TOMMY BOLIN: Whips And Roses

Choice Of The Month April 2006
Cover	Release	Style
	2006-04-24	Classic rock
	Label
	SPV / Steamhammer
	Website
	Tommy Bolin
	Contact
	-
	Playing Time	Cat. N°
	78:16	-
	Review by	Rating
	Edwin	9/10
nederlands	Review
Exactly 30 years ago, Tommy Bolin died of drug abuse. One can only wonder what he would have achieved if he were still alive… In his brief career, Tommy Bolin was a member of bands like Zephyr, Energy, Moxy and The James Gang and played with jazz rock greats Billy Cobham and Alphonse Mouzon. He also recorded two solo albums, which are still very highly regarded: ‘Teaser’ and ‘Private Eyes’. His brief stay in Deep Purple, as the replacement for Ritchie Blackmore, may have done his reputation at the time more harm that good, but most critics today are rightfully convinced Bolin was one of the true guitar greats of the seventies. This ‘Whips And Roses’ contains some stunning material from Bolin’s solo career – songs that were never released before, and alternative versions of previously released songs. Still, this is not your usual helping of ‘archive’ material. The sound quality on this release is absolutely brilliant, and Bolin’s performance is stunning. The previously unreleased, 15-minutes long instrumental ‘Flyin’ Fingers’ is just one of the tracks that prove what an amazing guitar player he was. He effortlessly goes through an impressive array of different sounds –rock, blues, funk, Latin, jazz… All through this, his own, very distinctive style is ever present. Other ‘new’ songs are ‘Fandango’, ‘Cookoo’, ‘Just Don’t Fall Down’ and ‘Blowin’ Your Cookies’. All of these show the enormous diversity and amazing skills Bolin had. The songs which originally appeared on ‘Teaser’ – the title track, ‘Dreamer’, ‘Marching Powder’, ‘Savannah Woman’ and ‘Wild Dogs’ appear here in stunning - some even quite different – versions. This is one of the best ‘archive’ collections I have ever heard, and one of the very few that can be highly recommended to both avid collectors and those who still have to find out what Tommy Bolin was all about. This cd will be released as a digi-pack with a 24-page booklet, with liner notes by Simon Robinson and lots of photos. And there’s more where this came from: later in the year, ‘Whips And Roses 2’ will be released. Without question more goodies to look forward to…
Musicians
Tommy Bolin: guitars, vocals and others
Tracklist
Teaser Fandango Wild Dogs Cookoo Savannah Woman Marching Powder Flyin’ Fingers Dreamer Just Don’t Fall Down Blowin’ Your Cookies


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