The Allman Brothers Band – The Final Show (2014)

The only note of sentiment during the Allman Brothers Band’s October 28th concert at New York’s Beacon Theatre – their last at that venue and anywhere else, at least for the foreseeable future – came after more than four hours of music: three sets and an inevitable encore, “Whipping Post.” The seven members of the group – the surviving trio of founders, singer-organist Gregg Allman and drummers Butch Trucks and Jaimoe; the long-serving guitar team of Warren Haynes and Derek Trucks; and often overlooked veterans Oteil Burbridge on bass and percussionist Marc Quinones – lined up onstage and took a bow: a first at any Allmans-Beacon show I’d ever attended.
Then Gregg, pressed forward by the others, gave a short speech, another first, recalling the day 45 years ago that he first sang with the original Allmans lineup – led by his late brother, guitarist Duane Allman, and including guitarist Dickey Betts and the late bassist Berry Oakley – at a jam session in Jacksonville, Florida. Gregg cited the precise date, March, 26th, 1969, then said, in a low, worn voice, “Never did I have any idea it could come to this.” He gazed gratefully at the crowd, still on its feet, clapping and cheering, at nearly 1:30 a.m. “Now,” Gregg added, “We’re gonna do the first song we ever played.”
The Allmans got back in position and tore into “Trouble No More,” the Muddy Waters rumble from Side One of the group’s 1969 debut album, The Allman Brothers Band. It sounded nothing like goodbye: tight and gnarly, Derek and Haynes riding the triple-drum-kit surf with avenging poise. But it was.

Until that late acknowledgement of the occasion, the show was most remarkable for what didnt’t happen. There were no special guests – a signature feature of the Alllmans’ Beacon shows over the last decade – and the group did not throw in any of the extended-family covers (the Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Dr.John, Derek and the Dominos) that came, often in medleys without warning, during the Allmans’ annual spring runs at the Beacon. The closest they got to the latter: an elegaic swerve, at the end of the first set, through King Curtis’s “Soul Serenade” in “You Don’t Love Me,” quoting a segue I’ve got on an August, 1971 live-radio bootleg; and the chase-scene extension of “Black Hearted Woman” in the second set, when the rhythm section switched accents and Derek and Haynes hit the chattering riff of the Grateful Dead’s “The Other One.”

Otherwise, the Allmans – who announced their retirement from touring after Derek and Haynes issued a statement earlier this year that they were leaving to concentrate on their own careers – made sure they performed as much of their classic catalog, from the five albums made between that ’69 bow and 1973’s Brothers and Sisters, as could be fit in one night. The end of the road actually began with a poetic rewind of Duane-time flashbacks: An introductory flourish of the guitarist’s last composition, the acoustic “Little Martha” played by Derek and Haynes in electric harmony, quickly broke into “Mountain Jam,” the guitarists citing Donovan’s source melody, “There Is a Mountain,” in languid, treble sighs. It was a literal replication of the closing sequence, on Sides Three and Four, of 1972’s Eat a Peach, the album the Allmans were making when Duane died the previous October. That coupling erupted into another: the one-two punch of the Spencer Davis Group’s “Don’t Want You No More” and Gregg’s eerily prophetic blues “It’s Not My Cross to Bear” at the beginning of The Allman Brothers Band.

The Allmans’ recurring cycles of ascension, tragedy, crash, recovery and determined performing triumph, in every era, were directly addressed in a first-set reading of “The High Cost of Low Living,” from 2003’s Hittin’ the Note, the only Allmans studio album to feature Derek and Haynes. The third set was a loosely narrative charge through pilgrimage and celebration – “Revival,” “Southbound” and more “Mountain Jam.” The last gently dissolved into the Carter Family hymn “Will the Circle Be Unbroken,” sung by Gregg as ragged pleading with Haynes riding shotgun, in decisively sunny harmony. But the finish extended the circle, taking everyone back to psychedelic church with another flash of “Mountain Jam” at “The Other One” velocity.

The talk in the balcony, before the show and during the breaks, was of Betts, who was fired in 2000: Was there a chance he would come out and play, completing one more circle on the last possible night? He didn’t but was present in the songs – “Blue Sky,” “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed” – and in Derek and Haynes’ ties, through their harmonies and soloing, to the standards of fraternal lock and empathic dialogue set by Duane, with Betts, right out of the gate, in 1969. As he did on other nights in this October run, Derek played Duane’s own gold-top Les Paul – in the first set during Elmore James’ “One Way Out” and Sonny Boy Williamson’s “Good Morning Little Schoolgirl.”
But there was a lot of blues-power Dickey cutting through the Duane in both Derek’s raga-panic breaks and Haynes’ modal skids during “Elizabeth Reed” and in that “Whipping Post.” The younger men both played with Betts at different times in the Allmans, then together in the band for nearly fifteen years, five times longer than Betts and Duane did. There was never a suggestion – when Derek joined in 1999 and Haynes came back after Betts’ dismissal – that either player had replaced the elders. The lightning, frenzy and swan dives in “Hot ‘Lanta,” “Statesboro Blues” And “Dreams,” tonight as at every other Beacon show I saw, were acts of acknowledgement and summation, charged with pursuit of the unfinished.

