Pick of the month: Black Crowes The Broadcast Collection '90 - '93 5CD box set

 

Artist: Black Crowes

Title: The Broadcast Collection ’90 – ’93 (Sound Stage SS5CDBOX52)

Venue: (disc 1) Trump Plaza Hotel, Atlantic City, NJ August 24, 1990 plus 3 tracks from The Cabaret, San Jose, CA November 3, 1990 (disc 2) Greek Theater, Los Angeles, CA June 15, 1991 (disc 3) World Broadcast Special, July 5, 1992. Although not listed, recorded at Southern Track Studios in Atlanta, GA. Radio program to promote The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion release (disc 4 & 5) Sam Houston Coliseum, Houston, TX Feb. 6, 1993

Tracklist: (disc 1) Twice As Hard/ Kick The Devil Out of Me/ Sister Luck/ Jealous Guy/ Hard To Handle/ Could I’ve Been So Blind/ You’re Such A Pity/ Stare It Cold/ Jealous Again/ Encore break/ Struttin’ Blues/ Honky Tonk Woman/ Thick and Thin/ You’re Wrong/ She Talks To Angels (disc 2) Thick and Thin/ You’re Wrong/ Stare It Cold/ Seeing Things (w/ Jellyfish)/ Sister Luck/ Hard To Handle/ Could I’ve Been So Blind/ Shake It Down> Get Back> Walk With Jesus/ radio announcer encore break/ She Talks To Angels/ Dreams/ Jealous Again (disc 3) Intro & Chris interview/ Black Moon Creeping/ Twice As Hard/ Hotel Illness/ Chris Interview/ Seeing Things/ No Speak No Slave/ Chris interview and outro (disc 4) No Speak No Slave/ Sting Me/ Hard To Handle/ My Morning Song> jam/ Thorn In My Pride/ Bad Luck Blue Eyes Goodbye/ Twice As Hard (disc 5) Black Moon Creeping/ Thick And Thin/ Hotel Illness/ Stare It Cold/ Three Little Birds/ Sometimes Salvation/ Jealous Again/ Remedy

Sound Quality: excellent (9-10), most likely sourced from off-air master cassettes and transcription CDs. Disc 1 claims to be from an NPR broadcast, but it is actually from WMMR, Philadelphia’s long standing rock powerhouse, as indicated by the DJ comments, quite possibly with a live feed to other affiliated stations around the U.S.

Cover: Well designed glossy clamshell box with equally well-designed individual sleeves inside with an 8-page booklet containing decent (and original) liner notes. An unfortunate oversight being that, besides on the disc one cover, long time bass player Jonny Colt is not listed among the musician credits.

Comments: We’ve got a winner! As far as I can ascertain, nothing here has been pulled from any official source, a problem that seems increasingly prevalent among the latest incarnation of live release specialists taking advantage of European loopholes. Sound Stage may not have located the rarest of material, but they surely have found some excellent sources. 

Disc one starts off with a bang, finding the Crowes riding high on the phenomenal chart success of their debut album and a couple of hit singles (so far). Def American Recordings would continue to mine the album for more singles and radio play throughout 1990 and 1991, 4 in all. “Jealous Again,” their first, would reach Number 5 on the Billboard charts, “Hard To Handle,” the follow-up would reach number 1 in 1990. “Twice As Hard” peaked at number 11 and “She Talks to Angels” would become their second number 1. Quite an accomplishment for a debut LP. The band worked the road hard. With only one album to draw on, they extended their sets with unrealized originals and covers, of which the Atlantic City show features plenty (“Kick The Devil Out of Me,” “”Jealous Guy,” “You’re Such A Pity,” “Struttin’ Blues,” and a rousing rendition of “Honky Tonk Woman” to close out the show. The 3 cuts from San Jose include “You’re Wrong,” the seed for what would become “Sting Me” on their next album. 

The following year, at the Greek Theater, they would stick to album tracks before establishing a foot in the jam band genre with a medley of “Shake It Down> Get Back> Walk With Jesus” and the Allman Brother’s “Dreams” as one of 3 encore tunes.

Anticipation was high for a new album, but with a heavy tour schedule, it would still be another year before their second LP, The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion – an album recorded in 8 days and released with great fanfare across the world with a broadcast originating from an Atlanta, Georgia studio. This broadcast is featured on disc 3 with the studio album tracks faded out into snipits. (No way those could be included, even under lax European law.) The disc consists of interviews with Chris Robinson sandwiched around a short 5-song live set (included)  The interviews are revelatory, Robinson mapping out the bands attitudes and career path for the next 2 ½ decades with what turned out to be a high degree of accuracy. As for the live set, “Twice As Hard,” from the first album has grown into a significantly longer opus, complete with extended guitar and organ breaks. Marc Ford had replaced Jeff Cease as second guitarist and keyboardist Eddie Harsch was now a fully integrated into the band. Don’t pass this disc over to avoid the interview segments. It’s all great.

Southern Harmony picked up where Shake Your Money Maker left off with 4 singles, all reaching number one on the Top 40 charts. The band soldiered on with the roadwork, now with two albums of material and twice as many hits that crowds demanded. The jams became longer, but the cover tunes became scarcer. “Amorica,” the bands third LP (1994) would cure that problem. Although 3 singles were released, none of them topped the U.S. charts and the album was hampered from the beginning with production disagreements (it was salvaged from a different rejected release called Tall). To further complicate matters, the band chose to use a photo of a young lady’s mid-section clad only in a micro bikini made from stars & stripes fabric, complete with visible pubic hairs. The mainstream retailers howled and refused to stock it. A concession was made by blacking out the entire cover – all except the bikini. Album sales dropped. Drastically. True to the words Chris Robinson spoke on that disc 3 interview, making money for big corporations was never intended to be the band’s career path. Partying onstage with a bunch of like-minded fans was. And if sibling rivalries interrupted the process now and then (also mentioned in the interview) so be it. And, damn if that isn’t the way it worked out. [Bill Glahn]

Bonus view: "You're Wrong" live at Toad's Place, New Haven, CT 4/30/91

Parliament-Funkadelic & Stoneground: Two music collectives receive live CD releases

Live CDs: Short Reviews

[This time around, we take a look at a couple live CDs that feature bands that can more accurately be described as “collectives” – groups that contained a multitude of members floating in and out (and back in again) with great frequency and interchangeable parts. Community collaboration, so to speak. Reviews by Bill Glahn] 

Artist: Parliament/Funkadelic

Title: Detroit 1977 (Rox Vox RVCD2122)

Venue: Other than the title, none given. Rox Vox is not known for accurate information. The tracklist suggests it’s a show in support of the Funkentelechy vs. the Placebo Syndrome album, which was released on November, 28, 1977. Two dates have been suggested as a source, a New Year’s Eve (77/78) radio broadcast or April 1, 1978 at Cobo Arena in Detroit.

