Guest Post by Mac: 
Tommy Bolin - Private Eyes. Guest post by Mac. To those that did not grow up in the 70's, the name Tommy Bolin might not mean much. However, there was a time when he was spoken about in the same reverential terms as Jimi Hendrix. Playing with the likes of the James Gang and Deep Purple, as well as stints in the jazz world with Billy Cobham, Tommy had the guitar skills and sartorial fashion sense that Jimi possessed, unfortunately, he also shared his appetite for heroin. On December 6, 1976 while on tour with Jeff Beck in Miami, Tommy OD'ed in his hotel room. He was 25 years old and was just beginning to taste commercial success while opening up for bands like Peter Frampton, Rush, ZZ Top and the aforementioned Jeff Beck. His only other solo effort was Teaser, released the previous year in November of 1975. Both albums have material that allowed Tommy to play hard rock, jazz, reggae and Latin inspired music, often blending these styles together within a single song. He lived hard, died young and left us wanting a lot more of his musical gifts. I bought this album in 1980 while in college and played it quite a bit at levels that were not conducive to quiet study. I recommend the same today, particularly on Bustin' Out for Rosie, Post Toastee, and Shake the Devil which are hard rockers. For more laid back, mellower guitar playing, listen to Hello Again, Gypsy Soul and Sweet Burgundy. Oh Tommy, we hardly knew ye!
Tommy Bolin - Private Eyes. Guest post by Mac. To those that did not grow up in the 70's, the name Tommy Bolin might not mean much. However, there was a time when he was spoken about in the same reverential terms as Jimi Hendrix. Playing with the likes of the James Gang and Deep Purple, as well as stints in the jazz world with Billy Cobham, Tommy had the guitar skills and sartorial fashion sense that Jimi possessed, unfortunately, he also shared his appetite for heroin. On December 6, 1976 while on tour with Jeff Beck in Miami, Tommy OD'ed in his hotel room. He was 25 years old and was just beginning to taste commercial success while opening up for bands like Peter Frampton, Rush, ZZ Top and the aforementioned Jeff Beck. His only other solo effort was Teaser, released the previous year in November of 1975. Both albums have material that allowed Tommy to play hard rock, jazz, reggae and Latin inspired music, often blending these styles together within a single song. He lived hard, died young and left us wanting a lot more of his musical gifts. I bought this album in 1980 while in college and played it quite a bit at levels that were not conducive to quiet study. I recommend the same today, particularly on Bustin' Out for Rosie, Post Toastee, and Shake the Devil which are hard rockers. For more laid back, mellower guitar playing, listen to Hello Again, Gypsy Soul and Sweet Burgundy. Oh Tommy, we hardly knew ye!
I was exposed to Tommy Bolin by the author and have the impaired hearing to prove it.
ReplyDelete