That work, it seems, will stay undone. During the intermissions, a curious message appeared on the large video screen behind the band: “The road indeed goes on forever. So stay calm, eat a peach and carry on . . .” The individual members of the Allmans will certainly continue to play in some form and combinations. There may even be reunions. As for the guitarists, Derek’s R&B juggernaut with his wife Susan Tedeschi, the Tedeschi Trucks Band, recently played a transcendant Beacon run in September, and Haynes’ group Gov’t Mule will make their traditional holiday stop at that stage on December 30th and 31st. I went to the former; I don’t want to miss the latter.
But it will take more than a peach to get me through next March. It was never spring, I always said, until I saw the Allmans peakin’ at the Beacon. Tonight was a generous, continually thrilling farewell. It will make the leaving that much harder to bear. (Rolling Stone on Facebook, 2014)

The Allman Brothers Band could have wrapped up their farewell concert with any number of songs. They could have gone with an epic, jammed-out “Whipping Post,” which they did for the second last song at New York’s Beacon Theater on October 28th, 2014. They could have gone with a classic like “Mountain Jam,” “Midnight Rider” or “Melissa,” but they did those earlier in the night during the four hour blowout. Instead, they went with Muddy Waters’ “Trouble No More,” from their first side of their 1969 debut LP. An emotional Gregg Allman told the crowd that night it was the first song played at the group’s first rehearsal. “This was at about 3:30 in the afternoon, on March 26th, 1969,” he said. “Never did I have any idea it would come to this.”

It came to this after 45 amazing years that saw more tragedy and heartbreak than just about any group in rock history. They endured the deaths of guitarist Duane Allman and bassist Berry Oakley in separate motorcycle accidents just a few years after the group began, two breakups, a bitter split with founding guitarist Dickey Betts after years of acrimony and numerous health problems for Gregg Allman that threatened their existence time and time again. Throughout it all they kept gigging, helped in no small part by the addition of guitarists Warren Haynes in 1989 and guitarist Derek Trucks (nephew of drummer Butch Trucks) a decade later.

When the time came to call it quits in 2014 there was no other place to end it than the Beacon Theater. They first played a residency at the Upper West Side theater in 1989 and three years later they turned it into an annual tradition. Fans from around the country descended on New York City every March for a chance to catch the shows, which featured a steady stream of surprise guest stars, amazing covers and unforgettable nights.

Demand for tickets was never higher than the October 28th, 2014 show. Days after it ended, Derek Trucks told Rolling Stone they ended at the right time. “If we’d gone on much longer, we wouldn’t have been able to summon that [last] show,” he said. “Almost any other time there’s a huge send-off, it’s a star-studded thing. This was just the band showing up and playing, the way they always did. There’s something honest and proud, dignified and beautiful about the way it ended.”

From nearly the minute it ended rumors began spreading that the band was going to reform. “I would never rule anything out,” Haynes told Rolling Stone in 2015. “There’s no talk of that, but you know, I think the door’s always open.” That door began closing in January when Butch Trucks committed suicide, and it permanently closed on May 27th when Gregg Allman died after a long battle with liver cancer. Thankfully, the group had the opportunity to meticulously plan their final show and go out on an incredibly high note. (by Rolling Stone, May 30, 2017)

And the last song of this fanstastic show, was the first song, The Allman Brothers Band ever played  back in summer of 69 in Jacksonville, Forida.

Personnel:
Gregg Allman (keyboards, vocals, guitar)
Oteil Burbridge (bass, vocals)
Warren Haynes (guitar, slide guitar)
Jaimoe (drums, percussion)
Marc Quinones (percussion, vocals)
Butch Trucks (drums, percussion)
Derek Trucks (guitar, slide guitar)

Tracklist:

CD 1:
01. Little Martha (D.Allman) 0.51
02. Mountain Jam (Leitch/D.Allman/Betts/Oakley/Johansen/Trucks/G.Allman) 4.01
03. Don’t Want You No More (Davis/Hardin) 2.35
04. It’s Not My Cross To Bear (G.Allman) 5.04
05. One Way Out (Sehorn/James) 6.25
06. Good Morning, Little Schoolgirl (Williamson) 10.54
07. Midnight Rider (G.Allman) 3.35
08. The High Cost Of Low Living (Allman/Haynes/Anders/Burgin) 8.39
09. Hot ‘Lanta (D.Allman/Betts/Oakley/Johansen/Trucks/G.Allman) 5.38
10. Blue Sky (Betts) 9.55
11. You Don’t Love Me (Cobbs) 13.30

CD 2:
01. Statesboro Blues (McTell) 4.52
02. Ain’t Wastin’ Time No More (G.Allman) 7.43
03. Black Hearted Woman (G.Allman) 13.08
04. The Sky Is Crying (James) 9.10
05. Dreams (G.Allman) 11.41
06. Don’t Keep Me Wondering (G.Allman) 4.16
07. Stage banter 1 0.18
08. In Memory Of Elizabeth Reed (Betts) 15.28
09. JaMaBuBu (Trucks/Jaimoe) 10.27
10. In Memory Of Elizabeth Reed (Betts) 2.34

