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Who was the better guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan or Kurt Cobain?

Stevie Ray Vaughan

Stevie Ray Vaughan Little Wing

Eric Clapton: Crossroads Guitar Festival 2010 [Blu-ray] $19.99 Over the summer of 2010, Eric Clapton gathered a veritable Who’s Who of the world’s most talented guitar players at the third Crossroads Guitar Festival, an 11-hour celebration of the six string that attracted a sold-out crowd of more than 27,000 music fans to Chicago’s Toyota Park. All profits from this daylong display of guitar virtuosity benefited The Crossroads Centre in Antigua, a treatment a…

In Session [Deluxe Edition CD/DVD] $9.43 On December 6, 1983, legendary blues guitarist Albert King joined his disciple Stevie Ray Vaughan on a Canadian sound stage for the live music television series In Session. Magic happened. The highly sought after video footage from that one-time renowned summit becomes available for the first time ever with the release of Stax Records’ deluxe two-disc CD/DVD In Session. The DVD contains three…

Real Deal: Greatest Hits 1 $5.53 VAUGHAN STEVIE RAY THE REAL DEAL: GREATEST HITS 1…

Phar Lap [VHS] $14.98 …

Classic Moments – MTV Unplugged [VHS] $2.95 Songs include: Before You Accuse Me (Eric Clapton), When The Night Comes (Joe Cocker), Leaving Las Vegas (Sheryl Crow), Pride And Joy (Stevie Ray Vaughan), Small Town (John Mellencamp), Wicked Game (Chris Isaak), Closer To Fine (The Indigo Girls), Prayer For The Dying (Seal) …

Blown Away [VHS] $6.66 …

Waking Ned Devine $3.63 When local wag Jackie O’Shea (Ian Bannen) discovers that one of his neighbors in the village of Tulaigh Mohr is a lottery winner he sees a chance to share in the wealth. Things get complicated when Jackie and his pal Michael O’Sullivan (David Kelly) discover that the winner, Ned Devine, died of shock at the very moment he learned of becoming a millionaire. Undaunted, Jackie and Michael dispose of …

The Remains of the Day (Special Edition) $7.83 This excellent film is probably best described as subtle elegance. Framed in the present, the movie deals with the lives inside an English country home just prior to World War II. Reunited with the filmmakers from Howards End are Emma Thompson as Miss Kenton, the head housekeeper, and Anthony Hopkins as Stevens, the impeccable butler. The bittersweet story centers on Stevens and his dedication to …

The World at War (30th Anniversary Edition) $37.99 WORLD AT WAR – DVD Movie…

STEVIE RAY VAUGHAN COMPUTER MOUSE PAD $9.99 Mouse pad is brand new in excellent condition. Mouse pad measures 9 inches by 8 inches and is 1/8th of an inch thick. Mousepad is made of a durable heat resistant polyester fabric top, and backed with a non slip rubber. Mousepad will be shipped the day of purchase (Saturday included), or next business day by the latest….

10 Days Out (Blues from the Backroads) $24.98 10 Days Out may well be Kenny Wayne Shepherd’s most important and intriguing album, even though the guitarist is hardly the featured artist on any of these tracks, working instead more as a sideman and facilitator for the impressive cast of venerable blues players who get a chance to shine here. Make no mistake about it, this recording belongs to such senior citizens as Henry Townsend, Etta Baker, Pinetop Perkins, and Henry Gray, and Shepherd’s presence (and the presence of Stevie Ray Vaughan’s Double Trouble rhythm section of bassist Tommy Shannon and drummer Chris Layton) simply helps to focus the attention on these veteran blues players. Shepherd embarked on a ten-day journey into the American South in 2004 with a documentary film crew, a portable recording studio, and Double Trouble as a house band in an effort to catch the blues in its natural habitat of living rooms, kitchens, porches, back yards, and local watering holes, and the performances that resulted are priceless. Here is one-armed harp player Neal Pattman and blind guitarist Cootie Stark turning in a joyous, ramshackle version of “Prison Blues.” A little later, Stark delivers further on a delightful song called “U-Haul,” complete with a marvelous improvised rap over the tune’s run-out coda. Here, too, is the then-96-year-old Henry Townsend turning in a poignant “Tears Came Rollin’ Down.” Etta Baker, then 93, shows that age hadn’t slowed her as a guitarist at all as she delivers an elegant “Knoxville Rag.” Shepherd wisely stays in the background on cut after cut, allowing these amazing musical treasures to unfold naturally and without intrusive elements. There are absolutely no hotshot guitar histrionics anywhere on this disc, which speaks to Shepherd’s sincere vision for this project. He’s after the preservation of blues history with 10 Days Out, and as if to underscore that aim, five of the album’s participants (Neal Pattman, Cootie Stark, Gatemouth Brown, George “Wild Child” Butler, and…

61 and 49 $16.98 The sophomore release from guitarist Eldred along with Blasters members John Bazz on bass and drummer Jerry Angel is a rock ? em, sock ? em mix of high-octane rockabilly and rollicking blues drenched in Memphis soul. High-profile guests range from the late Ike Turner (on piano!) in one of his last recorded performances (Turner’s final album was also on the Zoho Roots label), Elvis guitarist Scotty Moore, Los Lobos co-founder Cesar Rosas, and ex-Fabulous Thunderbirds guitar wildman Kid Ramos. They make impressive contributions but this is Eldred’s show as he shifts from the sweet, Hendrix-inspired tone of the instrumental ballad “Ruby’s Blues” to the Chuck Berry/Stones rave-up of “Jimmy, Jimmy,” with Turner’s piano pounding like Jerry Lee Lewis in his prime. Rosas adds Latin flavor to the gospel strains of “This Old Train,” but “I Ain’t Comin’ Back” channels Stevie Ray Vaughan’s “Cold Shot” a little too closely for comfort. The recording is crisp, live sounding, and generally filled with sharp, original songwriting that takes some edgy, even extreme chances, such as on “Mr. Newman,” a song about a pedophile from his victim’s point of view. Not exactly the kind of subject matter you’d expect from a roots-rocking guitarist. That lyrical intensity is tempered by some straight-ahead Texas shuffling in the comparatively simplistic “Lookie Here” and the Ramos-enhanced “Louise.” Eldred unplugs and goes solo country-Delta for the Robert Johnson-styled title track, another change of pace in an eclectic album filled with them. The guitarist is a more than adequate singer too, and the fact that he penned all of these tunes, even as derivative as many of them are, shows he’s a triple talent as a player, vocalist, and songwriter. The two backing members create a palpable groove throughout, especially on the Booker T.-influenced instrumental “Ms. Gayle’s Chicken House,” making it obvious why they are given somewhat equal billing as a trio. Eldred’s articulat…

A Tribute to Stevie Ray Vaughan $9.99 Unlike most tribute albums from the ’90s, A Tribute to Stevie Ray Vaughan isn’t a lifeless collection of piecemeal studio performances — it’s a fiery, living tribute, which is only fitting for a guitarist who shone intensely and brightly during his brief life. Recorded live in Stevie Ray’s hometown of Austin, TX, the album features many of Vaughan’s idols, friends, and admirers ripping through his most famous numbers. Many of these musicians — including his brother Jimmie, Eric Clapton, Robert Cray, and Buddy Guy — played with Stevie the night he died, which makes the record all the more poignant; also on hand are superstars like B.B. King, Bonnie Raitt, Dr. John, and Art Neville. Although the memory and occasion remain bittersweet, the music on the album is simply teeming with life — everybody plays their heart out. Best of all are the collective jams at the end and the two new songs, “Six Strings Down” and “SRV Blues,” which were written in Vaughan’s memory. In short, it’s what a tribute should be — a celebration of life, not death. ~ Thom Owens, Rovi

