5 comments about The Best of Southern Rock.

1. i own about 4 of these southern rock CDs to get a wide enough range of what Southern Rock offers, and these are good songs. For goodness sakes, if you want to dig Skynyrd, buy a double album. I'm old enough to have seen Duane Almann alive, and these slam in the truck CDs work for me for rockin' nostalgia, while commuting. And yes, Ghost Riders is worth the price my wife paid for the CD, I can't get my outlaw album to play in the truck!



2. For anyone unfamiliar with "Southern Rock," this cd is a great SAMPLER. However, this is nowhere near the "best of" Southern Rock. I have to agree with the other reviewers in that you would need to include songs from Molly Hatchet, Blackfoot, Marshall Tucker Band, and more songs from Lynyrd Skynyrd to truly represent the "best of" Southern Rock. In fact, several of the songs on this cd would probably fit better on a cd of "Country rock" selections (i.e., Pure Prairie League & Ozark Mountain Daredevils). What this cd does is provide an excellent spectrum of music that falls into the "Southern rock" genre. From the mellow, easy-listening sounds of "Let Me Love You Tonight" and "Fooled Around and Feel in Love," to the jazzy feel of "Champage Jam" to the hard-driving multi-guitar attacks of 38 Special, the Allman Brothers, and the Outlaws, you get a good feel for the variety that exists even within this style of music. Of course the presence of "Ramblin Man," "Sweet Home Alabama," and "Ghost Riders in the Sky" alone make this cd worth the price of admission! The South's Gonna Do it Again!



3. I'd just like to say that there just aint enough Skynyrd on this compilation. I do like The Allman Brothers Band but one song from the Skynyrd, the greatest southern rock band of all time come on. And why is it that on all these "southern rock" or "classic rock" compilations for Skynyrd they always put in songs like Sweet Home Alabama or Free Bird? I love those songs (especially Free Bird) but they're getting played out and that does no good for the band. They should put songs like The Needle and the Spoon on there.



4. Anytime you overlook Molly Hatchet & Blackfoot when your talking Southern Rock, you overlook a major portion of the hard drivin, butt thumpin down south style.



5. How can a southern rock compilation be complete without at least one song from the Marshall Tucker Band, or does that have something to do with licensing?

2 comments about Psychedelic Moods, Vol. 2: Hydro Pyro & Various Psychedic Groups.

1. Not bad for a various artist CD of a bunch of psych and garage bands that virtually no one has ever even heard of.The tracks that I liked the best were the six cuts by the obscure NYC band Hydro Pyro,with their bag of goodies,"House Of Yesterday","Id",their namesake "Hydro Pyro" plus three others,Fallen Angels,contributing a Love cover "Signed D.C." and the two songs by Superfine Dandelion,"The Other Sidewalk" and "Ferris Wheel".Worth repeated plays,for at least a little while.Worth checking out.



2. What a great album! I feel that I have been, as Hydro Pyro says, "livin' inside of an orange crate," because I had never heard any of the stuff on this CD before, but all of it sounds great. It's a shame they don't play music like this anymore on the radio, because it sounds better than the music we hear today. Although I like all of the groups on this compilation, my favorites are Hydro Pyro, Los Chijuas, Superfine Dandelion, The Cirkit, and the XL's. They play alot of hard rock on this CD, especially the songs "Excitation" by Rear Exit, "Yesterday We Laughed" by The Cirkit and "Mary Jane" by The XLs. Some of the songs are "slow" and what I would call delicate-sounding, but very psychedelic at the same time; examples of this are Hydro Pyro's "Snow Petals" and Superfine Dandelion's "Ferris Wheel." One of the more unusual songs on this album is "Little Tin Soldier" by Hydro Pyro...it makes light of the war, almost referring to it as child's play. The song sounds a bit perky for its content, but I think that was the effect they were going for. In the tune, you can hear people laughing, bombs going off in the background, somebody saying, "Bang! Bang! You're dead!", and someone singing a "la, la, la" song, the way a child would sing it. My absolute favorite song is "The Colors of Time" by the Los Chijuas--you have to hear the song to get the full effect. "The Other Sidewalk" by the Superfine Dandelion is one of my other favorite songs on this album. This upbeat song expresses a desire for society to be more accepting and responsible for the way it has become. (At least, that's my take.) It's an excellent rock song, too. The entire album sounds very good and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys listening to loud, obnoxious "acid rock." I liked the CD so much I decided to buy the first volume of psychedelic sounds too. Hopefully it will sound just as good, if not better.

