December 25, 2024

Skylight Webzine

Online since 2000

Tommy Bolin’s First Band Zephyr To See 1969 Debut Album Reissued On Both CD & Vinyl


Tommy Bolin fans, you are in for a treat! The 1969 recorded debut of the guitar great performing with his first major act, Zephyr, the blues and jazz influenced rock and roll steamroller fronted by powerhouse female vocalist, Candy Givens, will be reissued courtesy of Purple Pyramid Records starting August 5. With newly remixed and remastered audio created under the supervision of founding member David Givens, this gem of an album has truly been restored to the band’s original vision. As Givens says, “For the first time you can hear what we heard before everything went wrong. I’m happy with the results!”

Happier still will be Bolin fans everywhere as a treasure trove of unreleased live material and studio improvisations were also uncovered in the process of remixing the album. These include performances of the band at small clubs in their home state of Colorado as well as Reed’s Ranch where the band opened for The Grateful Dead. In addition, the studio rehearsals showcase Bolin’s adventurous playing on two free form jams as he lays down blistering solos and eerie atmospheres courtesy of his Echoplex effect.

A limited edition 2,000 unit pressing of the reissue in a 3CD deluxe box set was released in May and has already been sold out, but a single disc version is set to arrive August 5 and a special 180 gram colored vinyl pressing will follow later this year.

Get a glimpse into the early salad days of this inimitable virtuoso whose rise to fame occurred nearly as fast as his untimely exit. His music lives on!

1. Sail On
2. Sun’s A Risin’
3. Raindrops
4. Boom-Ba-Boom
5. Somebody Listen
6. Cross The River
7. St. James Infirmary
8. Huna Buna
9. Hard Chargin’ Woman

BONUS TRACKS (CD ONLY)
10. Guitar Solo / Cross The River (Reed’s Ranch, Colorado Springs, CO – July 3, 1969)
11. Jam (San Bernardino, CA 1971)
12. Uptown (To Harlem) [Boulder, CO 1971]
13. Sail On (Tulagi’s – Boulder, CO June 19, 1973)

To order the CD on Amazon: http://georiot.co/47xz

To order the digital version on iTunes: http://georiot.co/31hA

 

Source: Cleopatra Records