Any Port in a Storm [Special Edition] $14.99 The Dirty Heads comfortably combine hip-hop and reggae with somewhat lesser dollops of conventional rock songwriting and arrangements on Any Port in a Storm. While those are the three main styles the Dirty Heads blend, they don’t always use all three idioms in the same song, some tracks coming close to being straight hip-hop, reggae, and/or rock. Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughan are even referenced in “Believe.” It’s an unusual mixture, but more clever than exciting, without standout tunes or lyrics. Topics for the latter include statements of mild musical and social outsiderdom, declarations of pride for sticking to their principles, and the occasional nod to romance. A fair amount of profanity is used, but hardly in an aggressive manner, almost as if it’s running a little counter to their generally upbeat natures. Billy Preston appears on keyboards in one of the last sessions he recorded before his death. [A Special Edition of the album, featuring eight bonus tracks and a music video, was released in 2010.] ~ Richie Unterberger, Rovi

Back on the Block $13.95 Having let eight years pass since his last A&M album, Quincy Jones made his debut on his own label with his most extravagant, most star-studded, most brilliantly sequenced pop album to date — which could have only been assembled by the man who put together “We Are the World.” Jones was one of the first establishment musicians to embrace rap, and one of the first to link rap with his jazz heritage; it’s hard not to be moved by the likes of Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, James Moody, Ella Fitzgerald, Joe Zawinul, Sarah Vaughan, and George Benson electronically appearing on “Birdland” and trading brief licks with the likes of Kool Moe Dee and Big Daddy Kane on “Jazz Corner of the World.” Later, jazz buffs would vilify Jones for not taking fuller advantage of this one-time constellation of jazz stars, but at the time, it seemed like a marvelous dialogue between the old and the new. Of course, as he well knew, celebrating jazz history is not the surest route to a blockbuster hit record, so there are plenty of radio-friendly urban pop productions here, with Herbie Hancock and George Duke on keyboards, and Siedah Garrett and 12-year-old Tevin Campbell on vocals. Despite the presence of an enthused Ray Charles, Chaka Khan, and the Brothers Johnson, the overly busy techno remake of “I’ll Be Good to You” doesn’t cut the Johnsons’ original — nor does “Tomorrow.” Ultimately the most popular track would be the most tedious for the jazz listener, “The Secret Garden,” with a parade of smooth soul balladeers producing make-out music at length. Yet Back on the Block remains a strikingly durable piece of entertainment, and in hindsight, a poignant signpost of the changing of the guard. ~ Richard S. Ginell, Rovi

Big Blues Extravaganza!: The Best of Austin City Limits $7.99 As the third volume of Columbia’s Austin City Limits series, this one shines the spotlight on the cornucopia of blues treasures from the show’s rich history. The big tickets here include Lightnin’ Hopkins’ lion-in-winter performance of “Rock Me Baby” (complete with screeching wah-wah pedal), Stevie Ray Vaughan’s “Love Struck Baby,” his brother Jimmie’s tribute to him on “Six Strings Down,” Albert Collins’ “Travelin’ South,” and Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown’s “Born in Louisiana.” Performances from Buddy Guy, Taj Mahal, Keb’ Mo’, B.B. King, W.C. Clark, the Neville Brothers, Miss Lavelle White, Dr. John, Rory Block, and Delbert McClinton complete this excellent package. ~ Cub Koda, Rovi

Continuum [Revised] $22.98 Anybody who was initially confused by singer/songwriter John Mayer’s foray into blues with 2005′s Try! John Mayer Trio Live in Concert could only have been further confounded upon listening to the album and coming to the realization that it was actually good. And not just kinda good, especially for guy who had been largely labeled as a Dave Matthews clone, but really, truthfully, organically good as a blues album in its own right. However, for longtime fans who had been keeping tabs on Mayer, the turn might not have been so unexpected. Soon after the release of his 2003 sophomore album, the laid-back, assuredly melodic Heavier Things, Mayer began appearing on albums by such iconic blues and jazz artists as Buddy Guy, B.B. King, and Herbie Hancock. And not just singing, but playing guitar next to musicians legendary on the instrument. In short, he was seeking out these artists in an attempt to delve into the roots of the blues, a music he obviously has a deep affection for. Rather than his blues trio being a one-off side project completely disconnected to his past work, it is clear now that it was the next step in his musical development. And truthfully, while Try! certainly showcases Mayer’s deft improvisational blues chops, it’s more of a blues/soul album in the tradition of such electric blues legends as Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughan, and features songs by Mayer that perfectly marry his melodic songcraft and his blues-slinger inclinations. In fact, what seemed at the time a nod to his largely female fan base (the inclusion of “Daughters” and “Something’s Missing” off Heavier Things) was actually a hint that he was bridging his sound for his listeners, showing them where he was going.That said, nothing he did up until the excellent, expansive Try! could have prepared you for the monumental creative leap forward that is Mayer’s 2006 studio effort, Continuum. Working with his blues trio/rhythm section of bassist Pino Palladino and drummer Steve Jordan, a…

Cosmic Connection $17.98 Stoney Curtis is no stranger to psychedelic imagery. One of his albums was titled Acid Blues Experience, and the Los Angeles resident/Chicago native has an equally psychedelic-sounding title in Cosmic Conn3ction, which also has psychedelic art work and some psychedelic musical influences to go with that psychedelic-sounding title. But Cosmic Conn3ction isn’t psychedelic in a poppy way. Curtis is a blues-rocker with a major appreciation of ? 60s and ? 70s hard rock, and he is as inspired and as focused on this 68-minute CD as he was on 2007′s Raw and Real. Indeed, the sparks fly on sweaty, no-nonsense tracks such as “Big Beautiful Women,” “When the Sweet Turns to Sour,” “Mary Jayne” (not to be confused with Rick James’ 1978 funk hit “Mary Jane”), and the Jimi Hendrix-minded “Soul Flower.” Curtis doesn’t hide his influences, drawing on everyone from Hendrix and Cream (on the psychedelic side) to George Thorogood & the Destroyers to Stevie Ray Vaughan during the course of the album. And the hints of David Lee Roth that one heard on Acid Blues Experience and Raw and Real are present on this 2011 release as well; Curtis doesn’t acknowledge Roth’s poppier material, although he does offer some acknowledgment of the former Van Halen singer’s bluesier side. But if Cosmic Conn3ction is derivative, it is pleasingly derivative, and while Curtis isn’t an innovator, he is most definitely his own man as both a singer and an electric guitarist. He has his idols and his heroes, certainly, but when all is said and done, Stoney Curtis sounds like Stoney Curtis and projects an attractive personality of his own. Plus, his writing is impressively consistent; there isn’t a weak track to be found on Cosmic Conn3ction. Blues-rock lovers can’t go wrong with this excellent CD. ~ Alex Henderson, Rovi

Couldn’t Stand The Weather – Ltd Numbered Ed Ultra Disc SACD $32.98 Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble / Super Audio CD / 1984

Couldn’t Stand the Weather $22.98 Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble / LP / 1984

How to Build a Weissenborn Acoustic Slide Guitar

I had on several occasions brought myself to the brink of the momentous event and then studied the smooth perfect forms of each of the guitars that I owned, heaved a deep sigh of regret, and once again slid back from the task.

