Swaying to the Blues
Mr. Richard D. Coreno | Berea, Ohio USA | 07/22/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"If the only cut of significance was "Sway," the 2-CD set would be essential for anyone who wants to hear the true art of playing the electric guitar; Mick Taylor takes no prisoners in this sizzling rendition from his classic work with the Rolling Stones.
But the remaining 24 cuts solidly show Taylor's underrated collaboration with Carla Olson, on stage and in the studio. The special gem is the reissue of a live album that was recorded in March 1990 from the Roxy Theatre, which was originally released under several different titles.
The second disc is studio recordings from a number of mostly out-of-print/rare albums. This is a sweeping exploration that covers nearly 20 years of material and the duo's special passion for the blues."
L.A. roots rocker meets British blues-rock legend
hyperbolium | Earth, USA | 09/01/2008
(4 out of 5 stars)
"L.A. roots-rocker Olson and British blues-rock guitarist Taylor made a powerful pair. This live album, recorded at the Roxy in Los Angeles in 1990, was their debut, waxed with a hand-picked band that had rehearsed for a week and played only one warm-up gig. It's a sign of the players' quality that the group sounds like a well-oiled road unit, with Olson's powerful, earthy vocals backed by a solid rhythm section of Rick Hemmert on drums and Jesse Sublett on bass, and sparked throughout by Taylor's brilliant electric guitar. Released in 1991 under this title in the U.S. and as "Live" in Europe, this two-CD reissue adds a Taylor-sung cover of Fred McDowell's "You Gotta Move," previously released in Japan, and an entire second disc of studio tracks picked from Olson's subsequent collaborations with Taylor.
Unlike Olson's earlier live outing with her band the Textones (coincidentally released by Collectors' Choice as "Detroit '85 Live & Unreleased"), the blues-rock essayed here hasn't aged a day. Augmenting Olson and Taylor's originals with contemporary blues from band members Jesse Sublett ("Who Put the Sting on the Honeybee") and George Callins ("Trying to Hold On"), they also revisit a pair of Jagger-Richards tunes ("Sway" and "Silver Train") from Taylor's tenure with the Rolling Stones. Olson smartly stays away from a luminous Jagger-like star-turn on these latter tunes, sinking instead into the lyrics and the band, and giving Taylor room for his emotional, tour de force playing, especially on "Sway."
Taylor's repeatedly shown himself to be one of the ultimate journeymen guitarists. His stints with John Mayall and the Rolling Stones, collaborations with Jack Bruce, Gong, and John Phillips, and guest appearances with Mike Oldfield, Little Feat, Bob Dylan and others have all been both reliable and memorable. More telling, his work as a gunslinger has greatly overshadowed his solo output. His collaborations with Olson are no exception, showing how fluidly he could integrate his playing with others, and how well his original compositions could be picked. He stepped to the microphone for "Broken Hands," taken from his self-titled 1979 solo release, and reached back to 1968 for his Mayall-recorded instrumental "Hartley Quits."
The collected studio sides again feature Olson and her bandmate's songs together with a pair of Jagger-Richards compositions, "Winter" (from Taylor's tenure with the Stones) and "Think I'm Goin' Mad." Though the productions are more polished and the arrangements more rehearsed, the playing couldn't get much tighter or empathetic than the live unit had shown. There's more variety here, born of recordings spanning ten years and different lineups, with good-sized helpings of Olson's rockin' roots (crossing Chrissie Hynde's emotion with Carlene Carter's country inflections) and Taylor's mesmerizing guitar playing. The opening take of "Winter," for example, doubles the length of the Stones' original, with Taylor laying down a superb five-minute solo alongside the lyrical piano of Barry Goldberg.
The bulk of the studio tracks find Taylor integrating himself into the band, offering up tasty annotations or short solos. The Olson original "Great Black Hole" provides Taylor a chance to display his chops with a slide. Overall, Olson's work with Taylor is sharper and bluesier than her earlier work with the Textones; there's still a healthy dose of the songwriter's social consciousness, but fleshed out with Taylor's guitar playing and mostly stripped of the mid-80s sounds that dated previous albums. Olson's fans likely know most of this work, and though Taylor's fans may know the live album, they'll relish the sampler of performances from Olson's studio albums. [©2008 hyperbolium dot com]"
Awesome duo!
B. Gumbleton | Surrey.BC,Canada | 08/07/2008
(4 out of 5 stars)
"What a fine album with rich vocals and, the inset of some classic Stones material was worth the wait! Mike Taylors guitar playing is as fresh as ever along with Carla's vocal makes for one enjoyable listen! I hope to hear more collaborated material from these two fine artists!!"
Track Listings (25) - Disc #1