Steve Cropper – Dedicated – A Salute To The 5 Royales (2011)

Steven Lee Cropper (born October 21, 1941), sometimes known as “The Colonel”, is an American guitarist, songwriter and record producer. He is the guitarist of the Stax Records house band, Booker T. & the M.G.’s, which backed artists such as Otis Redding, Sam & Dave, Carla Thomas, Rufus Thomas and Johnnie Taylor. He also acted as the producer of many of these records. He was later a member of the Blues Brothers band. Rolling Stone magazine ranked him 39th on its list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time.

Born on a farm in Willow Springs, Missouri, Cropper lived in the nearby towns of Dora and [[West Plains, Missouri|West Plains before moving with his family to Memphis at the age of nine. It was in Memphis where he was exposed black church music, which “blew [him] away”. Cropper acquired his first guitar via mail order at the age of 14.

He admired guitarists including Tal Farlow, Chuck Berry, Jimmy Reed, Chet Atkins, Lowman Pauling of the Five Royales and Billy Butler of the Bill Doggett band. (by wikipedia)

Steve Cropper has said in numerous interviews that his main influence as a guitarist was Lowman Pauling, chief songwriter, arranger, and axeman of North Carolina’s 5 Royales, a ’50s-era group that wedded doo wop, jump blues, gospel, and jazz in an R&B style that scored them numerous hits throughout the 1950s. The 5 Royales also featured lead vocalist Johnny Tanner (and occasionally younger brother Eugene) supported by backing singers Otto Jeffries, Jimmy Moore, and Obadiah Carter. Cropper was approached by producer Jon Tiven (who he’d previously worked with on the first of his two collaborations with Felix Cavaliere) about collaborating on a tribute album to the 5 Royales, and jumped at the chance. Dedicated: A Salute to the 5 Royales, which represents the latest chapter in a late-career resurgence for Cropper, one of the most influential soul guitarists in history, combines the talents of a red hot studio band — Cropper, bassist David Hood, keyboardist Spooner Oldham, percussionist Steve Ferrone, drummer Steve Jordan, and Neal Sugarman and Tiven on horns. In addition, Cropper and Tiven enlisted a stellar group of vocalists to perform 5 Royales standards: Lucinda Williams, Sharon Jones, Bettye LaVette, Delbert McClinton, Willie Jones, B.B. King, Shemekia Copeland, Buddy Miller, Dan Penn, Brian May, Steve Winwood, John Popper, and Dylan LeBlanc, fronting a great cast of backing singers.

Despite the historic material and arrangements, Dedicated is a decidedly contemporary recording in production, saving it from the dubious fate of numerous other tribute albums that seek to re-create the actual vibe of original recordings. It begins with an excellent rendition of “Thirty Second Lover” featuring Winwood, but, fine as it is, it’s a teaser for what’s to come. LaVette and Willie Jones tear up “Don’t Be Ashamed.” On “Dedicated to the One I Love,” Williams literally sends shivers up and down the spine as she uses her gauzy, slow, emotive voice to wrench every ounce of emotion from the verses — with Penn adding another dimension to them on the bridge.

Speaking of Penn, an excellent but reluctant lead singer, his reading of “Someone Made You for Me” is one of the most unexpectedly endearing performances on the set. McClinton’s “Right Around the Corner” puts these rhythm & blues in the heart of honky tonk country. The back-to-back readings of “Messin’ Up” by Jones and “Say It” by LaVette come close to stealing the show — but Williams still holds on with the title track and her searingly naked “When I Get Like This” as the closer. Cropper also takes a couple of economical but stinging instrumental breaks on “Help Me Somebody” and “Think” that reveal the depth of Pauling’s genius as well as his own. Given what a mixed bag tribute albums usually are, Dedicated is not only a surprise for its consistency, but a shining example of what they can — and should — be. (by Thom Jurek)