CD 3:
01. Melissa (G.Allman) 5.39
02. Revival (Betts) 4.18
03. Stage banter 2 0.13
04. Southbound (Betts) 5.20
05. Mountain Jam (Leitch/D.Allman/Betts/Oakley/Johansen/Trucks/G.Allman) 8.06
06. Will The Circle Be Unbroken (Gabriel/Habershon) 10.51
07. Mountain Jam (reprise) (Leitch/D.Allman/Betts/Oakley/Johansen/Trucks/G.Allman) 3.07
08. Crowd noise 1 4.10
09. Whipping Post (G.Allman) 14.30
10. Crowd noise 2 1.48
11. Farewell
12. Trouble No More (Morganfield/Estes) 4.29

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Toy Caldwell – Can´t You See (live 1992) (1998)

Toy Talmadge Caldwell Jr. (November 13, 1947 – February 25, 1993) was the lead guitarist, main songwriter and a founding member of the 1970s Southern Rock group The Marshall Tucker Band. He was a member of the band from its formation up until 1983. In addition to his guitarist role, he occasionally performed lead vocals for Marshall Tucker Band, including on one of the band’s best-known hits, “Can’t You See.”

Caldwell was born November 13, 1947, in Spartanburg, South Carolina, to Mr. and Mrs. Toy Talmadge Caldwell Sr. He began playing guitar before his teen years with his younger brother Tommy Caldwell. He developed a unique style of playing, playing the electric guitar using his thumb rather than a pick. Toy played basketball and football in high school with friends George McCorkle, Jerry Eubanks, and Doug Gray. While very involved in sports, the boys eventually became interested in music including jazz and blues. By the age of sixteen, Caldwell was passionate about music, sports, and his other obsession, motorcycles. He also enjoyed hunting and fishing.

Caldwell decided to serve his country and enlisted in the United States Marine Corps. In 1966, he reported for recruit training at Parris Island, South Carolina. After being wounded in Vietnam in September 1968, he was evacuated for two weeks, then returned for duty. Caldwell was discharged in 1969 and once again began playing music with his high school buddies. The Spartanburg chapter of the Marine Corps League is named the Hutchings-Caldwells Detachment in honor of Toy, his brother Tommy and another Marine.

He later formed the Toy Caldwell Band and released an eponymous CD in 1992; the record was later renamed Son of the South by Southern country rocker and Caldwell’s personal friend, Charlie Daniels. The album was digitally re-released in 2009 through Hopesong Digital / GMV Nashville.

Caldwell died on February 25, 1993, at his home in Moore, South Carolina. The cause of death was reported as cardio-respiratory failure due to cocaine ingestion by Spartanburg County Coroner Jim Burnett.

Caldwell married his wife Abbie on September 12, 1969. The song “AB’s Song” from The Marshall Tucker Band’s debut album was written for her. He was also the father of two girls Cassady and Geneal Caldwell.

He was the older brother of co-founder and bass guitarist Tommy Caldwell, who was killed at age 30 in an automobile accident on April 28, 1980, and to Tim Caldwell, who on March 28, 1980, one month prior to Tommy’s death, was killed at age 25 in a collision with a Spartanburg County garbage truck on S.C. Highway 215. (by wikipedia)

Toy Caldwell was best known as the lead guitarist and main songwriter in the Marshall Tucker Band. A unique personality as well as a formidable musician, he was a peer of both Dickey Betts and Charlie Daniels, and his best work crossed effortlessly between country, blues, and rock & roll. A few years after the breakup of the Marshall Tucker Band in the late ’80s, he re-emerged as leader of the Toy Caldwell Band, which played small-scale shows of the kind that the Marshall Tucker Band couldn’t do. He also recorded one solo album before his death in early 1993. Although most of his fame inevitably rests with the Marshall Tucker Band, Caldwell left behind a small but glorious body of solo material. (by Bruce Eder)

First let me say I respect Abbie Caldwell and her belief that Toy would not have wanted this released. That said, me being a true blue TC fan I want anything and everything I can get a hold of from Toy. This album and his 1984 unreleased album with the song Cry Cry Cry are “must haves” to the real fan. This album may be some of the last we get from Toy and that’s a shame.
Yea the picture on the cover and sound quality aren’t the best but it’s Toy and his guitar, I could care less about the cover pic. I want to hear him play and man does he play!
It was Toy’s songwriting and the bands performances that first took a hold of me and many others back in early 70s and still today we thirst for anything from Toy. Adding this to your MTB, Toy Caldwell collection can’t be a bad thing. Buy it, sit back, crank it up and listen to some good ol boy chicken pickin. You wont be disappointed.
Toy was a US Marine / V Nam veteran and a gifted songwriter, awesome guitarist who is deeply missed.
Ride in Peace Tommy, Toy & George….. we miss you brothers. (by ‘J’ Willys)

The Marshall Tucker Band was one of the more successful acts under the Allman Brother’s umbrella on Capricorn Records. I confess until the MTB band album “Where We All Belong” I didn’t know just how much the main reason I liked MTB was Toy Caldwell. That album was a eye-opener to the prowess of Toy’s “red-hot pickin'”! And boy could the man tear up the fretboard.

MTB, like the Allman Brothers had some hard-knocks and here we find Toy after MTB’s breakup doing what he does best without any cares. It’s a crack band (by all indications) supporting him, but here we really have the total “Toy Caldwell Show” and it is raw and rocking with infectious power! The focus is on the great songcraft melded to some of the absolutely tastiest guitar rips and the rawness only drives it home better.

