Dirty Dave Osti: Rare Tracks

One of the label's stalwarts, Grooveyard Records have seen fit to gather together the Rare Tracks of Dirty Dave Osti. A multi-instrumentalist primarily known for his fiery six string output, the hard rocking bluesman has long been able to hammer out a killer riff, build the groove and drive it home with honest, rasping, vocals. With the exception of one live track, the dirty one makes all the music on this collection alone, some fine drumming, and dominant bass work augmenting the ever flowing solos and rugged riffs. However, the main words here are feel and tone, the natural atmosphere drawing you into the instrumental "In The Wild", where some mighty fine guitar work never, through the virtue of DDO's know how, ventures into a display of technique over substance - although the technique is sublime.

Coming in a simple card sleeve, if there's one complaint, it's that there's no context given of where and when these tracks come from, the brooding shimmer of "Bastard" possessing a completely different mood from the almost jazzy in places train rumblin' of "The Scornfield". Add in the more upbeat growl of "Lap Dawg", forceful shove of "Grooveyard Ride", which as you'd suspect, rides into view on a groove dug ten miles deep, or the more considered blues of "Walking Dead" and this collection, while intrinsically linked by the blues, offers up interestingly diverse options. Not one cut here is throwaway, or lacking in class, the album opener, which is a short Grooveyard Radio ident, even able to impress while you revel in the dirty, Dirty drawl that demands you keep on 'swinging that axe right through the Grooveyard!'

The live track is the towering "Who Knows Jam", the Hendrix cover allowing Osti room to really explore his guitar stylings by bassist Dave Batti and drummer Moyes Lucas, although again it would be nice to know where and when this was recorded. As if all that wasn't enough, two excellent studio covers are added to the mix, the Bob Dylan penned but Jimi Hendrix endorsed "All Along The Watchtower" given a faithful, sprightly rework, while "El Diablo", originally by ZZ Top, has its focus cleverly changed by a slightly smoother, but no less involving, delivery.

If Rare Tracks is the bringing together of songs that Dirty Dave Osti had lying around, possibly even discarded from earlier sessions, then we can only nod our heads in appreciation of his undoubted talents and be thankful that he and the Grooveyard saw fit to share them. We can only hope there might be some more!

Track Listing
1. GROOVEYARD RADIO ID

2. GROOVEYARD RIDE

3. LOUISIANA OUTLAW

4. BLUR THE LINES

5. IN THE WIND

6. BASTARD

7. MORE LOVE

8. EL DIABLO

9. WALKING DEAD

10. ALL ALONG THE WATCHTOWER

11. THE SCORNFIELD

12. LAP DAWG

13. MIND TRIPPER

14. WHO KNOWS JAM (LIVE)

15. LUCKY CHILD

Added: August 18th 2017
Reviewer: Steven Reid
Score:
Related Link: Rare Tracks at The Grooveyard
Hits: 1907
Language: english

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