Warren Haynes Band - Live at the Moody Theater [2+1 CD, 2012/FLAC]

 

Singer and guitarist Warren Haynes has served in some of the most devoted, generation-spanning live acts of all time The Allman Brothers Band, The Dead and Gov’t Mule. As a solo artist, Haynes has done pretty well for himself, too. After the release of only his second solo studio album, Man in Motion, Haynes performed an epic live set in Austin, Texas full of old hits, new tracks, covers and special guest appearances.

The blazing 2.5-hour show features several cuts from Haynes’ GRAMMY-nominated solo release ‘Man In Motion’ as well as Hendrix’s “Spanish Castle Magic,” Steely Dan’s “Pretzel Logic,” Sam Cooke’s classic “A Change Is Gonna Come” & Warren’s live staple “Soul Shine” and more. Guests include the Groove Line horns and 2012 Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame inductee Ian McLagan of The Faces.

The Warren Haynes Band features a hand-picked band including R&B kingpins Ron Johnson on bass, Terence Higgins on drums, Nigel Hall on keyboards, Ron Holloway on saxophone and Alecia Chakour on vocals.

Broke, Black & Blue - An Anthology of Blues Classics and Rarities [4 CD, 1999/FLAC]

 Broke, Black & Blue delivers multiple surprises within its 100 songs of prewar blues. Arranged chronologically by Joop Visser, the set admirably covers the first 22 years of recorded blues, 1924 to 1946, from vaudeville and Delta to boogie-woogie and jump blues. It's a swell gift for anyone wanting to learn more about the history of blues. But old-timers will be pleased, too, as special attention has been paid to culling rare and idiosyncratic tracks by the well-known and the obscure. The first three discs present single tracks by artists as diverse as the Memphis Jug Band, De Ford Bailey, Tommy Johnson, Son House, Skip James, Peetie Wheatstraw, Lonnie Johnson, and Bukka White, alongside unknowns such as Isaiah "The Mississippi Moaner" Nelson, Barbecue Bob and Laughing Charley, Ed Andrews, Chicken Wilson, and Bumble Bee Slim. On the fourth disc, this convention is jettisoned to luxuriate in a series of very rare sides of lovely, oddly subdued boogie-woogie and jump blues by Jimmie Gordon, Johnny Temple, and Lee Brown.

VA - Where the Action Is ! Los Angeles Nuggets 1965-1968 [4 CD, 2010/FLAC]

 

Where the Action Is! Los Angeles Nuggets 1965–1968 is the fifth box set in Rhino Records' Nuggets series, released September 22, 2009. The set's four discs each focus on a different aspect of the underground rock music scene in and around Los Angeles at the end of the 1960s. The first disc, "On the Strip", features bands that rose out of the Sunset Strip scene; disc two, "Beyond the City", focuses on bands from the surrounding areas outside the city's borders; disc three, "The Studio Scene" covers bands' attempts to exploit the Los Angeles sound for a commercial audience; while disc four presents the movement away from psychedelic and garage rock towards the country rock sound which became popular in the city late in the decade. The boxed set was compiled and curated by Los Angeles native, Andrew Sandoval. On December 1, 2010 this project was nominated for a Grammy Award in the best Historical album category.

Creedence Clearwater Revival - 40th Anniversary Editions [7 CD, 2009]

 

CCR’s first six albums were reissued individually with bonus tracks, and this tidy case brings them all together with the addition of their seventh, 1972’s Mardi Gras, in facsimiles of the original vinyl release sleeves. Taken as a whole, the music offers a chronological account of consolidation, rather than any radical creative progression.

John Fogerty’s winning formula of uncomplicated riffs and melodies punctuated by rousing choruses briefly made Creedence the biggest-selling band in the world and, while each album has its merits, there are weak spots which should advise buyers that this is a box aimed squarely at completists.

Mardi Gras, as yet not reissued separately, is clearly the poorest relation, coming a full two years after its predecessor. Kid brother Tom Fogerty had left, while bassist Stu Cook and drummer Doug Clifford contribute lead vocals and songwriting for the first time – often to less than spectacular effect. Only the crunchy Sweet Hitch-Hiker and the mournful Someday Never Comes (both from JF’s pen) live up to previous glories, and the break-up followed soon after.

Scrapper Blackwell - Complete Recorded Works Vol.1 & 2 (1928-1958) [2 CD, 1994]

Scrapper Blackwell will always be best remembered for playing the guitar on a lengthy set of duets released under the name of pianist/singer Leroy Carr. His own solo recordings from the same era did not make him famous but they are certainly worthy. This set of CD's have all of Blackwell's dates as a leader from the era. Blackwell is showcased on unaccompanied solos, playing on one song apiece with singer Bertha "Chippie" Hill, Leroy Carr (though this time Blackwell is the vocalist and leader), Robinson's Knights of Rest (a trio also including clarinetist Arnett Nelson), and singer Teddy Moss, plus four songs backing the vocals of Black Bottom McPhail. Highlights include "Penal Farm Blues," "Mr. Scrapper's Blues," the two-part "Trouble Blues," "Be-Da-Da-Bum," "Hard Time Blues," and "Mix That Thing." Excellent music that shows just how underrated Scrapper Blackwell continues to be.