garcia Band w/Nicky Hopkins Garcia Live Volume 5 – 2 CD’s – 12/31/75 ATO Records – www.JerryGarcia.com This is the fifth volume of this relatively new GarciaLive series from ATO Records who seemingly picked up the pieces from the now out of print “Pure Jerry” collections from the Jerry Garcia estate. Approximately two years […]
Bill Frisell “Guitar in the Space Age!” Okeh Records – Sony – www.BillFrisell.com Title this recording as (updated) memorabilia of the fifties and sixties, it plays like an AM radio jukebox from the same era, but radiates a current and unique vibe. No matter; set your way-back machine(s) and enjoy the modernized and respectful (all-instrumental) […]
Grateful Dead “Dick’s Picks Vol.15” Englishtown, NJ 9/3/77 www.RealGoneMusic.com 3 CD’s “Dick’s Picks Volume 15” is a complete performance from Raceway Park in Englishtown, NJ, an outdoor event with over one-hundred thousand fans in attendance. The New Riders of the Purple Sage and The Marshall Tucker Band also performed. How do I know these details? […]
Jefferson Airplane “Bless Its Pointed Little Head” CD Vinyl Replica www.CultureFactoryUSA.com The Jefferson Airplane’s first live album recorded in ‘68, with the memorable cover art of Jack Casady passed out at a long table hanging onto a bottle of wine. It also validated the band’s immense instrumental chops and impassioned vocals from Grace Slick, Paul […]
The Allman Brothers Band “Play All Night Live at the Beacon Theatre 1992” Epic Legacy “Farewell to the Allman Brothers Band who’ll end an era: October, 2014 at the Beacon in NYC.” The Allman Brothers final live shows are six sold-out performances scheduled in October at the Beacon Theatre, NYC. Four of these shows (Tuesday, October […]
Grateful Dead “Wake Up To Find Out” 3 CD’s Nassau Coliseum, Uniondale, NY (3/29/90) www.Dead.net – www.Rhino.com The last Grateful Dead studio album “Built to Last” was released in ’89, at this time the band decided to concentrate their efforts on their live performances, which by the time of this concert had disintegrated into being […]
Grateful Dead “Dave’s Picks: Volume 11” Wichita, KS 11/17/1972 (3 CD’s) www.Dead.net – www.Rhino.com Recorded by the legendary Owsley “Bear” Stanley these original tapes have been re-mastered in HDCD, like many of these rerelease series (Dave’ Picks, Dick’s Picks, Road Trips, and etcetera) the sound quality noticeably improves as the evening wears on, similarly the […]