Zandt (E Street Band), Alex Lifeson (Rush), Joe Bonamassa, Larry McCray and Carolyn Wonder- land, all of whom are noted as personal favorites of Mayall. Returning to the studio with the god- father is Greg Rzab on bass guitar and Jay Daven- port on drums. Billy Watts appears on rhythm guitar as well, along with Mayall’s horn section (who are also members of the house band for Conan O’Brian). Produced by Eric Corne (founder of Forty Below Records), and recorded in the famed Foo Fighters’ Studio 606, which houses the legendary Sound City console, the album has a sweet rich sound, and a luxurious, polished ambience. The album opens with a down-
home blues number by Magic Sam, “What Have I Done Wrong.” Mayall’s vocals are perfect for singing the blues, and Joe Bonamassa, needless to say, absolutely tears it up on guitar. Bona- massa also appears on the cover of “Delta Hurri- cane,” the title track to Larry McCray’s 1993 album. The groove on this is delightful, with May- all on keys, Bonamassa on guitar, and a stellar brass accompaniment. McCray kills it on the Al- bert Collins song, “The Moon is Full”. I could lis- ten to him play all day long. His performance on Gary Moore’s “The Hurt Inside” is wonderful too. It’s a rare treat to hear Rush’s Alex Lifeson play hard core blues. With Mayall bringing it home on harp and keys, Lifeson pours himself into his per- formance on “Evil and Here to Stay” a tune from the late, great Jeff Healey. The funky riff Rund- gren opens Little Milton’s “That’s What Love Will Make You Do” with, brings me immediately into the song. The horn section punches it up quite nicely while Rundgren keeps the endorphinic en- ergy flowing freely. Hearing Little Steven dole out some serious blues in “It’s So Tough,” brings a giant smile to my face. It’s nothing short of an amazing listen. I love the three tracks Carolyn Wonder-
land appears on. She boldly takes on Bona- massa’s “Distant Lonesome Train,”and plays the hell out of it. Her slide guitar is an absolute de- light. She also covers a couple of Mayall-penned songs. With the timing of B.B. King, she instills a relaxed breath into title track “Nobody Told Me”, and puts the moxie in “Like it Like You Do.” Nobody Told Me is a one of a kind record. The song choices Mayall makes for this are fan-
tastic, and their execution is absolutely brilliant. -Phillip Smith
Quarternotes
The Allman Goldflies band has a hot debut album out. The Goldflies is David “Rook” Gold- flies, former bassist for the Allman Brothers Band, who teams up with Gary Allman and band to present a nice set of tunes. My immediate fa- vorite was the funky second track, “Can’t Turn Back Now,” with its hot bass line and percussion. The album has it all, everything from blues to country, from funk to jazzy riffs. And then there’s the instrumental “Fadiddle,” featuring some hot fiddle jamming. Of course, there are some good southern rock overtones as well, as in “Pretty Green Eyes,” and the twin leads on “Southern’s All I Ever Want to Be.” “Standing in the Georgia Rain” is a very nice love song, and “When Jesus Calls” brings some good old fashioned gospel music to the project. Nice. A great collection of songs written and performed straight from the heart. . . Jonathan Long has a rocking self-ti- tled debut out on Wild Heart Records. Produced by the excellent Samantha Fish, the music is a mix of heavy southern rock and blues from Baton Rouge that comes out of the chute kicking with “Bury Me.” Jonathan has a good voice, and the songs are catchy. I was first drawn in by the por- trait of Long on the cover, looking quite a bit like Ronnie Van Zant. The band is really tight, and there are plenty of hot guitar solos. . . The Best of Everything is the second posthumous release from Tom Petty and it’s the definitive collection. Two CDs, 38 songs that include one previously unreleased track “For Real” along with an alter- nate version of the title track. A slew of hits in- clude “Free Fallin,” “Mary Jane’s Last Dance,” “A,erican Girl,” “Refugee,” “Southern Accents,” “Wildflowers,” “The Waiting,” and “Stop Draggin My Heart Around” with Stevie Nicks, to name a few. It is the first career spanning best of pack- age. Not a lame track to be found. . . •
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62
