Very Best of Tower of Power: The Warner Years CD

Very Best of Tower of Power: The Warner Years album for sale A surprise best-seller when it was first released, this mostly improvised pairing of singer/keyboardist/producer Al Kooper with two major guitar heroes of the day sounds fascinating all these years later precisely because of the distance of time--nobody makes records like this any more. The material runs the gamut from folk pop (covers of Donovan and Dylan), to blues ("Albert's Shuffle," "You Don't Love Me"), to heady jams ("His Holy Modal Majesty"), to big-band jazz ("Harvey's Tune"). All the tunes make effective templates for the kind off-the-cuff music-making that in less capable hands might have resulted in simple noodling. In fact, although Bloomfield and Stills don't play together on any of the cuts (Bloomfield played on one side of the original LP, Stills on the other), all three principals get off lots of good licks and producer Kooper has some interesting tricks up his sleeve, as in the over-the-top phasing he lavishes on "You Don't Love Me." The only real disappointment here is that Stills, a far better singer than Kooper, never opens his mouth. Those familiar with the Live Adventures album these two recorded at the Fillmore West know how brilliant they could be on stage, and here's another gem, recorded at the Fillmore East this time and featuring 'One Way Out,' 'It's My Own Fault' (with Bloomfield trading licks with Johnny Winter...Johnny was signed to Columbia after this gig!). Newly remastered & now with 4 bonus tracks, 'Albert's Shuffle' (2002 Remix w/o Horns), 'Season of the Witch.' (2002 Remix w/o Horns), 'Blues For Nothing' (Studio Outtake) & 'Fat Grey Cloud' Previously Unreleased Live Track). Features 12-page booklet with unpublished photos from the recording session, new liner notes by Al Kooper & the Rolling Stone Hall Of Fame review by David Fricke. 60 scintillating minutes! 13 tracks. Colunbia/Legacy. 2003. Includes liner notes by Al Kooper, Michael Thomas. Includes liner notes by Michael Thomas. Full performer name: Mike Bloomfield/Al Kooper/Steve Stills. Personnel: Mike Bloomfield (electric guitar); Al Kooper (vocals, 12-string & electric guitars, piano, organ, ondioline); Steve Stills (electric guitar); Barry Goldberg (electric piano); Harvey Brooks (bass); Eddie Hoh (drums). Personnel: Mike Bloomfield (electric guitar); Al Kooper (piano, organ, ondioline, vocals, 12-string & electric guitars); Steve Stills (electric guitar); Barry Goldberg (electric piano); Harvey Brooks (bass); Eddie Hoh (drums). Reissue producer: Bob Irwin.

Very Best of Tower of Power: The Warner Years CD music Photographer: Bill Churchville. Personnel: Carmen Grillo (vocals, guitar); Frank Biner, Brent Carter, Tamara Champlin, Jeff Ramsey (vocals); Bruce Conte, Jeff Tamelier (guitar); Brandon Fields, Tom Saviano (saxophone); Bill Churchville (trumpet); Don Harris (flugelhorn); Eric Jorgensen (trombone); Nick Milo, Chester Thompson (organ, keyboards); Bob Emmet (keyboards); Francis Rocco Prestia (bass); David Garibaldi, Herman Matthews (drums); Arno Lucas (percussion); Bill Champlin, Tim Scott, Gisa Vatcky (background vocals). Personnel: Tamara Champlin (vocals, background vocals); Frank Biner, Brent Carter (vocals); Carmen Grillo (guitar, loops, background vocals); Bruce Conte (guitar); Tom Saviano, Brandon Fields (saxophone); Bill Churchville (trumpet); Eric Jorgensen (trombone); Nick Milo (organ, keyboards); David Garibaldi, Herman Matthews (drums); Arno Lucas (percussion); Bill Champlin, Gisa Vatcky (background vocals). Blister Pack

