[Editor’s Note: Portions of this review originally
\nappeared at houseofshred.com]<\/p>\n
The Dixie Dregs are stalwarts of fusion, the aptly named but
\nalmost forgotten genre that has at times wallowed in mediocrity,
\nand often suffered from simple lack of direction. Fusion has become
\na catchall for jazz-flavored rock of many styles that has attracted
\na laundry list of artists, from Journey to Jeff Beck. The Dregs,
\nmore than any other band, has declared their place at the top of
\nthe fusion heap, and has amassed a small but fervent legion of
\nfollowers.<\/p>\n
\nCalifornia Screamin’<\/i> captures The Dixie Dregs doing what
\nthey do best, performing live, doing their unique mix of
\nSouthern-fried rock-jazz-funk. These tracks were culled from the
\nbest bits from 3 nights at the Roxy Theatre in L.A. in the summer
\nof ’99.<\/p>\n
As usual, the center piece to this adrenalized tossed salad of
\nstyles is guitar virtuoso Steve Morse, who’s fluid, evocative
\nplaying sets the stage for this ensemble of great musicians. Morse
\nhas achieved God-like status among many guitar aficionados and with
\ngood reason. There are few players, living or otherwise, who have
\ndeveloped such a mastery of the instrument. In addition to his work
\nwith DD, Morse has become the guitar-for-hire for resurging classic
\nrock bands, and has helped breathe new life into Kansas back in the
\n80’s and more recently, in the current lineup of Deep Purple.<\/p>\n
Along with Morse are almost every DD member current and former,
\nwhich makes this disc a reunion of sorts. Original Dregs bassist
\nAndy West appears, alongside current bassman Dave LaRue. Two of the
\nDreg’s three violinists, Allen Sloan and Jerry Goodman,
\nparticipate. Virtuoso fiddler Mark O’Conner is sadly missing, but
\nSloan and Goodman are more than up to the task. Rounding out the
\nband is original Dregs drummer Rod Morgenstein.<\/p>\n
Longtime fans will eat this collection up as it covers virtually
\nthe entire career of the Dregs going as far back as the now out of
\nprint “The Great Spectacular” and includes other gems such as Frank
\nZappa’s “Peaches en Regalia,” with a guest appearance by Frank’s
\nson Dweezil on guitar, and a smokin’ cover of The Allman Brothers’
\n“Jessica.” The recording is superb, with minimal crowd noise and an
\nintimate feel to the mix, reflecting the small venue where the
\nshows were recoded. Pulling out a few surprises, they show their
\nSouthern roots with high-octane versions of “Wabash Cannonball,”
\n“Rocky Top” and “Dixie.” At times it starts to meander a bit, but
\nall in all it’s a solid set done in the virtuoso style Dregs fans
\nhave come to expect. They have an amazing knack for weaving their
\ndiverse influences together, and making it sound totally organic,
\nnot just a forced crossover, but a true synthesis of styles in
\nwhich the whole is far greater than the sum of its parts.<\/p>\n
While not breaking any new ground, the Dregs deliver the goods
\nthat their fans have come to expect, solid musicianship and great
\nsongs done in their own unique style. This disc would be a great
\nintroduction to newcomers not familiar with the Dregs’ impressive
\nbody of work.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":42,"featured_media":25302,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"artist":[6268],"rating":[5617],"class_list":["post-38076","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-the-dixie-dregs","rating-rating-b-plus"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/38076","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/42"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38076"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/38076\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25302"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38076"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=38076"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=38076"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}