I kept asking myself, ‘What’s the problem? You’ve built a 42 foot yacht, learned to fly a plane, learned a smattering of languages, became a marine surveyor, but this one’s got you beat!’

It puzzled and irritated me and I thought it was beyond my skills but great things were to happen. Some time ago I went to see one of my guitar heroes, Jeff Lang play. Little did I know but this event changed my whole life. Stunned, amazed and totally dumfounded I watched this guy take a strange fig shaped guitar, lay it across his lap and bring forth some of the best guitar slidin’ howling dog blues sounds that ever slid out of the Delta. My amazement continued as Mr Lang tuned and retuned for more whiny, Orientally inclined Celtic and Asian megarythyms until I was numb. You CAN’T get that sound from a guitar…not possible….guess what, you can, and he did! I wanted one of these Weissenbourns real bad!

I was hooked, I slunk home now thoroughly depressed. My guitars hid in shame, we ignored each other for days. The die was cast. Come hell or high water, I was gonna get me a Weissenbourn slip ‘slidin’ lap top Steel Guitar! Three to five grand was out of the question….dare I try to make one?

Here good fortune struck. Thanks to the great kindness and encouragement of my good friend and incredible Luthier of Tamborine Mountain Kim Hancock and his two boys Sean and Dane, I decided to take the plunge. With Kim’s further help and assurance and the supply of some really beautiful timber in a long box and a great book on how to build guitars, I started the impossible dream.I decided, once and for all to build that damn guitar and what’s more, write a book about it at the same time!

Having visited many websites and read a few interesting books on guitar making I realised there were a few different methods of building a guitar from scratch. However, I decided that the safest method for me was to build a mould, an actual replica of the guitar and a work-base that the mould may be constructed on.

The basic job of the mould is to give you a real live 3D model of the guitar you intend to build, literally, around the mould itself. The other function of the mould is to have a very handy and immediate reference to work out front, back and sides dimensions of the precious timber you are about to cut. The work-base is exactly what it says. It’s a flat base constructed from MDF board, two pieces ¾” thick each glued together for strength to form a mini ‘strong back’ to build your guitar on.

The work-base has handy slots cut into it around the perimeter and these are used to slide small clamps into when gluing on the back fitting the sides or even keeping the mould or guitar still.

So, the work-base is your bench, your mould is the basic pattern that your Weissenbourn guitar will be built on and around. Once the basic body of the guitar has been constructed, naturally the mould is then taken away and the build continued…..are you with me so far? Good, we’ll slide on (pun intended) to how this was to be achieved……In fact the whole thing was going to be really awkward for me as I live on a forty two foot yacht in a marina…So what? It was going to happen come Hell or high water, literally.

For any of you interested in taking a look at my new guitar you can take a visit to www.buildaweissenborn.com and clicking on the ‘Photos of the build” button. I hope a few of you fence sitters out there can take heart from this …It was so much easier than I thought..just goes to show!

About the Author

Terry Buddell is a freelance author and lives on his boat in Australia.Terry recently finished building and designing a weissenborn acoustic slide guitar. He has written a book about the guitar called ‘How to build a weissenborn”and you can check out more info and see pictures of the guitar and hear a sound clip on www.buildaweissenborn.com

Learn to Play Slide Guitar

It’s Hard to be Humble When you Play the SLIDE GUITAR Coffee Mug in Metallic Colors T-ShirtFrenzy offers over 30,000 designs on tons of products to offer millions of variations. You can search our store for something for everyone on your gift list or shop for yourself (our personal favorite). Please contact us with questions….

It’s Hard to be Humble When you Play the SLIDE GUITAR Mug for Coffee / Hot Beverage (choice of sizes and colors) T-ShirtFrenzy offers over 30,000 designs on tons of products to offer millions of variations. You can search our store for something for everyone on your gift list or shop for yourself (our personal favorite). Please contact us with questions….

SLIDE GUITAR Chick Coffee Mug in Metallic Colors T-ShirtFrenzy offers over 30,000 designs on tons of products to offer millions of variations. You can search our store for something for everyone on your gift list or shop for yourself (our personal favorite). Please contact us with questions….

It Might Get Loud $10.23 The Sony DVD It Might Get Loud is an epic, exhilarating backstage pass into the world of rock stars. There are guitar players, and then there are rock stars. Over the course of one day, three generations of electric guitar phenoms come together, crank up their amps, and let it roll.Documentarian Davis Guggenheim gives us so much more than an all-star jam session (that alone would make even the gna…

The Best of Bonnie Raitt $5.96 Featured Song: Something To Talk About 1. Thing Called Love 3:50 2. Nick of Time 4:05 3. Love Letter 4:05 4. Have a Heart 4:48 5. Something to Talk About 3:47 6. I Can’t Make You Love Me 5:31 7. Not the Only One Radio Edit Version 4:10 8. Love Sneakin’ Up on You 3:40 9. You 4:27 10. Dimming of the Day 3:39 11. Love Me Like a Man Live 4:48 12. Spit of Love 4:41 13. One Belief Away Radio Edit Versio…

Greatest Hits: 30 Years of Rock $5.66 …

Beginning Slide Guitar [VHS] $8.94 Kirk Smart, the instructor on Slide Guitar has performed with Joe Pass and Scott Henderson, and is recognized as one of today’s top teachers of slide guitar. His lessons start with the basics, then explain how to choose and hold a slide. He demonstrates vibrato, string damping, tone and sustain, right hand techniques, open tunings, natural and false harmonies, and more, in a variety of styles from…

The Slide Guitar of Kelly Joe Phelps: Techniques, Arrangements and Improvisation [VHS] $15.98 Kelly Joe Phelps is the sensational young singer/guitarist whose soulful blues and gospel songs have recently brought him international acclaim. His powerful Dobro+-like lap slide technique is free, bluesy and original, and he outlines his approach to the…

World of Slide Guitar [VHS] $6.98 …

Hetman 8 – Premium Slide Grease $4.59 Hetman Tuning Slide grease is for those who prefer a slide lubricant of grease consistency. Hetman slide grease keeps slides airtight and moving smoothly. All Hetman Musical Instrument Lubricants offer superior lubricating qualities, are longer-lasting than other lubricants, and are completely compatible with conventional petroleum-based lubricants, thereby avoiding potential gumming problems. The…