This is a highly recommended album if you, like me, found Toy’s guitar playing and song-writing to be the cornerstone of what made MTB memorable. Recently I saw MTB live of which Doug Gray is the only remaining original member. Maybe I saw them on an “off-night”, but it fell flat to these ears…This, on the other hand, brings excitement and joy as it underscores just what a fantastic picker Toy was. He was an amazing guitarist and quite a fine song-writer which this CD easily reveals in an electric way. For those who appreciate the man it is a must buy. One other thing I always knew is that the rhythm section of MTB was tight and in-sync totally with Toy (like Toy, brother Tommy’s bass-playing was also underated and Paul Riddle is a fantastic drummer), the rhythm section here is up to the task. Enough said! (John Werner)

Recorded live at Shooters, Spartanburg, SC, May 8 & 9, 1992

Personnel:
Mark Burrell (drums)
Toy Caldwell (guitar, vocals)
Tony “Ray” Heatherly (bass, background vocals)
J. “Pic” Pickens (guitar, slide-guitar)
Kenny Smith (keyboards)

on 12.:
Tommy Cathey (bass)
Paul Hornsby (strings, tipani)
Robert Johnson (guitar)
Greg Morrow (drums)
Pete Pedersen (harmonica on 12.)

on 13.:

Tommy Cathey (bass)
Charlie Daniels (fiddle)
Paul Hornsby (keyboards)
Robert Johnson (guitar)
Greg Morrow (drums)

Tracklist:
01. I Hear The South Calling Me (Bettis/Bannon) 4.21
02. Searchin’ For A Rainbow (Caldwell) 4.20
03. Heard It In A Love Song (Caldwell) 4.46
04. Long Hard Ride (Caldwell) 4.23
05. Mexico (Caldwell) 5.04
06. 24 Hours At A Time (Caldwell) 14.00
07. Milk Cow Blues (Kokomo) 9.39
08. Fly Eagle Fly (Caldwell) 5.40
09. Can’t You See (Caldwell) 6.23
10. Night Life (Bettis/Buskirk/Nelson) 3.58
11. Ab’s Song (Caldwell) 1.24
12. High Noon (Bonus Studio Track) (Tiomkin/Washington) 3.50
13. Trouble In Dixie (Bonus Studio Track) (Caldwell) 4.01

*
**

Toy Talmadge Caldwell Jr. (November 13, 1947 – February 25, 1993)

The Magpie Salute – High Water I (2018)

The Magpie Salute is an American rock band formed in 2016 by former Black Crowes guitarist Rich Robinson. The band also includes former Black Crowes members Marc Ford and Sven Pipien as well as Rich Robinson band members Matt Slocum and Joe Magistro.

The name The Magpie Salute comes from a superstition based in the UK… There are many variations, but the version I’m drawn to is the belief that if you see a Magpie, you would do well to salute it ‘to ward off negativity, or to have a good day.’ The way you salute the Magpie, based on some traditions is to say ‘Good Mornin’ Captain.’ The reason we salute is to show we’re unarmed, or what I like to say is ‘we come in peace.’ The Magpie falls within the Crowe umbrella of species, figuratively and literally. Magpies can be black and white which represents the light and the dark. I figured all of these things touch on many aspects of my life and this experience.

Rich Robinson announced the formation of the Magpie Salute in October 2016. In addition to Robinson, the group features former Black Crowes guitarist Marc Ford and bassist Sven Pipien, as well as keyboardists Matt Slocum, drummer Joe Magistro, and vocalists Adrien Reju and Katrine Ottosen from Robinson’s solo band.

This announcement came on the heels of a series of shows Robinson performed earlier in 2016 in Woodstock, New York where he was joined by Ford, Pipien and former Black Crowes keyboard player Eddie Harsch. Harsch was slated to tour as a member of the band until his sudden death in November 2016, and his appearance on their self-titled debut marks his last recording.

They performed their first concerts in January 2017 at the Gramercy Theatre in New York City. They were originally only scheduled to perform three concerts, but added a fourth show due to demand. They performed songs from the Black Crowes as well as Robinson and Ford’s solo careers. The band then played a series of gigs in Europe in June and July 2017 before kicking off a 60 date US tour that included stops in San Francisco, Las Vegas and Morrison, Colorado (Red Rocks Amphitheater) and two nights at the Irving Plaza in New York. All attendees of the November 15 or 16 Irving Plaza shows received a limited edition live album featuring performances from throughout 2017.

The Magpie Salute released their debut studio album High Water 1 on August 10, 2018. The album debuted at #3 on Billboard’s Heatseekers Chart, and #33 on the Top Album Sales chart. The band kicked off their 2018 tour, on July 1, at The Village at Copper Mountain in Colorado. The album was recorded at Dark Horse Recording Studio just outside of Nashville in Franklin, TN.

On June 15, 2019, it was officially announced via social media that the band’s second studio album High Water II would be released October 11, 2019.

High Water I is the debut studio album by American rock band The Magpie Salute, released August 10, 2018 on Eagle Records. Produced by leader and guitarist Rich Robinson, it served as the follow up to their self-titled live album released one year prior. It debuted at #33 on the Billboard 200. (by wikipedia)

After the acrimonious split with his brother and Black Crowes band-mates, Rich Robinson has made a point of keeping the spirit of Black Crowes alive. Starting with a series of gigs that included ex-Crowes Marc Ford and Sven Pipien, Robinson has solidified that project into a band called The Magpie Salute, has toured extensively, and has now released the band’s debut album ‘High Water I’. Completing the line-up are John Hogg, Matt Slocum and Joe Magistro.

