Paul Butterfield Live New York 1970

The Beautiful clean sound on this VINYL album is amazing. Considering it was recorded in 1970, it’s extremely amazing. Clean  sound on every instrument, and there’s plenty of musicians to get recorded here. In addition to Paul Butterfield on vocals & harmonica, you have David Sanborn (yes, that David Sanborn) on alto sax, Gene Dinwiddle on tenor sax (he also co-wrote “Love March” on side 4), Dennis Whitted on drums, Steve Madaio on Trumpet, Rod Hicks on bass (also wrote 2 songs on the album), Ralph Walsh on guitars, & Trevor Lawrence on baritone sax. The album starts with one of the best versions of “Born Under A Bad Sign” that I’ve ever heard. The album continues on an upward spiral from there. There are bass & drum solos, that I could’ve lived without, but, this WAS the way that the concert went.  The album was released by Butterfield’s son, Gabriel. Whether you’re a fan of Rock or Blues, you will love this album. I give this 5 out of 5 Music Guru Stars.

The Cranberries ~ Something Else

 

For a band that’s been around for awhile, I’ve never really sat down to listen to them. I have now. Delores O’Riordan’s vocals are amazing. The guitar playing is beautiful. Even when she’s singing about love lost, or other downer situations, the music & her vocals are upbeat. The songs on this album are mostly songs that you may know, but, like, the song “Linger”, this song is done differently. “Linger” is done acoustically. This song is the first single from the album. The second would be “Why?”. On this album, you’ll find 3 new songs. Guitarist Noel Hogan doing some great guitar work, while Mike Hogan on the bass with drummer Fergal Lawler keep the rhythm section going perfectly. I really like this album. You may too. I give this 5 out of 5 Music Guru Stars.

Bobby Kimball ~ We’re Not In Kansas Anymore

 

You may remember Bobby Kimball as the original vocalist for the band TOTO. The great vocalist who brought you “Hold The Line”, “I’ll Supply The Love”, “99”, “Rosanna”, “Africa” & so many more, does not let you down on this album. This solo album does feel a bit like Toto, but, yet quite a bit different. The opening track, “Too Far Behind” doesn’t really sound like his previous band, but jump to the next song, “On My Feet” & you can surely hear that Toto sound. There are moments of Toto, & there are songs that do not. All in all, this band is hot & so is the album. Another one for Best of 2017. This album gets 5 out of 5 Music Guru Stars.

Warrant ~ Louder Faster Harder

 

Warrant took the world by storm in the 1980’s. They’re back & better than ever. This album rocks from start to finish. There are a couple of slower songs, but they work for this incarnation of Warrant. Starting off strong & loud with the title track, then keep going that way until they get into the song “U In My Life”. This is certainly a 1980’s ballad. This should get radio airplay for sure…come to think of it, most of this album should. 1 song didn’t sound quite right, but 1 out of 11 songs is still an A+ in my book. This gets 5 out 5 Music Guru Stars.

Honey West ~ Bad Old World

 

This album starts off with a nice rockin’ song titled “The September Issue”. The band continues on with some great songs. Quite a bit of it seems to center around the songwriter’s love life. The really nice part about this album is the guitar has a really nice clean sound. In a rock band, you just don’t hear that. I like a good fuzz / sustain pedal but this band doesn’t need it. There was 1 song that could’ve used some more, but, if it’s not broken, why fix it. There is nothing fancy about the guitar playing, but, maybe that’s what works. This is a really good album. I rate this 4 out of 5 Music Guru Stars.

Commander Cody & His Lost Planet Airmen ~ Live From Ebbetts Field 1973

 

Another concert recording, this time, the recording was much better than the last review that I put up here of the Flamin’ Groovies. Since this concert took place in 1973, I was surprised that “Hot Rod Lincoln” wasn’t on this CD. There was many other good Commander Cody songs on there, but no “Hot Rod Lincoln”, which was a BIG hit by them. They did play “Smoke Smoke Smoke” which came out in 1973 & also, “Daddy’s Drinkin’ Up Our Xmas, & Diggy Liggy. They also do a few covers on this concert album. Do you want to hear a rare live recording of Commander Cody & his Lost Planet Airmen? Try this out. I give this 3.5 Music Guru Stars.

Flamin’ Groovies ~ Live 1971 San Francisco

 

This band made a name for themselves back in the 60’s – 70’s. This album doesn’t do them justice, however. The sound quality is not very good on this recording, however, back in 1971, unless you were recording from the soundboard for a record, this is usually the sound quality that you got. It seems like this was a bootleg of the band. The band do a lot of covers on this. They do “I Can’t Explain” (The Who), “Shakin’ All Over” (A blues song originally done by Johnny Kidd & The Pirates, then covered by the Guess Who, then live with The Who & more). Also, Louie Louie, & Walkin’ The Dog (Done by Rufas Thomas, Rolling Stones, Roger Daltrey, & Aerosmith). The Flamin’ Groovies started the Pre-Punk movement. The quality of the recording is not good. The performance is. I give this 3 Music Guru Stars, mostly for the quality of the tape.