Music Everywhere
Wednesday 06 June @ 11:16:41 |
Music on DVD: Mint Condition, Robin Trower 
by DWIGHT HOBBES
St. Paul homeboys Mint Condition are about to release their newest album (no title yet) in August. And at this moment, they are deciding on the first single, which will be out sometime this month. I’ve heard about half the album and, take it from me, the material is first rate. Well worth the anticipation. ’Til August gets here, though--along with the chance to catch this band in action--there’s “Live from The 9:30 Club” (DVD).
Filmed in Chocolate City, USA, aka Washington, D.C., the 80-minute video is so enjoyable it seems to go by in more like eight minutes. Highlight: You get a fascinating look at the guys offstage as they talk about their craft and eachother as they revisit the center where they stayed out of trouble as youngsters long enough to get on the good foot and became international superstars. Providing even higher light is “Swole,” a house-rocking number that you won’t find on any of their albums--including the new one--and a show-stopping rendition of “Breaking My Heart (Pretty Brown Eyes)” for which frontman Stokley cuts the total and absolute fool.
You don’t even have to be a Mint fan to get caught up by “Live from The 9:30 Club”: I barely knew who they were the first time I sat down and watched it, but soon as “Swole” got under way as the concert opener, I was hooked. P.S. You also get, as a bonus feature, the music video for their song “Banga.” It’s an exciting experience with a band that eats excitement as a snack. It’s also a lot of fun watching this crowd get off, which is exactly what they do—love Mint Condition to death.
Anyone who had a decently misspent youth in the ’60s--and any of the rest of y’all who’ve since discovered him--already revere Robin Trower as one of the nastiest guitarists rock has ever known. It’s a bitch that he gets tagged as “the white Jimi Hendrix.” It wasn’t Trower’s fault he had a strong influence. Fact is, he heeded an inspiration--as, indeed, did Chicago blues devotees Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Alvin Lee and countless successors from that era, including today’s Mato Nanji from the world-class, kickass Midwest blues band Indigenous. Robin Trower came on with his own, readily identifiable chops, established with his early albums, Twice Removed From Yesterday and Bridge of Sighs.
The venerable artist is still at it. And the Living Out Of Time: Live (Ruf Records, DVD) shows that this incredible, time-proven warhorse is, believe it or not, better than ever—with a barrage of articulate wall-blasting leads seasoned by unprecedented subtlety. Who says an old dog can’t come on stronger than ever before?
The title cut is vintage Robin Trower, screaming funked-up lead charged vocal throwing down sparse, stark melody. As bass (David Bronze) and drums (Pete Thompson) lock a strong pocket. And, from the thrilling days of yesteryear, the eerie ballad “Daydream” gets a sweet rendering. The barrel-house shuffle “Too Rolling Stoned” never sounded better. The onliest problem is that singer Davey Pattison has fine chops but stays too close to original bassist-vocalist James Dewar’s bone, copying Dewar’s style instead of interpreting the material. Also, the concert doesn’t include the classic “Hannah.” This, of course, lumps me in with all the other fans who cry “foul’ when their favorite cuts get left off the set list. Bottom line, this is a chance to catch footage of Robin Trower in full force, complete with grimaces, flying fingers and the rest of it.
|
|
 |
|
