Editorial Review

One of the most eagerly awaited albums in rock history, Big Brother & the Holding Company's 1968 major label debut (they'd previously released one thinly produced collection on the small Mainstream label) made good on all the hype generated by Janis Joplin's amazing performance at the Monterey Pop Festival the year before. Crowned by its hit single, a churning remake of Aretha Franklin's sister Erma's "Piece of My Heart," the album also contained Joplin's Monterey showstopper, Big Mama Thornton's "Ball and Chain," as well as the Gershwin classic "Summertime," on which Joplin's always underappreciated band (especially guitarists Sam Andrews and James Gurley) match her vocal intensity with their own ferocious playing. This expanded reissue includes two previously unissued outtakes ("Roadblock" and "Flower in the Sun") and a couple of heretofore unheard live cuts ("Catch Me Daddy" and "Magic of Love"), all from 1968. Read more

Features

• Extra tracks
• Original recording reissued
• Original recording remastered

Reviews (39)

One Of the Great San Francisco Classics
While the other reviews have said it all, I wanted to add my opinion. This was one of the first almums that I purchased. In 1969 I found it in a cut out bin for .99 and the music changed my life. I have listened to it hundreds of times over the past 36 years and I still play it often. It has a vitality coupled with an innocence that is seldom found in mainstream rock today. The guitar work is exceptional. Listening to the guitar solos on Summertime still sends a shiver up my spine. And Janis Joplin never sounded better with any line up than she sounded with Big Brother. My kids (now 14 and 20) have had a lot of fun introducing their friends to the music they they grew up with in their home. No other CD gets the kind of response from their friends that this one does. It was great music then and holds up well today.

Janis Joplin/Big Brother, the best ever!
Most people these days wouldn't believe that growing up in Houston could have be good, but being a teenager there in the 60's with all the "Super Groups" that came through was incredible! But the very first band I ever saw live was Janis Joplin and Big Brother and the Holding Company. I was SO blown away that even with all the other bands I ever saw, including It's a Beautiful Day, Jefferson Airplane, Poco, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Greatful Dead even Hendrix ever compared with her. Maybe it's like your first sex, one that will ever have an equal but, for me, Joplin/Big Brother set the stage for all the others, and as great as they were, they were never as good as my first. From the time the curtain opened the people in the audience were in awe of her/them. Big Brother "was" Joplins' band, for all intents and purposes. It's like they were dyed in the same wool. And loud! After the concert I couldn't hear for, well I still can't. To me the saddest part was the fact that right after this album was released, Janis and Big Brother went separate ways. She was never the same and neither were they. Yeah she had some other good tunes but THIS particular CD was, by far, Janis Joplin, at her BEST!! We miss you girl.

"Ball and Chain," the centerpiece of this album
i read all of the preceding reviews for Amazon, one reviewer went on about how the original album ended on such a high note with "Ball and Chain", only to find that this import reissue ends with minor bonus tracks. guess what?: there is a reason a "centerpiece" is called a center piece. i decided to sample the other Joplin versions, and the original Big Mama Thornton single, but none satisfied like the slow-building tension, gut-wrenching explosiveness off "Cheap Thrills". the entire live album is terrific, and a blues-masterpiece. i heard a story that Big Mama was a Janis Joplin fan, and she liked Joplin's treatment of her song, but don't quote me. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Acid Rock    2. Blues-Rock    3. Hard Rock    4. Pop    5. Popular Music    6. Psychedelic    7. Rock    8. Rock/Pop   

Features

• Original recording remastered

Reviews (15)

An excellent early CD
Being a new fan who is digging into their back catalog, I rate this as one to get once you have some of their newer releases:Deadwing, In Absentia, Lightbulb Sun and Stupid Dream are all flawless CDs!
My ears can't get enough of it's sweet, sweet love!
As a fan of Porcupine Tree I have to admit that Sky Moves Sideways is an easy favorite.It gracefully surpasses the more recent albums and devours them with textural richness and beauty. I think anyone, regardless of musical tastes, can appreciate and enjoy this album, it is absolutely awesome.

