Customer Reviews

Groover's Paradise

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Early Doug Sahm is aways welcome. I finally fiured out why he never became a bigger name, he was all over the place in his music selection, there are times you have to be in a niche. We miss you Doug

Texas legend Doug Sahm and his crew had a pretty good time playing some funky blues-soul grooves and mixing a little roots and twang in around the edges. He's joined here by fiddler Link Davis. Jr., as well as drummer-producer Doug Clifford and bassist Stu Cook, both of the late, great swamp-garage band, Creedence Clearwater Revival... Good, funky, boogie-rock blues from the early '70s... Groovy, indeed!

A terrific piece of work. This album features Creedence Clearwater Revival's rhythm section - Stu Cook on bass and Doug Clifford on drums (who doubles as producer) - and it's a must have for fans of both Doug Sahm AND Creedence. The songs are outstanding, 'Catch Me in the Morning' deserves a place somewhere among the best tunes ever written. A MUST HAVE.

Anyone who follows Texas Music knows Doug Sahm. If you enjoy his music and have never had the chance to visit Groover's Paradise, welcome. It touches every corner of the lone star from Tejano Polka (La Gacajuata) to twangy ballad ("Beautiful Texas Sunshine"). Along the way, feed the dogs, grab a beer and listen to Doug and his sensational sidemen put some music out that you'll be listening to for 25 years. I know I have. Enjoy.

The word groove appears twice in in song titles..."Just Groove Me" and "Groover's Paradise," so you know what you're getting into with this disc. It's a little more focused and poppy than the earlier Atlantic or Mercury outings, but there's still some serious rocking going on. CCR drummer Cosmo Clifford and bassist Stu Cook play and help produce one of Doug's best. Stand out tracks include the title song, "Catch Me in the Morning, and my personal favorite, "For the Sake of Rock n Roll1!" This is a great place to continue a Doug Sahm appreciation after purchasing the 68-75 compilation.

I am always amazed how Texas, (the land that produces terrible presidents )is where my favorite musicians are from. I bought this cd a few weeks back when I read that the rhythm section of Creedence Clearwater Revival was playing on it. I always loved CCR, but didn't know what to expect from Dougie. The only songs I knew from him were Mendocino and She's about a mover. Well, this album was a delightful surprise. It has a Creedence groove, great slow rockers, one Tejano-polka instrumental, and some of the best country rock I've heard from the early 70's. It reminds me of the very early Eagles albums with one exception - the Eagles to me produced fabulous singles and lousy albums. Doug Sahm produced a fabulous album here. Houston Chicks suggests the Animals House of the Rising Sun, with that glorious organ playing. Beautiful Texas Sunshine is a gorgeous country ballad that could have and should have been a huge hit. My favorite rocker is the slow moving Just Groove Me - there is some gutteral instrument playing a lead in there - I can't tell if it's a sax, organ or guitar, but I love it. Catch Me In The Morning is the song that suggest the Eagles the most, but it is a great great song. This cd is a first class winner from start to finish - I am going to look at more of Doug Sahm's work after hearing this wonderful album. Buy it, you'll love it.

"Groover's Paradise" is, purportedly and believably, the late Doug Sahm's nod to his 70s musical digs (the Armadillo World Headquarters and Soap Creek Saloon) along with their host, Austin.

This Tex-Mex trip climaxes with (of all things) "La Gacahuata" (played irresistibly fresh) and the Sahm original "Her Dream Man Never Came;" generally, the album has a coherence (and thus, warmth) that puts it at the top of Sahm's resume while kindly reminding everybody that it was he who had saddled up, first and foremost, as cosmic cowboy.

It's a shame we weren't rewarded with additional such efforts from Mr. Sahm -- but then, the end of the Vietnam War weakened the Sixties spirit as a whole, and it finally crashed by the time of the Bicentennial -- with Sahm finally managing to pick up some of the pieces himself, so to speak, during the last decade of his life as a Texas Tornado.

And there you be!

Length:: 3:09 Mins

I love everything about Doug Sahm and The Sir Douglas Quintet; but being from Arkansas, my taste does not run as strongly toward what you would hear in Gilley's day-in and day-out hour after hour, the boots, the boots, they stomp and stomp...

'Groover's Paradise', however, is one of my all time favorite albums.

I have the original lp and I still find details on the cover that I've forgotten. The cover art by Kerry Awn (http://kerryawn.com/) is pure 'Underground Comix' - Comix: The Underground Revolution that us boomer kids (who didn't and haven't sold our souls) still love. It brings back the seventies with a rush.

'Groover's Paradise', 'Devil Heart', and 'Just Groove Me' have been favorites of mine since I first heard them in the 70's, followed closely by 'For the Sake of Rock N Roll!'

'Houston Chicks' and 'Girls Today' are nice to listen to and very nostalgic if you're my age.

'Beautiful Texas Sunshine' is too sweet and syrupy for my taste. 'La Cacahuata' is Mexican Polka, which I don't care for, 'Her Dream Man Never Came' is neither here nor there.

'Catch Me in the Morning' is nice until the refrain jumps me up and makes me start line-dancing and goose-stepping at the same time (glioosen-dansen?) - very bizzare.

Warning - opinions may not apply in State of Texas or in the mind of any Texan. Check local zeitgeist under 'Arkansan/Reveres-Southwest-Conference=true/Zydeco=false/Migrated/40-50-years/California'.

If you want to see more free samples of JumpRock to hundreds of songs, go to my profile and click on 'my website', then Get up Offa That Thing and dance if you can do better.