Plain and Fancy

Tuesday, December 29, 2020

The Leslie West Band - The Leslie West Band (1975 us, exceptional hard blues rock, 2008 reissue)

Where Leslie West's The Great Fatsby touched upon different themes and showed the guitar hero able to handle Free-style blues-pop, Foreigner guitarist Mick Jones comes to the party to bring a different focus. Outside of a couple of covers and Mick Jones' composition "Singapore Sling," all the material is by West, Jones, and Laing -- a progression from West, Bruce & Laing, which was a progression from Cream producer Felix Pappalardi's work with the guitarist/drummer combo in the original Mountain. Not as heavy as those other two groups,

The Leslie West Band on record has more bite than The Great Fatsby, and as with the previous project, some big name players. John Lennon/Buzzy Linhart/Jim Croce keyboardist Ken Ascher is onboard, as is bassist Don Kretmer from the Blues Project. Leslie is in good company, and makes the most of it. Where he performed Rolling Stones material on Fatsby, here we have a dark and lovely rendition of the Beatles' "Dear Prudence" -- Ascher getting a chance to work on Lennon material again as he did on Mind Games. And as Fatsby had "The House of the Rising Sun," Mann and Weil's "We Gotta Get Out of this Place" gets revised by the Leslie West Band.

It's a methodical version, Led Zeppelin lite, and is a decent album track, though the music without vocals seems to be the key to this album's real magic. "Singapore Sling" has beautiful Leslie West guitarwork on the Mick Jones set of riffs, while "Sea of Heartache" is a real gem that just stuns. It's a three-minute-33-second sort of ode to Black Sabbath where the musicians bring it up another notch. "By the River" and "Get It Up" aren't bad; it's just that they don't offer much new to the Leslie West repertoire. "By the River" ends much too fast as well, like someone just decided to turn down the sound as the side concludes prematurely. The Leslie West Band has our hero slugging it out in the trenches, and he gets a "B" for effort, which isn't a bad thing. One just would've hoped he kept from sliding back to the tried and true. It's the experimenting here that really shows what could have been, and this was the perfect time for the artist to reinvent himself.

Leslie West, died on Tuesday December 23rd 2020 at the age of 75, following a cardiac arrest, according to his brother.

by Joe Viglione

Tracks

1. Money (Whatcha Gonna Do) - 3:37

2. Dear Prudence (John Lennon, Paul McCartney) - 4:47

3. Get It Up (No Bass - Whatsoever) - 2:59

4. Singapore Sling (Mick Jones) - 1:44

5. By The River - 2:53

6. The Twister - 2:27

7. Setting Sun - 3:41

8. Sea Of Heartache - 3:35

9. We'll Find A Way - 3:14

10.We Gotta Get out Of This Place (Barry Mann, Cynthia Weil) - 4:42

All songs by Leslie West, Corky Laing, Mick Jones, except where indicated

Musicians

*Leslie West - Guitar, Lead Vocals

*Mick Jones - Guitar

*Corky Laing - Drums

*Ken Ascher - Piano

*Sredni Vollmer - Harp

*Frank Vicari - Horns

*Don Kretmar - Bass

*Bill Gelber - Bass

*Carl Hall - Background Vocals

*Hilda Harris - Background Vocals

*Sharon Redd - Background Vocals

*Tasha Thomas - Background Vocals

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Sunday, December 27, 2020

Faith - Faith (1973 us, excellent hard groovy rock)

Faith Band, like most great groups, evolved through several powerful incarnations. From The Invincibles, to The Chosen Few, with an album on RCA, to Limousine, with an album on GSF, they got strong radio airplay building a large, enthusiastic following. With 1973’s move to Terry Knight’s Brown Bag Records, Faith Band was born. In addition to the debut “Faith” album with Carl Storie, vocals and harp, Dave Bennett, guitar, Dave Barnes, drums and percussion, Johnny Cascella, keyboards, sax and vocals, and Mark Cawley on bass and vocals, they went on to release four more commanding original albums on Village/Phonogram/Mercury records and toured nonstop.

Along the way, Nigel Olsson’s cover of Faith’s “Dancin Shoes” was a Top 20 hit. Carl and Mark formed the duo Blinding Tears, releasing a CD in 1986. Mark has gone on to be an award winning songwriter whose songs have been recorded by an amazing array of artists from Tina Turner and Joe Cocker to Wynonna Judd and Chaka Kahn just to name a few. Carl released a self-titled solo CD in 1992, while Dave Bennett released the jazzy “Out of the Bleu” in 2004. John Cascella moved to John Cougar Mellencamp’s band, where he lit the fuse on “Cherry Bomb” and many more. “Boots” sparkled on accordion and keyboards with Mellencamp until his premature death in 1992. Dave Barnes joined forces with his brother and helped build one of the largest music industry service companies.

