Vital Reissues

COMMANDER CODY
Live At Gilley's
PRODUCER: Alan Rubens
Q Records/Atlantic 92865
By the time of this live recording in 1982 at Gilley's in Pasadena, Texas, Commander Cody had outlived his first band, the Lost Planet Airmen, but was still going strong with his pioneering country rock. Essentially a rocking bar band, the group did one live album for MCA in 1974 ("Live From Deep In The Heart Of Texas") that came very close to capturing the full extent of Cody's manic stage sound. "Live At Gilley's," on the other hand, is better than no live album, but only just. The opening cut, "It Should Have Been Me," consists mainly of high-hat and vocal. The sound gets better, but live cuts strung together don't necessarily equal a live stage show. Especially irritating is the inclusion of only part of the spoken intro to Cody's classic hit "Hot Rod Lincoln." The album includes Cody's famous hippie anthem, "Down To Seeds And Stems Again," as well as his signature song "Beat Me Daddy (Eight To The Bar)." For non-Cody initiates, this would make a fair introduction.

WES MONTGOMERY
Dangerous
REISSUE PRODUCER: Orrin Keepnews
Milestone 9298
This album's bound to please the many fans of the late guitar great. In the early '60s, before his best-selling pop/jazz excursions-and alongside Miles Davis' rhythm section, tenor giant Johnny Griffin, and the excellent but largely forgotten West Coast group the Mastersounds, whose members included Montgomery's brothers (Buddy and Monk on vibes and bass, respectively)-Montgomery was a phenomenon, an absolutely original killer-diller, straight-ahead player, scorching everybody with single-note and "octave" solos. Have no worries that this collection might scrape the bottom of the barrel and tarnish his reputation. On the contrary, this material is top-notch, some previously available only on the mammoth "complete recordings" set, and the live date with the Mastersounds has never been issued. Brother Buddy shines and comes off as co-star here. Check out "Stella By Starlight" and "Green Dolphin Street."