Buddy Miles

Buddy Miles was not only a great soul singer, and all-around music men, he was also one of the best drummers ("The Baddest Of The Bad") of an era. He was a founder member of the Electric Flag and played the drums on Jimi Hendrix best-selling album Electric Ladyland. Live is a tour de force of funk drenched rock and soul. The intro is a manic reading of "Joe Tex" and "Take It Off Him And Put It On Me" followed by a killer version of Neil Young's "Down By The River". The album closes with a rousing reading of "Them Changes" and a funky "We Got to Live Together," almost unrecognizable from the earlier version that Miles recorded with Hendrix.

It’s safe to say that there is no other recording in the catalog of drummer and vocalist Buddy Miles like this one. Recorded in 1974 and produced by the great Johnny Bristol, this places Miles in a strictly soul setting with some funky backdrops in places – thanks to the arrangements by H.B. Barnum – and while it never rocks, it rolls throughout.

During his brief yet legendary career, the albums released during Jimi Hendrix's lifetime could be broken down into two categories – psychedelic hard rock and funk/soul rock. The latter style could be pinpointed to the 1970 release Band of Gypsys, a live recording which saw Hendrix hook up with old pals Billy Cox (guitar) and Buddy Miles (drums), and shy away from the pyrotechnics of his early days in favor of heavy jamming. Thirty-six years after the release of the Band of Gypsys' lone album comes a follow-up, Band of Gypsys Return, on which Hendrix's shoes are filled by such players as Eric Gales, Kid Rock's Kenny Olson, and Guitar World Magazine's Andy Aledort, among others.