ZZTop -El Loco

El Loco

Whoever said ZZ Top doesn't like to experiment needs to check out this album. First off, there's very little of the distortion and bite of earlier releases. New Wave was prominent at this point, and ZZ Top fully embraced the genre on 1981's El Loco. The Gibson dirt of earlier releases are replaced with a Fender sheen (This also was the first album where they were playing separated from each other in different booths, where as earlier releases had them all in the same room). The band was also experimenting with more robotic drum beats and chorus effects on guitar/vocals. Just listen to something like Tube Snake Boogie or Pearl Necklace and you'll hear the change from the past release.

Other than that, it's the same old ingredients. Texas-fried boogie done in a way that the Top could only cook it. This album contains some of their best work: The slow-burning It's So Hard and I Wanna Drive You Home, the party fun of Groovy Little Hippie Pad & Party On The Patio, and the nastiness of Tube Snake Boogie, Pearl Necklace, and one of my favorites, Ten Foot Pole.

However, not every experiment works. Leila has to be one of the worst songs the band have ever penned, a boring adult contemporary song that sounds like it could've fit on Days Of Our Lives. And that pedal steel is just awful. Also, what the hell were they thinking with Heaven, Hell Or Houston? Disco-sci fi? I dunno about that one. Too many drugs.

This marks the end of total consistency for ZZ Top. It had to happen, 6 great albums in a row isn't too bad though. After this marks the beginning of the "commercial" ZZ Top, which, isn't that bad, but it was never the same.

Illinois Speed Press

Illinois Speed Press

Illinois Speed Press was an American rock band formed - originally, in 1965, as The Rovin' Kind - in Chicago, later relocating to California. The band was formed by Paul Cotton - later of Poco - and Kal David. According to Allmusic, their sound "combined elements of R&B and country music in a powerful double-lead-guitar attack." Cotton and David have occasionally reunited in recent years to perform together under the name.

With its twin guitar sound, the band played a mixture of rock and roll, soul and country music. In 1968 they performed regularly at the Whisky a Go Go in Hollywood, and at the first Newport Pop Festival, held in Costa Mesa, California, also recording their first single, "Right On Time". Anderson was then fired, and replaced by Rob Lewine before the band recorded their first album, The Illinois Speed Press, which was produced by Guercio and released in early 1969.[4] Columbia simultaneously released albums by Chicago Transit Authority, The Flock, and Aorta, and marketed them together as part of a so-called "Chicago Sound". All four debut albums entered the Billboard Top 200 album chart, The Illinois Speed Press reaching #144.

Before the album's release, Guercio fired Page, Anthony, and later Lewine; Page died shortly afterwards. They were replaced for performances by Jimmy Rogers (bass) and Rick Allen (drums), but the band recorded their second album, Duet, essentially as a duo of Cotton and David, supported by studio musicians including Joe Osborne (bass), Hal Blaine (drums) and Michael Lloyd (keyboards). The album was released in spring 1970, but shortly afterwards Kal David left to form The Fabulous Rhinestones with bassist Harvey Brooks. Cotton was then approached by Richie Furay to join Poco as a replacement for Jim Messina, which he did a few months later.

In 2009, Cotton and David reunited for some performances as Illinois Speed Press.

Don Felder

Don Felder

Donald William "Don" Felder (born September 21, 1947; Gainesville, Florida) is an American musician and songwriter, best known for his work as lead guitarist for the Eagles from 1974 to 1980 and again from 1994 to 2001.
Don Felder was first attracted to music after watching Elvis Presley live on The Ed Sullivan Show. He acquired his first guitar when he was around 10, which he has stated he exchanged with a friend at the five-and-dime for a handful of cherry bombs. He was heavily influenced by rock and roll and when he was 15, started his first band, The Continentals, which also had Stephen Stills of Crosby, Stills & Nash fame. Around this time he also met Bernie Leadon, later one of the founding members of the Eagles. He and Bernie both attended Gainesville High School in Gainesville, Florida. Bernie replaced Stills and the band became the Maundy Quintet. In the 1966 Gainesville High School Yearbook the Maundy Quintet is pictured next to another Gainesville High student and his band; Tom Petty and his early band the Epics. Felder gave Tom Petty guitar lessons for a year and a half at a local music shop, and also learned how to play slide guitar from Duane Allman.