The comparisons will be inevitable, so let me start by stating the obvious: Black Crowes fans will love much of this album. Robinson has often claimed that his role as co-composer in the Black Crowes was under-played, and it would seem, on a cursory listen to ‘High Water I’ that he may have a point. This notwithstanding, the album variously offers some allied but different gratifications as well.

Opener “Mary the Gypsy” is an immediate statement that Robinson has no intention of abandoning his significant pop-rock legacy. Riff-based and driving, the song has a nice, loose feel and accesses Robinson’s past in the best possible way. Title track “High Water” is (together with closing track “Open Up”), the best moment on the album. The verse is a stellar exposition of Zeppelin-like melody progression that is hypnotic and entrancing. It develops from a psychedelic acoustic ramble with a droning vocal hum, to a rousing vocal interplay accentuated by just the right amount of emotion.

“Send Me an Omen” is good old Blues Rock done the right way – heavy, laden with excellent harmonies and an abrasive lead vocal, it even has a couple of progressive time signatures. Think Joe Bonamassa meets Jellyfish. Acoustic pulchritude begins “For the Wind”, but by the first chorus, it has become strident electric blues that would impress even Rich’s estranged brother. Variation and swaggering dynamics fulfill the promise of this song. “Sister Moon” is a piano-based melding of blues and melodic pop delivered with a smoother vocal and delightful harmonies. The song has a great hook and leaves the listener wishing it had not ended so soon.

“Color Blind” is lyrically rich with a strong anti-racist message (if delivered somewhat literally), but offers little that is remarkable in its musical composition. The same may be said of “Walk on Water” which is a Tom Petty/Dylan-esque variation in sound for the band. Similarly, “Hand In Hand” brings the band to country-blues territory without too much fanfare. “You Found Me” unashamedly exposes the band’s country proclivities and is, if nothing else, a well-written country ballad with an excellent lead vocal. “Take It All”, on the other hand, delivers an angular and jarring guitar progression that is reminiscent of Jimmy Page in an aggressive mood. It features a very strong lead vocal performance over a nice, dirty mix. Excellent.

The band returns to more familiar electric blues-rock on “Can You See”. Heavy and slow, with a melodic progression that harkens back to the Crowes, this is almost-perfect power-blues. An unusual sonic effect in the middle-eight reminds us that this band is far from a clone and that more innovation awaits. The closing track “Open Up” is – as mentioned earlier- a personal favorite of mine. Based on a sinister, slow guitar riff, with surprise pauses and ascendant vocal harmonies, the song is magnificent. The vocals and instrumentation interact to provide a gratification that only the very best in blues-rock can deliver. This song augurs very well for the future of this band. If they do more like it, the future is bright indeed. (by Nick Matzukis)

Personnel:
Marc Ford (guitar, vocals)
John Hogg (vocals)
Joe Magistro (drums, percussion)
Sven Pipien (bass, vocals)
Rich Robinson (guitars, vocals)
Matt Slocum (keyboards, vocals)
+
Byron House (bass)
Dan Wistrom (pedal steel guitar)

Tracklist:
01. Mary The Gypsy (Robinson) 3.08
02. High Water (Hogg/Robinson) 5.45
03. Send Me An Omen (Hogg/Robinson) 3.54
04. For The Wind (Hogg/Robinson) 5.03
05. Sister Moon (Hogg/Ford) 3.47
06. Color Blind (Hogg/Robinson) 3.45
07. Take It All (Hogg/Ford) 3.25
08. Walk On Water (Hogg/Ford) 4.08
09. Hand In Hand (Hogg/Robinson) 3.23
10. You Found Me (Robinson) 4.49
11. Can’t You See (Robinson) 3.11
12. Open Up (Hogg/Robinson) 3.57

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And here are some live pics I shot during their Europe-Tour 2017:

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Eric Quincy Tate – E.Q.T. (1975)

Southern rock and roll, similar to the Allman Brothers Band, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Marshall Tucker, White Witch, Charlie Daniels, and Wet Willie.

The founding members of Eric Quincy Tate are Tommy Carlisle and Donnie McCormick. Tommy and Donnie met in 1963 when Tommy joined Donnie’s band “The Kings.” The band had several regional hits cutting for the Jox label in San Antonio, Texas. Tommy, Donnie, and two other members of “The Kings” served two years in The United States Navy aboard the aircraft carrier USS Essex #9 from 1966-1968. While doing their tour of duty, the band performed at venues in England, Norway, Holland, Germany, Italy, Southern France, Sicily and on the Mediterranean island of Malta. Upon completion of duty in 1968, Tommy and Donnie returned to Corpus Christi, Texas and formed the band “Eric Quincy Tate.” “Eric Quincy Tate” was Donnie’s creation and is derived from three different sources according to Donnie: “ERIC” (Eric Burdon); “QUINCY” for Quincy, Massachusetts; “TATE” was the surname of a naval comrade on board Donnie’s ship.

