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MALSICK MUSICK
RICK MALSICK/Bottom Feeders Jamboree: If Kansas City had it’s own version of “Prairie Home Companion“, Malsick would have to be one of it’s resident characters. A real throwback to the coffeehouse troubadour you began to take for granted because you could see him every Wednesday night, his daffy exterior hides a cat that cruises at the top of his game when it comes to awards, recognition and the like. A cross between your good time pal and your crazy uncle, Malsick just wants to let the good times roll and keep from having to work a real job. Not a bad set of goals. Well worth checking out if you delight in the off beat.
MICHAEL BLOOM MEDIA RELATIONS
CARMEN McRAE/Live at the Flamingo Jazz Club: It’s one of those viscitudes of time things. McRae was not chopped liver but she isn’t remembered today with the other great ladies of her era like Dinah Washington in the same way. As good as her records were, it was her non records like “Live at Ratso’s” that always did it for me. In the spirit of the non-records, this was one of McRae’s first appearances out of the US and she was out to impress. Every inch a diva in command of her tools and art, this is a super set that really makes you think 1961 was her year. With a program of standards when they were just at the end of their first golden era you can’t help but real like a grown up when you give this a spin. Put your contemporary divas a side for a minute and check out how this stuff is supposed to sound.
14 (Acrobat)
RAVEN
RICHIE HAVENS/Richard P. Havens, 1983: Fresh from being one of the incendiaries at Woodstock, Havens 3rd album found him making an ambitious double album that was mostly studio tracks but added some live stuff to let the rest of the country know what they missed. Recorded when it was still allowable to record cover songs and well before the age of song doctors, Havens took a wider lens then the folk rock he was known for, letting the energy fly. A wild and wooly set from the first great age of genre bending, one listen to this and you know this is much more than a time piece. Forget all that peace and love stuff, this was something waiting to burst out.
274
VIZZTONE
BRUCE KATZ BAND/Live at the Firefly: Look, a guy named Bruce Katz playing blues lends itself to jokes that write themselves but in the case of this Katz, he’s backs up Gregg Allman, John Hammond and others and has landed himself a nomination for blues piano player of the year. Add to that hanging heavily with Duke Robilllard and guesting on his various projects and you have a Katz that isn’t worried about going to law school for a back up plan. He might have been brought up on matzoh balls but his playing has no schmaltz. A delightfully explosive date heavy on originals, here’s a roadhouse special all set to blow your ears wide open. Hot, contemporary blues that works throughout.
1001 (Brown Dog)
MATTHEW STUBBS/Soul Bender: Young blues guitar man that doesn’t let labels limit him taking full advantage of the freedom that comes with being 25 years old adhering to the sky as the limit. A high octane rocker of a cat, he might not be what purists are looking for even if Charlie Musselwhite numbers himself as a Stubbs employer, but if you have traditional ears that want the freshness of something contemporary, you can be sure this is the kind of cd you’ll be keeping in the car whether stuck in city traffic or stretching out for a long ride to somewhere.
1001
YELLOW DOG
ASYLUM STREET SPANKERS/What? And Give Up Show Biz?: If Blue Man Group had a rumble with classic Poi Dog Pondering and they knifed each other with Firesign Theatre records, you might get this crew as a result. Sort of a Cirque de Soleil for the rest of us (without yuppie pretensions), this long running gang of musical hooligans probably wanted to grow up and be Spike Jones when everyone else wanted to grow up and be Beatles. Totally nuts stuff that’s a wonderful gasser, this is just what you need when a good time is called for. As offbeat as they come and more than welcome, this could turn out to be the most influential double live album since “Frampton Comes Alive“ invented the format.
1408
Volume 31/Number 347
October 12, 2008
MIDWEST RECORD
830 W. Route 22 #144
Lake Zurich, IL., 60047
CHRIS SPECTOR, Editor and Publisher
©2008 Midwest Record
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