2 comments about No Road Back Home.

1. I love Doug MacLeod's blues. By sheer chance caught him early on a Sat afternoon in Kalamazoo Mi at their summer Bluesfest in 2001 and was blown away. I've been addicted ever since. His rhythm, his guitar playing (ooooo, that guitar playing), his vocals. This is one of his earlier albums that I have. You can hear how he's changed over the years when you listen to his later recordings. If you love the blues, if you love slide guitar, at least listen to the samples on this. You might become the MacLeod junkie that I am.



2. If you like the blues, then you will like Doug MacLeod. All of his albums are great, fresh , origonal, and tasty! This particular album got three Handy award nominations and I can't figure why he didn't win one. I highly recommend this as your first(if you dont have any Doug) of what will be many CD's with Doug's brand of the blues. I'm not puttin anyone else down but Doug MacLeod's blues is as good as it gets. Try it and you'll like it!!

No comments about Folk Music at Newport, Vol. 1.

No comments about Live '82.

1 comments about The Collection.

1. IT HAS TIME RUN LIKE A FREIGHT TRAIN AND THAT IS WORTH THE CD ITSELF, AND THE LIVE VERSIONS OF I SHALL GO UNBOUNDED, VIOLETS OF DAWN AND THIRSTY BOOTS ARE SIMPLY OUTSTANDING, ANY FAN OF ERIC ANDERSEN SHOULD PICK UP THIS CD!

3 comments about All My Love.

1. The Capitol debut "All My Love" is a gold mine. The tracks are innovative as well as inventive. With the vocal prowess of Alex Brown, Dwight Watkins and Peabo, this is a must get. Regina Belle makes a background vocal cameo on the D'Atra/Peabo duet "The Palm Of Your Hands". For those who like some old time singing with some fresh vocal arrangements, they need to cop this.



2. Peabo Bryson deservedly scored a #1 R&B hit with his glorious remake of Al Wilson's classic hit "Show And Tell". Other highlights of this CD are "Life Goes On", "When You're In Love", "True Love", "One Time For The Lonely" and the title track. This CD's production values and overall approach are very similar to those of his '70s Capitol releases.



3. THIS WORK BY PEABO BRYSON IS ONE HIS MOST PERSONAL PROJECTS, IT REVEALS HIS INNERMOST FEELINGS ABOUT LOVE AND COMMITMENT. HE DEFINITELY SHOWS A TENDER SIDE AS WELL AS A CONFIDENT SIDE OF HIMSELF, BY NOT BEING ASHAMED TO SAY I LOVE YOU. HIS DUET WITH JASMINE GUY WAS INCREDIBLE, IT IS A SHAME THAT THIS LP WAS TAKEN OFF THE SHELF. MR.BRYSON NEVER SEEMS TO GET THE RECOGNITION HE DESERVES. PERSONALLY, HE'S ONE OF MY ALL TIME FAVORITES. A.JONES, SINCERELY

No comments about Antone's 10th Anniversary Anthology, Vol. 2.

No comments about Antone's 10th Anniversary Anthology, Vol. 1.

4 comments about A Ejukatid Man.

1. Been a long-time fan of Duke. Saw him in blues bars in Chicago before I was legally able to get in. The tunes are wonderful and bring back many fond memories (those that I can actually remember.)

   Looking forward to the next album.




2. Dr Duke Tumatoe has released another great upbeat Blues CD." A Edukatid Man" is fantastic. This man is one of the top Blues Guitarists in the nation. I can't wait to get the next one of Dr. Dukes masterpieces. If you have never heard him and his great band, you won't regret a purchase of this CD.



3. I was really shocked by how great this CD is! Really rocking yet mellow blues, really different and fun. I liked Greg Serrato's new CD on J-Bird too. Looks like J-Bird is gonna be a great blues label!



4. I am a blues artist out of New York City, and let me tell you--Dr. Duke, such a grizzled veteran, has released one of the most joyous, exciting, soulful, passionate, funky, and outrageous experiences of 1999. His songwriting is better than ever, and the band simply has chops for days without being showy or pretentious. "Free Chicken and Beer" is the best instrumental I've heard in 10 years--I wish I had written it! Folks, there are a lot of artist who get tons of hype and don't deserve it. Duke Tumatoe gets no hype and deserves tons of it! This is one of America's undiscovered jewels, so get ahold of this simply incredible CD and enjoy the heck out of it, then tell your friends. And try to stop smiling as you listen--you just can't! I can't get the disc out of my Walkman, and I probably won't be able to for months. Isn't it nice when you discover a classic?

3 comments about Tracy Nelson.

1. I loved this album from the moment I bought the LP back in the early 70's. In 1978 I loaned it to a co-worker but moved to another city before getting it back. I had a cassette I had made of it that I carefully played very infrequently and now I can upgrade to the CD. Oh frabjous day!



