quarternotes By Michael Buffalo Smith
Otis is back with a smoking hot album called Eyes of the Sun (Cleopatra)If you are unfa- miliar with this rocking young band, simply imagine a mix of ZZ Top, Gov’t Mule, Jimi Hendrix with a little North Mississippi All- stars tossed in. The boys don’t screw around, they mean business, and from the opening notes of “Change” to the final refrains of “Let Your Love Sine Down,” the quartet never lets up. Guitar slingers Boone Froggett and Steve Jewell know how to rip, and bassist John Seeley and drummer Andrew Gilpin form a firm rhythm base for the guitars to dance across. The guys have teamed up with execu- tive producer Paul Nel- son, the man who managed and played guitar for Johnny Winter during his last years, help- ing Johnny to reclaim his title as a legend of blues guitar. Put it this way, with Nelson at the helm, Otis are pretty much guaranteed major success. After all, they already have amazing talent. As a side note, I happened to see them a couple of years ago in Macon, I be- lieve they opened for Wet Willie. I was blown away by them. A great live band to be on the lookout for. Meanwhile, pick up Eyes of the Sun and crank it up. Good stuff. . .Nearly fifty years after his death, a new Jimi Hendrix album is available, further mining the tapes left behind following his death in 1970 at the
age of 27. Both Sides of the Sky features more rare-cuts, including work with Johnny Win- ter, Stephen Stills and more. The album fea- tures some of Hendrix’s sideman work, playing backup guitar for Stephen Stills and Lonnie Youngblood. There are cuts featuring his band with Billy Cox and Buddy Miles, and one of the highlights of the record is Jimi’s version of “Woodstock,” recorded months be- fore Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young cut the Joni Mitchell classic. Another amazing track closes the set, “Cherokee Mist,” a seven-minute Native American space jam fea- turing Hendrix on sitar. A must-have for the Hen- drix fanatic. . . Growing up in Spartanburg, SC, I was fortunate enough to see Uncle Walt’s Band several times prior to their move to Austin, Texas and subsequent success. These three mu-
sicians shared a true chemistry in the music and vocal harmonies that is celebrated in a new release called Anthology: Those Boys from Carolina, They Sure Could Sing (Omni- vore). The trio, consisting of future country star David Ball, along with the late Walter Hyatt and Champ Hood, made such excellent music that they have been described as “the Bluegrass Beatles.” Their music has been cov- ered by everyone from Lyle Lovett to Shawn Colvin and Jerry Jeff Walker. The collection assembles their very best tracks, along with five previously unreleased tracks, and excel- lent liner notes by Nashville journalist (and former Spartanburg boy) Peter Cooper, in a
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