While playing in Texas, EQT made a strong impression on songwriter/artist/producer Tony Joe White. White played an important role in getting the band heard by Capricorn Records in Macon, GA. Demos were recorded at Capricorn which caught the ear of legendary Atlantic Records producer Jerry Wexler. In late 1969 EQT inked a management deal with Phil Walden. They recorded their first album for Cotillion Records (subsidiary of Atlantic Records) with producers Tony Joe White, Jerry Wexler and Tom Dowd. The band then moved their base from South Texas to Memphis, TN. In 1970, their first album titled “Eric Quincy Tate” was released on Cotillion. The band moved to Atlanta, GA that same year.

In the early 1970s, EQT performed free concerts in Piedmont Park in Atlanta with The Allman Brothers Band. EQT also performed with, among others, Little Walter, Ted Nugent, B.B. King (whom Tommy loaned an amplifier to at a concert in New York City in ’73), Johnny Winter, Wet Willie, Dr. John, Tony Joe White, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Papa John Creach, REO Speedwagon and YES.

In 1972 EQT’s second album “Drinking Man’s Friend” was released on the Capricorn label with producer Paul Hornsby (Marshall Tucker Band – Charlie Daniels Band). Eric Quincy Tate made its third release in 1975 on GRC Records in Atlanta, produced by Sonny Limbo and EQT. The GRC release was a split release; the (A) side of the LP was studio recorded and the (B) side was recorded live at the Chattahoochee River Raft Race. The live side captured EQT in their natural state, spontaneous and loaded with energy. During the GRC period, Tommy Carlisle had taken a leave from the band and Wayne “Bear” Sauls took over as the primary guitarist.

In 1976 EQT released “Can’t Keep A Good Band Down” recorded live at The Whipping Post in Augusta, GA, with Sonny Limbo producing in association with Atlanta music icon Bill Lowery. Tommy left the band and went on tour in 1978 with “The Back Alley Bandits” (London Records producer Chips Moman).

On September 9, 2006, EQT reunited for a 37th Anniversary reunion show at Northside Tavern in Atlanta. The recordings on the new CD are the result of the show. The band performed for a packed house of excited fans both old and new. The evening was very special and magical. There was also a fireworks display in celebration of the band’s reunion. On tracks 9 through 13, Donnie plays his famous “Chicken Coop”. Donnie stated “never again”, as the last track on the disk fades out. “Thirty-Seven” is the last live recording made by Eric Quincy Tate. (wikipedia)

And here´s their third album:

The GRC release was a split release; the (A) side of the LP was studio recorded and the (B) side was recorded live at the Chattahoochee River Raft Race. The live side captured EQT in their natural state, spontaneous and loaded with energy. During the GRC period.

And it´s time o discover another great Southern Rock group (listen to the legendary “Big Boss Jam” …)

Long live Southern Rock !

Personnel:
David Cantonwine (bass)
Donnie McCormick (drums, vocals)
Joseph Rogers (keyboards, harmonica)
Wayne “Bear” Sauls (guitar, background vocals)
+
Tommy Carlisle (slide guitar on 01. + 05.)
Jerome Joseph (percussion on 07. + 08.)

Tracklist:
01. Honky Tonk Man (Hausey/Horton/Franks) 4.20
02. No Rollin’ Boogie (D.McCormick/Rogers) 3.43
03. Food, Phone, Gas And Lodging (Cantonwine) 2.44
04. Chattahoochee Coochee Man (D.McCormick) 2.27
05. Wide Open (M. McCormick) 3.58
06. Intro + Drivin’ Wheel (Sykes) 6.53
07. Big Boss Jam (Reed) 15.28

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Donnie McCormick (30 Oct 1944 – 11 Jan 2009)

Blackfoot – Dry Country + Too Hard To Handle + 2 (1981)

Blackfoot is an American Southern rock band from Jacksonville, Florida formed during 1969. Though they primarily play with a Southern rock style, they are also known as a hard rock act. The band’s classic lineup consisted of guitarist and vocalist Rickey Medlocke, guitarist Charlie Hargrett, bassist Greg T. Walker, and drummer Jakson Spires.

They had a number of successful albums during the 1970s and early 1980s, including Strikes (1979), Tomcattin’ (1980) and Marauder (1981).

By late 1975, the group was living back in Gainesville, Florida. During 1977 they communicated with Black Oak Arkansas’ manager, Butch Stone, who hired them as the backing group for one of his clients, Ruby Starr, who had been a backup singer for Black Oak but was now becoming self-employed. After the stint with Ruby ended during 1978, they met Brownsville Station manager Al Nalli and his partner Jay Frey, who got them a contract with the company Atco Records.

Blackfoot Strikes, produced by Al Nalli and engineered by Brownsville Station drummer Henry Weck, was recorded in Nalli’s basement studio in Ann Arbor, Michigan and was completed by January 1979. It was destined to be the band’s most commercially successful effort. The song “Train, Train”, written by Rickey’s grandfather, “Shorty” Medlocke, became their first success and best known song. “Highway Song” proved to be another success for them later that year.

The group toured frequently during 1979; late during the year they opened for the band The Who at the Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan while developing their next album, Tomcattin, which was released during 1980. They went on to release the album Marauder during 1981 and Highway Song Live during 1982. (by wikipedia)

And here´s a rare single including as a bonus a “free live single”, recorded at the Castle Donnington Festival, including their legendary “Train Train” written by Shorty Medlocke (the grandpa auf Ricky Melock).