Sitting here
I bought this album quite a while ago.I gave it a spin 4-5 times and put it on the shelve for several years. Recently, I gave a spin to all albums that I never listened and I was surprise how good this album is.
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Subjects:  1. Ambient    2. Experimental    3. Experimental Rock    4. Pop    5. Post-Rock/Experimental    6. Prog-Rock/Art Rock    7. Rock    8. Rock/Pop   

Reviews (12)

You Should Have Seen The Looks I Got
When I used to pop this little goody on the turn-table in my dormitory at Seattle Pacific College - A "Christian" University.I believe my dorm-mates thought me possessed by Beelzebub himself.Fallen Angel?
One More Mas-terpiece
4 1/2 stars
BETTER RED THAN DEAD
The only King Crimson album you need to own, I've not grown tired or less astonished by this album in 15 years. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Album Rock    2. Pop    3. Prog-Rock/Art Rock    4. Rock    5. Rock/Pop   

Reviews (15)

"Pure Music"
My first exposure to the 80's incarnation of King Crimson was in the early 80s when I bought Beat after seeing and MTV News bit about how the classic progressive rock group had defied history by maintaining the same lineup for two albums in a row.
Essential recording
I like both the earlier incarnations of this band, and the eighties line up featuring Levin and Belew.
Shivers for the Rest of Your Life--Guaranteed
If you listen with your ears and mind open, that is.I swear, anyone who has ANYTHING even slightly uncomplementary to say about this album has wax in their ears, is mentally off, or a combination of the two.Everything about this album is perfect from the amazing guitar interplay of Fripp, Belew, and Levin to the provocative, deft, and meaningful lyrics of Belew.The album starts off with a lazy, dissonant vamp that quickly evolves into hyperkinetic proportions and there is no getting off of this ride after that point."Talk, it's only talk," Belew starts, going into an alphabetical catalog of different kinds of talk: "dialogue, duologue, dissension, declamation, double-talk, double-talk," he intones as he and the band weave a hypnotic electric/electronic soundscape.Everything is firing so well here that drummer nonpareil Bill Bruford manages to make electronic drums stunning, of all things.The only other drummer I can think of to do this is jazz giant Jack DeJohnette.
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Subjects:  1. Album Rock    2. Math Rock    3. Pop    4. Prog-Rock/Art Rock    5. Rock    6. Rock/Pop   

Features

• Original recording remastered

Reviews (3)

great remix
I have the orginal quicksilver messenger service albums on vinyl, and I finally broke down and got the remastered cd .I really like the sound, they cleaned it up and made it sound like it originally sounded in the studio.If you are looking for a good mix of what the band was all about this is the album for you.

PSYCHEDELIC AT IT'S BEST
JUST PICKED THIS UP TODAY, WHAT AN AMAZING REMASTERING JOB DONE ON THIS CD. CAPITOL NEEDS TO DO THE WHOLE CATALOG OF QMS. BUT IF YOU JUST NEED A SINGLE DISC BEST OF, THIS IS THE ONE TO GET. IT HAS SUCH CLASSICS AS "SHADY GROVE" "WHO DO YOU LOVE" "FLUTE SONG" & "FRESH AIR". WHILE THERE IS ONLY 12 TRACKS, I AGREE WITH THE OTHER REVIEWER, THEY COULD HAVE PUT MORE SONG'S ON THIS DISC. CLASSIC SONG'S FROM A CLASSIC BAND. PICK THIS UP &....BE QUICK ABOUT IT.

