As the early days of 2012 rolled on by, Tony Reed, guitarist for both the heavy hitting, stoner-fied trio, Mos Generator, and the classic rock preservationists, Stone Axe, signed an endorsement deal with Lace Music Products. The good Mr. Reed now joins the likes of Scott “Wino” Weinrich (St. Vitus/Shrinebuilder), Matt Pike (Sleep/High On Fire), David Sullivan (Red Fang), Scott Kelly (Neurosis/Shrinebuilder), Ritchie Blackmore (Deep Purple/Rainbow), Eric Clapton, and a host of others who use the California-based companies pick-ups.
When asked what is was that he liked about the Lace pickups, Tony Reed had this to say, "With the Lace Hemi I can get a full range of tones just running direct into my amp. From a brilliant glassy clean to a very thick and aggressive heavy distorted tone and all I want in between."
Follow the link to watch a short video of Tony Reed demonstrating the Lace Hemi pick-up:
Tony Reed’s sound can be heard on numerous recorded projects, most recently, the Mos Generator 10th Anniversary Edition LP/CD, Stone Axe II – Deluxe Edition, and Stone Axe: Captured Live! Roadburn Festival 2011. Stone Axe can also be seen on the road through the UK and Europe in April!
Albert, B.B. and Freddie. The trinity forms the foundation of modern day guitar-based blues and rock. Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Johnny Winters, Joe Perry, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Johnny Lang, Joe Bonamassa, just to mention a few, all prayed at the three Kings’ altar. They learned their riffs, sang their songs and added their own special flair to such classic blues numbers as “Let The Good Times Roll,” “Born Under A Bad Sign.” “Have You Ever Loved A Woman,” “Everyday I Have The Blues,” “I’m Torn Down” and “The Thrill Is Gone.”
Now it is Jeff Golub’s turn to pay tribute to the legends of the blues with his album release entitled The Three Kings. Golub, best known as a sideman for Billy Squier on 7 albums and 3 world tours from 1980 until 1988, and Rod Stewart on 4 albums and 5 world tours from 1988 until 1995, got his chops emulating Clapton, Beck and Hendrix, and their inspirations - Muddy Waters, Buddy Guy, and “The Three Kings” - Albert King, B.B. King and Freddie King. Golub also learned to play contemporary jazz, the subject of most of his eleven solo albums. After hearing a Wes Montgomery album, he enrolled at Berklee College of Music in Boston, Mass where he played with the James Montgomery Band.
Many tribute recordings fall short due to the need to “measure up.”. There is the inevitable comparison to the original recordings. In the case of The Three Kings there is also the inevitable comparison to sensational copies of the originals by some of the best musicians of the past 75 years. Yet, Golub pulls it off. This is one hot expression of gratitude, respect and admiration to Albert, B.B. and Freddie. To help ensure success Golub invited Guitar God Robben Ford to play on Freddie King’s classic “Side Tracked” and world class slide guitarist Sonny Landreth to play on Golub’s one original song on the album, “In Plain Sight.”
Not all of the songs on album were written or performed by The Three Kings, although the majority were and the remainder, save Golub’s original and “Three Kings,” an original by featured pianist Henry Butler, are standards. Butler is another stroke of genius added to the mix. He is a New Orleans jazz icon who actually opened for B.B. King. Golub puts Butler’s piano and vocal talents to good use on “Let The Good Times Roll,” “Born Under A Bad Sign,” “Have You Ever Loved A Woman,” “Three Kings” and “Oh, Pretty Woman.”
Golub’s band also features Andy Hess on bass and Josh Dion on drums and percussion (and vocals on “Help The Poor,” “Everyday I Have The Blues” and “I’m Torn Down.”) The sound is rounded out by a B3 Hammond organ played by Chris Palmaro and a horn section consisting of Nick Lane, Rick Braun, Euge Groove and Dave Woodford.
If you love the blues of Kings you will love Jeff Golub’s The Three Kings.
Racer’s been sending me links for all kinds of cool digital promos of new music but I’m having trouble with the computer again. They installed some new systems on my box at work and it’s been slowing everything down. The past two weeks lots of things have been stalling on me and causing me to reboot. The upshot of all this is that a friend of mine loaned me this Delaney & Bonnie box set and I’ve been playing the hell out of it and it’s brought back some great memories.
Way back when I was first starting to get into rock music in the late 70’s I used to go to the local public library and borrow records to help me determine just what kind of music I liked. The rock section was pretty small so I would grab just about anything available. This is the reason why I know that I don’t like Steeleye Span at all and that I find Procol Harum a little dull. One week I stumbled across an album by Delaney & Bonnie And Friends called On Tour With Eric Clapton. I’d heard plenty of Clapton on the radio, some I liked some I didn’t but I brought it home and gave it a spin and fell in love with it. Through an older brother I had been exposed to a lot of soul music like Booker T. & The MG’s and James Brown as well as a healthy dose rock & roll originators like Chuck Berry and Little Richard. This Delaney & Bonnie album appealed to me immediately and I made a cassette copy of it that I played all the time. A few years later the tape broke and I had started my path to heavy metal madness and never bothered to pick it up again.
So about 30 years later I’m at a friends place and he mentions that he just acquired a box set of 4 complete shows recorded on the tour that produced the album with Eric Clapton and would I like to hear some of it. From the first note, memories came flooding back and the music sounded better than I remembered. Jeezus, what a band! In 1969 Delaney & Bonnie were touring as the opening act for Blind Faith. Eric Clapton was so smitten with them that when Blind Faith broke up he joined their band for their next tour and brought along his friend George Harrison. It’s easy to see why these British musicians would be so impressed. England has produced a lot of great players and bands but it’s pretty hard to compete with a rhythm section of American dudes from the south. The core of the band is Bobby Whitlock on organ, Carl Radle on bass and Jim Gordon on drums. Do those names sound familiar? George Harrison used them on his album All Things Must Pass before they formed Derek & The Dominos with Clapton. The horn section of Bobby Keys and Jim Price would later join the Rolling Stones. Even backing vocalist Rita Coolidge went on to be a pretty big star not long after this. Dave Mason and Leon Russell turn up from time to time as special guests.
The original LP was only about 40 minutes edited down from 4 concerts recorded in December 1969. This box presents all the shows in complete form. It’s probably overkill for most but that’s why it’s a limited edition box set. The Royal Albert Hall show is the longest of all 4 shows and captures the band in peak form. There haven’t been too many bands that have been able to blend soul music with rock & roll and blues this well. This is southern music but not “southern rock” although it does rock. They boogie like no other on the uptempo songs like “Things Get Better,” “Coming Home,” “Where There’s A Will There’s A Way” and on Dave Mason’s “Only You Know & I Know.” Delaney and Bonnie’s vocals really shine on the slower ballads like “Poor Elija” and “Everybody Loves A Winner.” A highlight of most of the shows is a medley of the songs “Pour Your Love On Me/Just Plain Beautiful.” The band really smokes on this and there’s some great guitar interplay between all the guitarists. Most of the songs are repeated on each disc but there are some cool one time performances. A great version of “Will The Circle Be Unbroken” and a cover of Booker T.’s “Pigmy” are highlights of disc 4.
The original album is still in print and worth picking up if you’re low on funds, but if this sounds at all interesting to you go for the box. The packaging is very cool and it will probably be out of print soon. MP3’s from itunes do not due music like this any justice. Don’t be afraid to turn it up and get funky. And support your local library!