The two sutio tracks were taken from their “Marauder” album.

Enjoy the power of one of the finest Southern Hard Rock groups ever … !

Personnel:
Charlie Hargrett (guitar)
Rickey Medlocke (vocals, guitar)
Greg T. Walker (bass, background vocals)
Jakson Spires (drums, background vocals)

Tracklist:
01. Dry Country (R.Medlocke/Spires) 3.42
02. Too Hard To Handel (R.Medlocke/Spires) 4.04
03. On The Run (live Donington 1981) (R.Medlocke/Spires) 4.37
04. Train Train (live Donington 1981) (S.Medlocke) 7.01

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Jakson Spires April 12th 1951 – March 16th 2005

Marshall Tucker Band – Carolina Dreams (1977)

Carolina Dreams, released in 1977, was The Marshall Tucker Band’s sixth album and an ode to the band’s home state, South Carolina, USA. Focusing on Western themes, it spawned their biggest hit to date, “Heard It In a Love Song”, which rose to #14 on the Billboard Hot 100, taking the album with it to #22 and #23 on the Country and Pop charts, respectively. They toured early that year to promote the album. A bonus live version of “Silverado” appears on the 2005 reissue which was recorded the year after the death of bassist and founding member, Tommy Caldwell. (by wikipedia)

The Carolina landscape seems to lend itself to dreaming; it’s no wonder that James Taylor wrote in one of his most famous songs that “I’m goin’ to Carolina in my mind.” This two-state region, with its rich and fertile soil, its mild year-round climate, its courteous people and rich culture, is a singularly lovely place in which to sit back and dream. For that reason, it seems appropriate that the Marshall Tucker Band gave their fine 1977 album the evocative title of “Carolina Dreams.”

The Marshall Tucker Band came out of Spartanburg, South Carolina – a center (with nearby Greenville) of the Upstate region, and a city with a mill-town heritage that, by 1977, was already in decline. Spartanburg and its environs are worlds away from the coastal gentility of Charleston; Pat Conroy, in one of his books, described “the upcountry of South Carolina” as a place that combines “the Bible Belt, sand-lot baseball, knife fights under the bleachers.”

But it was also a place where the musical heritage of the American South – including both African-American blues and Anglo-Appalachian country music – had long helped the people of the region through lives of hard work and hard times; and the Marshall Tucker Band’s work on this album is steeped in a sensibility that combines blues and country in a musically fruitful manner.

The album begins with “Fly Like an Eagle” — *not* the Steve Miller Band hit from 1976, but rather, for my money, a much better song. It is a crunchy, bluesy, riff-based rocker with high clear vocals from Doug Gray, and a soaring quality that characterizes many of the songs on this album. The song that follows, “Heard It in a Love Song,” was deservedly a big hit (#14 here in the U.S.A., #5 in Canada), and to this day it makes its way onto just about every Southern rock compilation that one can find. What gives this song that lyrical quality that sent it racing up the North American charts? To my way of thinking, it’s Jerry Eubanks’s flute solo. With a few exceptions (Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull, Ray Thomas of the Moody Blues, Peter Gabriel in Genesis’ early years), the flute has not had much of a presence in rock music; but here, Eubanks’s flute combines seamlessly with flat-picking, Carl Perkins-style guitar, a lovely piano solo, and effective use of organ in a supporting role. The lyrics are fairly typical – a rambling, roaming rocker really loves the girl he’s with, but tells her he needs to move on – but musically, the song is so well-composed and so well-played that I’m not disposed to quibble.

“I Should Have Never Started Lovin’ You” is slow-paced and bluesy; it unfolds slowly, gently, with effective use of the saxophone. The Toy Caldwell guitar solo in the middle is fairly long, but it complements the song well; in contrast with a lot of songs from the 1970’s heyday of Southern rock, the guitar solo doesn’t overwhelm the song. “Life in a Song” is funky and fast-paced; a kinetic guitar plays the dominant role here, while Hammond organ and a Muscle Shoals-style brass section provide fine support. “Desert Skies,” another slow and bluesy number, achieves something different by deploying guest star Charlie Daniels’s fiddle to establish a wistful, country-and-Western quality, in a manner that looks back to the earlier MTB album “Searchin’ for a Rainbow” (1975).

“Never Trust a Stranger,” with lap steel guitar and walking bass backing up a chunka-chunka guitar sound, keeps that Western sound going, as further emphasized by the song’s “outlaw” lyrics; but this song, with its minor-key delivery, has more of a foreboding quality, and once again Eubanks’s flute playing shines. The country influence is comparably important on the slow-paced, mellow “Tell It to the Devil”; but what stands out on this song is the piano, which switches back and forth seamlessly between barrel-house and gospel sounds. The harmonies, as throughout this album, are strong, and flute and acoustic guitar develop some lead melodies together very nicely. And, as a CD extra, this album offers a live version of “Silverado,” recorded in 1981 at the Winter Garden Theater in Dallas; it’s a fast-paced, riff-based number, heavy on the snare drum, with strong Hammond organ fills; if the guitar solo seems somewhat disorganized, hey, that’s live rock-and-roll!