GREAT SOUND QUALITY - BUT WHAT ABOUT HAPPY TRAILS?
THE SONGS ON THIS CD HAVE BEEN 24 BIT REMASTERED AND SOUND SUPERB.IN MY OPINION, IT EVEN SOUNDS BETTER THAN RHINO'S 1991 "SONS OF MERCURY" COMPILATION WHICH RHINO HAS ASSURED ME WAS MASTERED FROM THE ORIGINAL MASTER TAPES.BUT THE FLY IN THE OINTMENT IS THAT "WHO DO YOU LOVE" FROM "HAPPY TRAILS" (HT) IS STILL JUST AN EDIT, AND "MONA" IS NOWHERE TO BE FOUND.SINCE CLASSIC MASTERS CLOCKS IN AT JUST UNDER 51 MINUTES, CAPITOL COULD HAVE EASILY INCLUDED "MONA" AND "MAIDEN OF THE CANCER MOON."AND WHILE I'M ON THE SUBJECT, WHY WON'T CAPITOL 24 BIT REMASTER THE ENTIRE HT CD?CAPITOL'S CURRENT HT CD IS EXACT SAME VERSION FIRST PUT ON CD IN 1988 - THIN SOUND AND NO LINER NOTES.IF QMS AS A BAND IS WORTHY OF A "CLASSIC MASTERS" COMPILATION, THEN SURELY ITS BEST LP (AND ONE OF THE BEST EVER LIVE ROCK RECORDINGS) IS DESERVING OF THE SAME TREATMENT.THAT BEING SAID, THIS CD IS A MUST HAVE FOR ANY FAN OF QMS, IF FOR NOTHING ELSE THAN ITS PRISTINE SOUND QUALITY AND EXCELLENT LINER NOTES. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Acid Rock    2. Pop    3. Popular Music    4. Psychedelic    5. Rock    6. Rock/Pop   

Editorial Review

How could Carlos Santana hope to follow the massive comeback album Read more

Reviews (227)

Santana is sooo good
this cd is sooo chill and just plain good. many different sounds for any mood.

What's Going on?
What's the deal with all these duets?Only 4 out of all the songs is actually "Santana."The rest is other bands or artists with Carlos playing backup.What happened to the creativity?The music is extremely formulatic, and most of Carlos' guitar licks sound similar.
The best Santana duet compilation
From the 3 duet compilations produced so far, "Shaman" is truly the best. Of course, it depends on taste and that is subjective, but there's lots of talent on this CD. And as always you hear Santana's guitar cry. You'll find Macy Gray with "Amore" and Michelle Branch with "The Game of Love" as well as "Novus" featuring Placido Domingo, and the excellent Dido with "Feels Like Fire." Well, I have all three compilations and I've listened to them all many, many times, but while no CD can be absolutely perfect like anything else in life, I find that "Shaman" has a lot of quality tunes on it. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Pop    2. Rock    3. Rock/Pop   

Editorial Review

Recorded in 1969 and released in 1970, this Moody Blues album captures the band in all of their glorious excess. With intellectualized lyrics, overblown arrangements, and rampant experimentation, the Moody Blues still manage to create an evocative, psychedelic musical experience. The recurring "Eyes Of A Child" is a tender ballad with glorious vocal harmonies. All of the moody men provide compositions; between the five of them and a variety of instruments, they emulate a much larger ensemble. Mellotrons meld with electric guitars and various woodwinds for a grandiose, orchestral-rock approach. Very English sounding and very ambitious, this record catches the band just before they collapsed under their own weight. A representative period piece, there are several worthwhile moments here amidst all the grandeur. Read more

Features

• Original recording reissued
• Original recording remastered

Reviews (77)

Early Moody Blues are the best
The early Moody Blues albums are all classics in their own way.I recommend this album to all who like the early Moody Blues.

