Customer Reviews

Albert Collins & The Icebreakers

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Well after a three year wait there is another, and early, concert of the great and innovative Albert Collins. If you don't already have BOTH Baden-Baden concerts, you'd better snatch up the Amazon deal now. OK the Inakustik people have produced some fantastic concerts in the past 4 or 5 years- they are clearly better than even the Montreux series. Great sound and picture! Albert Collins is the only performer to be featured on TWO Musik Pur DVDs (Hey the Albert King one has not been released except in Japan). This is really worth it too!

First of all Albert plays with a stripped down band- only 5 pieces. He has his oldest Icebreaker Johnny B. Gaden, who use once the bassist for the Staple Singers, with him and only one horn, a sax (Abe Locke)! Very unusual and like the original Blues Bands of the 1950s (see Buddy Guy on the Blues Masters Vol 2 (Rhino) and Howlin' Wolf in the "Devil Got My Woman"). So Albert has an interesting and different sound. His guitar player. Rob Noll has a great tone and does a bit of Albert King and Hendrix which none of his guitarists ever did and he plays a good slide as well. The drummer, Casey Jones played with Buddy Guy and Junior Wells and a lot of Chicago session work. He is also featured on the Grammy Award winning LP "Show Down" with Collins, Robert Cray and Johnny Copeland.

This January 1985 set begins with "Listen Here" as it does in the 1988 set, but it has a different groove with the smaller band. "If Trouble Was Money" one of his signature songs, written by Albert and his wife Gwendolyn- who also wrote "Mastercharge", by the way, is the slow blues for the set. This tune was originally recorded live in Japan and later appeared, towards the end of Collins life, as a duet with Gary Moore. This tune goes into one of his lesser known instrumentals "Skatin'" with a funk groove and it livens up the proceedings- but it's short!

"The Highway Is Like A Woman" is a cool 50s like R&B tune. A bit sexist, but not as much as "I'm gonna hit a Brick upside your head" in the next tune "Brick". On this one he has harpist Southside Johnny who joins the band (I can't ever remember Collins with harp and slide guitar in any of his records or bands- although Albert does play a good harp himself on the "Show Down" set). He then introduces, rather fondly, "The Things I Used To Do" written by Eddie Jones (Guitar Slim). Collins did this tune many times and has many versions of it- I like the one on his "Best of" CD released posthumously. This one is the most true to the original and has a very controlled and understated solo section by Mr Collins.

"I Got That Feeling" has a great groove and sort of shows us where Collins music went in the next eight years until his death. I like the version on the other DVD (1988) with Debbie Davies singing with him. This was the period in which Collins started to get recognition and fame. After being known only in Texas and California for years. He first toured Australia in 1985 and came back again in 1986 and 1992. Collins premature death was a blow to the Blues World and robbed us all of his creative talents. No other guitar player sounds like Albert (Joe Bonamassa has a few moments however!).

The final tune "Frosty" is his most famous ever. This is a signature tune to match Freddie King's "Hideaway". He plays it superbly and much different and more true to the original record than the 1988 show and it also has a good solo from Mr Noll as well (much different than Duke Robillard's in the 1988 show). Albert ends with his "walk' into the crowd with his great long lead (Guitar Slim was the first to do this- ask Buddy Guy). I love the story from Antone's in Texas where Albert was playing and walked out the door of the club came back and after the song a pizza was delivered, he had played down the street walked into the next door pizza place and ordered a pizza- while playing the whole time!!!

Get this DVD, material showing Albert Collins in action is very scarce. The program is wonderful and even there is some overlap with the 1988 DVD and the Mt Fuji show, the groove and feel of this show is unique.

Note: in 2009, Why is the proper review of this disc in this column and my review of the earlier show, another whole show in Baden-Baden the lead review for this product? Why has this happened? And I've lost all my votes too?

