|
The
Tail Gators
Live '84-90, Vol. III
LeRay Records |
Once again, Don
Leady has delved into his archive of live
recordings from The Tail Gators and come
up with a terrific set of gems. The latest
release, Live ’84-90 Vol. III (LeRay
Records), features 13 tracks which include a few
originally heard on Tail Gators albums plus a
few heard only during the band’s live sets. Six
of the 13 tracks feature the original lineup
(Leady – vocals/guitar, Keith Ferguson – bass,
Gary “Mudcat” Smith – drums), while the
remainder feature J.J. Barrera on bass and Dick
Ross on drums from a set recorded by Glenn
Steinkamp at Ciceros in St. Louis in 1990.
This set features a
lot of tunes that never appeared on any of the
Tail Gators’ studio releases, beginning with the
rousing cover of Duane Eddy’s “Movin’ & Groovin’,”
featuring the original lineup. The next two
tracks are the powerful Leady original, “Voodoo
Doll,” which appeared on the band’s Swamp’s
Up release from 1994, and Guitar Gable’s
swamp blues favorite, “Congo Mambo.” The latter
is played by Leady with Barrera and Ross, who
also rip into Link Wray’s “Deuces Wild,” which
eventually appeared on the It’s A Hog Groove
album from 1996.
The early rock n’
roller “Shake, Rattle, & Roll” gets a exciting
treatment from Leady, Ferguson, and Smith, along
with Willie Egan’s gritty “Wear Your Black
Dress,” the instrumental “Tragedy,” and the
amusing “I Done Done It (Don’t Do It),” an Amos
Milburn track which The Tail Gators covered on
their Tore Up release from 1987. The last
tune from the original lineup is Howlin’ Wolf’s
“Howlin’ For My Darlin’,” another winning track
that later appeared on It’s A Hog Groove.
The
Leady/Barrera/Ross combination was on fire for
their remaining four tracks --- the scorching
“Lightnin’s Boogie” from the great Lightnin’
Hopkins, of course, an amped-up “You Can’t Sit
Down,” resembling the song’s original
instrumental version (from 1959 by The Bim Bam
Boos), the instrumental “Jack The Ripper
Medley,” a fantastic tune which combines the
Wray classic with Wray’s “Fat Back,” “Tico Tico,”
and a couple of other guitar classics. Finally,
a terrific version of “Swamp’s Up” closes the
set.
Like the previous
three live releases, there are some awesome
moments on these selections that will make
longtime Tail Gators fans smile and maybe shake
a tail feather or two, and it provides a great
introduction to newcomers who aren’t familiar
with this great Texas band. This collection just
gets better and better to this longtime Tail
Gators fan, who is hoping and praying that there
will be a Volume 4.
--- Graham Clarke