Today, Spartanburg is probably best known for three things. It is home to a large BMW factory; its Wofford College is the training-camp home of the NFL’s Carolina Panthers (whose panther-head logo cleverly incorporates an outline of the states of North and South Carolina); and it gave the Marshall Tucker Band to the world. The “Carolina Dreams” album, the only MTB studio album to go platinum, shows this classic Southern rock band at their best. (Paul Haspel)

Personnel:
Tommy Caldwell (bass, background vocals)
Toy Caldwell (lead guitar, steel guitar)
Doug Gray (vocals)
Jerry Eubanks (flute, saxophone, background vocals)
George McCorkle (guitar)
Paul Riddle (drums)
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Charlie Daniels (fiddle, background vocals on 05.)
Paul Hornsby (keyboards)
Jaimoe (percussion)
Chuck Leavell (piano on 04.)

Leo LaBranche – Horn section arrangements and trumpet on “Life In A Song” and “I Should Have Never Started Lovin’ You”
Dezso Lakatos – Tenor sax as part of the horn section.

Tracklist:
01. Fly Like an Eagle (Toy Caldwell) 3.05
02. Heard It in a Love Song (Toy Caldwell) – 4:55
03. I Should Have Never Started Lovin’ You (Toy Caldwell/Gray/McCorkle) 6.50
04. Life In A Song (Eubanks/McCorkle) 3.23
05. Desert Skies (Toy Caldwell) 6.23
06. Never Trust A Stranger” (Tommy Caldwell) 5.14
07. Tell It To The Devil (Toy Caldwell) 6.27

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Still on the road:

 

The Derek Trucks Band – Live At Georgia Theatre (2004)

Live at Georgia Theatre is the fifth album and first live album by American artist Derek Trucks and The Derek Trucks Band released in 2004.

This album is one of 10 “Live jam releases of this century” according to the August issue of Guitar One magazine. (by wikipedia)

Derek Trucks is a world-class slide guitarist, still only 24 at the time of this recording. Most know him as a guitarist with the Allman Brothers Band. But here, with a smoking group of collaborators, he plays an incendiary, soulful, and wildly adventurous set that challenges all the accepted rock paradigms. This is the record to turn the heads of those who haven’t gotten hip to Trucks’ bottleneck magic. This performance is so inspired, so utterly spellbinding, it transcends the genre classifications it employs to get the music across. This is a musical first to boot: this show marks the first time the quintet recorded together. Kofi Burbridge (B-3, keys, and flute) and vocalist Mike Mattison join Trucks, drummer Yonrico Scott, and bassist Todd Smallie. Master percussionist Count M’Butu from Col. Bruce Hampton & the Aquarium Rescue Unit is also on board for the gig. The band showcases only four tunes from its catalog and all of these come from Joyful Noise, its last album. The rest is a rolling plethora of jazz, funk, soul, Eastern Sufi jams, and blues tunes by Rahsaan Roland Kirk (“Volunteered Slavery”), Wayne Shorter (“Angola”), Lightnin’ Hopkins (“Feel So Bad”), Paul Pena (“Gonna Move”), Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan (“Sahib Teri Bandi”), and Curtis Mayfield (“Freddie’s Dead”), among others.

The jamming is tight and full of surprises, and there is no aimless guitar wankery. This is a band that plays like a single, flowing unit, where nuance, dynamic, and intuition are the order of the evening and the modus operandi for encountering and relaying this information to an audience. Trucks is its centerpiece, of course, but he understands the value and necessity of ensemble play. While there are no dogs on this two-hour smorgasbord, the standouts are the soulful rendition of “Gonna Move,” the awesome medley of Khan’s tunes “Sahib Teri Bandi” and “Maki Madni,” the guttersnipe funk of “For My Brother,” and “So Close, So Far Away.” Unfortunately, Live at Georgia Theatre seems to be one of those albums created for fans only. It has nothing to do with the music or musicians, and everything to do with marketing by the conglomerates. You can download it digitally, and you can order it in its physical form from the band’s website, but you can’t buy it in stores. What nonsense. The labels still don’t understand how to use the Internet’s potential. After all, wasn’t it At Fillmore East, the Allman Brothers’ third album, that put them into the mass consciousness and took them over the top? This is the right time for the Derek Trucks Band to issue a concert recording. The truth remains, however, that any way you cut it, this is a live album for the ages — it’s too bad only people with credit cards get to hear it. (by Thom Jurek)

Personnel:
Kofi Burbridge (keyboards, flute, vocals)
Mike Mattison (vocals)
Count M’Butu (percussion)
Yonrico Scott (drums, percussion, vocals)
Todd Smallie (bass, vocals)
Derek Trucks (guitar)

Tracklist:

CD 1:
01. Kam-Ma-Lay” (Trucks) 8.53
02. Gonna Move (Pena) 6.29
03. Volunteered Slavery (Kirk) 4.36
04. Sahib Teri Bandi/Maki Madni (Khan) 15.21
05. Leaving Trunk (Estes) 4.58
06. I Wish I Knew (Taylor/Dallas) 5.29
07. Angola (Shorter) 10.12
08. Feel So Bad (Willis) 7.41

CD 2:
01. For My Brother (Trucks) 13.28
02. Sonido Alegre (Victoriano Ramirez) 15.14
03. Joyful Noise (Trucks) 11.58
04. So Close, So Far Away (Burbridge) 5.53
05. Freddie’s Dead (Mayfield) 10.20

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