Now, the remaining members of Faith Band and John Cooper - Faith Band, Bruce Springsteen, Ringo Starr have revisited their musical vaults and selected these 19 tunes, most never heard before, from the original sessions. Coop assembled all the tracks and with loving care and today’s vastly improved audio technology, mixed them for us as they envisioned them originally. This digital download “Boxed Set” also includes a booklet and three videos taken from live gigs. With liner notes from longtime DJ friend Mike Griffin and brand new cover art from Wille Faust who did the first two Faith Band albums, this is a labor of love and a one of a kind must have for Faith Band fans.

The lucky ones were there, and caught the band live. Most others have only heard the stories. Now, hear the legacy of music and creativity that gave voice to a generation of change. Actually their first album contains songs that already they recorded as "Limousine" renamed with new titles and different track list.

Tracks

1. Sometimes Sometimes - 5:47

2. Freedom - 3:18

3. Answer To The Master - 6:14

4. Looking For A Friend - 4:19

5. Such A Lady Such A Lover - 3:53

6. Dreamy Eyed Lady - 5:08

7. We're All Headed In The Same Way-The Last Song - 5:15

8. The Last Song - 1:05

All songs by Carl Storie, David Bennett, John Cascella, Mark Cawley, Dave Barnes

Faith

*Carl Storie - Lead Vocals, Harmonica,

*David Bennett - Guitar

*John Cascella - Keyboards, Saxophone, Vocals

*Mark Cawley - Bass

*Dave Barnes - Drums

1969 The Chosen Few - The Chosen Few (Vinyl edition)

1970 Limousine - Limousine (Vinyl edition)

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Saturday, December 26, 2020

Limousine - Limousine (1970 us, awesome hard goovy funky bluesy rock, Vinyl edition)

Limousine was a band that created from the ashes of Chosen Few, with the turn of the decade they changed their name and their sound to more hard Rock influence, this time with the horns in a more discreet option and the keyboards getting imposed sometimes.

The vocals are still great, and the songs passing through funky blues and hard rock waves.

Tracks

1. A Song For Monique (David "Benny" Bennett) - 1:04

2. Sometimes (John Cascella, Carl Storie) - 5:46

3. Bitin' Grace (John Cascella, Carl Storie) - 6:13

4. Such A Lady, Such A Lover - 3:50

5. Barriers - 4:16

6. Sidewalk Siren - 5:04

7. Raise Your Voice - 3:25

8. Lighthouse - 6:18

All songs by Mark Cawley except where stated

Limousine

*David Barnes - Drums

*David "Benny" Bennett - Lead Guitar

*John Cascella - Keyboards, VocalS

*Mark Cawley - Cass, Vocal

*Carl Storie - Lead Vocal

1969 The Chosen Few - The Chosen Few (Vinyl edition)

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Friday, December 25, 2020

The Chosen Few - The Chosen Few (1969 us, magnificent jazz brass rock, Vinyl edition)

The Chosen Few were a horn-rock group from Muncie Indiana and consisted of Carl Storie (lead vocals-percussion), Jack Hamilton (bass), Dave Bennet (electric/acoustic 12 & 6 string guitars), Dave Barnes (drums) and John Cascella (keyboards).

The group, originally a garage band, had earlier recorded for the local Denim label, releasing four singles among them "It Just Don't Rhyme" and then released a single on the Talun label which led to their contract with RCA.

Surely inspired by the success of such bands as Blood, Sweat & Tears, (and the sound that was popular in the Chicago area at the time), the group changed musical direction and with the help of Pete Dino and Lee Holdridge added horn arrangements to their sound. Speaking of B, S &T and Chicago, there are early remakes of “You Make Me So Very Happy” and “Beginnings” here, but the redeeming cuts here are “Safrowillie” (wish there were more cuts like this) and the album's closer "I Will Miss You".

