Dixie Krauser

This live CD captured a quite strong performance by the Dregs. You'll get straight rock and roll, country, fusion,some blues, and more… all performed incredibly tight by the band. In my opinion, The Dregs were one of the best ensembles out there, specially Guitar virtuoso Steve Morse, who can play any style in top form. He masters the instrument in an awesome way; even Steve Howe of Yes has expressed his admiration for his wide vocabulary, technique and feeling. Highly recommended.

In 1992, The Dixie Dregs reformed after a decade-long hiatus while various members pursued solo gigs. The Dregs were perhaps the truest form of fusion, mixing more than just jazz and rock; they threw in classical and bluegrass/country for good measure. The classic lineup booked a few gigs, with the exception of bassist Andy West. In his place is Steve Morse's bass virtuoso Dave LaRue, who is unquestionably more talented than Andy. The result is one of the best albums of fusion, live or otherwise.

The 11 performances that make up this collection were culled from The Band's Rock Of Ages (The Band In Concert) double-LP concert album, released in 1972.

Full Circle marks the Dregs' return to the recording studio after an absence of over a decade. The 1994 release also reunites the band with its original label, Capricorn Records. In fact, the music on Full Circle is pretty typical of the band's earlier Capricorn releases, with a few straight-ahead rockers (including the opener, "Aftershock"), a Texas swing tune ("Goin' to Town"), a semi-classical time signature shifter ("Pompous Signature"), a Baroque-ish guitar piece ("Yeolde"), and plenty of excellent musicianship throughout.

Hayseed Dixie established their gimmick on their debut album, in which they covered ten AC/DC tunes in bluegrass style, and five albums later they haven't gone out of their way to mess with their formula. Released in 2007, Weapons of Grass Destruction features the band bringing the twang to another batch of unlikely covers, running the gamut from the Beatles to Turbonegro, with the Scissor Sisters, the Sex Pistols, and Judas Priest sitting somewhere in between…..

If you are only going to get one Dixie Dregs album, this is the one I would suggest. It is easily the most prog of all of their albums, and, as usual, it has exceptional compositions and musicianship, a pristine example of the fusion sub-genre, combining elements of symphonic rock, bluegrass, jazz, and funk.