Cover: 8 page booklet and tray card. An unaccredited article from the September 11, 1977 issue of The Detroit Free Press is reprinted with photos (also unaccredited) in the booklet.

Tracklist: Funkentelechy/ Jam/ Cosmic Slop>Jam/ Mothership Connection>Jam/ Swing Down Sweet Chariot/ Flashlight>Jam

Sound Quality: Probably a radio broadcast as advertised but a high generation tape source. Shrill thin sound at the beginning, but improves significantly by Cosmic Slop. It never, however, gets to anything resembling master tape quality, no mater how much “digital remastering” is applied. (3-7)

Comments; There is no doubt that this was recorded in Detroit, as verified by George Clinton’s comments to the crowd. P-Funk were Detroit-based and performed frequently there. Saving “Flashlight” for the closing number suggests that the April 1, 1978 date is closer to accurate – not 1977 at all. “Flashlight” was the band’s first #1 single on the R&B charts and reached #16 on the Top 40 chart. Which makes this release a good companion piece to the official Live: P-Funk Earth Tour, which documented the previous year’s tour.

No musician credits are given for this show. The great Eddie Hazel, so instrumental in introducing the groups “psychedelic” element, was off working on a solo album at this time and is not present on this line-up. But long-time P-Funk guitarist and child prodigy, Michael Hampton is a more than capable substitute. Although Bootsy Collins had already formed Bootsy’s Rubber Band, he was still part of the P-Funk collective, as were the key members Jerome Brailey (drums), Bernie Worrell (keyboards), and James Brown alumni, Fred Wesley and Maceo Parker (horns). 

This particular recording has received several bootleg releases under different titles – all attributing it to “Detroit 1977” with no other specifics. The assumption here is that it is basically the same group that recorded Funkentelechy.

The show is a dynamic one, hitting on past glories and their then current assault on the mainstream airwaves. It would wind up being both the group’s apex and foundation for long term cult popularity that exists to this day. If the “classic rock” radio format had any self-respect Parliament/Funkadelic would be a staple on radio, but when’s the last time you heard one of their tracks while cruising down the highway? Perhaps the Afro-centric space-trek themes in their philosophy (yes, PF had a philosophy) are just too much for the folks who lay out the massively white play lists that frequent that format. But they’re selling their audience short. For the past several decades George Clinton & the P-Funk All-stars have continued to play in front of large and racially diverse audiences. It’s a collective thing. Journalists take note. The bootleggers already have.

Grade: C+ (downgraded a full point for sound quality)

Artist: Stoneground

Title: Live In Haight-Ashbury 1971 (Keyhole KHCD 9067)

Venue: KSAN Studios, March 1971

Cover: 8 page booklet and tray card with unaccredited photos and, curiously, a review of a short Hyde Park concert (London) from the pages of the UK music publication Melody Maker, September 19th, 1970 predating the band’s first album by almost 7 months.

Tracklist: It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes a Train To Cry (instrumental version)/ Stroke, Stand/ DJ Babble/ If You Gotta Go, Go Now/ DJ Babble/ Dreaming Man/ DJ Babble/ Come Back Baby/ DJ Babble/ Don’t Waste My Time With Your Jive/ Added Attraction/ DJ Babble/ Brand New Start/ DJ Babble/ Great Change (mistitled “Strange Change”)/ DJ Babble/ Bad News/ Roll On Elijah/ Gypsy Lover/ Colonel Chicken Fry/ Total Destruction of Your Mind/ Corrina/ Rainy Day In June/ Have You Seen My Baby/ DJ Babble

Sound Quality: very good low generation off-air recording (8-9)

Comments: Up until the early-60s, Warner Bros. Records was primarily an intellectual property holder, set up to reap dividends from the songs used in their movies and television productions. Among their publishing holdings were the works of George and Ira Gershwin and an as-yet undiscovered songwriter named Bob Dylan (Witmark Publishing). But their actual output aimed at the popular recording market was limited to vocal/spoken word albums by artists already under contract to the film division (Edd Byrnes, Connie Stevens), comedy albums (Bob Newhart), soundtracks, TV theme albums, and “safe” music for stodgy audiences (Henry Mancini). In fact, the label was so noted for putting out dogs in the burgeoning rock ‘n’ era that they were in no danger of breaking new markets, or competing for space on the single or album charts. Or making money, for that matter. There was an attempt to sign already established stars like the Everly Brothers (who continued to have hits) and Bill Haley (who did not).

Bob Newhart became their biggest star and best income source. With a new influx of executives in 1961, Warner Brothers became a little more inventive in chasing the charts, but not too inventive. Albert Grossman, Warner’s partner in the Witmark deal, held auditions for a new folk group and Peter, Paul and Mary were born, promptly fed a dose of Bob Dylan songs, and the company began making headway. They still looked for comedy albums as their ticket to cutting their losses, though, with best-selling albums by Allan Sherman and Bill Cosby. The biggest coup, however, may have been the purchase of Frank Sinatra’s Reprise label, which brought label manager Mo Ostin into the fold. Finally Warner Brothers had somebody capable of reading the rapidly developing musical landscape. Buying up U.S. distribution deals of several overseas artists, Reprise had instant credibility for it’s rock ‘n’ roll roster with the addition of the likes of The Kinks and Jimi Hendrix. The parent company did likewise, entering a distribution deal with Pye Records, which allowed them to steal away Petula Clark from Laurie Records just in time for her biggest hit, “Downtown”. 

Other key employees brought into the fold by Warner Bros., were art director Ed Thrasher and head of A&R Lenny Waronker who had worked at a small San Francisco label called Autumn Records, co-owned by impresario (DJ, artist manager, label exec, and to use a modern term, “influencer”) Tom Donahue. Add to that, Andy Hickman, the companies “resident hippie,” who procured the talents of some of the labels best selling artists (Jethro Tull, Van Morrison, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young), and the record division was no longer the poor sister of the film division. In fact, the film division was looking to the record label to improve its diminishing success. Hoping to capitalize on the music counterculture, WB Pictures suggested a hippy caravan across the country as a project called Medicine Ball Caravan (WB was manufacturer and distributor for Frank Zappa’s Bizarre/Straight label and Alice Cooper was included on the tour – which lead to another important signing for the label). This is where the Stoneground story begins.

