Paul Butterfield Band - Rockpalast: Blues Rock Legends Review by Gary Hill
This is the audio CD companion to the DVD I reviewed in the last issue of Music Street Journal. The disc features some scorching hot live performances that cover a lot of musical territory from blues to funk and rock and even a little country. The recording is good and the performances exceptional.
This review is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: 2010 Volume 5 at lulu.com/strangesound.
Track by Track Review
Rockpalast-Intro
This is just the little theme song for the “Rockpalast” show.
Fair Enough
There’s a lot of funk in this tasty jam. It’s kind of like the Allman Brothers blended with funk and blues. There’s some inspired harmonica work on this and a smoking guitar solo section. This is an instrumental. There are some moments here that aren’t that far removed from progressive rock.
One More Heartache This one’s got a chugging sort of rhythm section and is much more of a pure blues piece.
Fool In Love “Fool in Love” reminds me of the blues 1970’s rock that Foghat is known for performing. It’s another smoking hot tune.
New Walking Blues This is the most pure blues cut we’ve heard to this point. It’s very much an old school electric blues stomper.
It's Alright Here’s a more balladic tune that’s got some blues, but is really classic rock. It becomes a real soaring kind of jam after a while.
Goin' Down This time around we get a fiery hot smoking electric blues jam. It’s got a lot of Led Zeppelin built into it. It’s a real screamer.
Born Under A Bad Sign The modes that make this one up remind me a lot of the kind of hard rocking blues that Stevie Ray Vaughn used to do. It’s another strong cut on a strong album. I can also make out healthy doses of Robin Trower on this.
Just When I Needed You Most This number feels like a cross between 1970’s rock and country music. I don’t really make out a lot of blues here, except what’s filtered through those genres.
Be Good To Yourself At over ten minutes in length, this is definitely an extended jam. There is a bit of funk on this, but also some blues. Overall, I’d consider it a good rock song. There’s plenty of instrumental hijinx, though. It works out into a different jam later that’s more pure rock with a blues harmonica soloing over the top. There’s also a smoking hot soaring guitar solo after that section.
Interview (with Alan Bangs) The disc ends with this nearly thirteen and a half minute long interview.
