Tommy Bolin - ...and on guitar (1975)

Thomas Richard Bolin was born in Sioux City, Iowa, in 1951, and began playing with The Miserlous as a teenager, before he was asked to join Denny and The Triumphs in 1964, at the young age of thirteen. They played a blend of rock and roll, R&B and the pop hits of the moment, and after leaving them they were followed by American Standard when he moved to Boulder, Colorado in his late teens, and then by Ethereal Zephyr. This last group was named after a train that ran between Denver and Chicago, and when record companies became interested the name was shortened to Zephyr. This band included Bolin on lead guitar, David Givens on bass, and Givens' wife Candy Givens on vocals, attempting to emulate Janis Joplin, and not always successfully. Their second album 'Going Back to Colorado' featured a new drummer, Bobby Berge, who would pop up from time to time in musician credits in Bolin's later projects. In 1972, now aged 20, Bolin formed the fusion jazz-rock-blues band Energy, but they were unable to secure a record contract, and so never released an album during Bolin's lifetime, although recordings have been released posthumously. Stuck between the musical direction he wanted to pursue and a nearly-empty bank account, 1973 found Bolin replacing Domenic Troiano, who had in turn replaced Joe Walsh, in the James Gang. He recorded two albums with them, 'Bang' in 1973 and 'Miami' in 1974, and had a hand in writing nearly all the songs on both records.
 In between the two James Gang albums, Bolin played on Billy Cobham's 1973 solo album 'Spectrum', which included Bolin on guitar, Cobham on drums, Leland Sklar on bass and Jan Hammer on keyboards and synthesizers. After the 'Miami' tour, Bolin left the James Gang and filled his time doing session work for various rock and jazz bands, and he also toured with Carmine Appice and The Good Rats. Later in 1975, he signed with Nemperor Records for a solo album, and it was during the recording of 'Teaser' that he was contacted by Deep Purple. After Ritchie Blackmore left the band, the other members had a meeting and discussed whether to disband or try to find a replacement. They chose the latter option, and Bolin was suggested by David Coverdale, who had been listening to his work on Billy Cobham's 'Spectrum' album. He was invited over for a jam session, and four hours later the job was his. 'Come Taste the Band' was released in October 1975, and contained a number of Bolin co-writes, but the band broke up a year later, leaving him free to put together the Tommy Bolin Band. After releasing just one album, 'Private Eyes' in 1976, Bolin died on 3rd December 1976 from an overdose of heroin, cocaine and alcohol. As you will hear from this album, he was a talented guitarist in a number of styles, from hard rock with Moxy and Deep Purple, to the most intricate jazz-rock fusion with Billy Cobham and Alphonse Mouzon, and he is a great loss to the world of music.   

Track listing

01 Sun's A-Risin' (from 'Zephyr' by Zephyr 1969)
02 Destiny (demo recording with Jeremy Steig 1971)
03 Naked Edge (from unreleased album by Energy 1972)
04 From Another Time (from 'Bang' by The James Gang 1973)
05 Quadrant 4 (from 'Spectrum' by Billy Cobham 1973)
06 Carbon Dioxide (from 'Mind Transplant' by Alphonse Mouzon 1975)
07 Fantasy (from 'Moxy' by Moxy' 1975)
08 Bolin/Paice Jam (from 'Come Taste The Band' sessions by Deep Purple 1975)