A Transcendent Classic
The core of The Moody Blues catalog begins with the IN SEARCH OF THE LOST CHORD, continues through the classic, consecutive releases of ON THE THRESHHOLD OF A DREAM, TO OUR CHILDREN'S CHILDREN'S CHILDREN, EVERY GOOD BOY DESERVES FAVOUR, and A QUESTION OF BALANCE, and ends with SEVENTH SOJOURN.Without these truly great, psychedelic albums, given the spotty nature of virtually all of their later albums, this band would have been but a footnote in rock music history, if remembered at all. Their first few singles, including `Go Now,' almost don't count, as the personnel lineup was different, and their style was nothing like what was to come. Although DAYS OF FUTURE PAST contains some beautiful moments and includes one of the Moodys' biggest hits, `Nights In White Satin,' it wasn't until the next album, IN SEARCH OF THE LOST CHORD, that the Moody Blues found their groove. Each of the above-mentioned, best records was a concept album, with songs fading one into the next, often connected by brief instrumental and spoken interludes. They all revolved around a particular theme, with IN SEARCH beginning their journey with an exploration of spirituality and various forms of meditation.THRESHHOLD was intense and dreamlike, filled with storybook images of medieval kings & queens, wizards, knights and castles.The summit of the Moody Blues brief climb and subsequent, agonizingly slow and troubled descent was TO OUR CHILDREN'S CHILDREN'S CHILDREN, which was like a message from the past to the distant future. The grand sweep of this album is unparalleled in rock music, and is one of THE great concept albums of all time.From its beginning, spoken introduction to its gorgeous and melancholy final song, `Watching And Waiting,' it takes the listener on an unforgettable trek through time and space.Grand orchestral gestures are actually provided by the layering of Michael Pinder's mellotrons and Ray Thomas' flute, plus many other acoustic and electronic instruments and special effects, not the least of which is Hayward's fine guitar work. The wall of sound is thick enough to make Phil Spector proud, and yet there is a quality of air and space that is hard to describe. There was and is nothing else out there quite like this album. The next few Moody Blues records were also quite good, but they became increasingly less focused.
Top five favorite of mine for all time.
'Childrens' was the first rock album I ever heard.I'd been listening to the Beatles, Motown, etc. on AM radio when I visited my local record store - for the first time.This album was playing at the store, and I bought it.Took it home and proceeded to play it regularly (and several needed replacements) over the next two decades.
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Subjects:  1. Album Rock    2. British Psychedelia    3. Pop    4. Pop/Rock    5. Popular Music    6. Prog-Rock/Art Rock    7. Psychedelic Pop    8. Rock    9. Rock/Pop   

Features

• Original recording remastered

Reviews (70)

A fantastic intro!
This may or may not be a definitive Doors collection, but one thing for sure it is a fantastic introduction!There's alot here to give one a true sense of what The Doors were all about, moments of poetic and musical genius.If you're curious about The Doors, then get this cd!
A Great Collection
This is a great collection of Doors tunes. I'm glad that it's not a "Greatest Hits" compilation. I, for one, usually like an artist's songs that don't necesssarily lend themselves to popular opinion or radio play. Now the Doors did squeak- through some killer hit records. I remember when "Light My Fire" was my favorite song when I was seven (Good Lord, that's when it was first released!) It's still a great tune today and I think that the reason for that is that the Doors were so far ahead of their time. I believe they truly "broke on through" the doors of perception and decided to graciously take some of us along. Now, as the liner notes (well done!) mention, some of their songs were very primal, sexual, and I like those as well. It was a reflection of the times, man, when doors of inhibition were being kicked- in as well. I think this collection is a good representation of their psychedelic (nobody does it better!) and bawdy tunes. Many of these (probably half) have been added to my MP3 player so I can jam onthem anywhere and relive some awesome times. The sound is great, the liner notes cool and a wonderful collection of photos. Once again, Rhino has really delivered. Dig it!

Virtually all the Doors you need...
...which is both a good and bad thing. At least four tracks from each of the Jim Morrison-era Doors studio albums can be found on this album. Eight songs (Break On Through, Soul Kitchen, The Crystal Ship, Twentieth Century Fox, Alabama Song, Light My Fire, Back Door Man and The End) were taken from the debut. Believe it or not, if you were to swap out the weak Alabama Song for the much-better End of the Night, you have the best of that LP! Six tunes were pulled from Strange Days (Strange Days, Love Me Two Times, People Are Strange, When the Music's Over, Moonlight Drive, My Eyes Have Seen You), but two of them were unnecessary: While The End was brilliant, When the Music's Over is endless, with lyrics that range from bland to ridiculous. In other words, eleven minutes of wasted space. And My Eyes Have Seen You was unnecessary. The next five tunes come from Waiting for the Sun. Smash hit Hello I Love You doesn't add much to this collection, but is a catchy song. Still, you'd be better off with the four first-rate songs from that album: Five to One (the Doors' best song not to be found on the debut), Spanish Caravan, The Unknown Soldier and the bizarre Not to Touch the Earth.
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Subjects:  1. Album Rock    2. Hard Rock    3. Pop    4. Pop/Rock    5. Proto-Punk    6. Psychedelic    7. Rock    8. Rock & Roll    9. Rock/Pop   

