Monday, August 11, 2014

NEW RELEASES: ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND - 1971 FILLMORE EAST RECORDINGS; HERBIE HANCOCK / WAYNE SHORTER / RON CARTER / TONY WILLIAMS - TEMPEST IN THE COLOSSEUM; KING FLOYD - THINK ABOUT IT

THE ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND - THE 1971 FILLMORE EAST RECORDINGS

One of the best live albums of all time is about to get considerably better. The Allman Brothers Band's cornerstone LP, At Fillmore East, compiled from the four sets recorded on the weekend of March 12-13, 1971, has been expanded, stretching over six CDs with fifteen unreleased tracks. Additionally, The 1971 Fillmore East Recordings contains the complete June 27 performance during the iconic venue-s final weekend, after the band was handpicked by impresario Bill Graham to headline closing night. The 1971 Fillmore East Recordings captures the most inspired improvisational rock unit ever at the peak of their prodigious powers, blazing their way through extended instrumental elaborations, so taut and virtuosic, that the crowds that packed the Fillmore East on those memorable nights were utterly transfixed. When it came to live performance, no other band could touch the Allmans. The 1971 Fillmore East Recordings' includes 37 tracks, 15 previously unreleased and a 36 page booklet with extended liner notes and never-before-seen images of the Fillmore concerts. ~ Amazon.com

VSOP: HERBIE HANCOCK / WAYNE SHORTER / RON CARTER / TONY WILLIAMS - TEMPEST IN THE COLOSSEUM

A defnite tempest from the start to the finish – and a brilliant live demonstration of the mighty powers of the VSOP group! The ensemble features soaring acoustic sounds from the quintet lineup of Wayne Shorter on tenor and soprano sax, Freddie Hubbard on trumpet, Herbie Hancock on piano, Ron Carter on bass, and Tony Williams on drums – all musicians who were experimenting with a lot of different styles at the time, especially electric ones – but come together here in an all-acoustic mode that's filled with wonderful solos throughout. You can definitely hear some of the inspiration the players each took from their own projects – but it's also focused back into a more solid, soulful style here – really opening up on long tracks that include "Eye of The Hurricane", "Maiden Voyage", "Lawra", and "Red Clay". ~ Dusty Groove


KING CURTIS - THINK ABOUT IT

An excellent album from King Floyd – possibly his best, and proof that the harder side of southern soul sound was still alive and well in the 70s! The record was one of the first few big ones to come out of the Malaco studios in Jackson – which would soon become one of the biggest hubs of southern soul production after the slowdown at Memphis and Muscle Shoals – and Floyd's kicking it hard in a way that would make Otis Redding or Arthur Conley proud. The backings are mighty tight, but in a way that's much fresher than some of the bigger southern studios of the time – and titles include a great cover of Otis Redding's "Hard To Handle", which begins with a great breakbeat – plus "Here it Is", "Woman Don't Go Astray", "Do Your Feeling", "You've Got Me", and "Think About It". ~ Dusty Groove


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