Terry Melcher: Terry Melcher (Collector's Choice, May 31, 2005) ***
Butterfield Blues Band: Live (Wounded Bird, May 31, 2005) ****
Femi Kuti: Best Of Femi Kuti (Wrasse, May 31, 2005) ****
Blood Sweat And Tears: New City (Wounded Bird, May 31, 2005) **
Among the more noteworthy reissues to hit the stores in the past week are:
Terry Melcher: Terry Melcher
Terry Melcher is best remembered for three things. Professionally, he was a successful producer for Columbia records in the 1960's. Among his credits are albums by The Byrds and Paul Revere and The Raiders. Personally, he is the son of Doris Day. And notoriously, he was a passing acquaintance of Charles Manson, and had owned the house where Sharon Tate was murdered. As the 1970's began, Melcher's star had fallen, partly due to fallout from the Manson connection, and partly due to changing musical tastes. No longer getting plum production assignments, he attempted a recording career, releasing two albums. This debut appeared in 1974, and is more noteworthy for the performers lending a hand than the music on it. Among those performers are Beach Boy Dennis Wilson, Bruce Johnston, Spanky McFarlane, and Doris Day, herself. The music is an eclectic mix of styles and influences, featuring a Bob Dylan medley, covers of Jackson Browne, Lloyd Price, and Roger McGuinn, and a few originals. Essentially, it comes across as a vanity project, and it didn't make a ripple when it originally appeared. Still, this re-issue has collectors' appeal, and the production flourishes do surprise. File under: kinda interesting.
Butterfield Blues Band: Live
Reissue label Wounded Bird records has approached a business strategy of purchasing the rights to lesser-known albums by key artists that hold more collectors' appeal than listening thrills. This had been the final Elektra album for the Butterfield Blues band, and was recorded in 1970, long after guitar whiz Michael Bloomfield had left, as well as bassist Jerome Arnold and drummer Sam Lay. Therefore, this album is really a shadow of earlier Butterfield albums. Still, Butterfield himself manages to get strong performances from the musicians present here, and the band runs through such favorites as "I Want To Be With You", "Born Under A Bad Sign", and "Love Disease". Absent are the genre-bending jazz/blues improvisations that had made this band so special; while the band does jam (three titles reach the 10-minute mark), it takes fewer chances than it once did. Butterfield fans will welcome the appearance of this good-not-great album after decades in limbo; newcomers might want to start with East/West, for a taste of what this band was really about.
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