2 comments about Psychedelic Mind Trip, Vol. 2: Another Flashback.

1. What an unexpected treat! Not only does this disc feature the original 11:02 version of Time Has Come Today (the only one worth listening to IMHO) but it also contains the full 6:42 version of Hocus Pocus. The sound quality of this disc is excellent, too! ALL THIS FROM K-TEL???!!! We all remember K-Tel as being one of the dreary marketers of schlock 8-Tracks on late night and Sunday afternoon TV! Dreadful songs on an 8-Track tape guaranteed jam even the best Ampex machines. Not so here. A quality release. I just wish they would have included some text about each song. All you Hippie Chicks, get your peasant dresses down from the closet! Dudes, grab your fringed buckskin coats! Let's groove, man.......



2. I enjoy this album. It contains the LONG version of Time Has Come Today by the Chambers Bros.

1 comments about Mellow Rock Hits Of The 70's: Ventura Highway.

1. All of these titles, although some are worn out in the listener's mind, will take one right to the backseat of the car on saturday night in the latter 1970s. They also may be good driving songs for the car. The only one missing is Bad Co shooting star.

5 comments about The British Invasion: History of British Rock, Vol. 5.

1. As indicated in my reviews of Volumes 1 and 2, the Rhino/Capitol/EMI collaboration was an ambitious one in those early days of CDs, and if you can get your hands on all nine volumes you will have most of the major impact selections by artists in those heady days of the British Invasion.
   
   However, in this fifth installation they continue their habit of including selections by artists who were certainly NOT among the prominent ones to take part in the so-called invasion. Only displaced Brits will have heard of The Big Three [track 4], The Mojos [track 7], The Pretty Things [track 11], and The Merseybeats [track 16]. Also, while it's nice to hear Van Morrison in his Them incarnation on Gloria, why include the B-side [track 10] instead of, say, Here Comes The Night?
   
   On the other hand, it's great to get two early Beatles' cuts like Ain't She Sweet [recorded in 1961 and released in 1964 in North America by Atco - # 19] and My Bonnie which, with Tony Sheridan, was recorded in 1962 and released here by MGM in 1964 [# 26], along with hard-to-find selections such as Shout by Lulu & The Luvers [# 94 in 1964 before she embarked upon a solo career], You've Got Your Troubles by The Fortunes [# 7 in 1965], and Georgie Fame's Yeh Yeh [# 21 in 1965].
   
   Ten pages of liner notes by John Mendelssohn are interspersed with small b&w photos of The Beatles, Fame, Wayne Fontana & The Mindbenders, Petula Clark, The Bachelors, The Moody Blues, The Merseybeats [at least we get to know what they LOOKED like], and Donovan.
   
   As with the other volumes the AAD sound reproduction ranges from adequate to excellent.



2. There's little point in telling you if "The British Invasion (The History of British Rock)" is "good" or "bad." That would be pretty silly: you're quite capable of reading the track list for yourself, and making that determination. What you will find with each of these discs is exceptional audio quality, superb packaging and documentation, and an historical musical surprise.

   Similar compilations are available in grocery and drug stores, and also from TV ads for five or six bucks each. As usual, one gets what one pays for, and these "budget" discs are usually unrecognizable "B" sides: the sound quality is atrocious. On the other hand, the audio quality of the Rhino compilations is stunning. Remastered by Bill Inglot and Ken Perry, it is difficult to believe that these recordings are more than thirty-years old. Rhino does a remarkable job of combing recording libraries for first-rate master tapes, then engineering these recordings to CD. I have yet to be disappointed with a Rhino "oldies but goodies" release. The sonics are immaculate - like hearing some of your favorites for the first time.