…Tick…Tick…Tick $15.98 Songwriter Steve Wynn, the former Dream Syndicate frontman, has been on a tear since 1996 when he offered Melting in the Dark. Since then, his records have featured howling, wailing rock & roll and deep, dark acoustic reflections — all of them bearing his trademark noir-ish lyrics that offer the shadowy side of life, love, and violence. He’s employed a variety of musicians, and they’ve always sounded like hired guns. On …Tick…Tick…Tick he’s got himself a real band. They’re all younger than he is, and they have the hunger it takes to really execute Wynn’s unique songs. Start with drummer Linda Pitmon, who acts as co-producer (along with Wynn and Craig Schumacher) on these sides. Add to this the fact that the entire band (including Dave DeCastro on bass and guitarist Jason Victor) plots the arrangements. Wynn’s willful loss of total control has benefited him in spades. The set jumps out of the gate howling with “Wired,” where it sounds as if Wynn is singing through a megaphone. It’s followed by the creepy rocker “Cindy, It Was Always You,” co-written with ? ber hard-boiled crime fiction novelist George Pelecanos. On “Killing Me,” Wynn employs Bo Diddley’s “Who Do You Love?” guitar riff and mutates it into something utterly unhinged. The shuffle gets moved into overdrive as Victor makes his guitar scream, roar, and squeal while Wynn holds down the rhythm and overdubs a distorted slide. It’s followed by a seemingly simple ballad entitled “The Deep End,” which rises in drama to the breaking point about two thirds of the way through. It’s full of a kind of emptiness and questioning about the experience of loss; it expresses fear at the ensuing emptiness and the apprehension of being in this space. DeCastro’s bass enters about a minute in, and propels the guitars as Pitmon accents every line as if it were the gospel truth — and for the singer, it is. The swirling beauty that rises in the middle of the track transforms the protagonist’s voice, as if by …

15 $14.99 A few months before the release of Buckcherry’s long-awaited sophomore album, the national press proclaimed that classic rock was back, as if rock — classic or otherwise — had ever gone away. Buckcherry most definitely had, though, for four long years, and the group that returned sported three different members than the one that had left. But their timing was impeccable, as evidenced by the success of “Crazy Bitch,” a taster for this set. The thundering “Bitch” has a decidedly Aerosmith feel, not surprising when you discover that band’s producer Marti Frederiksen co-wrote one of the numbers within 15, the lavish power ballad “Sorry.” “Carousel” also echoes with sounds of the past, and is hands down the best song Rod Stewart and the Faces never wrote but should have, with guitar solos that reverberate of Ron Wood and a gorgeous melody that grasps your heart and never lets go. And then there’s the tasty country-fried blues of…”Brooklyn”? Sure, why not? There are rednecks in the Big Apple, too, but who knew you could hear such mean slide guitar and great bluesy riffs in that borough? Moving forward in time, “Everything” boasts some ringing U2-ish guitar, but the song itself has a much more ’90s alterna-rock feel, one of several tracks that fall into the now well-missed genre. And at the far end of the spectrum comes the likes of “So Far” and “Broken Glass,” the former a storming hard rocker, the latter pushing toward hardcore, both perfectly bookending this stunning set. So no matter how you like your rock served up, Buckcherry dish it with delight, and you’ll be wolfing it down and demanding more. ~ Jo-Ann Greene, Rovi

1963 Isn’t 1962 $16.98 Bukka White was “rediscovered” — alive and well, despite rumors that he’d died a violent death sometime after his last official recording session in 1940 — by blues enthusiasts John Fahey and Ed Denson. These live tapes, made late that year by Fahey and Denson, were among the first tangible results of that rediscovery. This older cousin to B.B. King still had all of his stuff — he was only in his mid-50s, and unlike a lot of older bluesmen who were well past their primes for the ’60s blues revival, he could still play and sing up a storm. Indeed, he was playing faster and more precise in 1963 than he was in 1940, and his slide work shimmers and glistens throughout this CD, and the voice is superb as well. Opening with “Streamline Special,” he goes through a dazzling display of repertory, sounding like two or three players at once as he works the strings, playing lead and rhythm simultaneously on his acoustic guitar, in pieces running anywhere from a minute and a half to eight minutes or more. King has admitted trying to recreate White’s sound in his own electric playing, but these tapes show just how much of a losing battle that was, against this acoustic guitar virtuoso. ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi

1984 $17.98 Originally released in 1973 by the Soft Machine bassist shortly after the band had lost eccentric drummer/vocalist Robert Wyatt and had begun their evolution into a respectable (and somewhat predictable) jazz-rock ensemble, this was Hopper’s attempt at something more experimental. As he reports in his amusing CD notes, the record label CBS was all in favor of his solo excursion until he let them know what he had in mind, at which point they declined to pay even for studio time, so Hopper had to take out a bank loan to make the recording — which says a lot for Hopper’s belief in his artistic vision, and not much at all for the musical (as opposed to financial) vision of CBS. Hopper’s 1984 is inspired by George Orwell’s totalitarian fantasy of the same name, and the two longest tracks, “Miniluv” and “Miniplenty,” feature Hopper’s multitracked solo work on bass, percussion, mellophone, loops and electronics, with only John Marshall, the Soft Machine drummer, contributing additional percussion on the second piece. This music had an appropriately eerie, ominous quality, with heavy use of chattering tape loops, reverberating bass drones and woozy, sometimes harsh slide work on bass guitar strings. Terry Riley’s early cyclical trance music was a large influence on Hopper at the time of this recording, and there are also strong echoes of “Poppy Nogood and the Phantom Band,” for example, in the intertwined, looped sax lines in “Minitrue.” However, several of the shorter selections on this CD, with the addition of various saxophones, trombones and other horns, are inexplicably tied to a rather twisted and ponderous R&B groove. Hopper suggests, retrospectively, that these several pieces may have represented the “normal” citizens in Orwell’s dystopia, who were nonetheless a little “bent” by their soul-destroying environment. However, it is just as likely that Hopper was simply indulging his admitted fondness for James Brown. 1984 was always a musical oddity, and…

20,000 Miles $15.98 Multi-instrumentalist Doug Cox put together this extremely motley crew of musicians from all over the world in order to bring into a single place a variety of slide guitar traditions and see what would happen when they all played together. Indian slide guitarist Salil Bhatt, sacred steel luminaries Calvin Cooke and Darick Campbell, Austin singer/songwriter BettySoo, Canadian-Indian percussionist Cassius Khan, and others gathered together to play songs from each other’s home traditions and to improvise new material. The results are consistently goodhearted, and inconsistently satisfying. Some tracks are spectacular: “Suicislide” is both thrilling and restrained, featuring rhythmically complex and wordless vocals from Khan and haunting melismas from BettySoo over busily multi-layered melody lines and percussion parts from the band’s core trio and many of its guests; the group’s rendition of the traditional gospel song “Angel of Death” is stark and gorgeous. On the other hand, the blend of samba guitar, tabla, satvik veena, and bluesy vocals on “Spooky” sounds contrived and rather silly, and the satvik veena sounds distractingly out of place on BettySoo’s very fine “Still Small Voice.” “Revival” is another lovely BettySoo composition, but it works much better; here the tabla takes a back seat to moaning steel guitar and a straight-ahead, acoustic guitar-driven groove. The problem isn’t that these various musical elements can’t work well together — it’s just that they don’t always work well together, so experiments like this are necessarily hit-and-miss affairs. In this case, the ratio of hits to misses isn’t as high as one would like it to be. ~ Rick Anderson, Rovi

