There was something special in the air for the Grateful Dead in 1971. Second drummer Mickey Hart had left for a brief hiatus while keyboardist Keith Godchaux and his wife, singer Donna Jean Godchaux, had yet to join the band. This left the core musical group of Garcia, Weir, Lesh, and Kruetzman free to play [...]
Article first published as Music Review: Santana – Santana III (Legacy Edition) on Blogcritics. After their raw and exciting self titled debut Santana, and the successful followup Abraxas, Santana decided to go dark and mysterious with their near perfect third album titled, well, Santana III. The cover art, which I just can’t seem to get enough [...]
Ten Years After is one of those bands that somehow slipped through the cracks over the years. Maybe it was their odd name. But if you were hip back in 1970, and just happened to be around the Fillmore East in 1970, you knew exactly who was bringing the heavy. For a brief shining moment, [...]
Article first published as Music Review: Santana – Live at the Fillmore ’68 on Blogcritics. After their legendary performance at Woodstock in the late summer of 1969, and their blistering self titled debut album, Santana would skyrocket to much deserved stardom and cement a place in rock history. But here, in the warm sounding Fillmore [...]