   Also, each disc is packaged in a jewel case with a complete and interesting history of the songs presented: information included is the artist, composer and release date.

   The surprise of "The British Invasion" is that several tracks from each disc did not, repeat did not "invade" America. Some songs "charted" in the UK, but failed to make the Top-100 in America. For collectors of British popular music, it is fascinating to note the difference between British and American tastes. The "odd" tracks may not have entered Billboard's Top-100, but there not "throwaway" either. Dazzling sound quality, insightful documentation, and a few "rarities." In my book, that ain't too shabby.




3. Actually this whole series is awesome. Looking at Vol. 5 in particular, though, I'm seeing 4 U.S. #1 hits, by the Tornados, Pet Clark, the Mindbenders, and Donovan. Pretty diverse. Rhino circumvents Capitol's oppressive licensing restrictions to bring us 2 hard-to-find, early Beatles singles recorded for other labels. (The other reviewers are right, however. Using Ringo's pic is misleading since he wasn't in the group then.) There are goodies by the three grand dames of British rock--Pet, Dusty Springfield (get her solo albums too), and Lulu. For pure rock classicism, if there is such a thing, there are 2 (count 'em) by Them. That's Van Morrison to most of us (but the drummer on "Gloria," likely Patrick McAuley, deserves equal credit). And the Moody Blues, before they went all symphonic, with "Go Now!", which they left off their first twelve greatest hits albums. You know you need "It's Not Unusual", kitsch of the highest order and I think the only Tom Jones hit on this whole series. One of the long-term pleasures of this series is the one- and two-hit wonders like Georgie Fame, the Bachelors, and the Big Three. In all seriousness, these make the series invaluable. True pop music fans should be buying the Beatles, Stones, and Who albums separately anyway; those groups' absences leave room for the lost classics that Rhino specializes in preserving on discs like this one. This mix of melodic rock and pop and, umm, Chad and Jeremy needs to be owned by everyone.



4. This compilation features a five star Beatle track called A'int She Sweet, with Pete Best on drums. What in the heck Ringo Starr is doing on the album cover is anybody's guess. I thought that the people at Rhino records were supposed to be acurate rock historians. The rest of the album is filler. I recommend The Beatles Anthology One instead.



5. In 1988, Rhino released four volumes of the British Invasion. These were great (even w.o. the Beatles, Stones, DC5 and early Animals), and probably led to this expansion to 9 volumes. Actually, Volume 5 is the weakest of the lot, and IS all over the map. But it does compile some great sides, and there ARE unfamiliar/undiscovered jems: "Shout" by Lulu, "Before and After" by Chad & Jeremy, "I Think Of You" by the Merseybeats, "Everything's Allright" by the Mojosm and "Yeh,Yeh" by Georgie Fame. If you're really interesteed in 60s British pop, you'll want to hear these, and I guarantee you'll have a hard time finding these elsewhere.

   I highly reccomend the first four volumes of this series; I would give each of them 5 stars. Get those first. But if you're really into British pop, you'll want this, despite the inclusion of a dud like My Bonnie by Tony Sheridan (with "those guys"). Have to believe that this was a sin committed to have the Beatles included in the series. Greedy Capital wasn't going to let Rhino lease any of THEIR material. Also, the next four volumes improve on this one.

2 comments about Classic Rock: Classic Rock.

1. 1970's rock is a vast kettle of stew to dip into; so any one disc is going to leave you wanting. But for just a taste, this one is very good. You could quibble over whether "Grand Hotel" was really the best cut that could have been chosen for Procol Harum would have been better (the live version of "Conquistador" for instance). Or for that matter whether "The Stealer" was the best they could have got from Free (over "All Right Now"?) And certainly "Hypnotized" could have been skipped for anything (I mean anything!) from FLEETWOOD MAC or RUMOURS. But Joe Walsh's "Rocky Mountain Way", "Free Bird" from Lynyrd Skynyrd, and "Sugar Magnolia" by the Grateful Dead are solid members of the rock pantheon. But Warner Brothers probably had a number of contract restrictions to deal with; so the collection we have here is the one we're going to get.
   
