Artist: Black Crowes Title: “Warpaint Live” Label: Eagle Vision Release Date: 6/30/2009 Genre: Blues Rock Rating: 4/5
We recently reviewed the excellent CD version of this concert HERE 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” (DVD) by The Black Crowes→
Artist: Johnny Winter Title: “The Woodstock Experience” Label: Sony Legacy Release Date: 6/30/2009 Genre: Blues Rock Rating: 4/5
In celebration of the 40th Anniversary of the Woodstock Festival, Sony Legacy has released a number of special recordings under the title of “The Woodstock Experience”. While available as a limited edition boxed set, the five recordings are also available separately. Each comes packaged in a sturdy cardboard slipcase that houses the album that the artist had released or been supporting at that time in 1969 along with a second CD that features their full Woodstock Festival performance. They are placed in mini-album covers and where the original album is a complete replica, the Woodstock set offers historical liner notes about the gig. It also features a poster of the artist that was taken at the show. The five releases present Johnny Winter, Santana, Janis Joplin, Jefferson Airplane and Sly & The Family Stone. As we did not have the limited edition box set we are instead offering up views on the releases on a one by one basis. Here are our thoughts on the “Johnny Winter: The Woodstock Experience” CD. Continue reading “The Woodstock Experience” by Johnny Winter→
Artist: The Black Crowes Title: “Warpaint Live” Label: Eagle Records Release Date: 4/28/2009 Genre: Blues Rock & Roll Rating: 4/5
Wasting no time since the 2008 release of their excellent “Warpaint” CD, The Black Crowes have returned with a live CD that presents that entire previous studio album and more on the appropriately titled “Warpaint Live”. This is not a new practice for bands to do in their career by delivering a studio effort and then releasing a concert CD or DVD film of the tour that supported it and such things have become commonplace for bands like Iron Maiden, Rush and Dream Theater and while The Black Crowes are very musically different from these acts, it was only a matter of time before the others followed suit on a usually successful practice. The double CD effort does its job by delivering the full “Warpaint” CD on the first disc from beginning to end and having heard this studio album I had to say that it works even better in the live sense. The Black Crowes are probably one of the finest artisans of the Blues Rock genre and it seems that when they get on the stage that they always manage to deliver a solid good time. If you don’t believe me just listen to the crowd response between the song breaks. “Warpaint” was an album that very simply works well as a single piece of music to listen to and by doing it in its entirety in the live sense the band shows their own strong belief in this full body of work also. Favorites of mine come via the albums opening track “Goodbye Daughters Of The Revolution” and closer of “Whoa Mule” on the live “Warpaint” part of the show. From the sound of it, this is a show that I know that I would have enjoyed attending and it’s the pureness and richness of musical tone from the Robinson brothers who win me over with note after note. Chris Robinson as a vocalist is really one of the best that this genre has ever produced and he sings with such passion that it’s like a tangible thing. Continue reading “Warpaint Live” by The Black Crowes→
Artist: The Answer Title: “Never Too Late” Label: The End Records Release Date: 11/18/2008 Genre: Hard Rock Rating: 4/5
I had only heard about The Answer when I learned that they would be opening up for ACDC during the bands recent tour and while I had not attended those shows it was reported that they were killing the audiences and leaving them screaming for more. Given that I was eager to give them a listen and now had my chance with this EP CD/DVD set called “Never Too Late”. The band hails from Belfast, Ireland and delivers a really healthy brand of Groove Hard Rock for lack of a better specification. I felt there were a lot of Led Zeppelin similarities based on the driving riffs of the guitar and pounding of the drums and let’s face it, this is never a bad band to call to mind. The tunes are catchy with the easy to find yourself singing choruses and lyrics and with their singer Cormac, the notes seem to propel to the upper atmosphere. Really interesting stuff and with the EP only bearing four tunes I was left wanting more. “Never Too Late” rocks and my second favorite comes via “Come Follow Me”. It’s all good stuff at the end of the day and I am sure that there are incredible things ahead of these dudes if the right people are listening. The EP comes with a bonus DVD that is loaded with about 45 minutes of content that will allow you to gain a better understanding about them. We’ll talk on that next. Continue reading “Never Too Late” by The Answer→
Artist: The Lizards Title: “4.2.11” Label: Hyperspace Records Release Date: 9/23/2008 Style: Hard Rock/Blues Rock Rating: 4/5
“4.2.11” is the title of the live concert DVD that captures one of the hardest working Rock acts that I have seen in a few years – New York’s own The Lizards. I’ve been fortunate enough to have caught the band in performance a number of times over the past three years and based on their gigs as opener for Cactus, Zebra and UFO, they have managed to build up an impressive following of their own with their tasty Hard Rock meets the Heavy Blues. Their sound is instantly gratifying to those who long for the more traditional style of Rock and Roll as opposed to what is packaged as it for today’s mainstream marketplace and with the four members being excellent at what they do, the entire performance will keep you interested from the moment it starts until it runs its course. If you don’t know about them, well The Lizards are indeed a New York area band whose membership features singer Mike DeMeo (formerly of Riot), guitarist Patrick Klein, bassist Randy Pratt (who also delivers some harp for Cactus) and drummer Bobby Rondinelli (Blue Oyster Cult, Black Sabbath and Rainbow). DeMeo has a super powered Blues voice with some solid range and while at moments he seems to easily hit the heights of someone like Robert Plant, there are moments where he is subtle and reserved like Paul Rodgers. During the set he also offers up some wonderful keyboards and this makes tunes like “Hyperspace” come to bigger and brighter life. Pratt by the same token makes sure to present some of his harmonica skills which bring the Blues aspect of this band to a much deeper level. The first seven numbers of the film come from the bands opening set for Cactus, and we appear to get the full performance from that night as well. Guitarist Klein impresses on every number with one of the purest and cleanest sounds I have heard from a Rock act at this same venue. Clearly he knows not only what he is doing on the guitar but also how to work best in a room like the venerated B.B. King Blues Club and Grill, which is where this part of the footage comes from. Between the sets we find casual band commentary that will enlighten their fans a little bit more about their own lives as musicians and how they have worked together for the benefit of Rock and Roll. The title of the film seems to be a slight nod to the band Spinal Tap, whose amps went to “11”, and my guess is that the “4” references the fact that we can enjoy four different setting of the band in action. Continue reading “4.2.11” by The Lizards→
