| 19th August 2006 07:22 AM |
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| Ten Thousand Motels |
37 Blues Rock Classic Tracks on 2CDS
Gut Active is proud to introduce Blues Rock; the most comprehensive blues rock album of the decade. Presented by Classic Rock magazine, the album is released on September 11th 2006, making it the perfect gift for any blues rock completist. Classic Rock Presents Blues Rock is comprised of 2 CDs spanning 37 vintage tracks, featuring the finest blues rock recording and performing artists. Artists include Johnny Winter, Fleetwood Mac, The Steve Miller Band, Ten Years After, Thin Lizzy, Gary Moore, Cream, Alexis Korner, Santana, Humble Pie, The Allman Brothers, George Thorogood, ZZ Top, Taj Mahal, plus many more.
This is the second in a new series of Classic Rock endorsed albums that focuses on different genres within the history and rich tapestry of rock music. Classic Rock Presents Blues Rock is a great representation of the classic era of Blues Rock, and coincides with the growing popularity of classic blues rock at its most powerful. Many of the artists featured on the album have contributed to the ever-evolving spirit and tradition of blues rock music.
CD1
1. Cream 'Strange Brew'
The lead track from blues-rock supergroup Cream's second and greatest album, Disraeli Gears, Strange Brew – written by Clapton, producer Felix Pappalardi and his future wife, Gail Collins – also kicks off our journey into the tumultuous world of blues rock. Pappalardi was killed in 1983, shot in the neck by Collins, and the song's lyrics ("She's a witch of trouble in electric blue/In her mad mind she's in love with you/…Strange brew –kill what's inside of you") have taken on a whole different resonance ever since.
2. Fleetwood Mac 'Man Of The World'
Peter Green was undoubtedly one of the most influential (and possibly unstable) British blues guitarists of all time. Along with Clapton, Beck and Page he ploughed a unique furrow, never choosing a predictable path as demonstrated on this slow, gentle bluesy ballad that topped the charts and launched a thousand would be aspirants.
3. Santana 'Black Magic Woman'
Mexican guitar virtuoso Carlos Santana mixes blues rock with Latin rhythms in this exemplary cover of a Fleetwood Mac standard that was a massive hit for the band and is now regarded as the definitive version.
4. Free 'I'm A Mover'
Another band that came to fruition under Alexis Korner's guiding hand (he also gave them their name), I'm A Mover came from the band's 1968 debut album, Tons Of Sobs, and was produced by another British blues-rock legend, Guy Stevens. It's hard to believe that Free were still teenagers when they recorded this song.
5. Canned Heat 'On The Road Again'
From their second album, Boogie With Canned Heat, On The Road Again is the perfect slice of hypnotic boogaloo from this band of John Lee Hooker disciples from L.A. and gave the band their first top 20 hit in the summer of '68. A year later they'd be one of the highlights of Woodstock…
6. The Allman Brothers Band 'Ramblin' Man'
Released two years after the death of slide guitar hero and founding member Duane Allman, Ramblin' Man was written by his six-string partner Dickey Betts and proved that the Allmans still had much to offer, fusing blues and country to produce and define the sound of 'southern rock'.
7. Frankie Miller 'Be Good To Yourself'
A national treasure, Frankie Miller has always been regarded as a vocalist's vocalist and in high esteem by the likes of Rod Stewart, Joe Cocker and Etta James. Here the cheeky Glaswegian wraps his bourbon-scorched tonsils around a classic off his 1977, Full House album.
8. Juicy Lucy 'Who Do You Love'
One of the most revered outfits to come out of the 60s blues boom, Juicy Lucy's unique take on this Bo Diddley cover is piloted by the ferocious pedal steel guitar work of Glenn 'Fernando' Campbell.
9. Alexis Korner 'Get Off Of My Cloud'
Hailed as the British Godfather of the blues, Korner is often credited as the man responsible for bringing Brian Jones, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards together. Probably better known for his work with CCS who recorded an instrumental version of Whole Lotta Love, which used as the theme music for the late, not-so-lamented Top Of The Pops.
10. Jack Bruce 'Sunshine Of Your Love'
Cream were without a doubt one of the most important purveyors of blues/rock. They bought the music of the Delta to the masses with recharged and electrified versions of such classics as Crossroads. Here one third of the ultimate supergroup, bassist/vocalist Bruce resurrects one of the band's most memorable moments.
11. Humble Pie 'Natural Born Boogie'
Former Artful Dodger and Small Face Steve Marriott abandoned a lucrative career in pop music to form this minor supergroup that also featured pretty boy guitarist Peter Frampton. They went onto stadium-sized success only to eventually implode in a barrage of high court litigations and substance problems. This, their debut single, captures them at their untamed best.
