The minor San Francisco group Lamb tend to be remembered only for their appearance on the Fillmore: The Last Days concert album, where they were one of several non-star artists on a set dominated by bigger names like the Grateful Dead, Santana, and Boz Scaggs. The band did actually put out three albums in the early '70s, however, and were quite an interesting group. Not only were they not readily comparable to other acts on the San Francisco rock circuit, but it's debatable whether they could be fairly categorized as a rock band at all. Their music blended jazz, folk, singer/songwriter pop, gospel, and even some classical and avant-garde influences. Certainly the dominant figure was singer Barbara Mauritz, whose bluesy and earthy vocals had considerable resonance, but which could also traverse the band's frequently mystical, poetic lyrics with much delicacy and nuance…
The minor San Francisco group Lamb tend to be remembered only for their appearance on the Fillmore: The Last Days concert album, where they were one of several non-star artists on a set dominated by bigger names like the Grateful Dead, Santana, and Boz Scaggs. The band did actually put out three albums in the early '70s, however, and were quite an interesting group. Not only were they not readily comparable to other acts on the San Francisco rock circuit, but it's debatable whether they could be fairly categorized as a rock band at all. Their music blended jazz, folk, singer/songwriter pop, gospel, and even some classical and avant-garde influences. Certainly the dominant figure was singer Barbara Mauritz, whose bluesy and earthy vocals had considerable resonance, but which could also traverse the band's frequently mystical, poetic lyrics with much delicacy and nuance…
Though it appears in the aftermath of their dissolution in 2014, and the deaths of both actual Allman brothers, Duane and Gregg, this 50th anniversary retrospective box set is arguably the only career overview of the band one can call representative. Arranged over ten LPs or five compact discs, Trouble No More examines in depth each incarnation and stage of the pioneering rockers. It convincingly formulates the argument that no other American band accomplished more musically (especially live) by seamlessly marrying rock, blues, jazz, and R&B to each other and to extended improvisation. This set compiles 61 Allman Brothers Band classics, live performances, and rarities – including seven previously unreleased tracks – all painstakingly remastered, with and a hefty 88-page book full of photos and a lengthy historical essay by ABB historian John Lynskey that recaps all 13 incarnations of the band's lineup.
Boz Scaggs. Mötley Crüe. Steely Dan. Bryan Adams. George Martin. Michael Jackson. Quincy Jones. P!NK. Aretha Franklin. Miles Davis. The Doobie Brothers. Stevie Nicks. Dolly Parton. Jessie J. Cher. Rod Stewart. Tina Turner. Michael McDonald. Joan Baez. Ray Charles. Elton John. Barbra Streisand… and countless others. If you’ve listened to music in the last 50 years, including any of the iconic artists above, you were hearing David Paich. Music is the soundtrack of our lives, and David is one of its architects.
The session work with other players here isn't quite as good as the material on the first anthology, but An Anthology, Vol. 2 does feature a live cut by Delaney & Bonnie, plus a pair of what were then previously unissued Allman Brothers Band live tracks (among them "Midnight Rider" from the Fillmore East in June 1971)…
For the most part, another easy-going trip to the mellower side of contemporary blues, Robinson's jazzy tone and buttery vocals applied to a couple of his '50s-era numbers ("Crazy Crazy Lovin'" and "Schoolboy") along with some intriguing new iteams and Lowell Fulson's mournful "Sinner's Prayer." Tasty backing helps too. His Japanese fans reverently dubbed Fenton Robinson "the mellow blues genius" because of his ultra-smooth vocals and jazz-inflected guitar work. But beneath the obvious subtlety resides a spark of constant regeneration – Robinson tirelessly strives to invent something fresh and vital whenever he's near a bandstand.
Though Chris Rea has been around for nearly 25 years now, it's good to go back to his beginnings as a songwriter and guitarist who carved out a niche for himself with a late-night brand of very British formalist rock & roll that owes as much to J.J. Cale as it does to Dire Straits. But it's the late-night sound that is his trademark and it was in evidence on this, his very first outing. He has help from drummer Dave Mattacks, keyboardist Pete Wingfield, percussionist Ray Cooper, bassist Dave Paton, and a host of other dignitaries.
It hasn't been hard to notice that Reba McEntire's usually reliable stream of number one hits has slowed lately. But So Good Together re-examines McEntire's artistry and puts fans back in touch with the Reba we know and love. No one sings emotion better than McEntire, and the relaxed warmth of her voice produces one of the finest vocal performances she's bestowed on listeners since before Starting Over. So Good Together's first release, the introspective "What Do You Say," has been making its way up the charts in glowing Reba style.
It shouldn't come as a surprise to any fan of Nick Moss that a band signed to his Blue Bella label and produced by him would have a gritty, tough and raw approach similar to his own. The Chicago-based five-piece Kilborn Alley Blues Band recorded its first album in only three days, so the feel of Put It in the Alley is as immediate and uncompromising as a live show. Songs shift moods from the basic, stripped down Windy City blues of "The Blues Takes Me In" to the Southern-fried R&B of "Thousand Miles." Lead singer/guitarist/frontman Andrew Duncanson sounds somewhat like a cross between Wet Willie's Jimmy Hall and early Boz Scaggs, using his soulful croon to soften the attack of the band's gruffer sound. But it's harp player Joe Asselin, who has surely listened to his Little Walter albums, that adds feral heat, especially on the seven-minute slow blues "The Breakaway." All but one of the songs is original, and although none of them reinvent the blues wheel, they are all solid vehicles for the band to lay into.