Live at Massey Hall 1971

If anyone reading this is a Neil Young fan, you owe it to yourself to give this a listen. I first became aware of this album in Starbucks of all places. I read the cover and put it down. I then was flipping through Rolling Stone Magazine when I saw a full page add for the album. I was intrigued by the note in the top right from Neil saying that it was suggested that this album be realeased in between After the Gold Rush and Harvest. This was enough to get me to purchase the album and boy am I glad I did.

This album is nothing short of a brilliant performance. For a 1971 live recording, the sound qulaity is fantastic and the performances show case the artistic genius of Neil. This album has instantly become one of my all time favorites. It should be noted that Neil sounds great and after abusing Prairie Wind for the past year, not that much differnet that he sounds to day.

This is a must have for any Neil Young fan. I look forward to the upcoming releases from the past archives!

The uninspired Spag Jam

I a fury of uninspired activity, I completed the preliminary recording of Spag Jam. This 2 minute music aboration is comprised of 3 tracks – a whirly piano, a funked drum track and a of course a bass track. All reflect my lack of musical talent and tone deaf ear yet, I think to myself, I could chill to this…. Take a listen, provide some feedback, laydown some guitars etc. The basic progression is A – D – E nothing fancy, nothing hard just one man, a computer in the basement with background furnace noise… maybe we should create a contest for the best uninpsired work froma basement musician…. something to think about… Enjoy!

Spag Jam

The Beatles – Love

So, got myself a copy of the Beatles new release Love. At first glance, you may wonder what the Bealtes would have to offer since they have not written new songs in over 30 years. A couple of years ago, I picked up Let It Be – Naked and was blown away. I am a huge fan of the Let It Be album but the new release was like hearing the tunes for the first time.

With that in mind, I placed Love in the CD player and let it go. Fantastic. There are some great stripped down versions of songs that I instantly surprised me. The disc open with Because with all instruments striped out and only the voice of the Beatles themselves. The ablum progresses quite well and for me, it hits an all time high with While My Guitar Gently Weeps. Acoustic and full of emotion. I have always been a big fan of this song but hearing it like this rekindles my love of the song again. This alone is worth the price of the CD.

While any Beatle fan will enjoy this album, those exploring the Beatles for the *gasp* the first time will also find this album intriguing. I would highly recommend to any newbie that they pick up the orginals as well to get the full listening experience!

5 Stars and two thumbs up on this one….

Clapton, Trucks and Bramhill… wait… Cray too!

WOW. Clapton at the Garden for show 1, unbelievable. The night was great from the start. We arrived at the Garden a bit late for Robert Cray but just in time for EC. Seats were fantastic. About 10 rows back dead center stage. A perfect view for all the action.

The band was fantastic complete with special moments from Derek Trucks and Doyle Bramhill. Eric was on fire and sounding great. The concert lasted over 2 blazing hours with one song leading ot the next. There was a great acoustic set in the middle of the set list hilighted for me with Running on Faith. I got chills when Clapton let loose on Layla in its original form. The Robert Johnson classic Little Queen of Spades was phenomenal. All in all, this concert was one of the best I have seen and who can complain about having a chance to see the master at work.

After the concert, I was fortunate enough to have a invite to a corporate event which Eric attended. Although he was not signing autographs or taking pictures, we did manage to snap one or two and we did manage to stand next to him through the presentation. A great experience all the way around.

Modern Times… Bob Live!

It was a beautiful August evening in Rochester and the perfect night to see a legend in action. Bob Dylan rolled into town on his 3rd annual Minor League Baseball stadium tour in support of his newly released Modern Times album. Although I had not heard anything off the new album (it was released the Tuesday prior to the show) I was anxious to see the man that man first son is named for.

The show included 3 other performances that included Elana James and the Continental Two – a fantastic bluegrass sound. Elana plays a mean fiddle although I could not help to notice the lack of a banjo on stage. All in all her set was short but very good. Next up was Junior Brown. Now this was an amazing act. Toting his two neck guitar (lap steal on the lower half, electric on the top) accompanied by an upright bass and a drummer playing ony a snare and cymbal… these guys were great. Junior rocked the house and did not waste a second of his playing time rolling from one song directly into the next. I would certainly welcome seeing Junior again as it was a real treat. This is one talented musician. The final opening act was rounded out by Jimmy Vaughn, probably best know as the older brother of Stevie Ray.

Jimmy was everything that I expected and a bit more. Although after the surprise appearance of Clapton in Columbus, I was ssecretly hoping that Eric would show up here but after all, it is Rochester… None the less the Texas Bluesman did not dissapoint. he ripped some serious blues… the highlight of his set for me was a great rendition of Texas Flood, a song made popular by the late great Stevie Ray.

As the night settled in, it was time for the main attraction. Bob took the stage and I have to tell you, I have seen Bob every year for the past 6 and several times over the past 20 years and this was one hot show. New arrangements of old classics, he was on fire from the start. playing a combo of old and new, Bob presented great renditions of concert staples from recent years Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum along with Summer nights. A corwd pleaser highway 61 was pulled out in a great arrangement. Masters of War was more than a pleasure as was the guitar heavy Stuck Inside of Mobile. The crowd was moving to a shuffling rendition of Leapord Skin Pill Box Hat. Probably the best renditon of All Along the Watch Tower that I have heard and the crowd became fully engaged with a stirring hym of Like a Rolling Stone.

If you like Dylan and you have some cash (tickets will set you back $49.50 or more) I highly recommend catching him this summer or fall. Bob sounds better than he has in years and his song arrangments just keep getting better. This guy is a legend and at 65, he has not lost a beat.

As for the new album, I purchased it today from iTunes and I ahve to say, it is outstanding. Any Bob fan will be happy to add this to the collection… I think I hear Grammy….

“Don’t Think Twice.. it’s all right!”