12. Mountain 'Mississippi Queen'
Another track featuring former Cream producer Felix Pappalardi, Mountain were often thought of as an American answer to Clapton and co. Little known fact: guitarist Leslie West's powerful style was a huge influence on fellow New Yorker Johnny Ramone. "Leslie West never gets any recognition, " the punk founder once said. "I've always been a big fan of his since back when he was a fat kid dropping out of high school in Forest Hills. He was, to me, one of the top five guitar players of his era."
13. Big Brother And The Holding Company 'Piece Of My Heart'
A hit for Aretha's big sister, Erma Franklin, in 1967, Janis Joplin and co. took Piece Of My Heart by the throat and shook it till it hurt. Raw, honest and affecting, it became Janis' breakthrough hit and launched her on her short-lived solo career.
14. Python Lee Jackson 'In A Broken Dream'
So how did Rod Stewart end up recording under a pseudonym with this ludicrously named band? "It was all John Peel's fault", he revealed in a recent interview, "they were signed to his label, Dandelion Records, and he asked me to come down and do some guide vocals, to show the singer how to do it. Three years later it ends up as a hit single." An absolute gem. Another one of many gifts to thank Peel for.
15. Ram Jam 'Black Betty'
It's hard to believe that this innocuous, straight ahead rock version of a Huddie 'Lead Belly' Ledbetter staple was once boycotted by several name musicians because they considered it to be offensive to black women. It scored twice in British charts giving Ram Jam the unique privilege of being a two hit wonder.
16. Golden Earring 'Radar Love'
The ultimate amphetamine-fuelled trucker's anthem. The bass and drums plod along in a vigorous head-nodding fashion as these enduring Dutch rockers take a detour from their usual prog leanings in a song destined to feature in rock compilations for decades to come.
17. The Groundhogs 'Groundhog Blues'
Named after a John Lee Hooker song, when the band backed the legendary blues singer on his British tour he declared them to be 'the number one British blues band'. Listening to this track it's easy to see why Tony McPhee and co were so admired by their illustrious peers.
18. Wishbone Ash 'Jail Bait'
Inspired by a 15 year-old Lolita named Linda who made the acquaintance (if you catch our drift) of bassist Martin Turner, Jail Bait is built around a tough, pumping boogie riff that Status Quo would have been proud of and became the band's regular encore number.
19. Gary Moore 'Still Got The Blues'
A track that's among the very finest songs recorded by the much-travelled Irish guitarist. Based on a hook of solid gold and a lush string section led by Gavin Wright, the song builds to a climax with a soaring guitar solo while Gary proves he's no slouch as a singer either.
CD2
1. ZZ Top 'La Grange'
"La Grange, Texas, " Billy Gibbons once told Classic Rock's Jas Obrecht, "was the notorious locale for one of the more illustrious cathouses in the state. You just mention La Grange, and most people would certainly be able to raise an eyebrow over it. We put the song together, and shortly after the release, an over-zealous newsman took it upon himself to expose what was going on, and in one short week, a many-year-old tradition was on the rocks. There were many tears shed over the demise of that particular establishment." But not over ZZ's first national hit, which journeys from subdued John Lee Hooker-esque vocals to full-tilt boogie.
2. Status Quo 'Roundhouse Blues'
The Doors' rollicking blues-rock classic was given a balls-out remodelling by Brits Status Quo for their Piledriver album in 1972, and soon became a live favourite, with 12 minute long versions incorporating highland gigs and relentless boogie. Their audience is still rubbing their aching necks to this day.
3. Thin Lizzy 'Still In Love With You'
So authentic that you'd be forgiven for thinking that it was originally written by Fat Mississippi Noodleman in 1923, this is in fact a Phil Lynott original, replete with his natural poeticism: 'Think I'll just fall to pieces/If I don't find something else to do/This sadness never ceases/I'm still in love with you'. Class.
4. Dr. Feelgood 'Milk And Alcohol'
Pub rock bad boys Dr Feelgood brought a rough working class edge to the blues in pre-punk Britain, thanks to the confrontational styles of guitarist Wilko Johnson and frontman Lee Brilleaux. Ironically, however, the tune most associated with the band, Milk And Alcohol, came in 1979 after Wilko had already left the band. In the post-punk world that the Feelgoods had helped create, it seemed, British radio programmers had finally caught up.
5. The Steve Miller Band 'Rock 'N' Me'
Self proclaimed 'gangster of love' Steve Miller was born into a musical family and received his first guitar at the age of four. Les Paul, inventor of the eponymous electric guitar, showed Miller his first chords. So it's hardly surprising that he went on to achieve phenomenal multi platinum success. This track is culled from his most successful era, which also produced such hits as Fly Like An Eagle and Take The Money And Run.
