Two bands from divergent parts of North America dig deep roots.
The legendary and still long running Marshall Tucker band was at its zenith at the time of this NYE gig in New Orleans. They were riding the wave of their classic Carolina Dreams, and were about to release Together Forever, so their songbook was faultless. The band still boasted of Tommy/b and Toy Caldwell/g, along with Jerry Eubanks/fl, Doug Gray/g, George McClorkle/g and Paul Riddle/dr, and they mixed country flavored blues rock with just a dash of jazz to perfection. Classic country rockers like “Fly Like An Eagle” mix with their eternal joyful Texas two stepper “Heard It In A Love Song” and the urgent “Can’t You See” along with newer material like the boogie-ing “Dream Lover.” A take of “Will The Circle Be Unbroken” is as rootsy as you can find, and the sound here is first rate. Check this one out.
The group Bywater Call features Meghan Parnell on vocals, and she makes the band sound a lot like the Tedeschi Trucks team. Her rural voice teams with Dave Barnes/g, Stephen Dyte/tp, Bruce McCarthy/dr, Mike Meuselb, Julian Nalli/ts-bs and Alan Zemaitis/key for a folksy and acoustic “Swing Low” as well as the lovely and spacious ballad “Bring Me Down.” The horns rock with the fuzzy guitar strings as she growls out “Talking Backwards” and sounds defiant on “Forgive.” The horns and organs smoke on “Silver Lining” and the tones are dark on the pulsating “Walk On By.” Any tours to the West Coast?