   The young seeking admission to the sacred brotherhood of 1970's ***ROCK*** (the 1970's had an embarrassing quantity of weenie music) can safely begin here. Close your eyes and imagine sunning yourself some warm Spring afternoon on the college commons, your girlfriend with beautiful long hair by your side, and someone blasting this music from his dorm room for everyone's enjoyment below. It wasn't heaven on earth; but it was alright.



2. This is a classic cd, bringing back all those long forgotten high school pranks and parties. If you like to relive the past, this one is for you. The track selection could not have been better. My favorite is Sugar Magnolia, but then I'm a Deadhead. I recommend this cd for anyone over the age of thirty who might want to remember what they did in the back seat of Mike's Pinto.

1 comments about The Bruce Springsteen Songbook.

1. This collection has some great cover versions, but the "Light of Day" by the Little River Band is definitely NOT the same as the Bruce Springsteen song. Period. Otherwise, I think this is essential for those who really want to round out their collections

1 comments about Vintage Collectibles, Vol. 1: 1962-1969.

1. Just wanted to let all potential buyers know that this oldies compilation consists of the ORIGINAL HITS by the ORIGINAL ARTISTS. I bought it to get the hard-to-find soul gem "What Kind of Fool" by the Tams but I'm pleased with most of the other songs, too.

3 comments about Pebbles, Vol. 6: Chicago.

1. Along with Texas and Denmark (seriously), Chicago is reputed to have had one of the best garage-rock scenes of the entire 1960s. Collectors will tell you about fantastic local acts such as the Shadows of Knight (of "Oh Yeah" fame), the Lemon Drops, and the New Colony Six, as well as the all-important influence of the city's astounding blues output (Chicago was the home of postwar electric blues, thanks to such local luminaries as Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, and the legendary Chess Records label). Unfortunatley, you wouldn't know this from listening to volume six of the long-running Pebbles series. Sure, there are plenty of gems on this disc, but so much of it is devoted to the kind of dull, soundalike filler that is the bane of garage-rock fans the world over.
   
   Of course, the folks who compile the Pebbles discs aren't ammateurs; they know how to unearth diamonds, and this set has a few shiny ones: The Omens' "Searching" is a total classic, an apocalyptic pounder with a fiery Farfisa organ line, some hypnotic vocals, and a nasty little guitar line. The Foggy Notions' "Need A Little Lovin'" is pure sweaty-palmed teenage lust, and Delight's version of "Long Green" is a joyously moronic frat-rocker with a cooler-than-cool sax line. There's also the Buckinghams' "I've Been Wrong," a soaring piece of garage-pop with enough hooks to get anybody dancing. There's also the Todds' breathlessly catchy "I Want Her Back," and the Warner Brothers' hilarious "Please Mr. Sullivan," a novelty number that actually stands up to more than one listen. There are also a few tracks that show off the bluesier side of Chicago garage- the Little Boy Blues' storming cover of Bo Diddley's "You Don't Love Me" is particualrly impressive, and the Group Inc's shambling "Like A Woman" is no slouch either. Dean Carter also turns in two wild, ferocious, and inarticulate ravers entitled "Rebel Woman" and "Jailhouse Rock" (the latter is particularly, er, special). The Pattens' idiotic frat-punker "Say Ma Ma" is also quite nice.
   
   So, that's about half an album's worth of good stuff. The rest isn't really much to brag about: Furniture's "I Love It Baby" starts out promisingly, but soon devolves into a dull, slowed down Kinks impression (the totally inarticualte guitar solo is cool, though). Buzzsaw turn in a passable but totally unnecessary cover of the Lemon Drops' classic "I Live In The Springtime" which is neither as bewitching or as otherworldly as the original. It was also released in 1970. The Haymarket Riot turn in two songs- "Trip on Out," which takes a cliched 60s hook and beats it to death without adding anything new, and "Something Else," a kinda-sorta interesting coutry-influenced song that you probably won't want to listen to more than twice. The rest of it is anywhere from decent to boring- it's the kind of thing that reminds you that for every great garage rock single, there are about nine that would be lucky to earn the title of "mediocre."
   