Having seen the Iceman live several times during the late 80's and early 90's including at the Chicago Bluesfest, I have always been on the lookout for a good live video record of his performances, This is one of them. I had originally taped this off of a cable broadcast in the 1989 but having a DVD version vs. a VHSI had to get this. Albert and his band are smoking!
I also bought the Live at the Carnegie Hall concert on VHS from Alligator when it was released and while his and Roy Buchanon and Lonnie Mack's performances on that are great, I just never liked the atmosphere on that video. It's all brightly lit with no color lights like any normal concerts have.
If you are interested in seeing the Iceman perform, buy this DVD, the only drawback is that it's barely an hour long because it was from a TV show.

Being a huge fan of Albert Collins I thought this dvd was great. There just wasn't enough. Since he passed away some years ago you can't expect the recording to be up to todays standards. The camera shots were good and the selection of music was good. I would buy it again if I had to.

If you like the blues or rock order this DVD immidiatly.This Ohne Filter series is very well produced.Albert Collins is in top form and is his band really grooves.This is one of my favorite concert DVD's.

Totally awesome. First rate. It gave me an instant adrenalin rush and non-stop chills. I thought I would faint from pleasure. It's flawless! Collins is an underrated genius of an entertainer and bluesman. You can tell by listening that many of the younger bluesmen have gotten their licks from COLLINS. He has almost supernatural energy and dominates the stage. He has the best horns in the business backing him up; especially the alto sax. He also features a female lead blues guitar player named Debbie Davies who is as good if not better than most of the male lead blues guitarists today or ever. It was filmed live in Germany and it ROCKS!! Well worth the money. GREAT entertainment.

I ran across this DVD when scouting for more Albert Collins to add to my CD collection. Absolutely fantastic stuff on this one. Especially Mastercharge. Collins was perhaps one of the most underrated blues guitars ever. If you love his work, this is a MUST OWN!

Creo que es uno de los mejores conciertos de Blues que he visto jamaz.
La actuación de Albert Collins es increible, sin duda estaba en una de sus mejores noches.

Albert Collins was a great Blues innovator. His Ice Man sound was unique and immediately recognised. This DVD is superb. The band is great and tight and the sound fabluous. Actually all of the Ohne Filter series are excellent, they sound great and the production is excellent. And this is one of the best.

The set was filmed in 1988 (October). His band was fabulous and included Debbie Davies on second guitar. She helps with vocals as well (She was from LA and was friends with John Mayall's wife). Tracks include "Listen Here" a great opener and introduction to the Collins-style of Blues. His guitar with minor key tuning, a capo and finger playing has a sound that is impossible to copy-there are no SRV's trying to emulate Albert Collins, like there have been with Albert King. No one can do his thing! His attack, phrasing and finger-style were totally unique! Hendrix loved Albert and tried to promote him in the 1960s, when he was only known in Texas and California. "There's this cat from Texas named Albert Collins and he's good, really good" said Jimi in an early interview.

The set progresses to the shuffle "Tired Man" which has a great soulful vocal. "Lights On Nobody Home" is Collins signature slow Blues, he always did this one! I saw him twice in Australia in 1987 and 1992. Great, just like this DVD. "Mastercharge" showcases the Collins -style of Blues humour. He wrote this with his wife Gwendolyne and it appeared on his most influential LP "Ice Pickin". The rest of the set is also interesting. "BLack Cat Bone" was sung by Johnny Copeland on the Show Down LP (Grammy Winner!) but Albert does a great job. "I Ain't Drunk" displays more of Collin's humourous writing style. "I Got A Feeling" is a funky soulful outing with Davies singing backup. The highlight is of course "Frosty" with Duke Robillard adding a few solos on his Surf Green Stratocaster. It ends, as did most of his shows, with a walk through the crowd on his long guitar lead (his trademark!!)

This is a great addition to any Blues DVD collection. I would say that any collection should have Collins (guitar biting sound), Albert King (bending), Little Walter (Harp), Muddy Waters (Voice), Howlin Wolf (Soul), B.B. King (Showmanship) and Freddie King (melodic improvising)!

My review title says it all. I just wish there were more DVD's of Albert's concerts.

A great show demonstrating the stratomaster at work...well worth the investment