In 1970e Tom Donahue was managing the band, a three piece fronted by hot-shot guitarist Danny Barnes, but which often included a collective of other San Francisco musicians and singers in their concerts. Donahue suggested that Sal Valentino, the singer for Autumn Records' defunct band (but Autumn’s greatest success), the Beau Brummels, join Stoneground as lead singer and put them on the road as the house band for the MBC project. By the time the tour was over, Stoneground was a 10-piece unit with 7 different lead vocalists, mixing gospel, soul, and folk songs – all delivered with a hard-edged rock sound.

But before their first release there was a soundtrack album for the movie, featuring a glimpse of Stoneround live. Stonegrounds “Freakout/ It Takes a Lot To Laugh, It takes a Train To Cry” medley proved to be a great preview of the band’s explosive live set, with Annie Sampson (one of four female vocalists in the band by this time) giving a full-on orgasmic performance to what, basically is a jam in structure, which blends into the more structured, but no less rocking, Dylan tune, fronted by both Sampson and Valentino.

In between the caravan’s conclusion and their first album release, Stoneground would make an appearance on the BBC and continue to perform around their East Bay home base. As members of the greater San Francisco metro area, they continued to be community supporters in an area that was desperately sinking into hard times after the utopian hippie dreams following the “Summer of Love.”

Live In Haight-Ashbury 1971 features Stoneground performing at a KSAN radiothon to raise funds for a desperately needed free health clinic to assist in the influx of young people from around the country, who came ill-equipped to deal with the realities of capitalism’s diametrically opposed view to utopianism. Capitalism was eating them alive with increasing real estate values and few jobs, leaving many homeless, sick, and drug addicted.

As a fundraiser, you get all the problems with this CD that you would encounter with any studio-based fundraising performance – the constant interruption of hosts who are there to encourage donations while the artists are there to draw an audience. In this case, it happens between every song. Although the track listing would suggest that there are fewer interruptions towards the end of the show, there are not. I think that whoever mastered the disc just got tired of making a separate track for “DJ babble” after “Bad News.”

The upside far outweighs any complaint. The songs all near completion before the DJs enter the picture and they are fine performances. As usually the case, Stoneground’s live repertoire far exceeds their studio output. They start the set with “It Takes A Lot To Laugh,” a staple of their live shows that would get an encore performance after MBC on their second album, Family – a two record set that was mostly recorded live. This time, though, the techs hadn’t placed Valentino’s mic into the mix yet and it serves only as a soundcheck or intro music. With the exception of “Looking For You,” the entirety of their first album (released a few weeks after this performance), get live renditions here. Other tracks, such as the great rendition of Swamp Dogg’s “Total Destruction of Your Mind,” were already mainstays of their live set and would appear on the live portion of Family. As with the record, if features a rotating group of lead singers, 7 in all.

All in all, Live in Haight Ashbury 1971 offers the winning combination of being mastered from a low generation tape of high quality and solid performances. There is only 1 other Stoneground bootleg that I am aware of, but you have to go back to the early days of vinyl for that and it’s impossible to find. It’s good to see the modern era of broadcast releases (on CD anyway, not so much on vinyl) taking some chances with lesser known, but equally deserving, artists.

Grade: A- 

 

Pirate Alert: Doors Love Hides Live In Pittsburgh

 

The Doors Love Hides Live In Pittsburgh 2 May 1970 (Radio Looploop RLL031)

[review by Bill Glahn]

Venue: Pittsburgh Civic Arena, Pittsburgh, PA May 2, 1970

Cover: Single pocket jacket with close up of Jim Morrison on the front, a grainy live shot of band on back with track listing

Sound quality: excellent

Tracklist: (side one) Back Door Man/ Love Hides/ Five To One/ Roadhouse Blues (side two) mystery Train/ Away In India/ Crosroads Blues/ Universal Mind (side three) When The Music's Over/ Break On Through/ The Soft Parade Vamp (side four) Someday Soon/ Tonight You're I(n For A Special Treat/ Close To You/ Light My Fire

Comments: Despite the assertion in the lower right hand corner of the front cover that this is sourced from a Westwood One broadcast, it is no such thing. America's biggest syndicator didn't exist until 1976. Nice try Radio Looploop, but you're not fooling anyone except, maybe, the pressing plants in the UK (where certain radio broadcasts are fair game). What this presents is a vinyl release lifted directly from the 2008 Rhino/Midnight Archives CD release, Live In Pittsburgh 1970 with different artwork. Even the sometimes subjective track titles are lifted straight from that release.

The performance is is a fine one - the Doors had been recording dates on this tour for their first live album, Absolutely Live, an album that may well have been live, but is also highly edited from various dates. Recording for that album ceased on May 8, 1970 which puts Live In Pittsburgh in the right time frame, although none of the recordings here were ultimately used on the 1970 release. The result is an excellent recording of a more historically accurate live performance by the band.

With so much unreleased material by a multitude of deserving bands, Love Hides goes against any cogent argument that bootleg collectors (such as myself) raise. This isn't something that "superfans" desire to fill in the gaps left by official record companies. Rhino/Midnight Archives have already filled that gap. Doors fans will not need this. Vinyl fetishists might.

Grade: F

Back Pages: Rory Gallagher Roll The Tapes!

 

Back Pages: Roll The Tape – Rory Gallagher, The Last Irish Bluesman [Reviews by Rev. Keith A. Gordon, Feb. 1999 edition of Live! Music Review, available on the Internet for the first time.]

Venue: The Hippodrome, London, UK March 17, 1974

Source: 72 minute audience cassette, performance (7), sound quality (6)

Tracklist: Hands Off/ What In The World/ Walk On Hot Coals/ Bottle Of Gin/ Race The Breeze/ Voodoo Blues/ Bullfrog Blues/ Tattoo’d Lady/ Back On My Stomping Ground/ Who’s That Coming

Comments: Although no one can say with any certainty that extraordinary blues guitarist Rory Gallagher, had he lived, would be afforded the same sort of “elder statesman” status as Eric Clapton enjoys today, he certainly deserves better than the obscurity that threatens to envelope him. A young sixties blues prodigy along the lines of “Slowhand” Clapton, Jimmy Page, Peter Green or Jeff Beck, the Ireland-born Gallagher was the first to create a sensation as the frontman for the British blues trio, Taste, recording a couple of critically acclaimed albums and performing a legendary set at the Isle of Wight Festival 1970 after the band’s equipment had been stolen. After Taste broke up amid mismanagement and strained relations, Gallagher embarked on a solo career that ran from 1971 until his death in 1995.

Gallagher hit his stride in 1973, with the release of two solid albums, Blueprint and Tattoo. It was during this period that Gallagher would see his closest brush with American stardom, enjoying immense critical acclaim and a fair degree of commercial acceptance throughout the decade. Although he remained a big name in much of Europe, and a literal conquering hero in Ireland and Scotland, Gallagher never really got the big break that would ensure his legend on this side of the big pond.