70 Concert $20.98 This European compact disc reissues Canned Heat’s Live Concert 70 (1971), which was released as Canned Heat Concert (Recorded Live in Europe) (1970) in the U.K.. The short-lived lineup heard here features Bob “The Bear” Hite (vocals), Alan “Blind Owl” Wilson (guitar/vocals/harmonica), Larry “The Mole” Taylor (bass), Aldolfo “Fito” de la Parra (drums), as well as Harvey Mandel (guitar), who had replaced Henry “Sunflower” Vestine (guitar). Arguably more significant, however, is that these are among the last gigs with Wilson. Sadly, less than six months later, he overdosed prior to the Heat’s fall 1970 European outing. The tour captured on this platter was spawned by the unanticipated success of the combo’s cover of Wilbert Harrison’s “Let’s Work Together” — taken off of the album Future Blues (1970) — which became their most successful side throughout Europe. With Mandel driving the band instrumentally, there is an incremental shift towards more jammed-out interaction and completely rearranged melodies. This is immediately exemplified by the loose and funky “That’s All Right Mama.” Alternately, Wilson’s dark visage is evident on the lonesome and harrowing “Pulling Hair Blues,” or the improvised “London Blues,” a number likewise marked by his biting bottleneck slide guitar solos and haunting off-key vocals. Although the track list portrays it as a medley, “Back on the Road Again” bears little in common with the “On the Road Again.” Rather than, at the very least, a verse from both songs being played, the latter is only alluded to. The live reading of “Let’s Work Together” is as vivacious as the original, with the Heat going all out for their appropriately appreciative audience. ~ Lindsay Planer, Rovi

801 Live $11.99 801 provided Roxy Music guitarist Phil Manzanera with one of his most intriguing side projects. Although the band only played three gigs in August and September 1976, this album captures a night when everything fell right into place musically. That should only be expected with names like Eno and Simon Phillips in the lineup. (Still, the lesser-known players — bassist Bill MacCormick, keyboardist Francis Monkman, and slide guitarist Lloyd Watson — are in exemplary form, too.) The repertoire is boldly diverse, opening with “Lagrima,” a crunchy solo guitar piece from Manzanera. Then the band undertakes a spacey but smoldering version of “Tomorrow Never Knows”; it’s definitely among the cleverest of Beatles covers. Then it’s on to crisp jazz-rock (“East of Asteroid”), atmospheric psych-pop (“Rongwrong”), and Eno’s tape manipulation showcase, “Sombre Reptiles.” And that’s only the first five songs. The rest of the gig is no less audacious, with no less than three Eno songs — including a frenetic “Baby’s on Fire,” “Third Uncle,” and “Miss Shapiro”‘s dense, syllable-packed verbal gymnastics. There’s another unlikely cover of the Kinks’ “You Really Got Me,” while Manzanera turns in another typically gutsy instrumental performance on “Diamond Head.” This album marks probably one of the last times that Eno rocked out in such an unself-consciously fun fashion, but that’s not the only reason to buy it: 801 Live is a cohesive document of an unlikely crew who had fun and took chances. Listeners will never know what else they might have done if their schedules had been less crowded, but this album’s a good reminder. ~ Ralph Heibutzki, Rovi

801 Live: Collectors Edition $44.95 801 provided Roxy Music guitarist Phil Manzanera with one of his most intriguing side projects. Although the band only played three gigs in August and September 1976, this album captures a night when everything fell right into place musically. That should only be expected with names like Eno and Simon Phillips in the lineup. (Still, the lesser-known players — bassist Bill MacCormick, keyboardist Francis Monkman, and slide guitarist Lloyd Watson — are in exemplary form, too.) The repertoire is boldly diverse, opening with “Lagrima,” a crunchy solo guitar piece from Manzanera. Then the band undertakes a spacy but smoldering version of “Tomorrow Never Knows”; it’s definitely among the cleverest of Beatles covers. Then it’s on to crisp jazz-rock (“East of Asteroid”), atmospheric psychedelic pop (“Rongwrong”), and Eno’s tape manipulation showcase “Sombre Reptiles.” And that’s only the first five songs. The rest of the gig is no less audacious, with no less than three Eno songs — including a frenetic “Baby’s on Fire,” “Third Uncle,” and “Miss Shapiro”‘s dense, syllable-packed verbal gymnastics. There’s an unlikely cover of the Kinks’ “You Really Got Me,” while Manzanera turns in another typically gutsy instrumental performance on “Diamond Head.” This album marks probably one of the last times that Eno rocked out in such an unselfconsciously fun fashion, but that’s not the only reason to buy it: 801 Live is a cohesive document of an unlikely crew who had fun and took chances. Listeners will never know what else they might have done if their schedules had been less crowded, but this album’s a good reminder. Later reissues of 801 Live added two more Eno songs as bonus tracks, “Golden Hours” and “The Fat Lady of Limbourg,” tilting the album more toward the singer/synthesizer player. In 2009, MacCormick unearthed a tape of an 801 band rehearsal at Shepperton Studios 11 days before the show heard on 801 Live, and the recording was reissued yet agai…

A Raining Sun of Light and Love $16.98 Brooklyn-based, semi-instrumental quartet Titan have been unleashing their unholy blend of neo-psychedelic rock and progressive stoner metal on homemade EPs (CD-R basement freakouts) for some time now, so the arrival of a full-length studio album is a cause for celebration. Like Boris, Comets on Fire, and Blue Cheer, Titan don’t concern themselves with genre boundaries. Heavily improvised cacophony can often become the audio equivalent of a traffic jam, but in the right hands it can transcend the endless line of cars and take the listener home by unforeseen paths. A Raining Sun of Light and Love achieves this through the twisted hands and minds of its creators (these guys can actually play), and once you get past the Comus-inspired acoustic intro that’s oddly reminiscent of Ween’s “Squelch the Weasel,” the 45 minutes that follow traverse the annals of rock history like a roller coaster car with a grenade in it. Fat ELP organ runs explode into heavy Sabbath riffing while Rush-inspired time signatures signal the arrival of “Careful with That Axe Eugene”-era Pink Floyd. Feedback washes over Tuvan throat singing, roadside noise morphs into crickets, and bluesy slide guitar and wall upon wall of distortion fall on each of the four tracks like a monsoon, signaling the arrival of one of the most promising metal acts of 2007. ~ James Christopher Monger, Rovi

A Raining Sun of Light and Love $15.98 Brooklyn-based, semi-instrumental quartet Titan have been unleashing their unholy blend of neo-psychedelic rock and progressive stoner metal on homemade EPs (CD-R basement freakouts) for some time now, so the arrival of a full-length studio album is a cause for celebration. Like Boris, Comets on Fire, and Blue Cheer, Titan don’t concern themselves with genre boundaries. Heavily improvised cacophony can often become the audio equivalent of a traffic jam, but in the right hands it can transcend the endless line of cars and take the listener home by unforeseen paths. A Raining Sun of Light and Love achieves this through the twisted hands and minds of its creators (these guys can actually play), and once you get past the Comus-inspired acoustic intro that’s oddly reminiscent of Ween’s “Squelch the Weasel,” the 45 minutes that follow traverse the annals of rock history like a roller coaster car with a grenade in it. Fat ELP organ runs explode into heavy Sabbath riffing while Rush-inspired time signatures signal the arrival of “Careful with That Axe Eugene”-era Pink Floyd. Feedback washes over Tuvan throat singing, roadside noise morphs into crickets, and bluesy slide guitar and wall upon wall of distortion fall on each of the four tracks like a monsoon, signaling the arrival of one of the most promising metal acts of 2007. ~ James Christopher Monger, Rovi

Texas Bass Fishing Reports

Lake Amistad

 The water is clear and 70 – 74 degrees F. and 0.29′ high. Largemouth Bass are very good on crank-baits, top water, spinner-baits, and soft plastics. The Striped bass are good on large top water and Red Fins. White bass are fair on shallow running crank-baits. The Crappie are slow. Catfish are good on cheese-bait, shrimp, and night-crawlers in 2 – 10 feet. Yellow catfish are good on trotlines and droplines baited with live perch. Everyone in a boat must have a Mexico fishing license (if fishing the Mexico side) whether fishing or not.

