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Betts, Dickie, & Great Southern: Rockpalast-30 Years of Southern Rock 1978-2008 (DVD)

The is the 2DVD set and companion piece to the 2CD Rockpalast-30 Years of Southern Rock 1978-2008 from Dickie Betts & Great Southern. Major props here, as you get the full shows on both the 1978 & the 2008 German sets, with Dickie and the band in fine form on each one. Fans of the early Allman Brothers Band will love the twin guitar mastery of Betts and cohort 'Dangerous' Dan Toler, who evokes images of a young Duane Allman on a great rendition of "In Memory of Elisabeth Reed", and other Allman's cuts such as "Jessica", "Ramblin' Man", and a monumental, 30-minute version of the underrated instrumental fusion classic "High Falls", which includes some fiery guitar solos from Dickie. Throw in stellar renditions of Great Southern songs "Run Gypsy Run", "Back on the Road", "Good Time Feelin' ", and more, and you have a rippin' set from a Southern Rock band that seemingly never got their due. Give credit out to the whole group, especially keyboard player Michael Workman, who layers in plenty of smoky organ tones throughout.

Over on the 2008 show, Dickie's looking a bit weathered (as of this writing, he's getting set to retire from live performances), but he has a three guitar army in this latest version of Great Southern, including his son Duane and slide master Andy Aledort, along with two drummers, a bassist, and keyboard player. Son Duane (no doubt named after the late Duane Allman) is the spitting image of Dickie circa 1971, and shows his formidable guitar skills on "Get Away" and "Having a Good Time", while Dickie and Andy do the dueling slide & lead guitar lines on "Statesboro Blues" and "One Way Out". Of course, the set wouldn't be complete without stirring renditions of "Blue Sky", "Ramblin' Man", "Jessica", and "In Memory of Elisabeth Reed", all featuring sizzling guitar solos and interplay, but the surprise is the hard rockin' 90's Allman Brothers gem "No One to Run With", as the band is locked in and giving their best. Keyboard player Michael Kach handles all the Greg Allman vocals in this set, and does a fine job, while Dickie tackles his original pieces and the Great Southern tunes. His voice is pretty weathered at this point, and he certainly looks a tad frail, but for a guy nearing 70, he can still rip on his Gibson Les Paul. The audio & video on this portion is stellar, as compared to the slight grainy quality of the 1978 part of the DVD.

Kudos to the SPV & Rockpalast folks for putting out this enjoyable double disc set. Southern Rock with loads of guitar virtuosity doesn't get much better than this.


Track Listing
Rockpalast 1978: (Filmed March 4, 1978) The line-up:
Dickey Betts - guitar/vocals
Dan Toler - guitar
Michael Workman - Keyboards
David Godflies - Bass
David Toler - Drums/percussion
Dani Sharbono - Drums/percussion


Rockpalast 1978 :
1.Rockpalast Caption
2.Run Gypsy Run
3.You Can Have Her/Leavin' Me Again
4.You Can Have Her
5.Back on the Road
6.In Memory of Elisabeth Reed
7.Good Time Feelin'
8.Dealin' With The Devil
9.Jessica
10.High Falls (includes Drum Solo)
11.Ramblin' Man


Rockpalast 2008 (Filmed July 19, 2008) Line-up:
Dickey Betts - guitar, lead vocals
Duane Betts (Dickey's son) - guitar
Frankie Lombardi - Drums, backing vocals
Michael Kach - Organ, lead vocals
Pedro Arevalo - bass
James Vanardo - Drums
Andy Aledort - guitar


Rockpalast Concert 2008:
1.Statesboro Blues
2.Nothing You Can Do
3.Blue Sky
4.Get Away
5.One Way Out
6.Jessica
7.Havin' A Good Time
8.In Memory of Elisabeth Reed
9.No One to Run With
10.Ramblin' Man

Added: July 14th 2010
Reviewer: Pete Pardo
Score:
Related Link: SPV Recordings
Hits: 2260
Language: english

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