Personnel:
Steve Cropper (guitar, background vocals on 12.)
Steve Ferrone (drums, percussion)
David Hood (bass)
Steve Jordan (drums)
Spooner Oldham (keyboards)
Neal Sugarman (saxophone)
Jon Tiven  (saxophone)
+
Billy Block (percussion on 05.)
Shemekia Copeland (vocals, guitar on 03.)
Angel Cropper (background vocals on 03., 05., 09.)
Beth Hooker (background vocals on 02., 03., 05., 12.)
Sharon Jones (vocals on 09. + 12.)
Willie Jones (vocals on 02.)
B.B. King (vocals, guitar on 03.)
Bettye LaVette (vocals on 02., 10.
Dylan LeBlanc (vocals on 12., background vocals on 04.)
Brian May (vocals, guitar on 08.)
Delbert McClinton (vocals on 06.)
Buddy Miller (vocals, guitar on 11., background vocals on 12.)
Keb Mo (background vocals on 04., 06., 09. – 11.)
Leroy Parnell (background vocals on 04., 06., 09., 10.)
Dan Penn (vocals on 04., 12.,  background vocals on 11.
John Popper (vocals on 05.)
Harry Stinson (background vocals on 02., 03., 05., 12.)
Jon Tiven (background vocals on 06., 10. – 12.)
Lucinda Williams (vocals on 04. + 15.)
Steve Winwood (vocals, organ on 01.)

Tracklist:
01. Thirty Second Lover (Paul/Pauling) 3.55
02. Don’t Be Ashamed (Pauling) 2.50
03. Baby Don’t Do It (Pauling) 2.51
04. Dedicated To The One I Love (Bass/Pauling) 3.15
05. My Sugar Sugar (Pauling) 3.08
06. Right Around The Corner (McCoy/Singleton) 2.36
07. Help Me Somebody (Instrumental) (Pauling) 3.08
08. I Do (Pauling) 2.48
09. Messin’ Up (Pauling) 3.05
10. Say It (Pauling) 2.25
11. The Slummer The Slum (Carter/Pauling) 3.12
12. Someone Made You For Me (Glover) 3.38
13. Think (Instrumental) (Pauling)  4:02
14. Come On & Save Me (Pauling) 2.58
15. When I Get Like This (Jeffires/LeBow) 2.29

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Various Artists – Blues Christmas (2015)

When Los Angeles-based independent record label Cleopatra Records, Inc. began attracting talent from modern blues artists and purchased the estate of blues legend Junior Wells, the company decided to create a label imprint dedicated to the genre. Thus, Cleopatra Blues was born in 2015 and established itself with a logo based on a well-known of photo of Junior Wells smoking a cigarette.

And one of the first releases of this label was this Christmas album:

This year, get the Christmas Blues with this excellent set of new recordings by blues guitarists and vocalists who offer a unique spin on holiday cheer!

Includes recordings by beloved virtuoso guitarists such as Eric Gales, Popa Chubby, and Chris Spedding as well as Lightnin’ Hopkins, Freddy King, Leslie West, and more! (promo text)

Leaving it to the blues to give us a more realistic take on late December than most of pop culture can deliver to us. This collection is much more varied than you think and despite being all over the place then, it’s also a lot more consistent than you’d expect, drawing mostly from more recent acts. Need some dirty, innuendo-filled blues? Try Popa Chubby’s stinging guitar on “Back Door Santa” and Stax legend Steve Cropper’s “Let’s Make Christmas Merry, Baby.” Downhome funk anyone? Try Larry McCray’s “Santa Claus Wants Some Lovin’” with its B.B.-like guitar. Downhome blues is covered here too with Kenny Neal’s take on “I’ll Be Home For Christmas.”

Need a wild stomp with echoed harmonica? Try James Montgomery Band’s version of “Deck The Halls.” There’s even a girl group/Chuck Berry mash-up (Annie Marie Lewis’ “O Come All Ye Faithful”), rockabilly meets R&B (Debbie Davies’ “Boogie Woogie Santa Claus”), slow-burning metal (Eric Gales’ “Little Drummer Boy”) and even an odd, enticing acoustic-then-electric instrumental (Leslie West’s “Silent Night”). A bizarre, botched take on John/Yoko’s “Merry Christmas (War Is Over)” is easily counted with a pair of old school classics- Charles Brown’s re-make of his own “Merry Christmas Baby” and the gorgeous minimalism of Lightnin’ Hopkins “Santa.” Proving once again, sometimes it’s fun to have the blues. (blurtonline.com)

