Garcia still works wonders on the guitar. His obbligato behind rhythm guitarist Bob Weir's vocal on the gun-fighter ballad, "El Paso," ranged from flamenco figures to blues lines. The latter created a humorous and musically interesting mixture. Slipping around the sunny Mexican-American rhythms were the riffs and diving glissandos of a music that grew up among the chilly winds of Chicago. - Cliff Radel, Enquirer Pop Music Critic. The vocals and instruments blended perfectly into one cohesive unit. The artists themselves seemed to enjoy playing and the concentration they commanded was unshakable in the fan-filled Coliseum. - Douglas Fechter, The NewsRecord Cincy, The Nati, Paris Of America, call it what you will but when the Grateful Dead came to town, they certainly helped propel her to "Queen of the West." The previously unreleased complete show from the Riverfront Coliseum, Cincinnati, OH 10/2/76 is all up from start to finish with xxx 70s-era first set songs like "Promised Land" and "El Paso" to Europe '72 staples and classic covers ("It's All Over Now," "Big River"), wrapped up with a unique second-set jam that opens with "Dancing In The Street" and closes with "Sugar Mag." An all-around good time! Limited to 25,000 numbered copies and shipping this week, DAVE'S PICKS VOL. 53: RIVERFRONT COLISEUM, CINCINNATI, OH 10/2/76 was recorded by Dan Healy and has been mastered to HDCD specs by Jeffrey Norman at Mockingbird Mastering. P.S. As a bonus, we have a quintet of songs from 5/4/77 (recorded by Betty Cantor-Jackson), the rest of which was featured on Dave’s Picks Vol. 50 and its Bonus Disc. As we mentioned in 2012 when this series started, we’re determined to provide complete shows whenever possible. And even when a show is only partially included on a release as bonus material, we’re happy to complete it later on down the line, as we’ve done here. We hope you dig it. - David Lemieux

This excellent 250-track anthology contains many tracks originally recorded in the Fifties and early Sixties that would be picked up on by bands all over the world and are still being performed today. The originals have a glamour all of their own, having been recorded in the country where rock and the blues had their birth.

Beatles covers are a dicey proposition at best. Even the most ingenious and unique rendition seems destined to suffer in comparison to the original, and the potential for failure is virtually limitless – either way, it's an idea as sound as remaking Citizen Kane with Pauly Shore in the title role. And yet artists are drawn to the Lennon/McCartney songbook like bees to honey, their desire to cover these songs best likened to a creative death wish – We Can Work It Out assembles 16 of these kamikaze missions, and believe it or not, despite the inevitable wreckage there's also a handful of survivors. Setting loose these familiar songs in jazz and funk modes far removed from the Beatles' original recordings enables greater room for personalization and innovation, and the artists featured here are hardly slouches, either – Ike & Tina Turner (who know a thing or two about making covers their own – ask John Fogerty) deliver a gritty, low-down version of "Come Together," Stevie Wonder invests "We Can Work It Out" with the boundless optimism and sensitivity of his own music, and Earth, Wind & Fire update McCartney's Motown tribute "Got to Get You Into My Life" in accordance with the updated rules of the soul handbook. A bonus-mix CD courtesy of 4hero's Marc Mac rounds out a set far better than it has any right to be. (AMG)

All Time Classic Rock 'N' Roll Tearjerkers, a Various Artists Compilation. Released 2003 on Warner Strategic Marketing.

DYNAMIC BROADCAST RECORDING FROM STEVIE NICKS AND LINDSEY BUCKINGHAM WHILE IN THEIR PRE-FLEETWOOD MAC GUISE One of the most famous pairings in American rock music history, the story of Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks begins long before they found international success with Fleetwood Mac. Starting their musical career as members of the now long-forgotten Fritz, albeit with whom they had opened for giants like Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and Grace Slick, when the band split in 1971, the couple relocated to Los Angeles and continued working on their music as a duo. They secured a deal with Polydor, and the classic Buckingham Nicks LP was released on 5th September 1973. Despite warm reviews and a select but dedicated radio following, the album received little attention from the press and the record was quickly deleted.

This two-disc set does a wonderful job of presenting the nearly 50-year recording history of Art, Charles, Aaron, and Cyril Neville – the Neville Brothers – without sacrificing the pacing that makes for a good and varied listening experience. Opening with "Mardi Gras Mambo" from 1954 by Art's first group, the Hawketts, then picking up on a couple of Aaron's early singles, the Allen Toussaint-produced "Over You" and Aaron's unofficial theme song, "Tell It Like It Is," before moving on to the bayou funk of the Meters for "Cissy Strut" and "Look-Ka Py Py," Gold gets things exactly right. All four brothers actually didn't appear on record together until 1976's marvelous The Wild Tchoupitoulas album, which is represented here by "Brother John" and "Meet de Boys on the Battlefront." They officially became known as the Neville Brothers a year later, and their hybrid mix of funk, soul, gospel, rock, country, and New Orleans street music is both inspired and fun, with tracks like "Fire on the Bayou" and "Hey Pocky Way" quickly becoming Louisiana classics. Other highlights on this fine collection include a scorching live take of "Voodoo" from 1994's Live on Planet Earth release, an impassioned version of the Melodians' Jamaican hymn "Rivers of Babylon," and the 21st century psychedelic funk of "Walkin' in the Shadow of Life" from the 2004 album of the same title. Until a box set comes along, this two-disc compilation stands as the best overall introduction to the long history of the Neville Brothers, who show no signs of slowing down anytime soon.