Very Best of Tower of Power: The Warner Years buy CD music A straight, no-frills-or-bonus-tracks reissue of Cold Blood's first two albums from 1969 and 1971 on one CD, these 13 tracks make a case for the band as one of the better "lost" groups of the late-'60s San Francisco scene. Gutsy-voiced singer Lydia Pense had her Janis Joplin schtick down-pat, and even though the group was fraught with the usual revolving door personnel that a nine-piece is bound to experience, these two albums find them young, hungry, and relatively unscathed by the business dealings that ultimately did them in. Their debut (tracks one through seven) is predominantly comprised of sassy blues and R&B covers injected with their personal groove, while tracks eight through 13 from Sisyphus ply their originals, except for a scorching cover of the Hayes/Porter classic "Your Good Thing" with the young Pointer Sisters on backing vocals. The 2001 remastering is adequate, but the sound, especially on the drums, is a little tinny and compressed. As a combination of Tower of Power's funky horn attack, Big Brother's shambling garage approach, and Chicago's jazz-rock, Cold Blood seemingly had all the correct ingredients, but something was missing. That something was great songs and classy arrangements; so while the group does their best to stamp this music with their unique identity, weak tracks like "I Can't Stay" (where in a fit of misdirected democracy Pense doesn't even sing lead) lie flat. Still, there is enough spontaneous talent and boundless enthusiasm here to show that with a few breaks and better material Cold Blood could have been contenders. As it is the band remains an interesting footnote in music history and this disc, filled with raw energy and a certain primitive idealism, hits enough right notes to be well-worth a listen. ~ Hal Horowitz Cold Blood was a San Francisco-based Rock/R&B band that performed in the style of their contemporaries Chicago and Blood Sweat & Tears. Music impresario Bill Graham was so impressed with the group when they played his Fillmore West in 1969, he signed them to his record label. Highlights on this Collectables 2-for-1 collection include 'I Wish I Knew Hot It Would Feel To Be Free' and two tunes by Isaac Hayes and David Porter. Originally released on San Francisco Records. 2 LPs on 1 CD: COLD BLOOD (1969)/SISYPHUS (1971). Cold Blood includes: Lydia Pense. Personnel: Sandy McKee (vocals, drums, percussion); Lydia Pense (vocals); Danny Hull (flute, tenor saxophone); Jerry Jonutz (alto saxophone, baritone saxophone); Mic Gillette (trumpet, flugelhorn, trombone); Larry Jonutz (trumpet, trombone); Carl Leach, David Padron (trumpet); Raul Matute (piano, organ); Rod Ellicott (percussion); June Pointer, Anita Pointer, Bonnie Pointer (background vocals). Audio Mixer: Fred Catero. Liner Note Author: Mark Marymont. Recording information: Mercury Sound Studios, San Francisco, CA; Pacific Recording Studios, San Mateo, CA. Arrangers: Cold Blood; Raul Matute.

Very Best of Tower of Power: The Warner Years songs Recorded between 1974 & 1980. Includes liner notes by A. Scott Galloway. Indisputably the finest Scottish funk act of the 1970s (or any decade), the Average White Band is well represented by this excellent 18-track collection, which focuses heavily on the group's mid-'70s heyday. Highlights include the immediately recognizable groove-laden hit "Pick Up the Pieces," along with other top-notch, dance-floor-packing tunes such as "Got the Love" and "Cut the Cake." Onnie Mcintyre (guitar, background vocals); Malcolm "Molly" Duncan (flute, soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone); Roger Ball (alto saxophone, baritone saxophone, keyboards, synthesizers); Robbie McIntosh, Steve Ferrone (drums, percussion). All tracks have been digitally remastered. Live Recording Producers include: Arif Mardin, Jerry Greenberg, Average White Band, Gene Paul, David Foster. Compilation producers: David McLees, Bill Inglot. Average White Band: Alan Gorrie, Hamish Stuart (vocals, guitar, bass); Additional personnel: Ben E. King (vocals).

