Live at Ebbets Field: May 13, 1976 in Bloomington, MN

Due to the success of his back-to-back appearances at Denver's Ebbets Field club in 1974,
Tommy Bolin
chose to premiere his new
Tommy Bolin Band
at the venue in May of 1976. Included in this top-notch band were ex-
Vanilla Fudge
keyboardist/singer
Mark Stein
and drummer
Narada Michael Walden
(nowadays a producer), while
Norma Jean Bell
(saxophone) and
Reggie McBride
(bass) rounded out the group. Like all
concerts and albums, the music is extremely varied. Included is one of
Bolin
's trademark songs, the swaggering
"Teaser,"
which remains sadly overlooked by classic
rock
radio. You'll also find
reggae
sounds on
"People People,"
jazz fusion
balladry on the
-sung
"Delightful,"
and the funky groove of
"The Grind."
It wouldn't be a
concert without a song for
Tommy
to show off his guitar talent, and here it's
"Marching Powder."
A strong album, it's only slightly diminished by a far, far too long drum solo (almost ten minutes!), which is completely unnecessary, since the majority of the people buying
CDs are doing so to hear his memorable songwriting and guitar skills. Still, it's worthy of any serious
fan's time. ~ Greg Prato