by Jack Dominilla

Tracks

1. Talk With Me (Carl Storie, David "Benny" Bennett, John Cascella) - 2:45

2. You Make Me So Very Happy (Berry Gordy, Brenda Holloway, Frank Wilson, Patrice Holloway) - 3:23

3. Maybe The Rain Will Fall (Carl Storie) - 3:06

4. Sea Of Tranquility (Carl Storie, Jack Hamilton) - 3:48

5. Spend One Night (Carl Storie, Dave Barnes, David "Benny" Bennett, John Cascella) - 2:35

6. Beginnings (Robert Lamm) - 3:29

7. Safrowillie (Carl Storie, Jack Hamilton) - 4:49

8. I'll Never Change You (Carl Storie, David "Benny" Bennett, John Cascella, Jack Hamilton) - 2:25

9. Deeper In (John Cascella) - 2:50

10.I Will Miss You (John Cascella) - 3:12

The Chosen Few

*Jack Hamilton - Bass

*Dave Barnes - Drums

*Dave Bennett - Electric, Twelve-String Guita, Acoustic Guitars

*Carl Storie - Lead Vocals, Percussion

*John Cascella - Piano, Organ, Electric Piano

With

*Lee Holdridge - Horn Arrangements

*Peter Dino - Horn Arrangements

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Wednesday, December 23, 2020

Gypsy - Antithesis / Unlock The Gates (1972-73 us, fine prog rock)

Gypsy was a American progressive rock band from Minnesota, formed as The Underbeats (1962–1968). Gypsy was the house band at the Whisky a Go Go, West Hollywood, California for about eight months from September 1969 to 1970 and were known in 1970 for their US Billboard Hot 100 single "Gypsy Queen Part 1 and 2". Most of Gypsy's music was composed and written by guitarist and singer Enrico Rosenbaum. Drummer Bill Lordan went on to playwith Sly & the Family Stone and a long career with Robin Trower. Keyboardist James Walsh continued the band in variousincarnations as The James Walsh Gypsy Band. The group has no relation to the British band of the same name formed in 1968, who recorded two albums for United Artists Records in the UK.

Without much success Gypsy faded into obscurity as members left, they released their third Antithesis in 1972 and their fourth Unlock the Gates 1973, with Antithesis capturing some of the old sound but with Unlock the Gates the sound changes were set in place and a new entity called James Walsh Gypsy Band evolved which followed the Unlock the Gates sound and never caught on.

Tracks

Antithesis 1972

1. Crusader (Enrico Rosenbaum, James C. Johnson) - 3:10

2. Day After Day (James Walsh, Randall Cates) - 3:15

3. The Creeper - 3:10

4. Facing Time - 4:11

5. Lean On Me - 3:15

6. Young Gypsy - 3:06

7. Don't Bother Me (James Walsh, Enrico Rosenbaum) - 3:15

8. Travelin' Minnesota Blues - 2:33

9. So Many Promises - 2:25

10.Antithesis (Keep Your Faith) - 3:22

11.Edgar (Don't Hoover Over Me) (James C. Johnson) - 3:26

12.Money - 4:53

All compositions by Enrico Rosenbaum except where stated

Unlock The Gates 1973

1. Is That News? (Enrico Rosenbaum, James C. Johnson) - 3:15

2. Make Peace With Jesus (Enrico Rosenbaum, James Walsh) - 3:15

3. One Step Away (James Walsh) - 3:11

4. Bad Whore (The Machine) - 2:48

5. Unlock the Gates - 3:42

6. Toin It - 2:46

7. Need You Baby - 3:05

8. Smooth Operator - 3:20

9. Don't Get Mad (Get Even) - 3:14

10.Precious One (James C. Johnson) - 4:19

All songs by Enrico Rosenbaum except where stated

Gypsy

*Enrico Rosenbaum - Guitar, Vocals

*James Walsh - Keyboards, Vocals

*James Johnson - Guitar, Vocals

*Bill Lordan - Drums

*Randall Cates - Bass, Vocals

*Walter Parazaider - Saxophone

*James Pankow - Trombone

*Lee Loughnane - Trumpet

1970 Gypsy - Gypsy

1971 Gypsy - In The Garden

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Sunday, December 13, 2020

Indescribably Delicious - Good Enough to Eat! (1969 us, great garage rhythm 'n' blues, digi pak edition)

Another one of Bill Holme's All American Releases, Indescribably Delicious was formed in the Bay Area of California in the early 60's. The band became local favorites and by the mid 1960's was opening for such acts as Steppenwolf, The Turtles, The Yardbirds and many more. The band consisted of Jim Conroy on vocals, Gary Solomon on vocals and sax, Greg Munford played guitar, keyboards and sang, Art Johnson was on rhythm guitar and Mark Cohen the drummer.

