Customer Reviews

Too Hot for Snakes

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3 star:		(1)
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1 star:		(2)

 

 

If the only cut of significance was "Sway," the 2-CD set would be essential for anyone who wants to hear the true art of playing the electric guitar; Mick Taylor takes no prisoners in this sizzling rendition from his classic work with the Rolling Stones.

But the remaining 24 cuts solidly show Taylor's underrated collaboration with Carla Olson, on stage and in the studio. The special gem is the reissue of a live album that was recorded in March 1990 from the Roxy Theatre, which was originally released under several different titles.

The second disc is studio recordings from a number of mostly out-of-print/rare albums. This is a sweeping exploration that covers nearly 20 years of material and the duo's special passion for the blues.

L.A. roots-rocker Olson and British blues-rock guitarist Taylor made a powerful pair. This live album, recorded at the Roxy in Los Angeles in 1990, was their debut, waxed with a hand-picked band that had rehearsed for a week and played only one warm-up gig. It's a sign of the players' quality that the group sounds like a well-oiled road unit, with Olson's powerful, earthy vocals backed by a solid rhythm section of Rick Hemmert on drums and Jesse Sublett on bass, and sparked throughout by Taylor's brilliant electric guitar. Released in 1991 under this title in the U.S. and as "Live" in Europe, this two-CD reissue adds a Taylor-sung cover of Fred McDowell's "You Gotta Move," previously released in Japan, and an entire second disc of studio tracks picked from Olson's subsequent collaborations with Taylor.

Unlike Olson's earlier live outing with her band the Textones (coincidentally released by Collectors' Choice as "Detroit '85 Live & Unreleased"), the blues-rock essayed here hasn't aged a day. Augmenting Olson and Taylor's originals with contemporary blues from band members Jesse Sublett ("Who Put the Sting on the Honeybee") and George Callins ("Trying to Hold On"), they also revisit a pair of Jagger-Richards tunes ("Sway" and "Silver Train") from Taylor's tenure with the Rolling Stones. Olson smartly stays away from a luminous Jagger-like star-turn on these latter tunes, sinking instead into the lyrics and the band, and giving Taylor room for his emotional, tour de force playing, especially on "Sway."

Taylor's repeatedly shown himself to be one of the ultimate journeymen guitarists. His stints with John Mayall and the Rolling Stones, collaborations with Jack Bruce, Gong, and John Phillips, and guest appearances with Mike Oldfield, Little Feat, Bob Dylan and others have all been both reliable and memorable. More telling, his work as a gunslinger has greatly overshadowed his solo output. His collaborations with Olson are no exception, showing how fluidly he could integrate his playing with others, and how well his original compositions could be picked. He stepped to the microphone for "Broken Hands," taken from his self-titled 1979 solo release, and reached back to 1968 for his Mayall-recorded instrumental "Hartley Quits."

The collected studio sides again feature Olson and her bandmate's songs together with a pair of Jagger-Richards compositions, "Winter" (from Taylor's tenure with the Stones) and "Think I'm Goin' Mad." Though the productions are more polished and the arrangements more rehearsed, the playing couldn't get much tighter or empathetic than the live unit had shown. There's more variety here, born of recordings spanning ten years and different lineups, with good-sized helpings of Olson's rockin' roots (crossing Chrissie Hynde's emotion with Carlene Carter's country inflections) and Taylor's mesmerizing guitar playing. The opening take of "Winter," for example, doubles the length of the Stones' original, with Taylor laying down a superb five-minute solo alongside the lyrical piano of Barry Goldberg.

The bulk of the studio tracks find Taylor integrating himself into the band, offering up tasty annotations or short solos. The Olson original "Great Black Hole" provides Taylor a chance to display his chops with a slide. Overall, Olson's work with Taylor is sharper and bluesier than her earlier work with the Textones; there's still a healthy dose of the songwriter's social consciousness, but fleshed out with Taylor's guitar playing and mostly stripped of the mid-80s sounds that dated previous albums. Olson's fans likely know most of this work, and though Taylor's fans may know the live album, they'll relish the sampler of performances from Olson's studio albums. [©2008 hyperbolium dot com]

What a fine album with rich vocals and, the inset of some classic Stones material was worth the wait! Mike Taylors guitar playing is as fresh as ever along with Carla's vocal makes for one enjoyable listen! I hope to hear more collaborated material from these two fine artists!!