Tracklist:
01.  Joe Louis Walker: Christmas (Comes But Once A Year) 2.44
02. Larry McCray: Santa Claus Wants Some Lovin’ 3.05
03. Steve Cropper: Let’s Make Christmas Merry, Baby 5.09
04. Popa Chubby: Back Door Santa 2.13
05. Paul Nelson (Johnny Winter Band): Christmas Tears 3.27
06. Kenny Neal: I’ll Be Home For Christmas 3.06
07. Eric Gales: Little Drummer Boy 2.25
08. Chris Spedding: Blue Christmas 3.01
09. Pat Travers: Happy Christmas (War Is Over) 4.03
10. Leslie West: Silent Night 2.20
11. Foghat: Run Run Rudolph 2.58
12. Wolf Mail: I Want To Spend Christmas With You 3.05
13. Debbie Davies: Boogie Woogie Santa Claus 2.25
14. James Montgomery Band: Deck The Halls 1.47
15. Harvey Mandel: Santa Claus Is Coming To Town 3.33
16. Charles Brown: Merry Christmas, Baby 3,08
17. Annie Marie Lewis: O Come All Ye Faithful 2.50
18. Lightnin’ Hopkins: Santa 3.36
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19. Freddy King: Christmas Tears 2.50

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Bob Dylan, Keith Richards & Friends – Something Else – Sevilla (1991)

Guitar Legends was a concert held over five nights, from October 15 to October 19, 1991, in Seville, Spain, with the aim of positioning the city as an entertainment destination to draw support for Expo ’92 beginning the following April.

The event featured 27 top guitarists, including Brian May, BB King, George Benson, Joe Walsh, Keith Richards, Les Paul, Robbie Robertson, Robert Cray, Roger Waters, Albert Collins, Steve Vai and Joe Satriani. The vocalists included Rickie Lee Jones, Bob Dylan and Joe Cocker.

The event was conceived by British impresario and producer Tony Hollingsworth who originally agreed to stage the concert as a co-production deal with Spanish state television RTVE. But RTVE dropped out on the day the contract was due to be signed when the director-general (and film director) Pilar Miro Romero left the company.

Later, the organisers of Expo ’92 took on the project to help overcome the problem that Seville was being seen merely as a civil engineering project. They provided half the $7.2 million budget, with Hollingsworth raising the rest from television pre-sales. RTVE bought the Spanish rights, but paid by providing television and radio airtime for advertising slots. These were then sold to Coca-Cola.

Five 90-minute shows and a one-hour documentary were broadcast. Forty-five countries showed at least one live show. Later, broadcasters in 105 countries broadcast one or more programmes. (by wikipedia)

And one of the hightlights of this festival is captured on this bootleg … musicians like BobDylan, Keith Richards, Jack Bruce, Richard Thompson, Roberty Cray, Steve Cropper, Dave Edmunds an manny ore jammed togehter.

A raw, but good audience recording from this event !

Recorded live at the Guitar Legends Festival, Sevilla, Spain
Tracks 1-9 October 17 1991
Tracks 10-13 October 15 1991

Personnel:

Tracklist:
01. All Along The Watchtower (Dylan) 6.09
02. Boots Of Spanish Leather (Dylan) 3.21
03. Across The Borderline (Dickinson/Hiatt/Cooder) 5.15
04. Answer Me (Winkler/Rauch/Sigman) 3.25
05. Shake, Rattle & Roll (Calhoun) 3.41
06. Going Down (Nix) 5.16
07. Somethin’ Else (Sheeley/Cochran) 2.55
08. Connection (Jagger/Richards) 2.25
09. I Can’t Turn You Loose (Redding) 4.28
10. Sabre Dance (Khachaturian) 4.45
11. Standing On The Crossroads (Jupp/Edmunds) 4.03
12. Phone Booth (Cray/Cousins/Walker/Vannice) 3.53
13. Going Back Home (unknown) 4.15

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Various Artists – A Classic Rock Salute To The Doors – Light My Fire (2014)

Southern California-based Purple Pyramid Records and producer, instrumentalist Billy Sherwood raised the bar with this tribute to The Doors by convening a star-studded cast, featuring classic rockers performing with progressive rock luminaries. And the jazz contingent is onboard, evidenced by jazz guitar great Larry Coryell appearing with Focus keyboardist Thijs Van Leer on “Love Me Two Times.”

When I first broke the seal on this recording and perused the personnel listing I was delighted yet partly suspicious, fearing this would be an unbalanced project and/or a riffing contest framed on The Doors songbook. Such is not the case. Thus, Todd Rundgren performing alongside Captain Beeheart Magic Band guitarist Zoot Horn Rollo and Yes keyboardist Geoff Downes signify one of many rather unlikely, yet markedly productive and enticing state of affairs. It’s a varied set, where all the vocalists retain their signature chops and modus operandi. Although one unremitting factor is centered on their penchant for extracting the force-field of The Doors’ vocalist Jim Morrison’s commanding delivery.