On the Who's final album with Keith Moon, their trademark honest power started to get diluted by fatigue and a sense that the group's collective vision was beginning to fade. As instrumentalists, their skills were intact. More problematic was the erratic quality of the material, which seemed torn between blustery attempts at contemporary relevance ("Sister Disco," "New Song," "Music Must Change") and bittersweet insecurity ("Love Is Coming Down"). Most problematic of all were the arrangements, heavy on the symphonic synthesizers and strings, which make the record sound cluttered and overanxious.

Fleetwood Mac's first album made after the departure of Danny Kirwan features the additions of guitarist Bob Weston and singer Dave Walker. By now Bob Welch and Christine McVie were the dominant forces in the band, and all traces of blues-rock were gone, replaced by Welch's hypnotic melodies and McVie's romantic sentiments married to up-tempo pop tunes. This album gave Fleetwood Mac its best U.S. chart showing yet, but the wonder is that this phase in the band's career wasn't even more popular.

Reckless is the fourth studio album by Canadian singer-songwriter Bryan Adams. Released on 5 November 1984 through A&M Records, the album was co-produced by Adams and Bob Clearmountain, and it was arguably Adams' most successful solo album. The album was a huge international hit, selling over five million units in the United States alone and twelve million worldwide. It was the first Canadian album to sell more than one million units within Canada. The album reached number one on the Billboard 200 and reached high positions on album charts worldwide.

Leading his own bands in the late '70s and early '80s, Ian Gillan continued to embrace music that, not surprisingly, was heavily influenced by his former band, Deep Purple. And he never sounded more Purple-ish than he does on Mr. Universe, which isn't quite on a par with Purple's Burn but is stronger than many of the albums the outfit had recorded after Gillan's departure (some of which were quite disappointing). This is Gillan at his most aggressive and passionately rockin'. Those with fond memories of his work with Purple will appreciate the testosterone-driven energy of "Vengeance," "Roller," and "Message in a Bottle." Headbangers shouldn't overlook this one.

'In Session' is the new album from platinum selling & MOJO Awards winning artist Rumer. Having moved to the USA for a period of time, Rumer began working on a studio project to celebrate the work of Joni Mitchell. It was then that she first collaborated with London based, funk band Redtenbacher's Funkestra, the original and mostly instrumental wall-to-wall Jazz Funk Collective of world class players who have previously collaborated with esteemed musicians such as Brand New Heavies, Cory Wong (Vulfpeck) and Andy Snitzer (Paul Simon). Through new arrangements of music that emerged during their work together, the idea of presenting an 'In Session' record was born.

The great Italian legend of the piano Maurizio Pollini sadly passed-away earlier this year, on 23rdMarch 2024. This album recorded together with his son Daniele, is dedicated to three different aspects of Schubert's piano oeuvre covering: the sonatas, the collections of short pieces, and music for four hands. The first time that both musicians performed a piano work for four hands: Schubert's great F minor Fantasy. The release is accompanied by a 16-page booklet with an essay by Maurizio Pollini's long-time companion Paolo Petazzi.

Cole Porter was one of a handful of American musical colossi. He had the genius to conjure up improbable rhyming lyrics to catchy melodies delivering not only a single song but as often or not a whole conundrum of numbers collected within the sphere of a show. This collection of 40 songs exemplifies the talent of Cole Porter and is a testament (tribute) to his longevity in musical history. Wit, humour, sophistication, rhythmic and key changes are small change to his ability.Who else could win a challenge to produce 'Miss Otis Regrets' after questioned whether he could write lyrics from the next words he heard? The cast of star celebrities in this collection say it all. Sinatra, Bennett, Crosby, Ella, Billie, Nat, Marlene, Judy to name a few. Also, the bigger bands of not so long ago, Nat Gonella, Jack Hylton, Geraldo. These need preservation orders and what better than endorse the master composer Mr Cole Porter? Add this to your collection.

Reach for the Truth: Best of the Reprise Years 1971-74. Generously packed with 23 tracks including one previously unreleased selection (a closing acoustic demo version of "Red Light Ladies," the tune that also opens the album), rare photos, extensive liner notes, and track-by-track descriptions from Lewis in the 24-page book, it's hard to imagine a more perfect single-disc representation of her material from these years.

Two rising stars in today’s firmament of Baroque music performance, Leila Schayegh and Jörg Halubek, join forces to record one of the major challenges in their joint repertory: the six Bach Violin Sonatas, BWV 1014-1019. The collection’s title, 'Sei Suonate à Cembalo certato è Violino Solo', reflects the close partnership demanded of the violin and harpsichord players, with Bach moving away from the idea of continuo support for a solo instrument and constantly making new technical demands on the musicians and thereby approaching the concept of the triosonata. Completed by around 1725, most of these richly characterful works combine the Italian style and a cantabile tone with elements of German contrapuntal style. The artistic partnership of Schayegh and Halubek, now in its tenth year, has seen them record chamber music by Jean-Marie Leclair, CPE Bach and Giovanni Mossi but the Bach Violin Sonatas represents their first joint recording for Glossa.