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8
Album Review

The Doors: Live At The Matrix 1967: The Original Masters

Read "Live At The Matrix 1967: The Original Masters" reviewed by Doug Collette


With a glossy finish adding to the diaphanous effect, the color filters applied to the images of the Doors inside and outside the package capture the essence of the music inside. In a most practical sense. Reliably sourced from the master tapes this time--in contrast to the 2008 release--Live At The Matrix 1967 : The Original Masters contains thirty- seven tracks from the San Francisco shows and posits the iconic group as a balanced four-man collective prior to the popularity ...

4
Album Review

Joni Mitchell: Joni Mitchell at Newport

Read "Joni Mitchell at Newport" reviewed by Dave Linn


Just over a year ago, in July 2022, the internet was abuzz with the news that Joni Mitchell had performed at the Newport Folk Festival. After regular gatherings at Mitchell's home by various artists of a younger generation, who saw her as a major influence on their music, they decided to put their so-called “Joni Jam" live on stage. Audience videos of various quality circulated which led to the impression that the get-together, organized by singer Brandi Carlile, Marcus Mumford ...

9
Extended Analysis

RFK Stadium, Washington, D.C. 6/10/73

Read "RFK Stadium, Washington, D.C. 6/10/73" reviewed by Doug Collette


As much or more so than any previously released new release or archive package, the cover art of Grateful Dead's RFK Stadium, Washington, D.C. 6/10/73 accurately (and vividly) reflects the nuances of the music behind the enticing graphics. In a pastel green and pink/orange color scheme of both matt and glossy finish, Masaki Koike's intricate designs hint at the dense subtleties the iconic band infuses into its chosen range of material during this approximately four-hour cull from the larger seventeen-CD ...

8
Album Review

Bob Weir: Ace - 50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition (2CD)

Read "Ace - 50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition (2CD)" reviewed by Doug Collette


Befitting its heady milestone date, the title of Bob Weir's initial solo album, Ace, carries multiple meanings. First of all, it was the Grateful Dead guitarist, vocalist & songwriter's nickname at the time of its gestation and completion (his bawdy persona as such mirrored in the ultra-suave pose on the inside photo as well as the risque cover art). More importantly, the album's name is also a reflection of the gambling lore so prevalent in songs of the ...

21
Album Review

Little Feat: Waiting For Columbus Live Deluxe (8 CD) Box Set

Read "Waiting For Columbus Live Deluxe (8 CD) Box Set" reviewed by Mike Jacobs


Aside from the Grateful Dead (and possibly Rush), there's perhaps no band that can boast a more die-hard fan base than Little Feat's. It seems that embracing a group with prime instrumental and songwriting skills, that authentically incorporates rock, country, blues and New Orleans funk, with some jazz and even fusion touches, that were the darlings of their top-tier rock contemporaries and DJs alike--and that for some reason never really got the popular attention they deserved--makes the embrace that much ...

11
Extended Analysis

Lyceum Theatre, London, England - 5/26/72

Read "Lyceum Theatre, London, England - 5/26/72" reviewed by Doug Collette


The final night of any given tour can find the musicians excited at the prospects of jobs well-done throughout the prior road work or exhausted and lethargic from their previous labors. Fifty years ago, when the Grateful Dead's Europe '72 (Warner Bros., 1972) was released, the third LP of the set (conceived as such in part as fulfillment of their contract with the label), included material from the final show of the now mythic tour, clearly documenting how these psychedelic ...

5
Album Review

Grateful Dead: Dave’s Picks Volume 38: Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale, NY 9/8/73

Read "Dave’s Picks Volume 38: Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale, NY 9/8/73" reviewed by Doug Collette


For all the most practical of reasons, the Grateful Dead were never better in live performance than in 1973-1974. Those pertinent virtues of this iconic rock and roll band on stage are fully on display over the course of this three-CD edition of Dave's Picks, a clear depiction of the sweet spot between structured and open-ended playing, based on splendid songs, within which the group comfortably resided during this period. First off, the iconic band had a wealth ...

8
Album Review

Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers: Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers With Thelonious Monk (Deluxe Edition)

Read "Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers With Thelonious Monk (Deluxe Edition)" reviewed by Chris May


Rhino's new series of reissues of historic albums from the late 1950s/early 1960s hit the ground running in 2020 with John Coltrane's Giant Steps (Atlantic, 1960). Spring 2022 has already seen Charles Mingus' Trio (Jubilee, 1957) and Coltrane's My Favorite Things (Atlantic, 1961). Hot on their heels comes Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers With Thelonious Monk (Alantic, 1958). Each reissue is a double disc. Disc one contains the original album. Disc two comprises outtakes, some previously ...

12
Album Review

John Coltrane: My Favorite Things: 60th Anniversary Deluxe Edition

Read "My Favorite Things: 60th Anniversary Deluxe Edition" reviewed by Chris May


Sonically improved reissues—strikingly improved reissues—of classic John Coltrane albums are becoming regular events. Rhino/Atlantic kicked things off in 2020 with the 2 CD Giant Steps (Atlantic, 1960). Switzerland's ezz-thetics followed through in 2021 with Chasin' The Trane, a reissue of Live At The Village Vanguard: The Master Takes (Impulse, 1998), and Song Of Praise, a reissue of One Down, One Up (Impulse, 2005). The good times continue to roll in 2022 with ezz-thetics' Favorites Revisited, a compilation ...

7
Album Review

Charles Mingus: Mingus Three (Deluxe Edition)

Read "Mingus Three (Deluxe Edition)" reviewed by Chris May


The 100th anniversary of the birth of the Promethean genius Charles Mingus falls on April 22, 2022--and Rhino/Parlophone are releasing a 2 x CD edition of Mingus Three (aka Trio, Jubilee, 1957) to coincide. Disc one contains the original LP, vibrantly remastered by Dominique Brethes at Flow Mastering in London. Disc two consists of six previously unreleased outtakes, recently discovered in the Parlophone tape library and mastered by Brethers; also included are two untitled blues from the same session.


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