The production’s stunning sound quality yields additional bonus points and should warm the hearts of audiophiles. Ultimately, each rendition of The Doors’ songbook is imbued with the musicians’ idiosyncratic niceties amid a plethora of shrewdly placed dynamics, layered keys and guitar shadings. They inject distinct characteristics but don’t sacrifice The Doors’ core song-forms. Hence, disparate musical personalities uncannily attain an accord on many fronts by imparting a sense of ownership and camaraderie, whether or not they were recording tracks in the same studio at the same time.

It’s easy to discern that Sherwood and associates maximized the talents and style of each artist’s strengths, juxtaposed by strong soloing spots and the obligatory personal touches that many of us would anticipate. Van Leer helps give “Love Me Two Times ” a modern uplift by instilling some good old Hammond-B3 organ style boogie rock, abetted by Coryell’s Texas blues patterns and hard rock phrasings. Moreover, guitar hero Leslie West (Mountain) does what he does best via his emphatically thick vocals, coupled with sinuous slide guitar leads atop Rod Piazza’s harmonica notes, as they punch it out on this husky finger-snapping spin on “Roadhouse Blues.”

Tony Kaye (Yes) uses a synth emulated electric piano sound during “Riders On The Storm” and Keith Emerson (Emerson, Lake & Palmer) preludes “People Are Strange” with stride piano clusters and synths alongside time-honored session ace, guitarist Jeff “Skunk” Baxter’s deft acoustic guitar work. Yet rockabilly vocalist Robert Gordon croons through “Touch Me” with the resonance and machismo of Morrison, complemented by pumping rhythms and Nik Turner’s (Hawkwind) swirling sax notes and prog rock keyboard great Jordan Rudess’ spiraling notes. Whereas, Rundgren tenders a pop-ish and clement outlook on The Doors’ swaggering and bluesy torch piece “Alabama Song (Whiskey Bar).

Highlights are thriving components, especially when infamous Yes alumni, guitarist Steve Howe and keyboardist Rick Wakeman delve into an extended call and response motif, spanning rock, jazz and classical nuances in the bridge section of “Light My Fire.” Here, Ian Gillan provides the antithesis of what we’d expect, considering his high-impact vocals with Deep Purple, as he counterbalances the soloists with a care-free and straightforward rendering of the familiar choruses. Indeed, this tribute endeavor covers all the bases and then some. It’s not to be overlooked. Kudos to the production team for bestowing their rather enlightening plan of attack as it’s quite apparent that a lot of thought prefaced the onset of this astonishing alignment of rock’s past and present rock stars. (by Glen Astarita)

First off readers let me say that I do not like cover bands, cover albums, tribute albums and compilation albums. I have always felt they should be considered a separate genre and that they usually do a disservice to the original composers and bands. After listening to “A Classic Rock Salute To The Doors” though I am rethinking those thoughts. It is hard to cover every song here, there are 16 of their greatest hits, so I will try to give an over view of what I think is important. I will leave the final decision up to you as to how good it really is after you listen to it.

I was fortunate enough to see ‘The Doors’, 3 times, once at Cobo Hall in Detroit. They were a very unassuming band with almost no equipment. They used no special effects, fireworks, light shows or anything other than themselves, a few instruments and only a couple amps and speakers. The stage was pretty empty even by the standards of the 1960’s. What they lacked in equipment they made up by how tight and cohesive they were as a group when they were all in sync with each other and halfway sober. Jim Morrison usually took all eyes off the other 3 members but make no mistake that without them Jim Morrison would probably have become another undiscovered rock star.

Several of the guests on this album most likely knew ‘The Doors’ back in the day and are by all rights are ‘Superstars’ themselves. More than 42 of rock’s greatest classic ‘Superstars’ showed up to play on this album. That’s a lot of “tribute” to any person or group and shows the love and respect they all had for ‘The Doors’ and their music. By my count there are at least 7 tribute albums out there for ‘The Doors’ but from where I sit this is probably the only one that should matter.

The album starts off with one of my favorites, ‘LA Woman’. From their 6th, album released in 1971, ‘LA Woman’. Jami Jamison, Ted Turner and Patrick Moraz do an admirable job of covering this tune. The guitar work, Ted Turner I am assuming, gives an old favorite a different twist.

I could go into much more detail on more songs off this album but since space is limited I will just give some observations here. This is certainly an album to help introduce anyone who has never heard ‘The Doors’ before to their greatness. After listening to it I guarantee they will hunger for the original music just to hear who these 4 guys, who cut out a slice of rock history for themselves, really were.