Editorial Review

With the massive success of the single "Light My Fire" and their initial two albums, L.A.'s the Doors quickly built a sizable reputation for edgy, often over-the-top musical drama. Perhaps wary of stereotyping, or simply worn out from their grueling early success, the band took a decided left turn into softer sounds here, from the pop-drenched "Hello, I Love You" to the flamenco guitar wash of "Spanish Caravan." Even gentle ballads (by the band's standards, anyway) were a part of the Doors' new sensibility, as witnessed by "Love Street" and "Summer's Almost Gone." But lest one think the band had gone a little too soft, the antiwar diatribe "The Unknown Soldier," the edgy "Five to One," and the deliciously strange "Not to Touch the Earth" were there to remind listeners that even if the band had mellowed a bit, they were still a long way from Jay and the Americans. Read more

Reviews (107)

the shaman lives
Since my youth I have had an ear for roots music, whether I was conscious of that fact or not. The original of that interest first centered on the blues, then early rock and roll and later, with the folk revival of the early 1960's, folk music. I have often wondered about the source of this interest. I am, and have always been a city boy, and an Eastern city boy at that. Nevertheless, over time I have come to appreciate many more forms of roots music than in my youth. The subject of the following review is an example.
It's difficult to know
what to make of the Doors, as they have to be one of the most inconsistent bands of the late '60s, early '70s. They started off so promisingly with 'The Doors' release in 1967, and then 2 years later came up with this dubious effort.
The wost album bya major band
I was Doors fan in the 1980s. I liked their debut, Strange Days, LA Woman, Morrison Hotel etc. But when I brought this album home (on vinyl no less) and played it, I was speechless. It was terrible.Gone was the old slightly menacing Doors and here was the middle of the road lounge act Doors. The change from darkand mysterious to sugar coated twee was shocking. The electric organ now sounded horrible, they were already rehashing Break On Through and they seemingly had forgotten how to get their instruments in harmony with each other. And they totally ripped off The Kinks with Hello I Love You. I initially thought that maybe I was just not in a receptive mood for the music so I gave it a rest and came back to it a few days later. It still sounded dreadful. I've listened to this album a fair amount in the intervening20 years and I *still* think it's one of the worst albums ever made.
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Subjects:  1. Album Rock    2. Hard Rock    3. Pop    4. Pop/Rock    5. Proto-Punk    6. Psychedelic    7. Rock    8. Rock & Roll    9. Rock/Pop   

Editorial Review

Released in 1969, just eight months after Read more

Features

• Original recording reissued
• Original recording remastered

Reviews (54)

Arguably the best album of the 60's
I'm sorry to hear people talk bad about this awesome album as I was reading the previous reviews. This and maybe ABBEY ROAD and LED ZEPPELIN II are at least the best albums that finished off the 60's. This stuff is just incredible to me, and I buy into the album a lot easier than some of your previous reviewers. This does rival the DAYS OF FUTURE PAST, but beats it just slightly as my favorite Moody's album. This never even had to grow on me like some albums did. ON THE THRESHOLD OF A DREAM is for when you're feeling kind of mellow and there's nothing to do like Sunday (kind of like the song "Lazy Day" talks about) and you want to kick back and relax for a while. Every song is amazing, even though I heard people say that John Lodge didn't do a very good job on this album. I think he wrote a couple of great songs and you guys are crazy if you think that about him. All of the songs are a 10 on a scale of 1-10. My favorites are "Never Comes The Day", "So Deep Within You", "Lazy Day", "Lovely To See You", "Are You Sitting Comfortably", and "Send Me No Wine". I think every member had a hand in writing at least one song or more. Usually when I hear Moody's fans talking about what their favorite albums are this doesn't make the top four or five list. It's so underrated it's not even funny. I guess it all comes down to personal taste, but believe me this is an awesome and brilliant effort by this supergroup. I'm surprised this didn't win a Grammy but I don't think this had enough big hits, but it sure deserved the Grammy for best album. DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT PASSING UP THIS WORK OF ART!!!