After the band broke up, Felder went to New York with a band called Flow, which released only a single jazz album. While in New York, Felder improved his mastery of the guitar and learned various styles.

After Flow broke up, Felder moved to Boston, where he got a job in a recording studio. There, through his friendship with Leadon, he met the rest of the Eagles in 1971, while they were on their first tour. In 1972, Felder moved to California where he was hired as guitar player for a tour by David Blue. He helped Blue put together a tour, during which they opened at a few Crosby and Nash shows in November 1973 and in opening the Roxy Theater in Hollywood, California for Neil Young and the Santa Monica Flyers.– Felder replaced David Lindley (who had fallen ill) in the Crosby Nash band. He would also jam from time to time with the Eagles in their rehearsal space.

In 1974, Felder was called by the Eagles to add slide guitar to their song "Good Day in Hell". The following day he was invited to join the band. The band started moving away from their earlier country rock style, towards rock. On the band's fourth album, One of These Nights, Felder sang lead vocal on the song "Visions", which he co-wrote with Don Henley. Joe Walsh eventually joined the band later that year (1975), after Bernie Leadon quit.

The first album to be released by the Eagles after their makeover was Hotel California, which became a major international bestseller. Felder wrote the music for the album's title track, "Hotel California", and had originally introduced it, as an instrumental demo, to Henley and Frey who initially named it "Mexican Reggae".[3] It would become the band's most successful recording. After the release of Hotel California and the tour that followed, the Eagles found themselves under tremendous pressure to repeat this success. Their next album, 1979's The Long Run, took almost three years to complete. The band broke up in 1980, ostensibly for good.

His Website

HTTP://www.donfelder.com

Black Oak Arkansas -Keep the faith

Keep the Faith

Keep The Faith is an Excellent album yet its mostly unknown. BOA merges Sex, Religion and Rock N Roll on this one and they do it well. With Jim Dandy's unique vocals and 4 excellent musicians BOA was on of the 70s best rock bands. I love every song on Keep The Faith, the lyrics are BOAs best and the music is outstanding. Keep The Faith is a nice catchy pop/rock song with a spiritual flavor. Fever In My Mind is one of the fastest sang songs in rock n roll history and a very good song. The Big One Is Still Coming hits close to home for me, I was born and raised in Southern California. White Headed Women and Short Life Line are two fine Love (sexual) songs. Don't Confuse what You Don't Know, We Live On Day To Day (an Excellent song), Feet On Earth- Head in Sky are all songs bordering on the spiritual and/or religious. Every song on Keep the faith is very good to excellent. If you gonna get one BOA album (CD) get this one if your gonna get two get this one and Raunch N Roll Live. This record is a good follow up to their first self titled album. Two songs are extreemly good "Fever in My Mind" and "Short Life Line". The other songs are good as well, but these two are outstanding! However BOA do not manage to make songs as good and catchy as Hot and Nasty on their first album. But who cares? "Keep the Faith" is sadly starting to be difficult to find. I bought mine 2nd handed through Amazon UK. Definitively worth it! However the cover is slightly different from the one pictured here (without the yellow border). My favourite BOA album are "Ain't Life Grand" and is probably easier to find.

Buffalo Springfield

Buffalo Springfield

Buffalo Springfield is a North American folk rock band renowned both for its music and as a springboard for the careers of Neil Young, Stephen Stills, Richie Furay and Jim Messina. Among the first wave of North American bands to become popular in the wake of the British invasion, the group combined rock, folk, and country music into a sound all its own. Its million-selling song "For What It's Worth" became a political anthem for the turbulent late 1960s.

Formed in April 1966, Buffalo Springfield was plagued by infighting, drug-related arrests, and line-up changes that led to the group's disbanding after just two years. Three albums were released under its name, but many demos, studio outtakes and live recordings remained and were issued in the decades that followed.

Despite the band's short tenure and limited output it was one of the most influential of its era, earning Rock and Roll Hall of Fame recognition and spawning fellow Hall honorees Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young and Poco, as well as popular acts Loggins and Messina and Crazy Horse.

