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COLLECTORS CHOICE (www.ccmusic.com)
DICK GREGORY/In Living Black & White; East & West: Brother Greg’s first two albums, released as individual sets for the first time on cd, are just as relevant today that they were almost 50 years ago when the Civil Rights movement was in full flower. There’s obviously a few dated elements here, like references to then current political figures and Colpix’s need to put in interstitial material to make Brother Greg seem like less of an angry Negro to ‘reasonable man’ America, but other than that, no matter what patina we’ve put on social progress, at the core it seems like very little has changed. A perfect example of humor through anger, Brother Greg might have been the scariest man in then America because he had a platform and he wasn’t afraid to use it. His ability as a humorist remains undeniable and it’s well worth picking through the dated elements to enjoy this humor that makes you think.
BILL CHINNOCK/Badlands: Hey, you can’t follow the career of everyone. Chinnock made a killer set on Paramount and disappeared. Who was paying attention in pre-“Born to Run” days that Chinnock was the original leader of The E Street Band? Post “Born to Run”, Atlantic dusted him off and gave him another chance but someone had already claimed the position he was trying to fill. Nonetheless, it’s right on blues rock with plenty of crunch and balls that at least assured him a career of one nighters in the roadhouses of America plying his trade. Crunchy, hard hitting stuff, this might be his best over all set because the budget and label love were being poured out with a generous hand. A first class side trip for the hard core Springsteen completist.
JEFF SIMMONS/Lucille Has Messed Up My Mind: Do you have to be a real Zappa freak to check this out now? Well, Zappa’s long time bass player kicked it out solo on a set that most people probably know if at all because they bought the $1 “Zapped” sampler. A set you can listen to today painlessly because it made such a point of coloring outside the lines then, this dada take on psychedelic blues rock still exists on it’s own plane. Everyone on board, under Zappa’s watchful eye, knew how to play so that isn’t an issue. It’s a lost gem for those that like outsider music that has a wild and wooly edge, an attitude and a real point of view giving it something to say.
BOB EBERLY & HELEN O’CONNELL/Recapturing the Excitement of the Jimmy Dorsey Band: Two of the vocalists Sinatra looked up to as he was coming up, he returned the favor when he has his own label by letting them return as a duo and reprise some of their best loved stuff. Hey boomers, there was a time when these people roamed and ruled the musical landscape. A 1961 set made under Sinatra’s production eye via Lou Busch, he got to put on his misty water colored memories and enjoy what he wanted as the kids were clamoring for Chubby Checker. It’s good to be king. For a walk down memory lane, it felt more contemporary than nostalgic. One thing is certain–if you dig big bands, you’re sure to dig this.
JAKE KOT PUBLICITY
BRYAN BELLER/Thanks in Advance: Hey shrederoonies, Steve Vai’s bass player is on the loose with his second cd (with a dvd bonus disc) and he might be flying under the radar, but this ardent multi tasker is focusing on his music and the laser beam is on point. A full frontal assault, this is not bass for the polite set. A well traveled player that can pretty much do it all, if you admire the bass greats you are simply going to dig this baby. A winner throughout.
(Onion Boy)
Volume 31/Number 321
September 16, 2008
MIDWEST RECORD
830 W. Route 22 #144
Lake Zurich, IL., 60047
CHRIS SPECTOR, Editor and Publisher
©2008 Midwest Record
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