Lake Conroe

 The water is fairly clear and 68 – 71 degrees F. and 2.01′ low. Largemouth Bass are fair on chartreuse/blue spinner-baits, crank-baits, and Rat L Traps in 5 – 15 feet. The Striped bass are slow. The Crappie are good on live minnows and Curb’s The Crappie jigs. Catfish are fair on stink-bait and shrimp.

Lake Falcon

 The water is stained and 78 – 82 degrees F.. Largemouth Bass are excellent on spinner-baits and crank-baits. The Striped bass are slow. The Crappie are good on jigs with grubs. Channel and blue catfish are very good on frozen shrimp and cut bait. Yellow catfish are slow. Everyone in a boat must have a Mexico fishing license (if fishing the Mexico side) whether fishing or not.

Lake Fork

 The water is fairly clear and 66–73 degrees F. and 3.37′ low. Largemouth Bass are good on square bill crank-baits, Texas rigs with Lake Fork Tackle Flippers, and BoHonk Echo Magic swimjigs. Females are on beds and/or cruising with more fish in a post spawn pattern. The Crappie are fair to good on live minnows and jigs. Catfish are good on cut shad over shallow mud flats.

Lake Sam Rayburn

 The water is lightly stained and 68 – 71 degrees F. and 8.36′ low. Largemouth Bass are good on soft plastic worms and lizards around shoreline grass in 1 – 4 feet, and on Carolina rigged lizards and French fries on main lake flats. The Crappie are fair on shiners and shad jigs around willows in 4 – 8 feet. Catfish are good on juglines baited with prepared bait.

Toledo Bend Lake

 The water is stained and 67 – 70 degrees F. and 7.75′ low. Largemouth Bass are fair on water melon Rat L Traps, crank-baits, and spinner-baits. The Striped bass are slow. White bass are good on Li’l Fishies and spoons in the river. The Crappie are fair on chartreuse jigs. Channel and blue catfish are good on trotlines baited with live bait. Yellow catfish are slow.

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Reports For Popular Texas Bass Fishing Lakes

Texas Bass Fishing Reports

Blues Bass

20oz. Foam Insulated Wide Body ThermoServ Mug – Blue $10.50 A good coffee mug is like a comfortable pair of Jeans or your favorite boots it just feels “right”. For years the 20 oz Wide Body mug was available at most Gas Stations and Convenience Stores. A few years ago they suddenly disappeared from the market and haven’t been seen since. Well, we found the mold and arranged for a special production run of mugs. The Thermoserv style mugs are great. They are…

Coleman 12-Piece Enamelware Dining Set (Blue) $26.99 12-Piece Enamelware Dining Set (Blue): – (4) 10″ Dinner plates - (4) 10oz Coffee mugs - (4) 6″ Mixing bowls…

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The Essential Johnny Cash $10.98 It’s a great and perhaps impossible challenge to encapsulate the highlights of Johnny Cash’s vast musical catalog in a two-CD, 36-song collection like this. Yet, though it barely scratches the surface, 2002′s The Essential Johnny Cash–part of a series of compilations and reissues celebrating Cash’s 70th birthday–does present three-dozen satisfying and balanced snapshots of some of the Man in Bla…

Baby Boy (Special Edition) $3.74 The story of a 20-year old African American man having a hard time growing up and facing life on the mean streets of L.A.Item Type: DVD MovieItem Rating: RStreet Date: 09/03/02Wide Screen: yesDirector Cut: noSpecial Edition: yesLanguage: ENGLISHForeign Film: noSubtitles: noDubbed: noFull Frame: noRe-Release: noPackaging: Sleeve…

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Mozart – Die Zauberflote [Blu-ray] $27.88 It’s hard to find a version of Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte that’s as well sung as this 2003 Covent Garden production. Led by the eminent Mozartian, Sir Colin Davis, orchestra and singers present a warm, often intense vision of the opera, not as the fairy tale it’s often taken for, but as a human drama of the passage from misguided beliefs to mature knowledge of self. Diana Da…

Soul Spectacular!: Celebrating 40 Years of R&B $3.90 WQED PITTSBURG and RHINO Attraction Present, Soul Spectacular! Celebrating 40 Years of R&B. Taped November 26 & 27, Heinz Hall, Pittsburgh, PA. Total 22 songs. This once-in-lifetime concert features the artists and songs we grew up, fell in love to, and have never forgotten….

My Best Friend’s Wedding [VHS] $0.01 One of the best romantic comedies of the 1990s, My Best Friend’s Wedding not only gave Julia Roberts a delightful vehicle for her crowd-pleasing comeback, but it further distinguished itself by avoiding the conventional plotting of the genre. Julia plays a prominent Chicago restaurant critic whose best friend (Dermot Mulroney) is a former lover from her college days with whom she’d made a binding …

Peltor 97010 Ultimate-10 Hearing Protector $25.99 Peltor Ultimate 10 Hearing Protectors protects your hearing from your biggest magnum gun. Those magnum rounds sure do pack a punch on ears. So protect them with Peltor Ultimate 10s they’re designed for use with large caliber and magnum rounds. And no other hearing protection manufacturer meets the needs of shooters quite like AOSafety Peltor. Fueled by over 40 years of experience, these Ultimate 1…

‘Round Midnight $11.99 Criminally unsung pianist and singer Andy Bey had the most visible career after he and his sisters Salome and Geraldine Bey broke up their performing trio after an 11-year run in 1967, but this family singing ensemble was far more than just the act that launched Andy, and he wasn’t really the focus of the group. All three siblings were highlighted equally in the trio, and their harmonies together were the ethereal kind that can only happen in a family where all involved have grown up hearing each other’s voices and phrasing every single day. The Bey trio recorded very little together, unfortunately, just a single album for RCA in 1961 and two albums for Prestige, Now! Hear!, released in 1964, and this one, ‘Round Midnight, from 1965. Part gospel, part muted R&B, part stylized blues, the Bey trio was also very much a jazz outfit, due in no small part to Andy’s underappreciated piano playing and the presence of bop veterans like Milt Hinton on bass, Osie Johnson on drums, and Kenny Burrell (who appears on about half of the tracks here) on guitar. In essence, the Bey trio sounded like a thinned-out and more jazzy, gauzy version of the Staple Singers. Highlights from this reissue, which is quite short (only around 33 minutes) by modern CD standards, are a wonderfully balanced version of Ray Charles’ “Hallelujah, I Love Her So,” a stirring take on Billie Holiday’s “God Bless the Child,” the ever expanding and ascending “Feeling Good,” and a fine rendition of the title track, Thelonious Monk’s “‘Round Midnight,” which has never been the easiest song in the world to sing effectively, but the trio nails it here in what might have been deemed a definitive version if it had actually been heard by more than a handful of people. Prestige released Andy Bey & the Bey Sisters in 2000, which includes both the trio’s albums for the label on one disc, and that is definitely the way to go, although this short set does do a decent job showing off the range and talents of thi…