Very Best of Tower of Power: The Warner Years album for sale Digitally remastered by Joseph M. Palmaccio (Sony Music Studios, New York, New York). The crucial subtitle missing is that this is the best of Tower of Power on Columbia, not a career-spanning anthology that takes in their material with other labels. Since their most popular stuff was done for Warner Brothers, that creates quite a problem when you're representing this material in particular as their best. With the understanding that this disc is limited to their Columbia catalog, it's a decent selection, through chronologically haphazard, drawing from the '90s, the late '70s, and nothing else. For the most part it's competent funk, a little too heavy on the feets-don't-fail-me now braggadocio, as on "Attitude Dance." Yes, there are versions of their well-known "So Very Hard to Go" and "What Is Hip?," but take caution: these are 1998 live recordings, not the famous originals. There's a previously unreleased alternate mix of "I Love That Girl So Much" from the sessions for their 1979 album, Back on the Streets, and it would be a pretty heavy price to pay for the whole disc just to get that one track, even for insistent completists. Very Best of the Warner Years and the more extensive What Is Hip? remain far better best-of compilations on this band. ~ Richie Unterberger Includes liner notes by David Ritz. Best Of Live & Studio Record- Ings. Compilation producers: Leo Sacks, Emilio Castillo. Personnel: Emilio Castillo (vocals, tenor saxophone); Greg Adams (vocals, trumpet, flugelhorn, background vocals); Barry Danielian (vocals, trumpet); Chester Thompson (vocals, piano, electric piano, Fender Rhodes piano, Clavinet, organ, mini-Moog synthesizer, Moog synthesizer, background vocals); Ron E. Beck (vocals, drums, background vocals); Tom Bowes, Brent Carter, Michael Jeffries (vocals, background vocals); Edward McGhee (vocals); Jeff Tamelier, Bruce Conte, Carmen Grillo (guitar, background vocals); Danny Hoefer (electric guitar); Lenny Pickett (alto saxophone, tenor saxophone, lyricon); John Scarpulla, Steve Grove, David Mann (alto saxophone, tenor saxophone); Paul Perez (alto saxophone); Norbert Stachel (tenor saxophone); Stephen "Doc" Kupka (baritone saxophone, background vocals); Lee Thornberg (trumpet, flugelhorn, trombone); Bill Churchville (trumpet, flugelhorn, background vocals); Jesse McGuire (trumpet, background vocals); Nick Milo (organ, keyboards, background vocals); Herman Matthews, Russ McKinnon (drums, percussion); David Garibaldi (drums); Victor Conte (background vocals). Audio Mixers: Clark Rigsby; Jim Gaines; Ken Kessie; Al Schmitt; Alan Chinowsky; Alan Meyerson; Tom Flye. Liner Note Author: David Ritz. Recording information: Fox Theatre, Stockton, CA. Photographer: Frank "Frankie Foto" Abadie Jr. Unknown Contributor Role: Ron E. Beck. Personnel includes: Tom Bowes, Brent Carter, Emilio Castillo, Michael Jeffries, Edward McGhee, Nick Milo. Producer: Emilio Castillo.

Very Best of Tower of Power: The Warner Years CD music ULTIMATE COLLECTION contains tracks Lenny Williams recorded solo and with Tower Of Power. The Ultimate Collection boasts a generous 16 tracks of Lenny Williams, covering the best of the ex-Tower of Power singer's solo career (and tacking four Tower of Power tunes on at the end). Williams was capable of both upbeat, disco-flavored dance tracks and smooth, romantic ballads, and this compilation makes the best case for his talents. ~ Steve Huey Additioanl personnel includes: Tower Of Power. Includes liner notes by Steven Ivory. All tracks have been digitally remastered. Includes Both Solo Works & W/ Tower Of Power Producers include: Frank E. Wilson, Tower Of Power, Lenny Williams, Chester Thompson. Compilation producers: Harry Weinger, Dana Smart. Personnel: Lenny Williams (vocals).