2. Tracy Nelson has always done things her way and has sometimes paid a commercial price for having done so. This album marked her move away from recording with her band, Mother Earth. It was not technically her first solo venture since she had recorded a solo blues oriented album (DEEP ARE THE ROOTS) at age 19 for the independent Prestige label and had done a classic solo C&W album while still with the band. The full title of that album (MOTHER EARTH PRESENTS TRACY NELSON COUNTRY) reflected her ties to the group and emphasized that that one was primarily a spin-off product. Mother Earth, an originally San Francisco based band joined Tracy on her move to Nashville, but there was always a kind of San Fran hippie looseness about them. By 1974, either Tracy or her record company decided to try and move beyond that. This time out, she was recording officially as a solo act (she was however still TOURING with Mother Earth, to make matters more complicated).
   
   The result was anything but a typical Mother Earth styled album. TRACY NELSON was much more of a production job than any of the preceding Mother Earth records had been. Where Mother Earth had been known for making " a joyful noise"--gospel rave-ups like BRING ME HOME released just a few years before demonstrated a winning exuberence--here Tracy sounded a bit more constrained and solemn (exception: the just-for-fun duet with Willie "No Relation" Nelson, which was justifiably Grammy nominated--and yes, that's Linda Ronstadt doing the background vocal).
   
   The result was impressive, but actually moodier and darker than her previous work. So even though she may have been knuckling in a bit to record company pressure to be more commercial and "tighter," I suspect still that this was the album that Tracy wanted to make. The mood is too consistently solemn to have been determined by some marketing exec's whim. Tracy has always had a flair for finding appropriate material and the somewhat solemn mood of the album(as exemplified in songs like "Slow Fall," "Hold an Old Friend's Hand," and "Rock Me In Your Cradle" and especially her emotive take on the Irma Thomas classic "I Wish Someone Could Care" and the second recorded version of her own signature song "Down So Low") no doubt reflected her mood at the time.
   
   This is a different sort of Tracy Nelson album. So much of her music has me dancing around the room. This is my TN album for more more introspective moods. Call it your rainy afternoon Tracy CD. Great to see it available as a domestic release.



3. Containing the hit duet with Willie Nelson ("After The Fire is Gone"), this early 70s Atlantic Records solo outing from the Mother Earth lead singer is a stone classic. Also features harmony vocals by Linda Ronstadt and a guest appearance by New Orleans legend Allen Toussaint... This album, which was previously only available as a high priced Japanese import, is now available for the first time on U.S. CD. Original artwork and extensive liner notes featuring an interview with Tracy Nelson. Cool stuff!!!

5 comments about Fish Tree Water Blues.

1. If iPods hadn't rendered the "desert island disc" concept obsolete, this one would still be going to the desert island with me. A masterpiece from end to end; great songs, phemomenal performances. There's not a dud track on this CD.
   
   Amazon's track listing is misleading, however. It shows songwriters instead of performers. Sometimes that's the same person, sometimes it's not. This is the accurate track listing showing the performers on this CD:
   
   1. Stone River - J.J. Cale
   2. Fuel - Ani DiFranco
   3. Victims of Comfort - Keb' Mo'
   4. The Road You Choose - Branford Marsalis & Joe Louis Walker
   5. Highway 13 - John Lee Hooker & John Hammond
   6. Mother Earth - Tracy Nelson
   7. Blue Blue World - Roomful of Blues
   8. I'll Fly Away - Mavis Staples
   9. Hard Day on the Planet - Loudon Wainwright III
   10. Rollin' River - Alvin Youngblood Hart
   11. The Forecast (Calls for Pain) - The Robert Cray Band
   12. Ice Water in Your Veins - Ruth Brown
   13. Take Me to the River - RatDog with Charlie Musselwhite
   14. Take It to the Limit - Etta James



2. Earthjustice, which put together the Fish Tree Water Blues CD, is a nonprofit group whose goal is to provide free legal assistance to organizations fighting for environmental causes. The proceeds from this CD will go to Earthjustice to help fund their projects. If you like protecting clean water, preserving rain forests, protecting endangered species or just like good blues music, this might be a disc that interests you. The disc features 14 songs from a diverse field of musicians. For the most part, and with only a couple of notable exceptions, the compilation sticks to the discs earthy theme. Five of the songs have never been released or qualify for that first new recording in many years category. For example, J.J. Cale's "Stone River", Alvin Youngblood Hart's banjo heavy "Rollin' River", Robert Cray's live "The Forecast (Calls For Pain)", Mavis Staple's "I'll Fly Away", and the Charlie Musselwhite with Bob Weir's Ratdog performing "Take Me To The River", all great stuff. This is a really good compilation from start to finish and definetly a worthwhile acquisition.



3. In a market glutted with pointless compilations, this CD stands out as a must-have. Original tunes from some fabulous blues artists designed to remind us of how vital, and threatened, our natural resources are. The numbers by J.J. Cale and Robert Cray alone are worth the price of admission, a portion of which goes to one of the country's most impressive environmental organizations, Earthjustice Legal Defense Fund. Trust me on this one.



4. A great listening album. Not too heavy for working to and just light enough to relax with.



5. I truly love the blues and usual I only like live in a smoky bar. This is one captures it -- down, dirty, and bluesy. I didn't know Brandford could really swing, until I heard this recording and this is just one of many highlights. Everything is worth many listens. Definitely in my collection.