This 1974 show, from the Hippodrome in London, is typical of the sets Gallagher was performing at the time, similar to the performance he would eventually capture with Irish Tour ’74, the second of several live discs that Gallagher would release during his lifetime. This London show kicks off with the announcer introducing Gallagher and “Hands Off,” a blusey number from Blueprint. It was during this period that Gallagher, with four solo albums under his belt, would begin what would be a welcome tradition. Whereas many artists (still) only perform songs from their latest releases, with maybe an older hit song or two thrown in for good measure, Gallagher would kick out the jams with whatever song struck him in the moment. Some, like Blueprint’s “Walk On Hot Coals” or Tattoo’s classic “Tattoo’d Lady,” both performed here with a great deal of  elan, would become live staples, as would classics like “Bullfrog Blues,” here provided a rousing performance. Other songs, such as the southern-fried soul of “Race The Breeze” or “Back On My Stomping Ground,” with it’s careful bottleneck riffs, were performed by Gallagher only sporadically.

This Hippodrome performance has also been released on CD as Bottle of Gin, and it is a wonderful showcase of Gallagher’s talents and a great place to begin for the novice collector. It was during this era that Gallagher tried his hardest to break through to mass acceptence, releasing an album every year  (sometimes two, considering live discs) and playing such high-profile projects as Muddy Waters and Jerry Lee Lewis’ individual 1973 London Sessions albums, impressing the blues godfather Waters so much that the legendary artist called upon Gallagher’s talents again the following year for his London Revisited album. It was also during this period that Gallagher was rumored to be Mick Taylor’s replacement in the Rolling Stones.

 

Venue: My Father’s Place, Roslyn, NY, September 7, 1979

Source: 80 minute audience, performance (8), quality (7)

Tracklist: Shin Kicker/ Last of the Independents/ Moonchild/ Mississippi Sheiks/ Tattoo’d Lady/ Too Much Alcohol/ Pistol Slapper Blues/ Shadow Play/ Bought & Sold/ Walk On Hot Coals/ Messin’ With The Kid/ Bullfrog Blues/ Sea Cruise

Comments: Gallagher’s 1979 tour was ostensibly in support of his latest album, Top Priority. But in keeping with his tradition, the setlists seemed to draw as much or more so from the previous year’s Photo Finish as it did from his new album. Top Priority proved to be Gallagher’s last flirtation with commercial success in the U.S., and although it is remembered as one of his artistic high points, by no means did it represent the end of the Irish guitarist’s creativity or a weakening of his musical abilities. 

Kicking off with the rowdy “Shinkicker,” a Photo Finish cut, this set at My Father’s Place offered the audience a mix of the old and the new. “Last of the Independents” is a typical rocker, Gallagher’s red hot guitar blazing through the now-familiar chords. An acoustic reading of J. B. Hutto’s “Too Much Alcohol” proved eerily prophetic, as it would be the drink that would eventually kill the hard-living rocker.

Another classic blues tune, Blind Boy Fuller’s “Pistol Slapper Blues,” receives a reverent rendering from Gallagher, who cranks it up a notch or two afterwards with high-octane performances of “Shadow Play,” “Bought And Sold,” and “Walk On Hot Coals,” a crowd pleasing favorite from Blueprint. Gallagher tries to close with “Messin’ With The Kid,” a boisterous boogie tune showcasing some wickedly soulful bottleneck playing. By the end of the song, Rory is having so much fun that he jumps into the traditional blues, “Bullfrog Blues,” that song itself running into a manic cover of the fifties hit “Sea Cruise,” Gallagher leaving the club patrons on a decidedly high note.

Venue: The Apollo, Glasgow Scotland May 29, 1982

Source: 80 min. FM broadcast, performance (9), sound quality (7) – somewhat low but clear sounding, sharp definition on vocals and guitar

Tracklist: Brute Force & Ignorance Double Vision/ Moonchild/ Out On A Western Plain/ Philby/ The Devil Made Me Do It/ Wayward Child/ Nuthin’ But The Devil/ Tattoo’d Lady/ Ride On Red/  Jinxed/ Secret Agent/ Left Me The Mule/ Shadow Play/ Shin Kicker/ Last Of The Independents

Comments: By ’82 Gallagher has already passed his commercial peak in the United States and with the scene dominated by blustery punk and vacuous “new wave” there was no room for an authentic bluesman. He still managed to thrill loyal audiences with dynamic live shows and top notch playing, however, appealing to both blues purists and hardcore rockers alike. Touring in support of a new album, Jinx- which was to be his last release for almost 5 year – Gallagher literally rocked the house, playing to a sympathetic Scottish crowd, the show broadcast by Radio Glasgow.

Several of the songs caught on this tape illustrate Gallagher’s skills as a guitarist and performer. By the third song in the set, the popish “Moonchild,” Gallagher had the crowd in his hand. The Morricone-influence “Out On A Western Plain” saw the audience engaged in a bit of the old “call and response.” A beautiful mesmerizing intro leads into “Philby,” an underated track from 1979’s Top Priority LP. Another fantastic extended intro comes across closer to a Middle Eastern raga than a blues riff, but it leads into “The Devil Made Me Do It,” a rollicking boogie number from Jinx. “Nothing But The Devil” is a lengthy blues romp, the crowd favorite “Tattoo’d Lady” receives its usual raucous treatment and some molten heavy metal surf riffs open up “Secret Agent,” a power blues song. An extended Gallagher jam on “Left Me The Mule” leaves the audience drained for the closing trio of familiar Gallagher favorites, the show finishing with “Last Of The Independents.”

These three tapes represent just a handful of the Rory Gallagher music that’s out there to be discovered. A solid 1991 show from the Guthrie Theatre in Minneapolis may be the topic of future review in this column, and there are also other shows from Philadelphia, New York, Berlin and London that are readily available in tape trading circles. Over two dozen Gallagher bootleg albums and CDs exist, including a great 1985 show from Montreaux.

Gallagher had played constantly until his death in 1995 following complications from a liver transplant. He spent the better part of a quarter century on the road, including some thirty tours of the United States. Sadly, his recorded catalog is in terrible disarray, with many of his best albums currently out of print. [Editor’s note: This situation was largely alleviated later in 1999 with a series of reissues with bonus tracks on the Buddah label.] Although he is overshadowed by contemporaries like Jimmy Page and Eric Clapton, Rory Gallagher always will be the last great Irish bluesman.