This is an excellent album that is well worth the attention of anyone who likes those classic Rolling Stones albums from the 1969 - 1974 period which featured Mick Taylor on lead guitar.

The first CD of this 2 CD album is a live concert at the Roxy Theatre in Hollywood in 1990, which was previously released as a single CD but which has long since been deleted from the catalogue. It's an excellent live performance, featuring blues standards like "Who Put The Sting On The Honey Bee", covers of Rolling Stones tracks from the period when Taylor played lead guitar for the Stones and which were well known for Mick Taylor solos ("You Got To Move" and "Sway" from Sticky Fingers, "Silver Train" from Goat's Head Soup), some Carla Olsen original compositions and a track from one of Mick Taylor's solo albums (Broken Hands). All great material that is well worth the price of the CD.

The second CD is a collection of tracks taken from various Carla Olson solo albums on which Mick Taylor played as a session musician. These include Carla Olson compositions as well as a cover of "Winter", a classic Stones track from the Goat's Head Soup album on which Mick Taylor played lead guitar for the Stones.

If you're not familiar with Carla Olson, this CD is a great introduction to her work. Olson is not a well known name but, in a perfect world, her vocal talent and guitar prowess would have earned her far more recognition than she seems to have achieved. She's definitely a musician who is worth checking out if you're not familiar with her work.

Former Rolling Stones and John Mayall's Bluesbreaker guitarist Mick Taylor is a fabulous guitar player and can certainly hold his own as a vocalist. This is a guy who should have had an extremely successful solo career. But since he left the Rolling Stones in 1974 Taylor's musical career has basically gone nowhere.

By most accounts, Taylor himself is largely responsible for his own lack of success but that still doesn't change the fact that he is an extremely talented musician who can put out some great material if, or when, he decides to do so. And his playing on this CD qualifies as great material.

This is an excellent album that is worth the attention of blues and blues-rock fans everywhere. If you like those classic 1969-1974 Rolling Stones albums which featured Mick Taylor on lead guitar (Let It Bleed, Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out, Sticky Fingers, Exile On Main Street, Goat's Head Soup,It's Only Rock and Roll), you'll like this album.

Too Hot for Snakes plus,

Nobody doubts the great musical ability and interpretation of Mick and Carla.
This disc consists of two CDs ( 25 songs), the second CD is perhaps better than the first, but in short, quite disappointing, voice and guitar even if some guitar passage acceptable specially in CD number two.
I bought this CD basically for two reasons, because I'm a fan of Mick Taylor from passing through John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, and his great work with the Stones. I'm sorry, the only thing left for me to comment on this CD after having listened it with great affection is that it is a total vulgarity, perhaps you may have a lot of responsibility for the quality of recording in some songs, sound and mixing unfortunate.
I've only found some songs on the CD where I can support me in some way to justify the purchase, perhaps "WHO PUT THE STING ON THE HONEY BEE","SLOW ROLLIN' TRAIN", "I GOT TO MOVE","JUSTICE" and "WINTER", quality is glimpsed, "WORLD OF PAIN", remainders repetitive and boring.
Although in some songs more there is a good development of the guitars, I think given the quality of the musicians could expect much more of this important meeting

I really enjoyed hearing Mick Taylor work out on his ax, but Carla Olsen's voice didn't seem to match the music. She seemed to strain to keep up with Mick and the band. In addition, I am not sure that a two-CD set was really necessary. The material is uneven.

I bought this CD based on the reviews that were available. One of the reviews said that this was worth buying just for the live version of "Sway". In my view the original version of "sway" on Sticky Fingers is the best. This is a very mediocre album and both the vocals and guitar are not that good. I am a big Mick Taylor fan but I have now come to realize that he was at his creative best when he recorded and toured with the Stones.