July / August 2003
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LOU REED |
NEW RIDERS OF THE PURPLE SAGE |
ASSOCIATION |
THE SHADOWS |
JACK BRUCE |
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JETHRO
TULL A Passion Play (Chrysalis / Capitol) By 1971 Jethro Tull were so huge and Ian Anderson was such a rock cult hero that they could be so daring to invent a new musical language which resulted in their 1972 album Thick As A Brick and in a similar spirit, their 1973 follow of A Passion Play. Perhaps Tull decided one last time to create something that went beyond the 3 or 4 minute rock song, which of course they would return to with their next full length CD War Child. Blessed by Tulls embryonic approach to progressive jazz and chamber rock, A Passion Play remains a high point among all their 70s titles. The EMI/Chrysalis Records 2003 CD version sounds great and features the artwork from the Lp along plus an enhanced track with the never before seen video for The Hare That Lost His Spectacles. Tull bassist, Jeffrey Hammond-Hammonds performance here is in a word, amazing. In a related windfall for Tull fans, Chrysalis have also done the right thing with 2003 reissues of of Tulls 1977 and 78 albums Songs From The Wood and Heavy Horses, each repackaged with new liner notes by Ian and a pair of bonus tracks apiece. www.j-tull.com
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LOU
REED From the liner notes of Lou Reeds 2003 double CD retrospective David Bowie states, Lou brought rock into the avant garde. He gave us the environment in which to put out our more theatrical vision. Lous glam rock classic Transformer and his legendary live set from 1974, Rock And Roll Animal remain rock staples, but as this double CD clearly depicts, Lou Reed could rock and roll with the best of them. Instead of putting together a basic CD set of his biggest and best, Lou went one step beyond, sequencing past and present tracks with various live and alternate cuts. In Lous own words, Weve been trying to construct this double CD set from the point of view of which songs relate to each other in the best fashion, not from a chronological point of view. Theres several key trackssuch as Sweet Jane, Rock N Roll and Im Waiting For The Manfrom his days with Velvet Underground and bringing the story up to date, disc one kicks off with a previously unreleased version of Who Am I? from Lous 2003 album The Raven. A fascinating overview of rocks most compelling and pioneering singer-songwriters, NYC Man: The Collectioncomplete with track by track liner notes from Lou and 20 pages of illustrative memorabiliawill amaze devotees and newcomers alike. www.LouReed.com
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NEW
RIDERS OF THE PURPLE SAGE A
group of musicians long associated with The Grateful Dead, the New Riders
featured the incredibly gifted vocals, songwriting and acoustic guitar
work of John Dawson (a/k/a Marmaduke). The self-titled
N.R.P.S. album debut was released in 1971 and it was an instant
smash with the Dead heads andwith songs like Dirty Business,
Last Lonely Eagle and the set closer Louisiana Ladyeven
today, the album remains one of the finest psychedelic country albums
of the early 70s. In addition to the core group of Marmaduke,
David Nelson (guitar) and Dave Torbert (bass), the N.R.P.S.
album also spotlights contributions from Jerry Garcia (pedal
steel, banjo) drummers Spencer Dryden and Mickey Hart along
with the piano work of Commander Cody. Sporting an all-star musical
crew and a memorable lineup of tracks, Legacys 2003 CD reissue
of the fabled N.R.P.S. album is rounded off by three bonus tracks
from a July 2, 1971 Fillmore West show and new liner notes from Rob
Bleetstein. Coinciding with the Legacy reissue of the first New
Riders album on CD comes New Riders Of The Purple Sage - Live:
Worcester, MA 4/4/73. The double CD live release on the
Santa Monica-based Kufala Recordings is a fine representation
of just how effective the band sounded in concert. Decked out with cool
bootleg-style artwork, the album benefits from quite decent sound quality.
www.nrpsmusic.com
/ www.kufala.com
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THE
ASSOCIATION
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THE
SHADOWS A's B's & EP's (EMI) Over in London, EMI continues to find interesting ways to market the back catalog of Englands greatest guitar instrumental group The Shadows. As Bs & EPs features 24 Shadows tracks originally released on singles and their EPs between 1961-1964. Back in the 60s, EP's were usually a 7" 45 record with 2 or 3 tracks per side that were usually produced to take advantage of the teenage market. With their prodigious output of guitar-based instrumentals and vocal tracks, The Shadows were always up for the task and these 24 tracks, featuring some of their great covers and originals, represent some of their best tracks taken from classic Shadows EPs like Wonderful Land Of The Shadows and Shindig With The Shadows. Perhaps the most amazing thing here is how great these original mono masters have translated onto CD. Soundwise, EMI has come a long way since their early Shadows CDs from the mid 80s and As Bs & EPs is a splendid introduction to their enormous legacy. Fans of EMIs classic artists should also check out EMI's As Bs & EPs from The Animals and Manfred Mann. www.emigold.com / www.mcr26.freeserve.co.uk
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JACK
BRUCE
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