Product Description
DICKEY BETTS - LIVE FROM THE LONE STAR ROADHOUSE NYC 1988 - 2 CD SET
DICKEY BETTS
Live From The Lone Star Roadhouse New York City 1988 2 CD SET
RockBeat Records
Forrest Richard Betts wore several musical hats as a guitarist, composer, and singer. Inspired by bluegrass, country, and Western swing as a child, Dickey Betts played exceptionally lyrical rock guitar next to Duane Allman in The Allman Brothers Band. As Richard Betts, he played “Great American” music with the likes of fiddler Vassar Clements. He launched Dickey Betts & Great Southern to further the southern and country-tinged rock music that the Allman Brothers had begun playing. And for a short time in the late 1980s, The Dickey Betts Band put a hard-edged spin on new songs and several of Betts’ classics.
Live From The Lone Star Roadhouse New York City 1988 presents the entire blazing show that the Dickey Betts Band performed, broadcasted live by WNEW, the sound of it bright and punchy. “Rock Bottom,” a self-reflective rocker penned with guitarist Warren Haynes and keyboardist Johnny Neel from their then-new album Pattern Disruptive, begins the show vigorously. Bassist Marty Privette and drummer Matt Abts provide the oomph.
The Dickey Betts Band lasted only one year, as The Allman Brothers Band reunited and took Haynes and Neel into the fold. That was only natural given the strength of this band. The first of Betts’ signature Allman songs arrives early in a stout, but no less beautiful, “Blue Sky.” His colorful instrumental pieces, “Jessica” and “In Memory Of Elizabeth Reed,” are among the most transcendent ever written. While this band’s presentations of them pack new punches, they just as well display the exquisite, complimentary guitar and piano playing the songs demand.
“Time To Roll,” another new Betts/Haynes/Neel salvo, features Haynes singing lead and playing guitar in dangerous tones, an early example of why he’s become the star that he is today. “Duane’s Tune,” a driving Betts instrumental written for Duane Allman, may not live up to his best, but it still impresses by its dramatically shifting melody and expertly delivered, exciting solos.
Rick Derringer joins for a run through “Rock And Roll Hoochie Koo,” which name-checks the Jokers, ironically a group of Florida teens led by none other than Dickey Betts. Mick Taylor and the late Jack Bruce, two titans of British blues-rock, step up for a deliciously marauding, decidedly Cream-like take on Willie Dixon’s “Spoonful.” Bruce, besides having been a premier bassist, was also one of the most distinctive of rock’s great singers, making this song an album highlight.
No matter the context, Dickey Betts could always be counted on to perform songs and play guitar that fit the time and the place. He sounds absolutely wonderful here.
– Tom Clarke