Grateful Dead – Road Trips, Vol. 4, No. 2 – April Fools '88

Grateful Dead – Road Trips, Vol. 4, No. 2 – April Fools '88
2011, Rhino Records/Dead.net

Dead.net and Rhino Records continue their brilliant Road Trips series in 2011.  The first release, a 3-disc offering entitled April Fools '88, features live performances from Brendan Byrne Arena (then known as The Meadowlands) from March 31^st and April 1^st of 1988.  Generally renowned for their concert performances, the recordings from these two nights are like capturing lightning in a bottle, with rare performances and a stage energy from the band that is simply exceptional.

Some very rare tracks can be found in the middle of the show, including “To Lay Me Down” and Bob Dylan’s “Ballad Of A Thin Man”.   The sets offered here are full of classic Dead tunes as well,  but the real prize is the energy and flow of the two shows; especially the April 1^st performance.  The Grateful Dead were in the fullness of their musical powers in 1988, and Jerry Garcia was a new man after his medical trouble two years previous.  The result was a stunning live show, and a brilliantly produced and mastered archival record in the form of April Fools '88.  If you’re a Dead fan, this is a must have, and if you’re looking for a good introduction to the Grateful Dead, you couldn’t choose better.

Rating: 4.5 Stars (Out of 5)

Learn more about Grateful Dead at http://www.dead.net/, where you can order a copy of Road Trips, Vol. 4, No. 2 – April Fools '88.

Review: Doug Yeomans & Ben Doerfel - Generation Gap

Doug Yeomans & Ben Doerfel - Generation Gap
2009, Roots Music Records

Doug Yeomans is a Western, New York singer/songwriter and guitarist who can play almost anything with six strings on it. A renowned guitarist in Jazz, Rock, Blues and Bluegrass, Yeomans has one international guitar competition win under his belt and nearly 40 years of performance experience. Ben Doerfel is still in his middle teens and already picks a six string better than a host of people who have been doing it all their lives. The two team up on the wonderful collection entitled Generation Gap.

Generation Gap opens with Gold Rush, a classic fiddle tune that's done here with great texture and nuance. Yeomans and Doerfel trade runs with aplomb in a gentle game of one-upmanship where the only winner is the listener. Big Sciota is of a slightly gentler nature. This tune has been recorded by everyone from Jerry Douglas to Old Crow Medicine Show and is an old Bluegrass favorite. Yeomans and Doerfel show off a bit here, pulling off some fast and fancy fretwork in what might be the best technical recording on the disc. Up next is Wildwood Flower, a song written in 1860 by Joseph Philbrick Webster and made famous by The Carter Family. The tune itself was also used by Woody Guthrie for the verses of The Sinking Of The Reuben James. Yeomans And Doerfel treat Wildwood Flower with much deference, offering a soft and meandering reading that is a pleasure to listen to.

Shady Grove is another American Folk Song with roots in both Celtic and Bluegrass traditions. It's been recorded by a score of notable artists including Jerry Garcia and Dave Grisman, Bill Monroe, Patty Loveless and Crooked Still. Doug Yeomans provides the vocal line very capable, but the picking is where the real action is at. Yeomans and Doerfel push each other to new heights in a bit of inspired play. Yeomans breaks out the banjo on Salt Creek, while Doerfel handles guitar duties. The interplay of the two instruments here is magical. Yeomans also kicks in through the wonders of technology with a second guitar part. Louise finds the duo taking a break from serious picking for a sweet and mellow country song. Yeomans is in wonderful voice.

After that brief interlude, Yeomans and Doerfel are right back at it on Clinch Mountain Backstep, a case of musical finger calisthenics with a serious Bluegrass feel. The guitar work here is so good it will make you weep. Bill Cheatham is another Bluegrass standard that's been recorded by folks such as Doc Watson, Leo Kottke and Chet Atkins. Yeomans and Doerfel both earn their CGPs on this gem. St. Anne's Reel explores the Celtic roots of bluegrass with a gentle touch that makes for a highly pleasant listen. Cherokee Shuffle is a traditional tune popularized by Fairport Convention. This is a technically difficult song to play and the duo make it sound easy. Generation Gap concludes with an instrumental take on Amazing Grace that grows from a meandering, pensive opening to a bluesy run to a verse played in the ethereal harmonic tones of the string-tops before ending on a vaguely jazzy reading.

Doug Yeomans and Ben Doerfel pull of an amazing performance on Generation Gap, made all the more impressive by the fact that Doerfel was only fourteen at the time it was recorded. The market for this sort of guitar instrumental album is somewhat limited, but if you are a guitar player, or particularly if you're learning, this is an album you must own. Fiddle tunes are often forgotten by players once they've used them in lessons to master fretwork and fast-picking techniques, but Yeomans and Doerfel remind us of what a pleasure they can be to hear when done right.

Rating: 4.5 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about Doug Yeomans at www.dougyeomans.com. You can learn more about Ben Doerfel at www.myspace.com/bdoerfel. I could locate no online outlet for Generation Gap, although if you contact Doug Yeomans through his website I’m sure he’ll be happy to sell you one.

