Tommy Bolin: Zephy - The 1969 Debut Album is Reissued On Both CD & Vinyl

Tommy Bolin: Zephyr

Los Angeles, CA - 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!

www.CleopatraRecords.com

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

CLEOPATRA RECORDS, Inc.
11041 Santa Monica Blvd #703
Los Angeles CA 90025
www.CleopatraRecords.com"

Tommy Bolin: Whirlwind - 8-panel, 2-CD digipak and a 2-LP gatefold vinyl set

Los Angeles, CA – A spectacular collection of rare and unreleased recordings from famed guitarist of Deep Purple, James Gang and the Billy Cobham band, Tommy Bolin will be released on August 13th by Purple Pyramid Records. 'Whirlwind', produced by Greg Hampton and Johnnie Bolin, features rare material from Bolin's jazz-rock band Energy, an epic 26-minute version of “Marching Powder” (here called “Marching Bag”) from his first solo album 'Teaser', as well as songs Tommy was preparing for his third solo album before his untimely death in 1976.

Tommy Bolin 'Whirlwind' will be released in both a beautiful 8-panel, 2-CD digipak and a 2-LP gatefold vinyl set. For the ultimate collector, Purple Pyramid Records will be releasing a special limited (1000 only) deluxe box edition of this exciting collection, which includes the 2-CD digipak plus 4 color postcards, a Tommy Bolin signature guitar pick, collectable patch and pin!

Says producer Greg Hampton, “Tommy's music was way ahead of its time. He's one of the truly greatest guitarists to ever live, and he left an incredible legacy that will continue to influence and inspire musicians forever. The tracks on 'Whirlwind' are remarkable because they give you a glimpse into the amazing diversity Tommy was capable of.”

To purchase Tommy Bolin 'Whirlwind':

• Deluxe edition: http://www.amazon.com/Whirlwind-Deluxe-Edition-Tommy-Bolin/dp/B00D3ZJGGS
• 2-CD set: http://www.amazon.com/Whirlwind-2Cd-Edition-Tommy-Bolin/dp/B00D3ZJCBW
• 2-LP set: http://www.amazon.com/Whirlwind-Tommy-Bolin/dp/B00D3ZJEPG
• iTunes: http://georiot.co/3l2

Tommy Bolin - Heartlight (From The Whirlwind Collection)

Tommy Bolin: Deep Purple Phoenix Rising DVD gets release date!

Tommy BolinEAGLE TO RELEASE DEEP PURPLE’S PHOENIX RISING ON DVD JUNE 28

Deep Purple PHOENIX RISING - CD/DVD/BLU-RAY/VINYL+CD IS OUT


On June 28, Eagle Rock Entertainment will release Deep Purple’s Phoenix Rising – a two-hour-plus revelatory documentary including 30 minutes of never-before-seen (not even on bootleg) onstage footage from Japan. Phoenix Rising will be released on DVD, Blu-ray, & in a special two-disc DVD/CD package.

The release is cause for celebration amongst Purple fans due to the rarity of material. Extensive interviews with keyboardist Jon Lord and bassist Glenn Hughes tell the tale of a band caught by circumstance into one of its most controversial, extreme and exciting eras of its long career. Ian Gillan and Roger Glover were gone. A young unknown singer by the name of David Coverdale was recruited as was bassist Hughes. The results were the albums Burn and Stormbringer (both released in 1974). But then Ritchie Blackmore left the band. Against all odds, they rocked on, recruiting Tommy Bolin (from Zephyr and The James Gang). The album Come Taste The Band (1975) documents the short-lived Bolin era, an era that all came crashing down when the band announced in July of 1976 that it was breaking up. By December, Bolin would be dead due to a heroin overdose. Nine years of silence would ensue.

The never-before-seen 30 minutes, “Rises Over Japan,” has the Coverdale/Lord/Bolin/Hughes/Paice lineup delivering the goods in 1976 on eight songs: “Burn,” “Getting Tighter,” “Love Child,” “Smoke On The Water,” “Lazy,” “Homeward Strut,” “You Keep On Moving” and “Stormbringer.” (The double-disc package contains these eight songs on CD.) This segment is some of the only video footage that showcases Tommy Bolin performing in Deep Purple.

The 90-minute documentary portion, “Getting Tighter,” recounts the trials and tribulations of a band in turmoil, riding the rock’n’roll roller coaster to total excess. With its live images, backstage footage, never-before-told stories and original video material carefully culled from years of research, it’s a veritable bonanza for Purple fans and fans of Rock History. No stone is left unturned…and sometimes it’s not pretty. Gritty, truthful, wild, this is the story of an era in the 1970s that is simply unforgettable.

Tommy Bolin: Sister Andrea (Demo 1971)

From The Ultimate Redux

Bolin was part of a studio session being fronted by the jazz-rock flutist Jeremy Steig and including Billy Cobham. It was the first time Bolin had met Cobham and led directly to his later inclusion on Spectrum. This version of Jan Hammer's composition "Sister Andrea," later covered by the Mahavishnu Orchestra, was a demo that didn't see the light of day until Tommy Bolin: From the Archives was released in 1996. Steig's lead flute and Bolin's spacey sound effects give the tune quite a different character than Mahavishnu's interpretation. Some of those effects, in truncated form, would find their way onto Spectrum two years later. Though he doesn't really let it rip, you can hear hints of Bolin's future greatness here. He possessed the perfect guitar rough-but-not-sloppy sound for all future fusion superstars. Perla lays down a simple bassline in conjunction with Hammer's slightly funky chords. Though this performance is enjoyable, it is probably of more historical interest. And to be fair, it is a demo. Jan Hammer does say in the liner notes that he prefers this performance over Mahavishnu's. That statement is flummoxing. But he knows his music better than I do.

Reviewer: Walter Kolosky

Tommy Bolin - Sister Andrea (Demo 1971)