1st Time
My first experience with herb was while listening to "On The Threshold of A Dream"...a better partner... I could not have asked for.

Are you sitting comfortably, let Merlin cast his spell
The fourth offering from the Moody Blues just expands the listener to new heights and experiences. If you haven't given attention or listened to this album yet, you're in for a true delight. Citing the listener's presumable state of mind, On The Threshold of a Dream casts a dazzling succession of songs, instrumental arrays and spoken orations. It's hard to think of a more compelling case for the Moodies' unique approach to songwriting; indulging each of the five members to engage their own muse within the confines of a group effort, coalescing into this album. Graeme Edge's poetry has scarcely radiated such brightness, Mike Pinder's "Have You Heard" adds a brilliant ride on the Moody Blues train, and Justin Hayward scores with "Lovely To See You," "Never Comes The Day" and "Are You Sitting Comfortably." The records/CDs that followed no doubt attempt the same happy union, but seldom delivered on the promise of their portentous openings. Edge's "In The Beginning" promises much, advocating freedom from the machines, or more specifically freedom from the mechanized world around us. "Lovely To See You" accepts us into the fold, and from there the concept gives way to a series of vignettes: "Dear Diary," "Send Me No Wine" and a pair of psychedelic rock tracks to add some muscle. What ties Threshold together is its swift pacing, using seamless successions to connect the band's individual contributions into a cohesive whole. This technique prevents a musical morass from forming, a problem that plagued subsequent albums. The CD also gets off to a quick start with the single "Never Comes The Day," the sort of pretty acoustic daydreaming that helped define the Moodies, a field revisited on "Are You Sitting Comfortably." However, it's arguable that the closing combination of "Have You Heard" and the instrumental "The Voyage" that bring Threshold to the brink of brilliance. Mike Pinder has always been the most likely of the five to write outside the band's established idiom, and here he stumbles upon a musical epiphany of heroic proportions, sandwiched around the albums' best orchestrations. So if you're on the outside looking in, clueless to the Moodies' attraction, cross through The Threshold and let Merlin cast his spell.
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Subjects:  1. Album Rock    2. Baroque Pop    3. British Psychedelia    4. England    5. Pop    6. Pop/Rock    7. Popular Music    8. Prog-Rock/Art Rock    9. Psychedelic Pop    10. Rock    11. Rock/Pop   

Editorial Review

Read more

Features

• Original recording reissued
• Original recording remastered

Reviews (101)

Best Hippie Hodge-Podge ofthe Highest Degree.
Cream of the 1967 crop.And not a sour note! Every song reflects the best that Jack Bruce,Ginger Baker and Eric Clapton had to offer as a creative group.Rarely did you have an innovative rock trio come along and hash out a commercially successful psychedelic masterpiece like this.This is also one of the most recognized rock album covers of all-time.The musical creativity here ,has no equal today,maybe with the exception of Beatles' Sgt.Pepper.
sh#@!!
what do you get when you put together three totally incompetent and lacklustre musicians, who are on top of all that horrifying egomaniacs?
A great Album....Duhhhhh
Some kids love rap cause it makes them feel cool.Some kids love metal/thrash punk cause they want to be cool. Then there is music ....then there is Masterpieces and other albums that are on the Rolling Stone 500 Albums list. Describing Disraeli Gears is pointless, Getting a top quality pair of Headphones and fully listening to this gem is my suggestion. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Album Rock    2. Bass    3. Blues-Rock    4. British Blues    5. British Psychedelia    6. England    7. Hard Rock    8. Pop    9. Psychedelic    10. Rock    11. Rock/Pop   

Features

• Original recording reissued
• Original recording remastered

Reviews (41)