The band recorded singles for the All American label and in 1969 completed their first album that was never released. The music of the band ranges from an r&b beat style similar to the Animals (with vocals remarkably sounding like Eric Burdon) to pop and even garage sounds. This album contains a dozen songs mostly written by band members except for a fantastic poppy cover of Pete Townsend's (The Who) classic, The Kids Are Alright, and two other obscure blues numbers. In the same vein as the more "popular" bands of the day such as Shadows Of Night, Every Mother's Son, The Monkees or the Outsiders, The Indescribably Delicious is one of those long lost gems that are waiting to be discovered. The only downside to this album is that it clocks in at under 30 minutes and leaves the listener wanting more.

by Keith Pettipas

The group was formed in the Bay Area in the early sixties. By the mid 1960's the group was opening for such acts as Steppenwolf, The Turtles, The Yardbirds, and several other popular acts of the day. After recording a bunch of singles for the All American label they released this first complete recording in 1969. The album cover is quite provocative and colorful, when one considers when this was released. Today people would not bat an eyelash or give it a second glance.

This is another one of those lost treasures that Akarma has uncovered and brought to the listener's attention, once again giving us a bit of history and counting in those bands that never got a fair chance. No band is insignificant enough not to be counted. Indescribably Delicious contributed a solid album's worth of material and more that is well worth giving your time and attention. The pleasure of course… will be all yours.

by Keith Hannaleck

Tracks

1. It's Been A Hard Hard Day (Bill Holmes, Gary Solomon) - 1:55

2. Big Ben (Bill Holmes, Gary Solomon, Bob Feldman) - 2:38

3. Is It Love (Greg Munford) - 2:43

4. The Kids Are Alright (Pete Townshend) - 2:05

5. Baby I Love You (Jerry Ragovoy) - 2:14

6. Brother Where Are You (Nat Adderley, Oscar Brown Jr.) - 2:40

7. I Gotta Love You Again (Bill Holmes, Gary Solomon) - 1:54

8. Take A Little Bit Of Lovin' (Bill Holmes, Gary Solomon) - 1:53

9. The Rest Of My Life (Bill Holmes, Gary Solomon) - 2:14

10.Take Me For One Last Ride (Bill Holmes, Gary Solomon) - 2:33

11.In Too Deep (Greg Munford, Ruth Batchelor) - 1:45

12.The World Is Ended Right Now (Bill Holmes, Gary Solomon) - 2:27

Indescribably Delicious

*Jim Conroy - Vocals

*Bruce Turner - Guitar

*Mark Cohen - Drums

*Steve Senchia - Bass

*Art Johnson - Guitar

*Gary Solomon - Vocals, Saxophone

*Greg Munford - Guitar, Keyboards, Vocals

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Thursday, December 10, 2020

John Hiatt - Hangin' Around The Observatory / Overcoats (1974-75 us, unique sound of a tinge country funky classic rock mixed with sharp lyrics, 2006 remaster)

At 10 songs each, Hiatt’s debut and sophomore solo sets confused the critics with their variegated musical styles and delivery. In retrospect, however, they have an air of foresight about them. The likes of Space and The Divine Comedy would meld similarly disparate elements, providing a rich, if sometimes gloopy, sonic mix, which is by turns captivating and jolting.

The astronomically-titled set mixes countrified piano and slide guitar with honky-tonk, glam-claps and some audacious humming, no less. Hiatt’s dulcet tones are Joe Cocker-esque on the Traffic-like Full Moon, while the upbeat title track throws everything in.

The follow-up saw Hiatt plough further down the Randy-Newman-on-the-rocks path, slurring his way through the likes of One More Time. Saxophone should usually be used in excessive moderation, but not so here. The horn section shines on the porn-vibe I’m Tired Of Your Stuff, while Distance could be Roy Harper in full-blown lucidity. The oddly-named title track is as jolly as you like, and while the critics hated I Killed An Ant With My Guitar, it was a way ahead of its time whistling lounge-yodel. The gospel of Motorboat To Heaven also stands up, there’s much to please.

