Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 101
ten - reasoning that bluesmen from Blind Boy Fuller to Elmore James were singer/ songwriters. Besides the typical "my baby left me" subject matter, there've been examples of blues singers tackling social and political issues, from Leadbelly to J.B. Lenoir to Robert Cray. But even though statistics vary from one in three to one in six, MacLeod is perhaps the only bluesman to address childhood sexual abuse, which he openly talks about from his own experience growing up. That's the chain, too often handed down generations, he means to break in the title song - which he co-wrote with his son, Jesse, who joins him here. Normally in one with his National Resophonic, MacLeod is tastefully accompanied by Jimi Bott's drums, Denny Croy's bass, and Oliver Brown's percussion. The eclectic repertoire is far from "heavy," as the rocking' "Goin' Down To The Roadhouse" amply illustrates. Recommended - higher than highly! - Dan Forte Tommy Castro and the Painkillers Michael Cooper/courtesy of ABKCO Records Stompin' Ground Veteran Tommy Castro feels right at home here as he takes his band and some pretty special guests through songs that, for the most part, harken back to his days growing up in San Jose, California. Soul, R&B, and rock and roll all mix seamlessly, driven by Castro's gravelly voice and biting guitar work. There are great covers, including a soulful take on Johnny Ace's "Blues All Around Me," the classic "Soul Shake" with a devastatingly good vocal from Castro and guest Danielle Nicole, and a blistering version of Buddy Miles' "Them Changes" that features Los Lobos' David Hidalgo trading vocals and guitar work with Castro. Castro's originals strike a nice balance with his funk influences, shining through on "Love Is" and his soul side showing on "My Old Neighborhood." Charlie Musselwhite makes an appearance on the electrified country blues of "Live Every Day" and Mike Zito shares blistering guitar leads with Castro on "Rock Bottom." There's nothing earth-shatteringly new here, but, as he almost always does, Castro proves to be one of today's best purveyors of R&B sounds for the 21st century. - JH The Rolling Stones Their Satanic Majesties Request: 50th Anniversary Special Edition TOO ROLLING STONED O nce reviled as a self-indulgent, drug-addled wreck, the Stones' Their Satanic Majesties Request has been reconsidered in recent years and is now regarded as a one-off gem. Lodged between their early R&B-fueled hits and country-blues revival later in the decade, this LP is a snapshot of 1967 pop - it's messy, whimsical, ridiculous, and at times deliriously fun. To commemorate its 50th anniversary, the set is being reissued with stereo and mono versions of every song, in a variety of formats, from vinyl to hybrid SACD (which play on standard CD players). One aspect that makes the album so unusual is that it barely rocks, as the Stones were both experimenting with pharmaceuticals and rarely in the studio at the same time. Certainly, it's not the same bad-ass quintet that exploded February 2018 101 two years earlier with "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction." One example, "Sing This All Together (See What Happens)," finds Keith Richards trying to get a groove going on his six-string, but caught between hapless brass lines and heavy percussion. Conversely, "She's A Rainbow" is a lilting pop classic, aided by sideman Nicky Hopkins' crisp piano and Beatlesque acoustic from Richards. Fellow Stone Brian Jones plays little guitar on the album, making strong contributions on keyboards and other instruments instead. Brian makes his biggest stringed-instrument impact on the madcap "Gomper," playing slide on a Vox Bijou electric dulcimer. "The Lantern" gives us a glimpse of Richards' fiery guitar licks, complemented by his trademark "Keith strum" on acoustic - indeed, the man's strumming technique is about as singular as his electric VINTAGE GUITAR style. The majestic "2000 Light Years From Home" is dominated by Keith's menacing fuzz bass and Jones' thick Mellotron strings, sounding more like a cut from the Moody Blues or Syd Barrett-era Pink Floyd. The most Stones-like rocker here is "Citadel," dominated by Richards' cranked-up chords, laced with heavy amp tremolo. Its stripped-down, aggressive approach foreshadows the '80s underground of R.E.M. or Husker Dü - you might even argue that New Wave and modernrock began right here. Perhaps best of all is "In Another Land," a track sung and written by bassist Bill Wyman. It sports tremolo-laced backing vocals from Steve Marriott and Ronnie Lane of the Small Faces, as they were recording down the hallway at Olympic Studios (Marriott also plays some 12-string acoustic). It's quintessential Brit-pop from that year. Ultimately, Satanic Majesties may be one of the Stones' oddest outings, but it was a studio experiment that, at last, found the band outside its comfort zone. If you like acid-laced '60s psychedelia and don't have it already, this reissue is a good place to begin the trip. - Pete Prown
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