Review: 8 Ball Aitken - Rebel With A Cause

8 Ball Aitken - Rebel With A Cause
2009, Phoenix Movement Records

Sometimes the music we grew up with (individually or as a culture) is harder to hear, so wave of international artists finding success with American Roots music is no surprise. Along comes Queensland, Australia's 8 Ball Aitken, a banana picker turned guitar picker who appears to be channeling the very soul of Country, Blues and Roots music as it grew out of the Southern United States. 8 Ball Aitken's debut album, Rebel With A Cause has generated two top-10 Country singles in his native Australia and won him a 2008 EMI Music Blues & Roots Song Of The Year Award for Yellow Moon. Aitken has played dates in the UK, Singapore and North America, recently putting in a stellar performance at Canadian Music Week. It's only a matter of time before North American audiences catch on to 8 Ball Aitken.

Rebel With A Cause opens with Cyclone Country, a bluesy Southern Rocker with some serious honky-tonk in its lineage. Aitken has a wonderfully smooth and lyric rock voice that contrasts nicely with the heavily country-influenced Rock N Roll. Cyclone Country is built on a killer lick that would make ZZ Top beam with pride and a chorus you can't help but sing/hum along to. Cowboy Movie is all about taking a stand for what you know to be right regardless of the consequences. The allegory is poetic if unexpected and the melody is pure honey. The Party has a vague Dire Straits-does-Country feel to it; this is a tune that's sure to be a favorite live and will get your hips swaying even if you're not inclined to dance.

Hands On Top Of The Wheel is a straight-forward Country Rocker ala The Eagles, (complete with a sound-alike vocal). This is probably the song on the disc with the biggest commercial potential, particularly for licensing. Aitken incorporates some deliciously dirty slide guitar work on Black Swamp Creek, although lyrically the song is a bit cliché. Outback Booty Call is an amusing Southern Rock tune with clear intentions and a bit of a twist at the end. This should be another concert favorite and I could picture this ending up on a movie soundtrack somewhere. Yellow Moon features a driving bass line and great Southern Rock n Blues sound, Texas style. The track is memorable and will keep you moving. Guitar Man sounds like it should be a classic Rock staple, but it's an Aitken original. There's a feel here that's very similar to John Fogerty, and the song itself will have you scratching your head wondering where you've heard it before. Rocky Road is an upbeat, catchy southern Rocker that leads into The Other Side, which goes back a few decades for a classic sound that is refreshing.

Rebel With A Cause is one of those albums you simply can't ignore. Even with the occasional flaw it has to be in the discussion of top Roots Music efforts for the year thus far. Aitken's voice is so fluid and his delivery so down-home that he puts you immediately at ease. The musicianship on Rebel With A Cause is world class, and the songwriting is more legitimate and more original than much of the roots material you're likely to hear. 8 Ball Aitken has a real winner on his hands here.

Rating: 4 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about 8 Ball Aitken at http://www.8ballaitken.com/ or www.myspace.com/8ballaitken. You can purchase a copy of Rebel With A Cause at CDBaby.com.

Review: Deadwood Revival - Deadwood Revival Sat 730

Deadwood Revival - Deadwood Revival Sat 730
2009, Deadwood Revival

The state of Washington might be the home to the next great Jam Band. The Deadwood Revival brings their brand of "hillbilly jamgrass" wherever they grow across the northwest US, winning new fans at every stop along the way. Inspired by Jerry Garcia, Deadwood Revival hits a musical state that equals or exceeds The Grateful Dead at the height of their musical powers with discreet moments of instrumental genius and vocal harmonies that are heavenly. Vocalist Trenerry, in particular has a distinctive sound that crosses Kitty Wells with Allison Krauss and makes for an extremely pleasurable listen. Deadwood Revivals' newest CD, a live recording called Deadwood Revival Sat 730 captures the spirit and spit of their live shows while showcasing what may be one of the elite bands in the folk/country divide.

Deadwood Revival Sat 730 opens with Ain't The Buyin' Kind, a song about someone who is more into roaming than settling down. The instrumentation and vocal harmonies are dead on in a delicious blend of bluegrass and folk that will get your feet moving. Red Rocking Chair and Sugar Hill are traditional tunes given the DwR touch. Red Rocking Chair is great back porch music, and Sugar Hill is a rambunctious tune featuring the vicious fiddle work of Julie Campbell. Up next is a cover of Johnny Cash's Big River. The crowd gets really into this one, particularly the jam. DwR sounds inspired here.

Glendale Train may be the musical height of the disc, with the musicianship reaching near-perfection and a tremendous mix on the vocal harmonies. Campbell in particular should be memorialized for this performance. Guitar/Banjo player Jason Mogi chips in four original compositions, highlighted by When I'm Gone. This is one of those songs you'll find yourself singing along to the first time you hear it, and Mogi's guitar work will have the guitar players out there trying to figure out the tabs for the rest of the night. Grateful Dead fans will get excited about the Hunter and Garcia song China Cat Sunflower, which is reverent to the original in both form and spirit, but the highlight of the disc is Trenerry's Mattie's Jam/Shake The Barnhouse Down. Get ready for 11 1/2 minutes of musical bliss! Cover My Tracks and Daisy are fun listens, and don't overlook the band's take on Cotton Eyed Joe; one of the best I've heard.