by Tim Jones

Tracks

Hangin' Around The Observatory 1974

1. Maybe Baby Say You Do - 2:37

2. Whistles In My Hears - 3:25

3. Sure As I'm Sittin'Here - 3:19

4. Rose - 3:06

5. Hangin'Around The Observatory - 3:02

6. Full Moon - 5:16

7. Wild Eyed Gypsies - 4:45

8. It's All Right With Me - 3:46

9. Little Blue Song For You - 3:14

10.Ocean - 5:27

Overcoats 1975

11.One More Time - 3:36

12.Smiling In The Rain - 4:16

13.I'm Tired Of Your Stuff - 3:35

14.Distance - 3:32

15.Down Home - 3:08

16.Overcoats - 6:52

17.I Want Your Love Inside Of Me - 3:10

18.I Killed An Ant Witch My Guitar - 3:24

19.Motorboat To Heaven - 5:24

20.The Lady Of The Night - 3:12

All compositions by John Hiatt

Musicians

*John Hiatt - Acoustic, Electric, Twelve-String Guitar, Percussion, Piano, Vocals

Hangin' Around The Observatory 1974

*Debbie Friedman - Guitar, Vocals

*Marsha Routh - Vocals

*Pam Clarke - Vocals

*Doug Yankus - Guitar, Vocals

*Hayward Bishop - Drums, Percussion

*Shane Keister - Synthesizer, Piano, Hammond B3

*Ted Reynolds - Bass

*Charles Myers - Drums

*James Clemmons - Vocals

*James Moon - Vocals

*Paul Easley - Vocals

Overcoats 1975

*Ted Reynolds - Bass Guitar

*Larrie Londin - Drums

*Shane Keister - Piano, Electric Piano, Moog Synthesizer, Fender Rhodes

*John Huey - Steel Guitar

*Josh Graves - Dobro

*Bobby Emmons - Organ

*Gene Estes - Marimba

*Tracy Nelson, Anita Baugh, Dianne Davidson, Sadie - Background Vocals

*Samuel Boghossian - Viola

*Allan Harshman - Viola

*Jesse Ehrlich - Cello

*Billy Puett - Clarinet, Flute, Recorder, Soprano Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone

*Norman Ray - Baritone Saxophone

*Irving Kane - Trombone

*George Tidwell - Trumpet, Horn Arrangements

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Tuesday, December 8, 2020

Hot Tuna - Yellow Fever (1975 us, essential hard bluesy rock with noisy guitar, 2012 Audiophile Vinyl replica remaster)

Yellow Fever is about as good as Hot Tuna gets, an LP that lies schematically somewhere between their earlier acoustic work, which was folk-influenced, good-time music, and the live-wired, guitar/bass dialogues of later albums.

Jimmy Reed's "Baby What You Want Me to Do" and a delightful reworking of another folk blues classic, "Hot Jelly Roll Blues", are covers, the rest of the tracks are originals, the best of which ("Song for the Fire Maiden," "Bar Room Crystal Ball") neatly combine Hot Tuna's greatest strengths: Jorma Kakounen's unselfconscious, entertaining vocals and his knife-edged guitar work, and Jack Casady's sensitive, expertly woven bass lines.

As an entity unto itself, Hot Tuna is a relaxing little group. But when I hear the breath-taking finale to "Somebody to Love" or the solo in "Volunteers," I realize that each successive Hot Tuna album simply marks time for two gifted musicians who said it a lot more interestingly the first time around.

by Billy Altman

Tracks

1. Baby What You Want Me to Do (Jimmy Reed) - 6:42

2. Hot Jelly Roll Blues (George Carter) - 4:21

3. Free Rein (Jorma Kaukonen, Paul Ziegler) - 4:14

4. Sunrise Dance with the Devil (Jorma Kaukonen) - 4:28

5. Song for the Fire Maiden (Jorma Kaukonen, Greg Douglass) - 4:16

6. Bar Room Crystal Ball (Jorma Kaukonen) -6:52

7. Half/Time Saturation (Jorma Kaukonen, Jack Casady, Bob Steeler) - 4:45

8. Surphase Tension (Jorma Kaukonen) - 3:58

Hot Tuna

*Jorma Kaukonen – Vocals, Guitars

*Jack Casady – Bass

*Bob Steeler – Drums

1972 Hot Tuna - Burgers (2012 audiophile Vinyl replica)

1976 Hot Tuna - Hoppkorv (2012 audiophile Vinyl replica)
Related Act

1966 Jefferson Airplane - Takes Off (2014 audiophile remaster and 2003 expanded edition)

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Monday, December 7, 2020

Johnny Winter - Captured Live! (1976 us, superb hard funky blues rock, 2011 japan remaster)

Here's another classic from the archives. Recorded in 1976, this is one of my all time favorite live recordings. Johnny is simply smokin' on this CD. The audio quality is very good and really captures the powerful sound of a live performance in a large outdoor venue. The four member band of two guitars, bass and drums features Floyd Rradford on second guitar. Floyd is an excellent guitarist, although his style is more technical than emotional, especially when compared to Johnny. Yeah, I know, Johnny is about as technically proficient as they come, but he still has a very strong emotional quality to his playing.