Bonus views: Glasgow 1982, the full show

 

Officially Speaking (vinyl division): Acoustic Rory Gallagher!! Cleveland 1972

 

RORY GALLAGHER

Cleveland Calling

(Chess Records/Universal Music)

VENUE: Live WNCR-FM radio broadcast from Agency Recordings Studio, Cleveland Ohio; August 7th, 1972

SOUND QUALITY: Pretty darn good, actually, given the antiquated original source material. If you want to be overly-critical, there’s a lack of depth to the performances, which are missing the electrifying dynamic present on most of Gallagher’s records. However, the nature of an acoustic performance covers a lot of sonic flaws as there are not as many layers to capture – just the magic of a man and his guitar, his voice, and his harmonica – another gig played by a bluesman older in spirit than his young age (24) would suggest. 

COVER: Simple but effective major label quality packaging with separate B&W photos of the legendary Irish guitarist on the front and rear covers and an overall neutral greyish tone. The inner sleeve is in color with track listing and credits, and photos of the current in-print Rory Gallagher album catalog should newbies wish to discover more great music from the gifted guitarist.

TRACKLIST: (Side A) Pistol Slapper Blues • Don’t Know Where I’m Going • Gypsy Woman • Out of My Mind (Side B) The Cuckoo • Banker’s Blues • Should’ve Learned My Lesson • Blow Wind Blow

COMMENTS: Like many a U.K. youth in the 1950s, Irish blues-rock guitarist Rory Gallagher found early inspiration in popular skiffle artist Lonnie Donegan. Gallagher began playing guitar at the tender age of nine years old, and bought his first electric guitar (a Stratocaster) at the age of twelve. Listening to Radio Luxembourg and the American Forces Network (AFN) late at night, Gallagher broadened his musical palette with early rock ‘n’ roll influences like Buddy Holly and Eddie Cochran. It was when he discovered the music of Muddy Waters that he fell in love with the blues and, throughout his teenage years, he would play a mix of folk, blues, and rock music, finding further inspiration in artists like Woody Guthrie and Big Bill Broonzy. Gallagher subsequently taught himself to play slide guitar, harmonica, saxophone, mandolin, and banjo with vary degrees of virtuosity.

Gallagher’s first band of note was Taste, a blues-rock power trio formed in 1966 when the guitarist was a mere 18 years old. That band released a pair of well-received studio albums – 1969’s Taste and 1970’s On the Boards – before breaking up; a pair of live albums were released in the wake of the band’s demise to capitalize on Gallagher’s bourgeoning reputation as a six-string prodigy. Gallagher released his self-titled solo debut in early 1971 and followed it up a few months later with his sophomore effort, Deuce. Gallagher broke into the U.K. Top 10 for the first time with 1972’s Live In Europe, which was unusual in that the album featured performances of five songs that hadn’t been previously-recorded by the guitarist.  

The eight-song Cleveland Calling LP was released for October’s third Record Store Day “drop” in a limited edition of 3,000 copies and documents Gallagher’s live broadcast by Cleveland’s WNCR-FM radio in August 1972. I don’t know how they did it at WNCR, but I do know that their crosstown rival (WMMS-FM) used to broadcast slews of live performances, and taped many (if not all) of ‘em, creating a treasure-trove of live 1970s-era classic rock that languishes in a vault somewhere (hopefully). Evidently, things didn’t work out too well as many of the WNCR on-air staff revolted against company efforts to overly commercialize the station, going on strike in late 1972. They were subsequently fired en masse by management after a late-night meeting mediated by the station’s morning DJ, Don Imus (who would soon go onto bigger broadcast markets). The station itself switched over to an automated country format on January 1st, 1973. 

But I digress…Gallagher’s acoustic performance here is stunning in its passion and complexity. After a brief intro from the station’s deejay, Carolyn Thomas, Rory starts his short, sharp set with a rowdy cover of Blind Boy Fuller’s Piedmont blues gem “Pistol Slapper Blues,” one of the previously-unrecorded tunes from Live In Europe. With spry guitar pickin’, Gallagher does an admirable job in capturing the joi de vivre of Fuller’s original performance. “Don’t Know Where I’m Going” is one of three Gallagher originals from Deuce, a harmonica-driven country-blues jam that could easily be mistaken for 1930s vintage, Rory’s vocals flowing above simple strummed chords, the overall result greater than the sum of its parts.

“Gypsy Woman” was a cover of a Delta-dirty Muddy Waters song that first appeared as a bonus track on the 1999 CD reissue of Gallagher’s debut album. Probably the bluesiest track here, Rory’s scattershot vocals and imaginative fretwork make the performance a pure joy. Another song from Deuce, “Out of My Mind” is a folk-styled rocker with impressive vocal gymnastics, nimble guitar playing, and more than a few stylistic nods to the skiffle tunes of the musician’s youth. Flipping the flapjack, second side opening song “The Cuckoo” is a traditional English/Irish folk song that wouldn’t find proper release until the posthumous 2003 album Wheels Within Wheels, itself a treasure-chest of acoustic outtakes and lost recordings from across 20 years of Gallagher’s career. 

Deceptively complex in the manner of many a rusty old song from musty, forgotten songbooks, Gallagher pours his soul into the performance, gilding “The Cuckoo” with exotic fretwork and strong vocals that help shape the song’s lyrical story. The guitarist follows up with a reading of his idol Big Bill Broonzy’s “Banker’s Blues,” which he’d record a year later for the critically-acclaimed Blueprint LP. After giving Ms. Thomas a lesson in harmonica styles, he launches into a fine approximation of Broonzy’s folkie proto-Chicago blues sound, capturing all of the tongue-in-cheek humor of the lyrics with his light-hearted vocals and intricate guitar strum. The last of the three original Deuce tunes, “Should’ve Learnt My Lesson” is another slab of old-school blues, rich with Gallagher’s elegant string-bending and the overall “high lonesome” Piedmont vibe captured by Rory’s mournful voice.       

Cleveland Calling closes out with “Blow Wind Blow,” as obscure a Muddy Waters song as you’ll find (it’s from the oft-overlooked classic 1969 LP Fathers and Sons). Fresh from playing on the Chicago blues legend’s The London Muddy Waters Sessions album, Gallagher acquits himself nicely here, digging into the song’s roots in the Mississippi Delta of Waters’ plantation-raised early days, his up-tempo guitar playing matched by syrupy vocals and a just-beneath-the-surface energy that threatens to explode with any random note. Sadly, a studio recording of the song wouldn’t be released until the excellent 2019 “odds ‘n’ sods” collection, Blues, a three-disc collection of rare, unreleased, and live recordings that would land Gallagher back on the Top 20 of the U.K. charts.