Pretty much the Moodies swan song...
In an nutshell, I really love this album!Unlike most reviewers, I feel that the weakest tracks on this disc are the 'hits' that were written by John Lodge ("I'm Just a Singer...", and "Isn't Life Strange").However...
One Of The Moodies Best....Ever.
There are good reasons why this album went all the way to #1 on the Billboard album chart in 1972...The reissue of "Night In White Satin" as a hit single at the same time Seventh Sojourn was zipping up the charts, two strong singles from this album both penned by bassist John Lodge ("Isn't Life Strange" and "I'm Just a Singer"), one of flautist Ray Thomas' best songs written for the Moodies in "For My Lady", lead guitarist Justin Hayward's bittersweet "New Horizons", plus his incredible talents abounding on all tracks.
Brilliant
All I can really say is that Seventh Sojourn is one of the most vibrant and brilliant albums created by the Moody Blues.A Moody fan will not be dissapointed. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Album Rock    2. British Psychedelia    3. Pop    4. Pop/Rock    5. Popular Music    6. Prog-Rock/Art Rock    7. Rock    8. Rock/Pop    9. Soft Rock   

Editorial Review

Spirit was formed with the intention to combine jazz, rock, classical, and folk with a mystical orientation. Led by the family duo of Hendrix-inspired guitarist Randy California and his uncle, jazz drummer Ed Cassidy (whose shaved head--some 20 years ahead of its time--was the band's visual focus), Spirit had a few idiosyncratic hits such as "I Got A Line On You." The band didn't reach its prime until Read more

Features

• Original recording remastered

Reviews (78)

Amazing
As I wrote in a review of the Family which plays together, I am not sure if this is better than the 2nd and 3rd albums, (The Family and Clear), I love this album and go around singing Nature's Way, Love has found a way, Animal Zoo and especially the very short, Why Can't I be free, which to me sums up the late 60s and 70s as well as any Dead song.
"I've been given the shaft"
After hearing this album, I must conclude that I was a deprived child.What else could explain why, after coming of age in the late 1960's and early 1970's, I never heard this album in its entirety until I was 52 years old?There I was, living at a Midwestern college campus in the early 1970's, and the counterculture failed to introduce me to this classic work of rock and roll art?Oh, sure, they'll tell you that I heard the highlights on the burgeoning underground FM radio sites of the era... but does that really account for such a collosal oversight?I think not.
12 dreams
This is one of my favorite albums by Spirit and I highly recommend it to those familiar with the band or those who are curious about them. I first heard "Nature's Way" while passing by a record store in a mall in the early 70's and knew I needed to buy the album! It is great to now find it on CD! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Funk    2. Pop    3. Popular Music    4. Prog-Rock/Art Rock    5. Psychedelic    6. Rock    7. Rock/Pop   

Editorial Review

Traffic's third studio album is also its third best, ranking below the band's superb second record (1968's Read more

Features

• Extra tracks
• Original recording reissued
• Original recording remastered

Reviews (29)

Traffic Flows Nicely When Road Is Cleared Of Masonry
In many respects, this is the first "true" Traffic album.It began as a solo Steve Winwood effort; Chris Wood and Jim Capaldi were brought in mid-way to lend support.This was always the Traffic paradigm, Winwood was the genius, the creative center, and all other participants were collaborators.Somebody somewhere started the crazy rumor that Dave Mason, participant on Traffic's first three albums, was working on a peer level with Winwood - which is rather like saying that Ringo was working on a peer level with John Lennon.Barleycorn is the first post-Mason Traffic effort, and as such, shows just how much his cutesy coffee-house folkiness prevented Winwood from taking the group where it was inevitably headed - into jazzy, R&B, blue-eyed English rock & soul.
A Jazzier, More Soulful Traffic
With JOHN BARLEYCORN MUST DIE, Traffic put aside their psychedelic style, replacing it with jazz and soul influences, and come up with their most lucid album ever. Their early albums are very good (5 stars apiece except for LAST EXIT, which I've never heard in its entirety), but were a bit druggy-sounding for my tastes being that I don't even drink wine for religious purposes, let alone use drugs or smoke. This album fits my lifestyle much better than some songs on the early albums (the less said about the pro-LSD "Medicated Goo", the better). All of the songs are great, even the two bonus cuts, althought this CD would have been even better if "I Just Want You To Know" had been place at the end, instead of in the middle. This CD's jazz/soul feel is broken up, without sounding jarring or disjointed, by the title song, which is an English folk ballad. The running order of this CD is only a minor quibble, as everything here is first-rate. This and THE LOW SPARK OF HIGH-HEELED BOYS are the first Traffic CDs you should buy.