OK, I'll admit that as a blues-rock CD, this disc is heavy on 70's rock 'n roll. But Johnny plays some awesome blues leads and rhythm riffs throughout. And the set's closer, "Sweet Papa John", is slow power blues at it's best, featuring some very strong slide guitar work and classic Johnny Winter vocals. This is one of those CDs on which it is difficult for me to choose favorite songs. The CD overall is a continual transition from one hard-rockin' song to the next. Every song in the set is killer and filled with animated guitar playing. And even though the set's slow blues closer starts off at a bit of a relaxed paced, it builds to a high intensity barrage of guitar licks.

"Highway 61 Revisited" showcases Johnny's abilty on slide guitar, as it gets down to just him and the drummer for a long lead break for a good portion of the song. This song provides all the argument I ever need when I get into discussions with others about slide guitar players. Johnny is certainly not the only great slide player around, but he is definitely among the best.

Captured Live gives a great sense of what a Johnny Winter show was like in the 70's, when his music was very popular and drew huge crowds. While Johnny has recorded many excellent CDs, both before and after Captured Live, this one gives the listener a large, high quality dose of Johnny Winter style hard driving rock 'n roll and blues-rock. This is another "must have" for every lover of blues-rock guitar, and at a typical price of $10 at local music stores, is a real bargain.

Electric Blues

Tracks

1. Bony Moronie (Larry Williams) - 6:50

2. Roll With Me (Rick Derringer) - 4:46

3. Rock 'n' Roll People (John Lennon) - 5:39

4. It's All Over Now (Bobby Womack, Shirley Womack) - 6:15

5. Highway 61 Revisited (Bob Dylan) - 10:38

6. Sweet Papa John (Johnny Winter) - 12:37

Musicians

*Johnny Winter - Guitar, Slide Guitar, Vocals

*Randy Jo Hobbs - Bass, Vocals

*Richard Hughes - Drums

*Floyd Radford - Guitar

1969-74 Johnny Winter - Original Album Classics (2010 editions)

1969 Johnny Winter - The Progressive Blues Experiment (2000 digi pak and 2005 remaster)

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Sunday, December 6, 2020

Johnny Winter - The Progressive Blues Experiment (1969 us, splendid blues rock, 2000 digi pak expanded edition and 2005 remaster)

Although his early Columbia albums brought him worldwide stardom, it was this modest little album (first released on Imperial before the Columbia sides) that first brought Johnny Winter to the attention of guitarheads in America. It's also Winter at the beginning of a long career, playing the blues as if his life depends on it, without applying a glimmer of rock commercialism.

The standard classic repertoire here includes "Rollin' and Tumblin'," "I Got Love if You Want It," "Forty-Four," "It's My Own Fault," and "Help Me," with Winter mixing it up with his original Texas trio of Red Turner on drums and Tommy Shannon (later of Stevie Ray Vaughan's Double Trouble) on bass. A true classic, this is one dirty, dangerous, and visionary album. The set was issued in a sonically screaming 24-bit remastered edition on CD by Capitol in 2005. It contains no bonus tracks, but it leaves the original crummy CD issue in the dust.

by Cub Koda

More than fifty years ago, Johnny Winter and his band consisting of Tommy Shannon and Red Turner made musical history as they recorded the first official Johnny Winter Lp “The Progressive Blues Experiment.”

The 1969 masterwork featured 10 exciting songs from the likes of Johnny Winter " Black Cat Bone" “Mean Town Blues” and from some of his favorite artists and friends like Muddy Waters’ "Rollin’ & Tumblin’ ", B.B. King’s “It’s My Own Fault”, Howlin’ Wolf’s “Forty Four” and Slim Harpo’s " I Got Love If You Want It."

The late artist always considered this one of his favorite albums as noted “The Progressive Blues Experiment” finds me doing what I know and love the best…pure blues."

The explosive album ignited his career prior to playing the Woodstock festival, and shortly afterwards he would go on to become a worldwide rock and blues superstar.