Archive Review: Tommy Bolin’s Great Gypsy Soul (2012)

The late Tommy Bolin is one of the great lost guitar heroes of the 1970s. A player of amazing vision and imagination, Bolin was equally versatile in a diverse range of styles, whether it was blues, hard rock, funk, or freewheeling jazz, and he did so with an incredible fluidity of tone and emotion in his playing. From his roots with the blues-rock band Zephyr and his ground-breaking session work on Billy Cobham’s fusion classic Spectrum, to a two-album stint with the James Gang (replacing Domenic Troiano, who himself had replaced Joe Walsh) and a brief tenure with Deep Purple (admirably filling Ritchie Blackmore’s shoes), Tommy Bolin brightened up every recording he touched.

Tommy Bolin’s Great Gypsy Soul

Tragically, Bolin’s fledgling solo career was derailed by a heroin overdose in 1976, with only two proper studio albums – 1975’s Teaser and the following year’s Private Eyes – released during his lifetime. His younger brother Johnnie, himself a musician, has kept the flame burning through all the years since Bolin’s tragic death, and there have been a wealth of posthumous releases showcasing Bolin’s six-string skills in both live and studio settings released under the Tommy Bolin Archives label. Among the best of these is the Live At Ebbets Field album, which documents a 1974 performance by Bolin’s post-Zephyr band Energy with the guitarist proving himself the bridge between Jimi Hendrix’s jazzier six-string excursions and Jeff Beck’s later jazz-rock fusion.  

There have also been a number of Bolin tribute albums released over the years. Great Gypsy Soul is the latest of these tributes designed to cement Bolin’s status, albeit with an interesting twist. Working from unreleased outtakes and alternate versions of songs previously recorded by Bolin, producers Greg Hampton and Warren Hayes brought in a cast of talented guest musicians to add their instrumental flavor to Bolin’s original vocals and guitar. The resulting effort is credited to “Tommy Bolin and friends.”

Pros & Cons

While I’m not personally convinced that this entire effort is necessary, one can’t deny the talents of the invitees to this party, a partial list which includes Haynes, Derek Trucks, Steve Morse, Joe Bonamassa, Steve Lukather, and Bolin’s former Deep Purple bandmate Glenn Hughes. In the absence of detailed liner notes, it’s sometimes difficult to separate the original performance from new additions, but Trucks’ flourishes on Bolin’s “Smooth Fandango” sound mighty good; ditto for Sonny Landreth’s scorching slidework and Hughes’ throaty vocals on “Sugar Shack.” Hughes, with Bonamassa and Nels Cline, take “Lotus” to another spiritual plane altogether.

Other tracks fail to impress, however, Peter Frampton’s take on “The Grind” is lacking something seminal in its execution, while Myles Kennedy – singer with former Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash’s band – falls flat on his face on Bolin’s “Dreamer,” a performance only partially redeemed by Nels Cline’s (too) sublime fretwork. Aerosmith’s Brad Whitford adds bombast to Bolin’s “Wild Dogs” where the late guitarist would have brought stealth, and even the great Warren Haynes experiences a rare misfire in taking on Bolin’s signature tune “Teaser.” Guitarist John Scofield seems entirely lost here, while Lukather seems to be still trying to find his way to the studio with a lukewarm reading of “Homeward Strut.” Bolin’s work is too often overshadowed by the contributions of his “friends,” and the listener would be better off slapping a well-worn vinyl copy of Private Eyes on the turntable.

The Reverend’s Bottom Line

If you’re already a Bolin fanatic, you’re probably going to want to grab a copy of Great Gypsy Soul; I’m telling you that you should resist the urge to spend your money on an album that adds absolutely nothing to the guitarist’s legacy. I realize that there’s a legitimate dearth of quality Bolin material available, but you’d be better served in spending your money on one of the guitarist’s incredible ventures into the world of jazz-rock fusion, notable among these Billy Cobham’s Spectrum and/or Alphonse Mouzon’s Mind Transplant.  

On the other hand, if you’re a newcomer to the Tommy Bolin mystique, pass this one by in favor of one of the several variations of Teaser that you’ll find available; even with a myriad of dodgy demo tracks and raw alternate takes on expanded versions of Teaser, you’ll fare better than you will with Great Gypsy Soul if you’re looking to discover Bolin’s enormous charms. (429 Records, released March 26, 2012)

CD Preview: Walter Trout’s We’re All In This Together

Blues-rock guitarist Walter Trout has been mighty busy since undergoing a life-saving liver transplant in late 2013. Whereas lesser musicians might have been tempted to hang up their running shoes, Trout was back on the road in early 2015 and has been touring ever since, performing with the fervor and energy of a man half his age. Somewhere along the way, Walter found time to chronicle his dance with the reaper on the brutally honest and musically-powerful 2015 album Battle Scars. He followed it up in 2016 with the equally impressive concert LP Alive In Amsterdam, a testament to his renewed effort as an ambassador for the blues.

I have the feeling that the talented Mr. Trout is really just getting started…on August 25th, 2017 Provogue Records will release the guitarist’s new studio album, We’re All In This Together, his 26th recording to date. With nearly a half-century of performing under his belt, Trout takes nothing for granted, and We’re All In This Together is filled with guest appearances from Walter’s friends and former bandmates like John Mayall, Joe Bonamassa, Sonny Landreth, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Joe Louis Walker, Charlie Musselwhite, Edgar Winter, Mike Zito, and others. The album also showcases the talents of Trout’s son Jon, a talented string-bender in his own right who is beginning to give his old man a run for his money.

