Artist: Jack Russell’s Great White Title: “Hard Habit” (Single) Label: New Breed Records Release Date: 12/24/2014 Genre: Melodic Hard Rock/Blues Rock Rating: 4/5
I’d be lying if I said that was 100% up on the happenings in the world of the band Great White and their former singer Jack Russell at this very moment. Alright, I do know that just like many of the other bands that I grew up with back in their original heyday that there are now two versions of Great White. The one featuring a number of former members and the one that is led by their former front man Jack Russell. The latter one is the version that this brand new single comes from and since its only the one song to absorb this will be on the quick side. Continue reading “Hard Habit” (Single) by Jack Russell’s Great White→
Artist: Rory Gallagher Title: “Irish Tour ‘74” Label: Eagle Vision Release Date: 4/12/2011 Genre: Blues Rock Rating: 5/5
The debut of “Rory Gallagher Irish Tour ’74” on Blu-Ray is a welcome addition to Eagle Vision’s flotilla of Gallagher titles. It is a seminal rock documentary capturing Gallagher at the height of his popularity.
The film has been available on DVD in the past but was unfortunately represented by a rather drab, badly speckled, print that severely undercut the viewing experience. Eagle Vision’s Blu-Ray is a spectacular visual upgrade that renders all previous versions worthless. I did a side-by-side comparison for the purposes of this review with my original BMG DVD and it was like watching the film for the first time. The EV Blu-Ray edition is a beautifully detailed, color-saturated, 16X9 presentation. A restoration that finally does this Tony Palmer film justice and makes it a joy to watch repeatedly. Continue reading “Irish Tour ‘74” (Blu-ray) by Rory Gallagher→
Artist: Black Crowes Title: “Warpaint Live” (Blu-ray) Label: Eagle Vision Release Date: 7/14/2009 Genre: Blues Rock Rating: 4.25/5
Eagle Rock Entertainment has been striving to deliver some of its best DVD films on the higher quality Blu-ray format and they are fantastic when it comes down to it depending on the show that it is. When The Black Crowes dished out their “Warpaint Live” on CD and standard DVD, you knew that a higher definition version made good sense based on just how great this show actually was. My views about the full on performance are the same between the two versions so I am re-presenting them for you below. I will then close out with some additional thoughts about the Blu-ray edition.
I recently reviewed the excellent CD version of this concert and now the chance to feel as though you were a part of the audience is at hand as the full concert is presented to you on the DVD release “Warpaint Live”. Yes this is the exact same show as was presented on the audio release but as you might realize, simply hearing it loses some of that concert magic which and lucky for the home viewer they did not swap a track here and there between the two releases and instead deliver the same tunes that we found on the double CD audio version. I’ve long enjoyed the Black Crowes for what they brought to the table as a band and they always seem to deliver in concert. You cannot help but feel the soulful groove that they lay down with apparent ease on tune after tune. The great difference about this live concert was that it took their “Warpaint” CD and delivered it live in sequential order for maximum fan enjoyment. There is a little bit of difference in the tunes from the studio release against the live versions and that comes by way of a little more extended jamming which is never bad when it comes to a band like The Black Crowes. There is some seriously good musicianship going on and when you watch Rich Robinson play you will be thinking aloud as you wonder why this guy does not get a lot more praise than he does. Chris Robinson’s voice is on top of the game with the recording and he proves himself to be one of the best Blues Rock singers of our time. There is such a passion in every note he utters here without question. Joining the Robinson Brothers is a truly killer band that features Luther Dickinson who not only offers up additional conventional guitar but also some amazing slide guitar as well. The concert captures you right from the get go with “Goodbye Daughters Of The Revolution” and it was one of my fast favorites from both the studio and live release. It was interesting to find the Robinson Brothers delivering this full release to the apparently very interested audience and it just goes to show you that not every bands following deals with such a project the same way. I say this because Iron Maiden presented their entire “A Matter Of Life And Death” for their fans a couple of tours ago and where chastised for it while bands like Dream Theater often do their full new release these days and have fans attending two or three shows in a row. Maybe those Southern Fried Blues Rock fans and the Progressive ones are a little more giving than the straight ahead Heavy Metal ones. I don’t know. Continue reading “Warpaint Live” (Blu-ray) by The Black Crowes→
Artist: Rory Gallagher Title: “Ghost Blues: The Story of Rory Gallagher and The Beat Club Sessions 1971-1972” Label: Eagle Vision Release Date: 9/14/2010 Genre: Blues Rock Rating: 4.5/5
Eaglerock Entertainment expands it’s already impressive offering of Rory Gallagher DVD’s with “Ghost Blues: The Story of Rory Gallagher” a two disc package comprised of a brand new documentary on the Irish guitarist and a disc of live performances originally broadcast on Germany’s Beat Club TV show.
While under appreciated in America based on his single minded aversion to the hype of record company publicity departments, Gallagher carved a unique legacy in Europe through constant touring and barn burning shows. The guy did not have to stand underneath a laser pyramid to get his point across. He grabbed his signature Fender Stratocaster and laid down the truth. Continue reading “Ghost Blues: The Story of Rory Gallagher and The Beat Club Sessions 1971-1972” by Rory Gallagher→
Artist: Rory Gallagher Title: “Crest Of A Wave: The Best Of Rory Gallagher” Label: Eagle Records Release Date: 8/25/2009 Genre: Blues Rock Rating: 4.5/5
Let’s start off by thanking the fine folks of Eagle Rock Entertainment for breathing some new life into many classic performers and their incredible contributions to music. They’ve been keeping our personal music and video libraries stocked to overflowing by their regular dishing out of legacy concert films and even bringing some classic albums out from under the bed and back into the public eye. They continue the process with this amazing double CD release that celebrates the music of Blues-Rock guitarist Rory Gallagher and if you are someone like me who needs a healthy education in the man’s accomplishments, well these 24 tracks are bound to get you onto the right path. The singer and axe-slinger hailed from Ireland, and sadly left us in 1995 after complications from a liver transplant at the young age of 47. Despite the loss, the man’s music continues to impact the lives of innumerable guitarists of note and many of their acolytes and this will allow his name to carry on for generations. The compilation scans the musician’s fifteen albums and from them deducts the live releases which give us a solid nine to work with. Add to this a few of his touching acoustic numbers and you have a really great place to begin your own musical journey into his career or if you are one of the existing diehards that has the whole enchilada, you have a cool disc to bring along with you on trips in the car. I will assume that by leaving the live releases material off this particular release that we shall find a “Best Of Rory Live” coming up next. There is no material from his band Taste and that makes sense since it precedes his solo work releases by a couple of years. Similar to my views on their hopeful release of a live compilation sometime going forward, perhaps if the demand is high enough they will look into doing something for Taste. I would like that since it is a band that was clearly before my time and not something I focused on much as my own interests developed. Continue reading “Crest Of A Wave: The Best Of Rory Gallagher” by Rory Gallagher→