6. Chris Farlowe 'Out Of Time'
When he originally recorded under the name of Little Joe Cook everybody was convinced that Farlowe was black, including legendary soul man Otis Redding. Farlowe recorded this version of the Jagger/Richards classic during a successful stint on the Stones' then manager Andrew 'Loog' Oldham's Immediate label.
7. Johnny Winter 'Good Morning Little Schoolgirl'
Can white men sing the blues? Well you can't get any whiter than cross-eyed albino Johnny Winter, The Texan Tornado. One of the first people inducted into the Blues Foundation Hall Of Fame, Winter is generally regarded as being one of the finest electric blues guitarist of all time. The Smashing Pumpkins wrote a song for him. Tribute To Johnny, which features on the b-side to Zero.
8. Taj Mahal 'Statesboro Blues'
Mahal led a funky band through this ripping recast of a 1930s country blues by Blind Willie McTell. Duane Allman certainly took notice, copying Jesse Ed Davis' slide guitar part note-for-note, and readapting the arrangement as the Allman Brothers Band's signature song. And that's how an L.A. band's cover of an old blues song from Atlanta gave birth to Southern rock.
9. Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble 'Scuttle Buttin''
The brief, breakneck instrumental Scuttle Buttin' was a nod to underrated guitar hero Lonnie Mack. "The first record I ever bought was The Wham Of That Memphis Man, " Vaughan said. "I got a lot of the fast things I do from Lonnie Mack – the ideas, the phrasing. Scuttle Buttin' is really dedicated to him."
10. Chicken Shack 'I'd Rather Go Blind'
Prior to joining Fleetwood Mac Mk2 (as we purists refer to them) Christine Perfect aka McVie fronted this authentic blues outfit who charted with this triumphant rendition of an Etta James classic.
11. JJ Cale 'Cocaine'
Not the most prolific of artists, JJ Cale has nevertheless managed to cast his influential spell with a sound that has remained untarnished with the passing of time, fashion and hairstyles. His songs have been covered by a diverse range of artists including Lynyrd Skynyrd, Deep Purple, Johnny Cash, Captain Beefheart and of course Eric Clapton whose once dwindling career was resurrected with this perky little anthem celebrating the joys of Peruvian Marching Powder.
12. Joe Walsh & Barnstorm 'Rocky Mountain Way'
Asked to name his best guitar work, Joe Walsh cites the searing slide and innovative talk box of Rocky Mountain Way. "I did that slide solo in one take, " Joe told Classic Rock bluesman Jas Obrecht. "I was sitting on an old amp at Criteria Studios, just warming up. I didn't even know they were recording. At the end of the song, I said, 'Okay, let's try one.' And the engineer said, 'Hey, man, you're done.' I said, 'Come on, man, don't mess around. I want to really get this.' They said, 'Honest to God, you're done'. That's an example of a spontaneous solo. That doesn't happen all the time, but when the magic's there – that's beautiful, beautiful stuff." Amen.
13. Robin Trower 'Day Of The Eagle'
The lead track from this underrated British guitar hero's classic album Bridge Of Sighs, blew memories of his previous band out of the water (Procol who?) and elated fans of searing lead guitar. Trower's inspiration? BB King. "After hearing 'Live At The Regal', I began using the guitar as a human voice, " he said.
14. George Thorogood & The Destroyers 'Bad To The Bone'
Realising that he needed to write at least one classic tune of his own if he was to be remembered as anything more than the leader of a great covers band, George Thorogood conjured up a riff and a lyric that were as timeless as his blues influences. Job d-d-d-done.
15. Pat Travers Band 'Snortin Whiskey'
From the Canadian guitar hero's 1980 album, Crash And Burn, Snortin' Whiskey ('…and drinking cocaine') was an autobiographical tale and a face-to-the-mirror overdose of brain-frying boogie.
16. Ian Hunter 'Once Bitten, Twice Shy'
Prior to joining Mott the Hoople, Ian Hunter earned blues/rock credentials playing bass with The New Yardbirds. When he abandoned Mott to go solo, most critics thought it marked the end of his career. This track and his newfound success as an electric troubadour and mentor to the likes of Def Leppard proved his detractors to be well and truly wrong.
17. Ten Years After 'I'm Goin' Home' (Live)
This track was one of the highlights of the legendary 'Love, Peace & Mud' Woodstock festival and catapulted the band into superstardom. As one critic so astutely put it: "The electric guitar is an instrument capable of an astonishing wide range and TYA's guitarist Alvin Lee understands it like few ever have."
18. The Band 'The Weight'
Released in 1968, The Band's Music From Big Pink introduced Robbie Robertson's classic gospel-blues. Aretha Franklin later did a soulful cover featuring session man Duane Allman that was cited by Ronnie Wood as his inspiration for learning slide guitar. But The Band's version remains a beautiful and mysterious slice of country-tinged blues. Take a load off Fanny, indeed.
source :: jazz press service
© 2005 jazz news :: home page
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