Gallagher moved past 1972 to enjoy a modestly-successful career throughout the 1970s and ‘80s, releasing a total of eleven studio and three live albums over a 20-year span, with 1990’s Fresh Evidence representing the guitarist’s swansong. Gallagher would die of complications from a liver transplant (a tragic necessity due to decades of living a rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle) in June 1995. Over the course of his career, Gallagher had the opportunity to perform and record with musical idols like Lonnie Donegan, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Muddy Waters and was part of the band Box of Frogs with former Yardbirds Chris Dreja, Paul Samwell-Smith, and Jim McCarty. While he never rose above the status of “cult artist” in the U.S. his loyal following has supported a steady stream of posthumous live albums and DVDs. 

Perhaps most importantly, Gallagher’s undeniable talents would subsequently influence artists as diverse as Johnny Marr of the Smiths, Alex Lifeson of Rush, Glenn Tipton of Judas Priest, and fellow blues guitarists Gary Moore and Joe Bonamassa, among many others who all cited the humble Irishman as an influence on their own music. Gallagher also swayed contemporaries like Eric Clapton (who once credited Gallagher with “getting me back into the blues”) and Jimi Hendrix (who, allegedly asked how it felt to be the world’s greatest guitarist, replied “I don’t know, go ask Rory Gallagher”) and had been asked to join both Deep Purple and the Rolling Stones to replace those band’s wayward guitarists. 

While Gallagher could strangle his Stratocaster and torture a stack o’ Marshall amps as loudly and energetically as 1970s-era contemporaries like Johnny Winter, Leslie West, or Pat Travers, Cleveland Calling is a fine representation of the often-understated (acoustic) aspect of Gallagher’s talents, his between-song conversations with the station’s DJ providing the barest of glimpses into the personality of the gifted musician and performer. Cleveland Calling is a “must have” if you’re a longtime Gallagher fan but stands tall on its own for blues fans who just want a taste of this too-frequently overlooked artist.  Grade: A (Rev. Keith A. Gordon)

Bonus view:

Officially Speaking (CD division): Mike Felten sings away the blues

 

Mike Felten: Fast Mikey Blue Eyes (studio release, Landfill Records)

Tracklist: Three Drinks In/ Detroit Woman/ Dead Old Girlfriend/ Swee That My Grave Is Kept Clean/ A Girl Walks Into A Bar/ Chasing A Rumor/ Homan Avenue/ Godzilla Jones/ 2302/ Y’ll Are Guilty/ Where The White Lady Lives/ Like Listening To Charlie Parker

Review: While, in one respect, Mike Felten’s 6th studio delivers what might be expected from this veteran of the Chicago streets, that’s not the whole story. To the novice listener, Felten might be put squarely in the middle of the “Americana” genre, his previous releases featuring elements of folk, country, gospel, and blues. All with a decidedly Chicago-centric feel. 

Fast Mikey Blues Eyes, like earlier Felten releases, is rich in stories of the Chicago landscape like “Homan Avenue,” an infamous worst-kept-secret where criminals don’t want to end up while in police custody. It’s a place where “the good lord forget about you and the devil never calls.” And where even the innocent are guilty. It’s the kind of story that Brit disciples of Chicago Blues like Fleetwood Mac never imagined when they crossed oceans to play with the founding fathers of Chicago Blues over 50 years ago. It’s a story that needs to be told in these times. So does the story of the resisters like “Godzilla Jones.” 

It’s the musical landscape that is different this time out. Fast Mikey Blue Eyes is firmly rooted in the kind of Chess Blues that attracted all those Brits in the first place. Felten enlists some of Chicago’s most notable living artifacts of that bygone era, people like Corky Siegal (harmonica, Siegal-Schwall Band) and Barry Goldberg (piano, Dylan, Paul Butterfield Blues Band, The Electric Flag). And if that’s not enough, Brad Elvis (The Elvis Brothers and The Romantics drummer for the last 16 years), and Harmonica Hinds (a long time fixture on the Chicago Blues circuit who immigrated from Trinidad).

Harmonica Hinds, who plays on 4 tracks, most signifies the Chicago that Felten grew up and lives in. While the most played-up aspect of the Chicago Blues legend is the one rooted in the great Afro-American migration from the Mississippi Delta, modern day Chicago is made up of a vast amount of immigrants from all areas of the globe. These are the kind of neighborhoods where Felten’s Record Emporium, a long established iconic record store was located. Every shade of human pigment could be seen as the residents arrived home at the L-train stop down the street, returning from jobs around the city and beyond. And with them, their accents, culture, traditions and sweat equity. July 4th was a big holiday for all, one in which the Record Emporium would hold a “feed-the-neighborhood” event in front of the store, which included blood pressure checks by real nurses (you can’t even get that in a doctor’s office anymore). And at Record Emporium, Harmonica Hinds had a venue to play in-stores and hawk his CDs. Bonds were forged. Times change - not always for the better.

 

When the owner/ruling class decided the 3-flats that proliferated the neighborhood, along with its numerous L-stops in the region and its close proximity to Wrigley Field, were prime for luxury condos with young well-heeled and well-moneyed tenants, the neighborhood took on a decidedly pale complexion. That was stage one. Stage two was for retail store landlords to capitalize on the influx of professional class residents by raising rents drastically – rents which no record store or used clothing store could afford. Hipster bars and themed restaurants were now in vogue. Felten saw the writing on the wall and started a second career - one that he had abandoned in younger years, although never completely.

Felten had spent his teenage and early adult years as a member of the Chicago folk scene. Although he never recorded any records, he shared the stages with such luminaries as John Prine and Steve Goodman. When the responsibilities of raising a family demanded a more stable income, he switched to selling used and new records. But he never put down his guitar or songwriting skills. When the real estate market outpaced the record business he was, at last, forced out of business. He started releasing CDs on a regular basis and played 150-200 gigs a year, mostly in small music venues and coffee shops with the occasional midwest tour mixed in. In his spare time he volunteered as a guide at the Museum of Chicago History, teaching classes of children, many of them immigrants, many others multi-generational residents, about the people’s history of Chicago – not always the history you read about in school books. This is the type of oral history you can find on any of Felten’s albums.

Fast Mikey Blue Eyes delivers that, but also an element more personal in nature, starting with the title. “My Mikey blue eyes” is how his wife, Gail, used to refer to him. Used to – Gail passed away two years ago. FMBE is a Blues album, start to finish. It’s an up-tempo blues album – juke joint music. You won’t find any country-ish tales here – no “drowning in my tears” sad-eyed tales of woe. Chicago breeds a certain toughness that you won’t find in more southward states in the midwest. It starts and ends in two different sides of the same picture. “Three Drinks In” is a rollicking, rambunctious tune fueled by Goldberg’s barrel-house piano, Siegel’s vibrant harp, and Brad Elvis’ solid back beat with the focus on communal drinking. “Like Listening To Charlie Parker,” the closing tune, is a slow-to-mid-tempo song that reflects the alone moments. But one where Felten even manages to interject a little dark humor (the “hipster” verse is hilarious). 

