Editorial Reviews
Music Review:
Music Review
Mozart: Die Hochzeit des Figaro
Milan: "El Maestro", Works For Vihuela
Lorraine Hunt Lieberson: Handel Arias [Hybrid SACD] [SACD]
Amazon.com
This seems like a can't-miss concept, with a powerhouse band paying labor-of-love tribute to Doug Sahm, the alt-country avatar whose legacy extends from the Sir Douglas Quintet of the '60s through the Texas Tornados of the '90s. Yet the results often fall curiously flat, as the Rockets engage in mimicry rather than making the sort of interpretive leaps that could mediate between Sahm's freewheeling eclecticism and the band's harder-rocking strengths. The song selection leans heavily on Sir Doug's San Francisco daze (hippie anthems such as "Lawd, I'm Just a Country Boy in This Great Big Freaky City") rather than the twangier and bluesier strains of his Texas roots. In addition to soundalike renditions of hits such as "Mendocino" and "She's About a Mover," the collection honors underheard classics including "At the Crossroads," but only the explosive "I'm Not That Kat Anymore" represents the band at its unbridled best. --Don McLeese
Album Description
"Who is Doug Sahm?" you might be asking yourselves? For shame, take two steps back on the rock history game of Life. Doug Sahm spent most of his lifetime making the world a better place with his music. From his mid-60’s British Invasion meets proto-garage rock in the Sir Douglas Quintet, to the cowboy psychedelia inspired by time served in ‘Frisco, to the Tejano roadhouse free-for-alls in the Texas Tornadoes, few figures have cut as wide and varied and influential a path as Sir Doug. The Rockets easily assume his mantle of versatility, infuse his songs with their singular brand of American soul, and get DOWN