   Also, the tracklisting is a bit wrong- this disc does not contain the Boyz' "Come With Me" or the Cavedwellers' "Run Around," even though both are promised on the disc's tray card.
   
   So, if you're a more-than-just-a-little commited garage fan (like me), go ahead and pick this up. There's enough here to make it worth your while. But don't expect a crown jewel to add to your collection. Neophytes would do well to stay away from this disc and instead pick up the Nuggets box (if they haven't already), or an earlier volume of the Pebbles series. Also, give the Back from the Grave series a try. Happy listening.



2. If you played in a rock band during the 1960's, you will enjoy this collection! When I discovered that the songs I recorded with the Omens in 1965 were included in several compilation albums, and were selling in 2005, I was stunned, dazed, and amused. I haven't seen any of the former bandmates since 1966. Don Revercomb, from Hammond, IN, wrote the songs, sang and played the guitar. I enjoyed playing the farfisa organ on "Searching" and "Girl Get Away", and hope that you will also experience the unique energy of the 60's through this recording. Those were the days......



3. I don't get it; the 60s garage bands of Chicago have been hailed as some of the best in the country, but judging by this volume, they are a pretty faceless lot, sounding almost identical and unoriginal in the extreme. OK, maybe I'm being a little harsh, but the tunes on this disc are nowhere near as cool as those on PEBBLES VOL. 7: CHICAGO 2. That's where the real gems are!

   Songs worth hearing on this volume: The Omens' "Searching", The Furniture's "I Love It Baby", The Huns' "Winning Ticket", The Delights' "Long Green" (sounding like a regional R&B group, with a horn section no less!), The Blackstones' "Never Feel the Pain", and Dean Carter's "Rebel Woman". If you didn't like The Lemon Drops' "I Live in the Springtime", you won't find Buzzsaw's identical cover any better; Dean Carter's cover of "Jailhouse Rock" is just embarrassing.

   Word of warning: The Boyz' awesome "Come With Me" and The Cavedwellers' "Run Around" are not included on this disc, even though they're listed on the track listing; it instead appears on CHICAGO VOL. 2.

   I might sound a little bitter about this particular PEBBLES volume, but as unenthusiastic as I may sound, this is still a garage band reissue with several good tunes not included on any other reissue (save the ESSENTIAL PEBBLES comps, which are missing some of my faves on this disc). I would still recommend picking it up; CHICAGO 2 is ten times better!

5 comments about Skynyrd Frynds.