Brent Best of Slobberbone once wrote a song called “Find The Out,” which is sort of a self-help song about lost loved ones. With Fast Mikey Blue Eyes, Felten has chosen to stick to The Blues, a genre that, at its best, is all about lifting ones self up, no matter what you might have heard. Felten succeeds here with his most exhilarating release yet. Now get out on the floor (your living room floor until further notice) and DANCE to it. You’ll find the out for covid isolation. [Bill Glahn] 

Sample view. Get dancin'!

Live vinyl releases by Townes Van Zandt & Guy Clark, Joan Jett

 

Joan Jett & the Blackhearts: Live At The Bottom Line, New York, 12/27/1980 WNEW FM Broadcast (Mind Control Mind 734)

Venue: as titled

Sound Quality: Top notch!. Most likely from off-air master. 

Cover: Simplistic but attractive single pocket jacket. Nice period photo of Jett on front cover, track list on back.

Tracklist: (side A) Intro/ Bad Reputation/ I’m Gonna Run Away/ You Don’t Know What You Have Got/ Wait For Me/ Too Bad On Your Birthday/ Teenage Sex Machine/ You’re Too Possessive (side B) Wooly Bully/ Black Leather/ Do You Wanna Touch Me/ Rebel Rebel/ Shout/ I Love Rock n Roll/ I Love Playin’ With Fire

Comments: Released previously as I Love Playing With Fire Live (CD, 2018) on the Rox Vox label (unofficial), this is apparently the first vinyl release of this show. The Rox Vox release received mixed reviews on sound quality, something that can’t be questioned here. It’s great. Curiously, the Rox Vox release is available for streaming on Amazon.

Joan Jett and the Blackheart’s 1st album, Bad Reputation, wasn’t the instant success that its legendary status might indicate. Her 2nd, I Love Rock ‘n Roll, wasn’t either. But Jett had a solid and loyal fan base in her newly adopted hometown. The rest of the nation would follow in 1981 when the nationally distributed startup, Boardwalk Records, picked up their first self-released album, Joan Jett, and re-titled it Bad Reputation. [Boardwalk went bankrupt after founder, Neil Bogart, – who previously founded (and sold) Casablanca Records – died of cancer in 1983, whereupon Jett and business partner, Kenny Laguna, revived the Blackheart Records label with a distribution deal with MCA.]

At the time of this recording, Jett was at a crossroads in her career. A previous career as a member of the Runaways gave her some stature in the world of rock and roll, but more so in Europe and Japan. The Runaways had never made much of a dent in the U.S. charts. It was make or break time. 

Bad Reputation would not make its national debut on Boardwalk until the following January. The second album, from which this set draws 3 tracks, not until November of 1981.                                                                                                            

With the backing of Boardwalk, Bad Reputation would peak at number 52 on the Billboard album charts. I Love Rock ‘n Roll would follow a year later peaking at no. 2 - fueled by the record’s title track (a number one single for 7 weeks), a cover of an Arrows tune Jett had heard while touring the UK with The Runaways.

So how does an artist without a national following end up being broadcast on New York’s FM radio powerhouse, WNEW? Simple enough – Jett was already experiencing massive popularity in the metro area. The Blackhearts at this time consisted of Gary Ryan (bass), Eric Ambel (guitar), and Lee Crystal (drums), who turn in a riotous performance from the opening track through the closing  "I Love Plain’ With Fire,” a song resuscitated from The Runaway’s 2nd LP, Queens of Noise.

With a setlist pulled primarily from the 1st album, an album which at this point was self-titled and distributed out of the trunk of Kenny Laguna’s car, there’s also covers of David Bowie (“Revel Rebel”), The Isley Brothers rave up, “Shout,” and The Runaways (the aforementioned closing track). Also the live rarity, “Teenage Sex Machine,” which Jett played at her shows during 1980-1981.

With great sound, rare songs, and a hot performance, it’s hard to find fault with this release.

Grade: A                                                                                                                                                       [Bill Glahn]

TOWNES VAN ZANDT & GUY CLARK

Live at Great American Music Hall

(Radio Looploop Records U.K.)

VENUE: The Great American Music Hall, San Francisco CA; January 20th, 1991

SOUND QUALITY: Could be better…very shallow sound with lots of echo and some distortion, the instruments sound tinny and distant, and the vocals are slightly muddy. Definitely not a first generation recording as there are just too many sonic artifacts, the flaws often distracting from what is, overall, a lively and charming performance by both artists.

COVER: Radio Looploop seems to have a simple formula for their album covers – big photo on the front, sturdy cardboard package holding two shiny flapjacks in individual paper sleeves. This one has a sepia-toned photo of Van Zandt and Clark on the front, individual photos of both artists on the back set against a nice maroon background, and a complete track listing with writer credits. The same front cover photo, with the image flipped, was used for the Live…Texas ’91 bootleg album. 

TRACKLIST: 

(Side A) Ramblin’ Jack & Mahan • If I Needed You • L.A. Freeway • Mr. Mudd & Mr. Gold • Texas • Marie

(Side B) Old Friends • Buckskin Stallion Blues • Let Him Roll • High, Low & In Between • The Carpenter • No Place To Fall • Desperados Waitin’ For A Train

(Side C) Rex’s Blues • Rita Ballou • Pancho & Lefty • Like A Coat From the Cold • Tecumseh Valley • New Cut Road • Flyin’ Shoes • Watermelon Dream

(Side D) Better Days • Lover’s Lullaby • Anyhow, I Love You • Snowin’ On Raton • She Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere • Texas Cookin’ • Come From the Heart • No Deal

COMMENTS: 

Texas-born singer/songwriters Townes Van Zandt and Guy Clark are widely considered to be two of the most influential and talented wordsmiths to work on the fringes of the country music scene of the 1970s and ‘80s. Whereas Van Zandt has often been classified as a folk singer, his masterful hybrid of country, blues, and folk music won him a loyal cult following that continues to grow. Van Zandt never experienced much commercial success as a recording artist, and he played dive bars while living for years in a shack without electricity outside of Nashville. He suffered for years from alcoholism and drug abuse and, diagnosed with bipolar disorder, Van Zandt lost much of his long-term memory after undergoing controversial insulin shock therapy.   