Unlike Trout’s previous (and critically-acclaimed) cameo-filled album, 2006’s Full Circle, the sequel-of-sorts We’re All In This Together pays tribute to his friends and collaborators as Trout wrote an original song for each one of his fourteen special guests to perform on. The material is less heavy in nature than his previous studio album, which is to be expected as Trout moves away from his trial by fire with a renewed sense of purpose. “Now was the right time for this record,” Trout says in a press release for the new album. “Battle Scars was such an intense piece of work, written with tears coming down my face. I needed a break from that, to do something fun and light-hearted. This album was joyous for me.”

Trout reunites with friends from the recent all-star Supersonic Blues Machine project, with six-string talents Warren Hayes, Robben Ford, and Eric Gales all contributing to We’re All In This Together. It wouldn’t be a Walter Trout album without the larger-than-life presence of British blues legend John Mayall, who enlisted the guitarist into his Bluesbreakers band way back in 1985. Mayall displays his underrated harp skills on “Blues For Jimmy T.” Says Trout, “am I proud to call myself a former Bluesbreaker? Yeah, of course. What a credential. That is a very exclusive club, and I know that when I’m gone, that’s gonna be one of the big things that they’ll remember me for: that I was a Bluesbreaker for five years.”

Much of We’re All In This Together was created with modern, cutting-edge recording technology, many of Trout’s collaborators sending in their contributions to be incorporated with performances by Trout and his band – keyboardist Sammy Avila, bassist Johnny Griparic, and drummer Mike Leasure – who appear on every track. Producer Eric Corne put together a seamless mix that sounds electrifyingly live in the studio. Says Trout, “it’s very hard to tell we’re not in the studio together. If you listen to the Warren Haynes track, when we get into that guitar conversation on the end – it sounds like we’re looking each other right in the face, y’know?” Prog-rock musicians have been working this way for years and creating innovative and entertaining albums, so why not blues musicians?

We’re All In This Together promises to represent another milestone in a career littered with such. With 25+ years as a solo artist under his belt, Trout is still rockin’ and shooting for the stars, winning over new fans one live show at a time. “I’m 66 years old,” says Trout, “but I feel like I’m in the best years of my life right now. I feel better than I have in years physically. I have more energy. I have a whole different appreciation of being alive, of the world, of my family, of my career. I want life to be exciting and celebratory. I want to dig in. I want to grab life by the balls and not let go...”

Buy the album from Amazon.com: Walter Trout’s We’re All In This Together

We’re All In This Together track listing:
1. Gonna Hurt Like Hell (featuring Kenny Wayne Shepherd)
2. Ain’t Goin’ Back (featuring Sonny Landreth)
3. The Other Side of the Pillow (featuring Charlie Musselwhite)
4. She Listens To the Blackbird Song (featuring Mike Zito)
5. Mr. Davis (featuring Robben Ford)
6. The Sky Is Crying (featuring Warren Haynes)
7. Somebody Goin’ Down (featuring Eric Gales)
8. She Steals My Heart Away (featuring Edgar Winter)
9. Crash and Burn (featuring Joe Louis Walker)
10. Too Much To Carry (featuring John Nemeth)
11. Do You Still See Me At All (featuring Jon Trout)
12. Got Nothin’ Left (featuring Randy Bachman)
13. Blues For Jimmy T. (featuring John Mayall)
14. We’re All In This Together (featuring Joe Bonamassa)

Also on That Devil Music:
Walter Trout - Battle Scars CD review
John Mayall - Talk About That CD review
Supersonic Blues Machine - West of Flushing, South of Frisco CD review

CD Review: Supersonic Blues Machine's West of Flushing, South of Frisco (2016)

You can tell a lot about a band by who their friends are – and in the case of Supersonic Blues Machine, they come roaring into the room with a monster pedigree. An axe-rattling blues-rock gang consisting of singer and guitarist Lance Lopez, bassist Fabrizio Grossi, and drummer Kenny Aronooff, the band brought along heavy friends like ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons, Gov’t Mule’s Warren Haynes, Walter Trout, and Eric Gales, among other talented fretburners, as guests on their explosive debut.

Not that the Supersonic guys are any slouches themselves: Texas bluesman Lopez has been kicking the can as a solo artist for over a decade and half a dozen albums; Grossi has toured and recorded with talents like Slash, George Clinton, and Steve Lukather; and Aronoff has kept time behind everybody from John Mellencamp and Bob Dylan to Leslie West and Walter Trout. In other words, the Supersonic Blues Machine is a group of veteran musicians who know their stuff, and still get a thrill out of getting together with friends and jamming.

As such, the band's debut album West of Flushing, South of Frisco, offers the sound of joyous, unbridled music-making that falls a bit heavier on the rock side of the blues-rock equation. Unlike a lot of these kinds of affairs, Grossi wrote or co-wrote most of the songs, and he produced the album with a steady hand, providing West of Flushing, South of Frisco with a dynamic sound that accents the band’s bad-ass instrumental prowess. The album-opening “Miracle Man” starts out with a bit of exotic acoustic guitar, soulful vocals, and blasts of harp before blowing up into a chaotic, bluesy maelstrom.

“Running Whiskey,” with Gibbons, is a hot rod rocket launched by the ZZ Top frontman’s delightfully growled vocals, locomotive rhythms, and scorched earth fretwork, while “Can’t Take It No More” is a near-perfect duet with Lopez and Trout swapping vox and git licks. An inspired cover of Bobby “Blue” Bland’s “Ain’t No Love (In The Heart of The City)” is given an expansive reading that showcase’s Lopez’s immense guitar skills. If you’re a fan of any of the aforementioned guitar stars mentioned above, you’re going to find a lot to like this debut by Supersonic Blues Machine. Grade: B+ (Provogue Records, released February 26, 2016)

Buy the CD from Amazon.com: Supersonic Blues Machine’s West of Flushing, South of Frisco