The guitar work on every song is clean, precise and shredded, something that Robby Kriegers “fingerstyle” guitar playing did not allow him to do. Not that Robby Krieger wasn’t great, he was just not as technical since “fingerstyle“ playing is better suited to Flamenco and Folk Music. It’s probably the most notable difference in all of the tunes here.

Conspicuous by its absence here though is ‘The Unknown Soldier’ which could have easily replaced the version of ‘People Are Strange’ with David Johansen and Billy Sherwood. This is the only song I really felt did not belong among the 16 cuts on this album.

The closing song is my all time favorite and appropriately is, ‘The End’, featuring Pat Travers and Jimmy Greenspoon. Listening to this version gave me goose bumps and almost brought tears to my eyes. The depth is so different but not nearly as dark as the original. I think you’ll find yourself listening to it over and over again! (Mike Langford)

One of the finest tribute albums ever !

Personnel:

Jimi Jamison: vocals (1); Patrick Moraz: keyboards (1); Ted Turner: guitars (1); Scott Connor: drums (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 11, 13, 16); Billy Sherwood: bass (all tracks), guitar, piano, synths (8), drums, keyboards (12); Lou Gramm: vocals (2); Thijs Van Leer: keyboards (2); Larry Coryell: guitar (2); Leslie West: guitar, vocals (3); Brian Augur: Hammond B-3 organ (3); Rod Piazza: harmonica (3); Mark Stein: vocals, Hammond B-3 organ (4); Mick Box: guitar (4); Joe Lynn Turner: vocals (5); Tony Kaye: Hammond B-3 organ (5); Steve Cropper: guitar (5); Edgar Winter: vocals (6); Chris Spedding: guitar (6); Keith Emerson: acoustic 7 ft. grand piano and original Moog, modular synthesizer (7); Jeff “Skunk” Baxter: acoustic guitar (7); Joel Druckman: acoustic upright bass (7); David Johansen: vocals (8); Robert Gordon: vocals (9); Jordan Rudess: keyboards (9); Steve Morse: guitar (9); Nik Turner: saxophone (9); Adam Hamilton: drums (9); Graham Bonnet: vocals (10); Christopher North: Hammond organ & Leslie (10); Steve Hillage: guitar (10); Ken Hensley: vocals, Hammond B-3 organ (11); Roye Albrighton: guitar (11); Eric Martin: vocals (12); Elliot Easton: lead and Spanish guitars (12); Todd Rundgren: vocals (13); Geoff Downes: keyboards (13); Zoot Horn Rollo: guitars (13); Mark Farner: vocals, guitar (14); Chick Churchill: keyboards (14); Glenn Grossman: drums (14); Ian Gillian: vocal (15); Rick Wakeman: keyboards (15); Steve Howe: guitar (15); Ricky Joyce: drums (15); Pat Travers: vocals, guitar (16); Jimmy Greenspan: keyboards (16).

For details see booklet

Tracklist:
01. Jimi Jamison, Ted Turner, Patrick Moraz: L.A. Woman 7.28
02. Lou Gramm, Thijs van Leer, Larry Coryell: Love Me Two Times 3.21
03. Leslie West, Brian Auger, Rod Piazza: Roadhouse Blues 4.06
04. Mark Stein, Mick Box: Love Her Madly 3.26
05. Joe Lynn Turner, Tony Kaye, Steve Cropper: Riders On The Storm 6.19
06. Edgar Winter, Chris Spedding: The Crystal Ship 2.44
07. Keith Emerson, Jeff ‘Skunk’ Baxter, Joel Druckman: Intro (People Are Strange) 3.58
08. David Johansen, Billy Sherwood: People Are Strange 2.21
09. Robert Gordon, Jordan Rudess, Steve Morse, Nik Turner: Touch Me 3.49
10. Graham Bonnet, Christopher North, Steve Hillage: The Soft Parade 8.04
11. Ken Hensley, Roye Albrighton: Hello, I Love You 2.39
12. Eric Martin, Elliot Easton: Spanish Caravan 2.54
13. Todd Rundgren, Geoff Downes, Wake: Alabama Song (Whiskey Bar) 3.26
14. Mark Farner, Chick Churchill: Break On Through (To the Other Side) 2.51
15. Ian Gillan, Rick Wakeman, Steve Howe: Light My Fire 7.00
16. Pat Travers, Jimmy Greenspoon: The End 11.23

All songs written by Jim Morrison – John Densmore – Ray Manzarek – Robby Krieger
except:
06.: written by Jim Morrison &
13.: written by Kurt Weil – Bertolt Brecht

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