(Re)Conception $19.98 Helen Sung has made great strides since winning the 2007 Mary Lou Williams Piano Competition. Recruiting two of the most in-demand rhythm players for this trio date, bassist Peter Washington and drummer Lewis Nash, the pianist mixes things up with fresh arrangements of standards, time-tested jazz compositions, and a few less frequently played works. Her swinging take of Duke Ellington’s “C Jam Blues” begins with a playful exchange with Washington before launching into the familiar theme, with the walking bass and light percussion propelling her inventive improvising as she avoids the clich? d route through this jazz standard. She also offers a snappy midtempo setting of the maestro’s “Everything But You,” playfully incorporating “Things Ain’t What They Used to Be” before she turns on the afterburners in her superb solo. Her punchy take of George Shearing’s “(Re)Conception” reveals the potential of this neglected bop gem. Thelonious Monk’s “Teo” is another overlooked piece, though Sung transforms it into a rapid-fire Bud Powell-flavored romp. Jerry Bock’s “Far from the Home I Love” (from the musical Fiddler on the Roof) is not typically heard much on jazz record dates, but Sung delivers a sentimental yet shimmering interpretation. Her bright rendition of Burt Bacharach’s “Wives and Lovers” puts the spotlight on the talented Washington for an extensive solo. Sung also contributed one original, the lively, constantly shifting “Duplicity.” Helen Sung is clearly one artist to watch among the musicians of her generation. ~ Ken Dryden, Rovi

1910 $16.98 1910 was the birth year of Django Reinhardt, the jaw-droppingly gifted guitarist and composer who is generally credited with inventing (or at least perfecting) a style of music now known as “Gypsy jazz.” Characterized by frenetic tempos and driving rhythms, Reinhardt’s music has thrilled listeners and inspired guitarists for nearly a century. The punningly named quartet Les Doigts de l’Homme are configured in the traditional Gypsy jazz manner (three guitars, one bass, no drums), and on 1910 pay explicit tribute to Reinhardt — but they are not slavish imitators, and they bring their own exuberant personalities (along with some of their own compositions) to this mixed program of standards, Reinhardt tunes, and new material. Traditionalists will find plenty to love here: the group’s takes on such potboilers as “Swing 48,” “I’ve Found a New Baby,” and the inevitable “Minor Swing” are respectful even as they gently expand the form’s normal harmonic vocabulary (check out those little tritone runs in the middle of “St. James Infirmary Blues”) and throw in bursts of joyfully virtuosic harmony lines. But as thrilling as Les Doigts de l’Homme are when playing at top speed, they really shine at slower tempos: they play “St. James Infirmary” like a New Orleans funeral band; “Indiff? rence” is a gentle and lovely waltz; their version of Reinhardt’s “Improvisation No. 2″ is heartbreakingly tender and sweet. Reinhardt has many acolytes, a good number of whom have learned all his licks and surpassed his tempos, but very few of them honor his memory the way Les Doigts de l’Homme do — by teasing out what matters most from his musical legacy and building upon it. This is not only an exciting and impressive album, but an unusually beautiful one as well. ~ Rick Anderson, Rovi

3 Fervent Travelers $12.99 Time for Three — fiddlers Zach DePue and Nick Kendall and standup bassman Ranaan Meyer — bill themselves as a genre-stretching, boundary-demolishing trio with a sound all their own. They do have impressive chops and Meyer, the main composer, has skills that draw on a wide range of music, but they’re not the only band in the land that’s blending classical, bluegrass, Gypsy jazz, and swing in its music. Groups like Leftover Salmon and the Hot Club of Cowtown explore similar territory, maybe without the classical European touches. That said, there’s still plenty of remarkable playing on 3 Fervent Travelers. “Wyoming 307″ opens the disc in a dark, droning, classical mode, then slowly evolves into a bluegrass barnburner with DePue and Kendall trading off sizzling lead lines and seguing directly into “Forget About It,” which continues the bluegrass-style mayhem with the fiddlers slipping up into their ear-tweaking higher registers, each playing a different variation on the melody while Meyer adds rhythmic accents on his bass. “Don Don” opens with a musical quote from “Jailhouse Rock,” then Kendall and DePue play an extended jazzy, Grappelli-meets-Bob Wills interlude, dropping out to give Meyer time for a brief solo before their Bill Monroe-meets-Monk finale. The violin accents on “Philly Phunk” live up to the tune’s title, while the solos range throughout the blues, jazz, country, and new music spectrum with unpredictable shifts in time, tempo, and timbre. They close the album with a classically influenced arrangement of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” that accents the tune’s solemn tone, despite the rippling violin triplets that accent the second chorus. They close with a jazzy version of “Orange Blossom Special” that features Meyer’s impressive bass work setting up the dueling fiddles of DePue and Kendall, playing at lightning speed and dropping Arab and Gypsy jazz accents into the mix. ~ j. poet, Rovi

61 and 49 $16.98 The sophomore release from guitarist Eldred along with Blasters members John Bazz on bass and drummer Jerry Angel is a rock ? em, sock ? em mix of high-octane rockabilly and rollicking blues drenched in Memphis soul. High-profile guests range from the late Ike Turner (on piano!) in one of his last recorded performances (Turner’s final album was also on the Zoho Roots label), Elvis guitarist Scotty Moore, Los Lobos co-founder Cesar Rosas, and ex-Fabulous Thunderbirds guitar wildman Kid Ramos. They make impressive contributions but this is Eldred’s show as he shifts from the sweet, Hendrix-inspired tone of the instrumental ballad “Ruby’s Blues” to the Chuck Berry/Stones rave-up of “Jimmy, Jimmy,” with Turner’s piano pounding like Jerry Lee Lewis in his prime. Rosas adds Latin flavor to the gospel strains of “This Old Train,” but “I Ain’t Comin’ Back” channels Stevie Ray Vaughan’s “Cold Shot” a little too closely for comfort. The recording is crisp, live sounding, and generally filled with sharp, original songwriting that takes some edgy, even extreme chances, such as on “Mr. Newman,” a song about a pedophile from his victim’s point of view. Not exactly the kind of subject matter you’d expect from a roots-rocking guitarist. That lyrical intensity is tempered by some straight-ahead Texas shuffling in the comparatively simplistic “Lookie Here” and the Ramos-enhanced “Louise.” Eldred unplugs and goes solo country-Delta for the Robert Johnson-styled title track, another change of pace in an eclectic album filled with them. The guitarist is a more than adequate singer too, and the fact that he penned all of these tunes, even as derivative as many of them are, shows he’s a triple talent as a player, vocalist, and songwriter. The two backing members create a palpable groove throughout, especially on the Booker T.-influenced instrumental “Ms. Gayle’s Chicken House,” making it obvious why they are given somewhat equal billing as a trio. Eldred’s articulat…

