Customer Reviews

Magic Two

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

 

 

This is Jorma live during his solo Winter Tour of 1984. A buddy & myself traveled 200 miles from Virginny to see the master play a little club in Washington D.C. and we were indeed lucky to see one of our heroes up close and personal.

This CD is the truth of what we saw and heard that night in a tiny bar. Kid's, Jorma is the GOODS, one guy with a guitar who has done his homework. There are 14 tracks on this CD (the LP had 8) and if you know the man's work it is well represented here from Airplane tracks: "Good Sheperd" & "Embryonic Journey" with lot's of Tuna favorites thrown in as well: "Candy Man", "Come Back Baby", and a killer version of "Man's Fate", that stands above the 1st Hot Tuna record.

The stand out track is "Follow The Drinking Gourd" as it is an amazing display of "Flyin' Fingers" by one of the true greats. This CD is worth it, and this guy can sing the whites...BUY IT.

Jorma pulls out all the stops on this one cause he's solo and he's providing all the sound himself instead of playing off of the usual (incredibly talented) suspects. He supplies the extra bass, the extra rhythm, the extra voicings, the extra everything as he floats in the stratosphere of the guitar gods. Unbelievable version of "Mann's Fate" where he sounds like Paco de Lucia slaying the flamenco style. Other moments remind me of the freewheelin' Michael Hedges with his incredible right hand, percussive technique shining through in all its glory. A must recording for any serious student of the acoustic guitar, or any acolyte of Jorma.

Originally, there was "Magic" - a great live recording that Relix put out in the 80's. Then when CDs became the norm, Relix reissued the recording with a slew of bonus tracks making the cd twice as long as the orginal release. The result was "Magic two" and it is a great recording. The sound is so clear and the audience is so vibrant, you'll sware you'll be smellin' smoke! Jorma is one of the FINEST guitarists around. This recording is a classic and a MUST HAVE for those who know what music means.

When I bought the original "Magic," I knew Jorma for his work with the Jefferson Airplane--his soaring psychedelic lead guitar as well as vocals on songs like "Good Shepherd." I'd never heard Hot Tuna or any solo work. As such, this incredibly gritty solo acoustic performance, featuring mostly blues songs and growling caveman vocals was a bit of a shock. In time, I became a major solo Jorma and Hot Tuna fan and grew to love both the original and Magic Two (which, unlike many expanded versions of older albums, has only been improved by the additions). Nonetheless, for anyone looking for an introduction to Jorma I'd suggest Quah or Hot Tuna's Burgers or Phosphorescent Rat.

I put 3 stars because the songs are fine, but he messes up them: the picking is as usual not bad, althought not perfect, but the voice is not very good, and the auduence makes just horrible noises screaming like jerks.

If you want a good Jorma recording, don't choise this one.