Redbeard’s Blog

Steve Winwood- Junction Seven

Steve Winwood talks about his seventh solo album, "Junction Seven", and how a so-called "solo" album inevitably isn't at some point in the creative process, in my classic rock interview.
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Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble- In Step

1989 album "In Step" by Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble, just the mere facts are impressive. "In Step" was the Texas trio's fourth studio album, but their first after Vaughan's collapse and near death from substance abuse." In Step"  won a Grammy Award, one of six Vaughan amassed, while racking up the best sales of Vaughan's lauded career because of "The House is Rockin'","Crossfire", "Tightrope","Let Me Love You Baby", and the stunner "Riviera Paradise". Yet the significance of In Step   as a musical statement of intent cannot be told by mere sales or awards. It can only be assessed by the friends who knew Stevie Vaughan best (Eric Clapton), the musicians who inspired him first (Buddy Guy, the late Doyle Bramhall), the players who supported him before and after recovery(Chris Layton, Tommy Shannon), the musicians who in turn Vaughan inspired (Joe Bonamassa ), and the biographer who tried to capture his lightning in a bottle (author Joe Nick Patoski). They are all In Step here In the Studio.

Robin Trower- Lady Love- May 29, 1974- Sausalito, CA

In May 1974 the band and the man Robin Trower were in the San Francisco Bay area, just a few weeks into promoting their second album,"Bridge of Sighs".

Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble- House is Rockin’- Denver 11-29-89

Terrific live recording of post-recovery Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble launching into "The House is Rockin' " from Denver in November 1989.

More Echoes In the Studio- pt 4

In memoriam : More" Echoes In the Studio", pt 4 with my rare interviews with fallen classic rockers Lou Reed, Bon Scott, Rick Wright, Malcolm Young, George Harrison, David Bowie
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The Who- Tommy- Pete Townshend pt2

The conclusion of the story of The Who's "Tommy" pt 2 with Pete Townshend In the Studio.

Mark Knopfler- Once Upon a Time in the West- Dallas 9-8-19

To herald the upcoming forty-fifth anniversary of the sublime but overlooked second Dire Straits album, here is a tasty live performance by Mark Knopfler in Dallas/Ft. Worth of a song from it, "Once Upon a Time in the West", which would surface on the second Dire Straits album, "Communique".
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The Who- Tommy- Pete Townshend pt1

The many stages of The Who's "Tommy" conception, gestation, and birth as the first successful rock opera are further revealed, it seems, every time "Tommy"  composer Pete Townshend cleans out a storage closet. Townshend joins Redbeard In the Studio to present this rock sonogram of The Who "Tommy"  while still in the creative womb, part 1.

The Who- Pinball Wizard medley- Toronto 12-17-82

This performance of the "Tommy" medley December 1982 from the Redbeard archives is official and far superior to the bootleg that circulated for years.