Deadwood Revival is the sort of band that connects with listeners almost instantly (even through recorded media). The musical trip is there for the taking, all you have to do is let go. Deadwood Revival Sat 7:30 is an exquisite recording you'd be happy for on a road trip. Fans of bluegrass, country, folk and 1960's psychedelia will all find something here. Check it out.

Rating: 4.5 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about Deadwood Revival at http://www.deadwoodrevival.com/. You can purchase Deadwood Revival Sat 730 on CD through www.cdbaby.com/cd/deadwoodrevival3.

Review: Fillmore: The Last Days DVD

Fillmore: The Last Days
2009, Rhino Records

June saw the DVD debut of a long lost Rock N Roll treasure. In the 1960's, The Fillmore West (San Francisco) was to California Rock N Roll what CBGB's was to the 1970's Punk scene in New York. Many of the bands known for propagating what became known as the San Francisco sound either got their start there or played there on their way up. Rock legend Bill Graham ran the place, but closed it in 1971 because he felt the music business was becoming jaded: Artists were getting too full of their own success and began demanding too much. Graham decided to get out before the music business ruined the music (he was also a visionary). Graham didn't go quietly however. He scheduled five nights of shows, culminating on July 4, 1971 with a show that included Santana, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Tower Of Power and others.

In 1972, the documentary Fillmore: The Last Days was released. Aside from the music it included, it was a gritty look at the dark side of the music business. Some of these insights my seem a bit dated but are still relevant today. The DVD features performances the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Jerry Garcia, Santana, Lamb, Cold Blood, Hot Tuna, The Rowan Brothers, The Elvin Bishop Group and New Riders Of The Purple Sage. The track entitled "Rehearsal Jam" (The Rowan Brothers) is probably the musical highlight of the DVD, and that's saying a lot considering the artists and material presented here. While the documentary is 37 years old and focused on the San Francisco sound, it's a shame that at least one track from Creedence Clearwater Revival's legendary July 4 set wasn't included.

The DVD is being released by Rhino Records in conjunction with The Bill Graham Memorial Foundation, which continues its philanthropic efforts on the part of under-represented or under-funded causes. The foundation offers grants in the areas of music, arts, education, social work, environmental protect and spiritual compassion-based projects. If you're a fan of San Francisco Rock scene of the 1960's and early 1970's then this is a must-have DVD. If you're an artist trying to make it in the music business (particularly as an Indie artist), then you really ought to buy or at least rent this DVD. If Bill Graham were alive today he'd undoubtedly be shepherding the Indie movement. The movie is well presented and still highly relevant almost four decades after its original release. Rhino has done a great job with the presentation, right down to the liner notes by original Rolling Stone editor Ben Fong-Torres. Fillmore: The Last Days is essential viewing for rock fans and all those who would make music in a commercial environment.

Rating: 4 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about Fillmore West at http://www.thefillmore.com/. You can purchase a copy of Fillmore: The Last Days at Amazon.com. You can learn more about The Bill Graham Memorial Foundation at http://www.billgrahammemorialfoundation.org/.

Review: Grateful Dead - To Terrapin: Hartford '77

Grateful Dead – To Terrapin: Hartford ‘77
2009, Rhino Records

1977 may have been the musical apex of the Grateful Dead’s career. The world of music was being roiled around them with the emergence of punk and disco as popular forms, but the Dead were at the height of their collective powers coming off a 2-year touring hiatus and on the way to recording what may be their best album, Terrapin Station. On May 28, 1977, Grateful Dead took to the stage of Hartford Civic Center in Hartford, Connecticut. The entire show has been preserved and remastered in the form of To Terrapin: Hartford ’77, released in April of 2009 on Rhino Records

To Terrapin: Hartford ’77 features Jerry Garcia, Donna Jean Godchaux, Keith Godchaux, Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann, Phil Lesh and Bob Weir. The band floated through classic such as Bertha, Sugaree (nearly 20 minutes worth), Jack Straw, One More Saturday Night and Playing In The Band. The real treat for the crowd were songs such as Estimated Prophet, Terrapin Station and Passenger, which would be released several weeks later on Terrapin Station. At 3-CDs and 21 songs this set is a bargain, and beats any existing bootleg for sound quality, as all tracks are up to HDCD standards. This is the perfect set for a hardcore Deadhead, and the ideal introduction to a band that holds a vaunted place in the history of rock music. To Terrapin: Hartford ’77 is highly recommended.

Rating: 4 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about Grateful Dead at http://www.gratefuldead.com/. You can purchase To Terrapin: Hartford ’77 at Amazon.com or wherever music is sold. Downloads are available through iTunes.