1. I'm going to cut right to the chase here. Some covers on this album are wonderful, while others leave a lot to be desired.
   Let's face it: While Alabama is one of the greatest bands in the history of country music, and certainly one of my favorite country groups, they, DID NOT DO JUSTICE TO THE SONG THEY COVERED. (Need I tell you what song they covered?) John Mattick (piano) butchered the piano part, and Mark Herndon, (drums) did not use cymbals where he needed to. (If you don't believe me, go back and listen to the chorus). Not to mention that they completely changed the second verse. ("In Birmingham, they play some football..." Did they think no one would notice?) Over all, that cover ain't worth the time it takes to listen to it.
   Travis Tritt's version of "Don't ask me no Questions" is just plain awesome. Come to think of it, it might even be better than the original.
   Confederate Railroad was good, although they probably would've sounded better doing one of the more upbeat Skynyrd songs.
   Sammy Kershaw does a really nice job with his version of "I know a little". The piano solo, while obviously different, still sounds really cool.
   Hank Jr did an awesome job with "Tuesday's Gone." The only thing I'm not too fond of about his version is that, like Alabama did on "Sweet Home Alabama", he completely changed the words around. However, UNLIKE ALABAMA, Hank still managed to make his cut sound good. Judging from Hank's past cover songs, it seems that he has that ability.
   The Mavericks were pretty cool, but they should not have done "Call me the Breeze". I say that simply because "CALL ME THE BREEZE" IS NOT A SKYNYRD SONG. Believe it or not, "Call me the Breeze" was origianlly recorded in 1971 (I think) by a fellow named Jean Jacques Cale, who also wrote the song. Also, as with some of the other artists on this album, they changed around the lyrics. Please, if you're going to cover a song, include all of the original lyrics in their original order, unless your Hank Jr. I will admit, though, giving that song a forties style swing sound was a pretty cool and original idea. Kudos to them for that.
   Steve Earle did a wonderful job on "What's your Name?"
   The Charlie Daniels Band's version of "One More Time" is pretty decent, although I personally would've had them cover "Gimme Three Steps" because that song, in my opinion, is the best Skynyrd song of all time, (nothing personal to the "Freebird" freaks; that's an awesome song, too) and because I think the CDB would've done a better job with that song. (Couldn't you just hear Charlie Daniels singing the words and jammin' an awesome fiddle solo on "Gimme Three Steps"?) That song needs a fiddle solo.
   McBride and the Ride rocked out on "Saturday Night Special". I do have one question, though. Is Terry McBride related to Martina McBride?
   And, last but not least, we have Wynona. Why do record companies seem to think that tribute albums like this always need to have at least one female singer on them? So far, it's been like that with every tribute album I've bought. (I have a lot of tribute albums, and not one of them is a trubute to a female artist, yet it always seems to be the case that no matter what tribute album I buy, there's always a female artist singing one of the songs.) Are they trying to be politically correct? Look, I'm going to say the same thing about Wynona's version of Freebird that I've said before: if the song was written with a male lead vocal part in mind, as "Freebird" obviously was, than get another guy to sing it, and don't change the words around so that a female can sing it. When you change the words around so a female can sing the vocal part, the song just ain't the same, and there's no way around that.



2. I think Alabama's version of "Sweet Home Alabama" is still sweating like a dog. Randy Owen said on this lyrics "Hey, Huntsville, Fly Me to the Moon, Real Soon." Terry McBride said if two boys quit and four were new on this set called "Saturday Night Special."



3. When I first bought the cassette seven years ago I thought I would love to hear these artists cover Skynyrd classics. But now I realize that there are three songs that sound nothing like the originals....Alabama's version of Sweet Home Alabama, Wynonna's version of Free Bird and The Mavericks' version of Call Me The Breeze.
   Other than those three songs it's a must have for any Skynyrd fan.



4. As country tribute albums became common in the nineties, it was no surprise to see one devoted to Lynyrd Skynyrd, perhaps the best of the southern rock bands that emerged in the seventies.

   Least surprising of all is that Alabama (the group) chose to record Sweet home Alabama, a song that really encapsulates the appeal of Lynyrd Skynyrd. Hank Williams Junior contributed Tuesday's gone, but while the other tracks here were recorded especially for this project, Hank's track was simply lifted from his Wild streak album of the late eighties. Wynonna does a fine version of Free bird, while Charlie Daniels digs deeper into the Skynyrd repertoire to cover One more time - not one of their famous songs, but Charlie chose wisely.

   With great contributions from Travis Tritt, Confederate railroad, Sammy Kershaw, The Mavericks, Steve Earle and Terry McBride as well as those already mentioned, this is a fitting tribute to a great seventies rock band. The booklet includes a list of Lynyrd Skynyrd CD's available at the time - but since then, a double-CD, Essential, has been released. If you want one collection by the original group, that is the one to buy.




5. This so called tribute to skynyrd is one of the most pathetic pieces of trailer park trash that i have ever heard. i was eager to hear this cd and listened to it with open mind and ears. acouple of cool moments yes but mostly that pastureized sound of nashville session players that is so sterile. these songs have balls and heart and should have been done with that in mind. ive seen many a bar band give these songs better treatment. winoyna absolutely despicable. i think id rather hear axl rose ruin this great song, although the guitarist was smokin.