name just a few. There are 88 tracks here, spread across five discs, and even given the fact that sin- gles of that time period were generally 2-2.5 min- utes long, the set runs well over three and a half hours.
The set also includes rare photos and notes
from the Keen archives. One of pop and soul music’s most beautiful and enduring voices, Sam Cooke, lives on in this fine collection. Highly rec- ommended.
-Michael Buffalo Smith
Rebekah Meldrum (self-titled) (Rebekah Meldrum) I’m very impressed
with the debut self-titled release from Indiana- based singer-songwriter Rebekah Meldrum. This preacher’s daughter grew
up singing gospel, but got a penchant for the blues after hearing Koko Taylor at the young age of eight. Guitarist Paul Holdman, her longtime collaborator, makes for a perfect fit, for together they weave a terrific album of earthy, delta-in- spired blues. The rest of the band is comprised of bassist David Murray, drummer Kevin Kouts, with P.J. Yinger on trumpet, and Richard Dole on saxophone. Tad Robinson and Patrick Long share duties on harmonica. love the opening track “Set Your Soul
Free”. It is deliciously swampy to the core. Hold- man’s slide is fantastic and sounds great along- side Robinson’s attention-grabbing harp playing. Meldrum’s vocals are fearless and sweet, as she delivers another fabulous serving of original blues with “Whiskey and Wine”. This one is quite nice. Holdman keeps his performance beautifully crisp, and Robinson shines as he rips it up on harmonica. Meldrum surfs her smooth, velvety voice atop a funky rhythm on “Coat Tails”. Hold- man adds a funky nod to James Brown with his Jimmy Nolen-style chicken-scratch guitar licks. I enjoy the song a lot. Meldrum closes this bodacious seven-track
album with “I’m Here”, a song dedicated to friends and family lost to suicide. The horns add
-Phillip Smith
phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com/
Martin Barre Live in New York (CD/DVD) (MVD)
Jethro Tull’s absolutely amazing guitarist rocks New York city on this 2-CD
+ DVD package that finds Barre delivering the goods on smoking guitar and running through some o0f Tull’s best loved tunes, from “Minstrel in the Gallery” to “Thick as a Brick” and “Skating Away (On the Thin Ice of a New Day” and “Loco- motive Breath.” He also ventures into Beatles ter- ritory with “Eleanor Rigby” and the blues on “Rock Me Baby.” This double album rocks from beginning to end, and as much as I love the vocal and flute of Ian Anderson, the songs hold up quite well under Martin’s leadership. Not to men- tion that guitarist Dan Crisp sings a lot like An- derson, so much so that if you close your eyes, you can almost see the long-haired mad man standing like a flamingo, holding his flute. Alan Thompson on bass (and mandolin and slide gui- tar) is top shelf, as is drimmer George Lindsay (not to be confused with George Lindsey who played Goober on the Andy Griffith Show!) Great Tull favorites like “Teacher” and “A Song for Jef- frey” are performed. I guess the only two I’d love to have seen played are “Aqualung” and “Living in the Past,” but we can’t have everything, right? The DVD is a blast, and watching Barre rip
on guitar is a sheer joy for an old-school rocker like myself. What an exceptional guitarist! The in- timate venue makes for a very up-close and per- sonal performance from this Rock and Roll Hall of Famer. Great songs, great playing. Live in New York is a true joy.
-Michael Buffalo Smith
a sense of a New Orleans second line. It’s really a lovely song. A portion of the profits from this track, are earmarked for donation to the Suicide Prevention Program. This is really a terrific album, and I’d recommend it to any music fan.
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