70 Concert $20.98 This European compact disc reissues Canned Heat’s Live Concert 70 (1971), which was released as Canned Heat Concert (Recorded Live in Europe) (1970) in the U.K.. The short-lived lineup heard here features Bob “The Bear” Hite (vocals), Alan “Blind Owl” Wilson (guitar/vocals/harmonica), Larry “The Mole” Taylor (bass), Aldolfo “Fito” de la Parra (drums), as well as Harvey Mandel (guitar), who had replaced Henry “Sunflower” Vestine (guitar). Arguably more significant, however, is that these are among the last gigs with Wilson. Sadly, less than six months later, he overdosed prior to the Heat’s fall 1970 European outing. The tour captured on this platter was spawned by the unanticipated success of the combo’s cover of Wilbert Harrison’s “Let’s Work Together” — taken off of the album Future Blues (1970) — which became their most successful side throughout Europe. With Mandel driving the band instrumentally, there is an incremental shift towards more jammed-out interaction and completely rearranged melodies. This is immediately exemplified by the loose and funky “That’s All Right Mama.” Alternately, Wilson’s dark visage is evident on the lonesome and harrowing “Pulling Hair Blues,” or the improvised “London Blues,” a number likewise marked by his biting bottleneck slide guitar solos and haunting off-key vocals. Although the track list portrays it as a medley, “Back on the Road Again” bears little in common with the “On the Road Again.” Rather than, at the very least, a verse from both songs being played, the latter is only alluded to. The live reading of “Let’s Work Together” is as vivacious as the original, with the Heat going all out for their appropriately appreciative audience. ~ Lindsay Planer, Rovi

A Lot of Bottle $14.99 This album starts out promisingly (and interestingly, and misleadingly) with a cool acoustic number, “Country Hat,” before the amplification gets cranked up and a lot of subtlety goes out the window. Still, this is generally an exciting album, if not always an interesting one. The band plays hard enough on grinding, crunchy shouters like “Reap What I’ve Sowed” (which features a wondering, soaring solo by Peter Haycock, and a spellbinding performance by Derek Holt on bass), which also parallels Mountain’s contemporary release “Mississippi Queen”; and they bring back in that oft-overlooked instrument, the saxophone (played by Colin Cooper), on “Brief Case.” Much of the rest is on the bland side, ” “Alright Blue?” being a tedious workout for the harmonica as lead instrument. A couple of Willie Dixon and Muddy Waters covers are more engaging than most of the originals that follow, until the pleasantly loose-limbed closer, “Cut You Loose.” ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi

Aaron Copland: Quiet City $18.98 Quiet City is anything but quiet, dull, or boring. Saxophonist Christopher Brellochs and his fellow musicians create an extremely enjoyable album of music by Copland and other American composers to whom they wish to give exposure. The title work is poignant, with the trumpet and clarinets contributing to the melancholy, somber mood: the musicians capture a sense of seriousness and quiet gravity that are at the same time accessible to the listener. When the music turns lively, Brellochs and the others are able to easily shift into that emotion, adding the bass clarinet for more color. Brellochs has done a good job both in his performing of the work and in its adaptation. The smoky, seductive Ballade by Ornstein is nocturnal in its feel and fits in nicely with the Copland. Especially exciting is Aldridge’s Sound Moves Blues, which is a nice contrast to the previous two pieces. It most certainly moves and swings like jazz. The addition of the violin makes for quite a stark contrast when the Lyric Suite by Hartley begins. Its dissonant introduction leads into beautiful tone colors in the saxophone and piano. The Scherzino whirls like a busy bee, and the piano never hits a false note in the flurry. One can certainly generalize that none of the musicians ever hit a false note, not even in the rapid dotted rhythms of the Gigue. The two-movement Sonata for soprano saxophone and piano is lyrical, with a graceful melody in the saxophone (which Paul Cohen plays as smoothly as a clarinet or flute). The musicians’ agility is especially evident in the second movement, which sounds like a jig; the piano is a solid, assured, confident partner to the sprightly saxophone. Composer Lunde clearly understood the way to get the best out of the tone color of each instrument. The album concludes with the Suite for trumpet, alto saxophone, and piano by Barab, a densely textured work of five movements with close-knit lines in the various instruments. The musicians work beautifully togethe…

Above All $14.98 Don’t let the murky sound quality, almost certainly a result of imperfect source tapes, fool you; Above All is an above-average slab of snotty garage psychedelia. The cloudy sound actually enhances the album in certain ways. The stab at “Da Blues” gives the song not exactly an authenticity but a grittiness that gives the performance the sound and texture of a live recording. The psychedelic cuts, on the other hand, have an enveloping claustrophobic sound that traps the listener beneath the music. While probably meant to be experienced under the influence of certain chemical enhancers, the music is trippy enough on its own to send the listener on a trip of sorts. That wouldn’t matter, of course, if the songs were not strong or were less than fully formed, but that is not the case. The album opens with a fuzzed-up version of Lieber and Stoller’s “Poison Ivy,” but the rest of the album is given over to standout originals by Stack, with lead guitarist Rick Gould penning five of the nine cuts. “Only Forever” is a power pop/psychedelic hybrid with some nice fuzz guitar by Gould, and Bob Ellis’ vigorous, potent drumming is perhaps the band’s secret weapon. Buddy Clark’s robust bass, too, is terrific and helps songs such as “Cars,” “Everyday,” and “Valleys” get completely inside the listener with uncommon force. On top of the psychedelic cacophony, Bill Sheppard’s vocals simply wail. Stack was obviously skilled, as their resum? bears out, and it is apparent through the subpar sound that the band could be quite powerful. Gear Fab’s CD is well worth hearing for fans of garage and psychedelia and may even qualify for the top echelon of unearthed psychedelic obscurities. ~ Stanton Swihart, Rovi

Acrobat: Music for, and by, Dmitri Shostakovich $16.98 Avant-garde bassist Michael Bates identifies the connection between the Stravinsky-influenced modern classical music of Shostakovich and his own free jazz tendencies on Acrobat: Music for, and by, Dmitri Shostakovich. Actually, only one track, the leadoff one, “Dance of Death,” is a Shostakovich composition, and that piece, as played by a group in which Bates is joined by Russ Johnson (trumpet), Chris Speed (clarinet, saxophone), Russ Lossing (acoustic and Fender Rhodes electric pianos), and Tom Rainey (drums), comes off in the style of Kurt Weill’s German period, as if it were a bit of incidental music from the score of The Threepenny Opera. On Bates’ compositions written for Shostakovich, the group can be playful, as is Speed’s clarinet on “Talking Bird,” and it can turn in a straight bebop performance, as it does on “Strong Arm,” which pairs Johnson’s trumpet with Bates’ bass in ascending and descending patterns, then follows with Lossing’s electric piano against Rainey’s busy drumming. “Some Wounds” is a slow blues with a mournful saxophone solo, while the equally melancholy “Fugitive Pieces” is more melodic and, as its title implies, more of a suite with sections strung together, including an unaccompanied clarinet solo. Later tracks, starting with “Silent Witness,” are more typical free works, with every man for himself, the only apparent agreement about how to play concerning tempo. Yet these are experienced musicians capable of giving such music the risky, exciting feeling of free jazz, in which things always seem about to fall apart entirely, but never do. What it all has to do with Shostakovich may be more inspirational than literal, but the composer’s reputation is only enhanced by an association with such inspired playing. ~ William Ruhlmann, Rovi