(5 stars for the title track)
Just one correction.The official review above mentions the title tune vocal as being one of Winwood's best but Jim Capaldi handles the lead for most of the song with Winwood singing harmony on the choruses.I was privileged to see this tour and the highpoint of the show, for me, was this ancient song performed with acoustic guitar, tambourine and flute to a quiet crowd in the middle of a rock concert. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Album Rock    2. British Psychedelia    3. Folk-Rock    4. Fusion    5. Jazz-Rock    6. Pop    7. Pop/Rock    8. Prog-Rock/Art Rock    9. Rock    10. Rock/Pop   

Reviews (11)

Not for everyone, but a great CD just the same
Contrary to popular belief, The Night Tripperhad more good songs than just Right Place, Wrong Time, sadly the only Dr. John tune most can identify. For starters, the stripped-down voodoo music (no better term) I Walk on Gilded Splinters does a better job of sending chills down my spine than anything death-metal has to offer (that crap makes me laugh, but that's off-topic). That tune is easily one of the 100 best songs ever recorded. Incidentally, the chorus of the song is not "Till Alberta" but "Till I burn out". Anyway, I'm also a big fan of Right Place Wrong Time Such a Night, Junko Partner (I especially get a laugh out of that opening line), Wash Mama Wash, Loop Garroo, Iko Iko, Tipitina, Qualified, What Goes Around (Comes Around), Honeydripper and Goin' Back to New Orleans. Each of these tunes can go toe-to-toe with virtually every radio hit by the much more-famous Led Zeppelin or Pink Floyd. Dr. John's music is very niched, a combination of funk, blues, jazz and voodoo grooves, but it's great stuff just the same and should be heard by all music fans. Granted, it might just be too left-of-the-center for you. Only one key track was left out: Gris-Gris Gumbo Ya-ya, which could've easily replaced Mos' Scocious. The Doctor's vocals and piano are strong through the album, and every song is good. Why not?

Les' Scosious
Cut down from Rhino's 2CD anthology Mos' Scosious from the previous year, this 18-track non-chronological collection manages to weave its way through the various styles of Dr John's albums in such a way that they seem to fit together despite their disparate nature, from the mystic voodoo of the Gris Gris album and the New Orleans roots of his piano playing to the lushness of the two tracks from In A Sentimental Mood. Most of the most popular singles are included (missing are Wang Dang Doodle, Let The Good Times Roll, Rite Away, Let's Make A Better World and a few others), as well as some illuminating album tracks made for Atco (to 1974), for Warner (1989-1992), including the Grammy-winning duet with Rickie Lee Jones, Makin' Whoopee; and the Baltimore-based Clean Cuts (a solo piano tour-de-force found on Joe Liggins' Honey Dripper)(1981)

Truly the very best
Trying to pick the best of Dr. John has got to be as hard as trying to classify what type of music he plays. But I have to agree with the decisions on what to put on this disk. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Album Rock    2. Blues    3. Funk    4. New Orleans R&B    5. Piano    6. Piano Blues    7. Pop    8. R&B    9. Rock & Roll    10. Rock/Pop   

Features

• Extra tracks
• Original recording remastered

Reviews (11)

Psychedelic Perfection
"Time Has Come Today" is one of the best psychedelic rock recordings ever produced and is a "must have" for any 60's rock aficionado.I heard it for the first time in 1968 on WABX FM in Detroit.I had a 10th grade Enlish teacher who would let us listen to the radio in class while doing our writing assignments. "Time" was one of the songs on the free form ABX playlist that got me hooked on rock and blues.Get this album!!!

Psychedelic masterpiece
You simply cannot talk 60's psychedelia and not mention The Chambers Brothers!Their harmonizing and far-out sound (blending many musical elements to create their own unique sound) make this album a treasure.
A must have cd...