Despite their popularity, Buffalo Springfield was never a major commercial success. "For What It’s Worth" was a significant hit and the group's legend grew stronger after the breakup, increasing with the later successes of its members.

Stills went on to form Crosby, Stills & Nash with David Crosby of The Byrds and Graham Nash of The Hollies in 1968. Young launched a solo career, but in 1969 also reunited with Stills in Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, which saw the beginning of his sporadic relationship with that trio. Furay and Messina were founding members of Poco. Furay joined J.D. Souther and Chris Hillman to form the Souther-Hillman-Furay Band, and Messina teamed with Kenny Loggins in Loggins & Messina.

Gib Guilbeau

Gib Guilbeau

Floyd August "Gib" Guilbeau (born September 26, 1937) is an American Cajun country-rock musician and songwriter. As a member of Nashville West, Swampwater, and the Flying Burrito Brothers, Guilbeau helped pioneer the fusion of rock and country music in the 1960s.

Guilbeau was born in Sunset, Louisiana and raised among fiddle players. His father and brothers played fiddle, and he himself started playing fiddle at the age of fourteen.

In 1960, Guilbeau formed The Four Young Men with guitarist Wayne Moore, which Bobby Edwards then joined to become Bobby Edwards & the Four Young Men. Together, they release the single "You're the Reason", which became a nationwide hit, peaking at #4 Country and #11 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1961.

In 1967, Guilbeau formed Nashville West, a short-lived country-rock group with multi-instrumentalist Gene Parsons, who had played with Guilbeau in a band called the Castaways years earlier, guitarist Clarence White, formerly of the Kentucky Colonels, and Wayne Moore on bass. Along with bands such as the Byrds, Dillard & Clark and the International Submarine Band, Nashville West was one of the first country-rock bands. Country-rock notables such as Gram Parsons and future Flying Burrito Brother Sneaky Pete Kleinow would sit in with the group. They also provided backing for other groups, such as the Gosdin Brothers and The Hollywood Argyles. Nashville West came to an end in 1968 when Gram Parsons abruptly left the Byrds and the group asked Clarence White to replace him.

In 1969, Guilbeau played in the group Swampwater, originally formed to back Linda Ronstadt following the breakup of the Stone Poneys. Swampwater played a unique brand of Cajun rock that had no precedents in rock music. Swampwater recorded two albums before they broke up.

In 1972, Guilbeau contributed to the soundtrack for the Martin Scorsese film Boxcar Bertha.

In 1974, Guilbeau, along with Gene Parsons and original members Chris Ethridge and Sneaky Pete Kleinow, formed a latter-day version of the Flying Burrito Brothers. The band underwent many personnel changes, performing and recording sporadically into the 1990s
As a songwriter, Guilbeau's songs have been covered by many artists, including Ricky Nelson, Bobby Womack, Ronnie Wood, and Rod Stewart.

With the FBB, Gib plays the fiddle

James Gang-Rides Again

Rides Again

The Joe Walsh led James Gang may be the most unknown group in rock and roll... I say that because most people think 'Funk #49' and 'Walk Away' are JOE WALSH songs. Their loss...

This album is definately one of the best rock and roll albums ever from first note to last. 'Funk #49' leads into the playful 'Ashtonpark' to the bombast of 'Woman' and 'The Bomber'(oh, that last chord that just rings out for 15 seconds!). Then the "light"/ more acoustic side featuring 'Tend My Garden/ Garden Gate', 'There I Go gain', the working man's themed 'Thanks' ["Yes to the man above ya/ Hope you passed the test/ Nope to the man below ya/ Leave him with the rest"] and closing with the sadly beautiful 'Ashes, the Rain and I'.

My only gripe is the inclusion of the extended mix of 'The Bomber' INSTEAD of the original mix. Why not add the extended mix as a bonus track?

Other than that, the new remaster sounds fantastic and if you turn up you can feel Joe's guitar and Dale Peters' bass in all their sonic glory and enjoy Jim Fox's under appreciated drum work (especially on the quieter songs). Get one for the car AND one for the house.