Van Zandt enjoyed a stellar reputation as a songwriter, though, and he had songs recorded by artists as diverse as Emmylou Harris, Bob Dylan, Nanci Griffith, Jason Isbell, and Gillian Welch, among many others. It was the 1983 recording of his song “Pancho & Lefty” by Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard, which topped the Billboard magazine country chart, that brought Van Zandt the most notoriety. By contrast, Guy Clark enjoyed more modest success as a recording artist, placing several albums into the mid-regions of the country chart over the span of his 40+ year career. Clark was also well-respected as a songwriter, with artists like Rodney Crowell, Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, and Jerry Jeff Walker recording his songs. Much like his longtime friend Townes, Clark walked the fine line between folk and country music, and won a Grammy™ Award for “Best Folk Album” for his 2013 release My Favorite Picture of You.

Both Clark and Van Zandt honed their skills on the Houston folk music scene throughout the ‘60s, with both artists moving to Nashville where Clark, along with his wife Susanna, opened their home to fellow songwriters and musicians. Americana legend Steve Earle followed the two artists from Texas to Tennessee, and both Clark and Van Zandt mentored Earle in songwriting and performing, a kindness that Earle would later repay by recording separate albums of his friend’s songs (2009’s Townes and 2019’s Guy).  

Van Zandt and Clark were joined at the hip in Nashville, and often toured and performed together, at local clubs like Mississippi Whiskers and The Bluebird Café as well as across the southern states and in Europe. They had a following in San Francisco, California which brings us around to Live at Great American Music Hall, a document of the artists’ January 20th, 1991 performance that was recorded for radio broadcast and recently reissued as a double-vinyl set by Radio Looploop Records. Offering a fairly-balanced set of 29 songs (15 by Clark, 12 by Van Zandt, and two they wrote together), the album provides a veritable feast of the two talented songwriter’s best-known and beloved material.

The show begins with Clark’s ode to folk legend Ramblin’ Jack Elliot, “Ramblin’ Jack & Mahan,” a loping country tune with brilliant story-song lyrics, gorgeous acoustic guitar, and a heartfelt performance by Clark that is plagued by poor sound. Clark’s “L.A. Freeway” (from his 1975 debut LP Old No. 1) is one of his better songs, a slice of working-class blues with a pop undercurrent and a humorous spoken word interlude. Guy’s “Texas – 1947,” also from his debut, is an acoustic country-rocker with an infectious chorus and an up-tempo arrangement that’s sparse on instrumentation, relying instead on Guy’s rollicking vocals. 

Side two’s “Let Him Roll” is another leathery story-song by Guy that perfectly captures the hard luck life of a Texas loner while “Desperados Waitin’ For A Train” is a wonderful remembrance of a young man and his older mentor. Townes is represented on the first disc by a number of fine songs, beginning with the charming “If I Needed You,” a poignant romantic ballad with a lilting melody while “Mr. Mudd & Mr. Gold” is a strident tale in a Dylan-esque vein that Van Zandt nails with his somber vocals. Van Zandt’s “Marie” is a folkish dirge with poetic lyrics as stark as anything Springsteen did on Nebraska, a fateful story of star-crossed lovers pulled in different directions. “If I Had No Place To Fall” is a wistful romantic ballad with lovely lyrics and a passionate delivery by Van Zandt.   

The second disc is comprised largely of the duo’s second set from the night (the entire show was evidently 42 songs performed across two sets, so this LP offers only a portion of the concert). Van Zandt’s “Rex’s Blues” offers up some spry guitar-pickin’ resting alongside melancholy vocals, the song a sort of folk-tinged talking blues whose beauty is marred by the shabby recording. The aforementioned “Pancho & Lefty” is Van Zandt’s best-known tune; shorn of its glossy major label production, the tale of south-of-the-border hijinks takes on a more haunting ambiance. The bluesy “Flyin’ Shoes” is an imaginative lyrical fantasy with heavy guitar strum and strong vocals and “Lover’s Lullaby” is a beautiful nod to romance and relationships.   

   

Clark brings a mix of some of his better-known and more obscure songs to the second set, and they’re all winners, beginning with the ribald Western swing of “Rita Ballou” and the reflective “Like A Coat From the Cold,” a pastoral ballad with haltering instrumental backing and emotional vocals; “Watermelon Dream” is a folksy tune with slice-of-life lyrics that wander only sparingly into hyperbole; and “Better Days” is an ethereal song of hope and determination. The rowdy “Texas Cookin’” is a bluesy, twangy, ramshackle tune that crackles with joie de vivre.   Of the pair’s co-written songs, “Come From the Heart” is the stand-out, the two men’s voices intertwined to deliver the song’s positive lyrical message above melodic strummed guitars. 

Overall, Van Zandt and Clark deliver an engaging, sometimes magical performance on Live at Great American Music Hall, both artists supporting one another and weaving their respective songs into an overall narrative of American music. From what I’ve been able to find, Van Zandt toured fairly extensively throughout 1991, frequently with Clark, the pair sometimes joined by friends from Texas like Robert Earl Keen and Jimmie Dale Gilmore, and they even returned to San Francisco in the fall. It seems that several shows were recorded during the year for radio broadcast or a possible live record, but only this album and Live…Texas ’91 seem to have survived to document Van Zandt’s 1991 tour.

After his death in 1997, former friends and associates circled Van Zandt’s legacy like vultures feasting on road kill. The singer’s former manager and Poppy Records label owner Kevin Eggers released better than a dozen posthumous albums without consent of Van Zandt’s wife Jeanene. His former road manager also released a number of unauthorized live concert videos and audio recordings of Van Zandt performances. It took the singer’s estate over a decade to iron out all these legal issues, and today Fat Possum Records is the official home of Van Zandt’s musical legacy. The Mississippi label has reissued much of the singer’s early catalog, including classics like Flyin’ Shoes, Our Mother the Mountain, and the critically-acclaimed Live at The Old Quarter album. 

If you’re unfamiliar with the talents of this gifted songwriter, I’d recommend checking out the aforementioned albums and, if you like what you hear, move on to Live at Great American Music Hall. As for Guy Clark, he continued to make great music until his death in 2016, his final album – My Favorite Picture of You – peaking at #12 on Billboard magazine’s country music chart. Although not as prolific as his longtime friend, Clark’s back catalog of music is nearly as precious, and albums like Old No. 1, Texas Cookin’, and Dublin Blues are widely considered as jewels of Americana music. Clark’s performances on Live at Great American Music Hall are as vital and engaging as Van Zandt’s but, again, check out those early albums first and then sink your teeth into this heady 1991 performance. Grade: B- (notched a grade due to poor sound)

(Rev. Keith A. Gordon)