Long Haul

Artist: Pete Sears
Label: 33rd Street
Category: Music

Average customer rating:

Media: Audio CD
Number Of Discs: 1

UPC: 806403330429
EAN: 0806403330429
ASIN: B00005LZRV

Release Date: 2001-06-13

Long Haul

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General

| R&B | Styles | Music

General

| Soul | R&B | Styles | Music

General

| Rock | Styles | Music

Tracks:

Brother John
Fair To Even Odds
Elizabeth
Old Friends
Darien
Mississippi
Marin County Blues
Meadway Rag
Sweet Definition
12 Long Years And No Parole
Shady Lane
Chiapas
Dance With The Past
Border Crossing
Spitfire
Dance With The Past
Till We Meet Again
A Light Rain Of Grace

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Customer Reviews:

Across The Spectrum.......2007-01-14

Well I have no idea why there are two listings here for the same CD, but I'll go with the one that already has a review. Actually, the first reviewer was very informative because he reminded me of just who Pete Sears is as I had forgotten.
A friend recently turned me on to this and I pretty much liked it instantly. This CD is like a sandwich. The songs at the beginning and at the end are tasty, but the real meat is in the middle. Long Haul really starts cooking with the slow blues of Old Friends, which sounds oddly reminiscent of St John's Infirmary. That is followed by Darien, a ballad sung by a Davey Pattison (now Robin Trower's vocalist) sounding much more like Joe Cocker than the Rod Stewart suggested by the first reviewer. Mississippi is a slow, New Orleans style talking blues. Meadway Rag is a rollicking, horn and piano driven instrumental. Sweet Definition is another languid, talking blues piece with Wavy Gravy's vocals strongly evocative of New Orleans.
At the mid-point comes the best song. 12 Long Years and No Parole is a butt-kicking, high powered blues tune with musical pyrotechnics supplied by Pete Sears on piano and Charlie Musselwhite on harmonica. This is followed by another demonstration in blues piano virtuosity on Shady Lane. The rest of the CD is a mix of instrumentals and a few country/bluegrass tinged pieces, the best of which are Dance With the Past and Spitfire.
That this CD is not better known is a shame, but we all know the state of the music business today. On the Long Haul, Sears shows that he is comfortable and competent across a wide swath of the musical spectrum. If you like the blues or just like some dazzling piano work, then you won't be disappointed picking up this fine work by Pete Sears and a cast of all-stars.

Fun album with great playing and cool guests.......2002-07-10

Pete Sears is a well-known session player from England who made his name playing with Rod Stewart and Jefferson Starship among others.

Since then he has been seen playing keyboards with Zero, the Steve Kimock Band, Phil Lesh and Friends, Leftover Salmon, Los Lobos and
Hot Tuna. He was also one of the select group of keyboardists who auditioned to replace Brent Mydland in the Grateful Dead. Pete is a tasteful player who blends jazz and blues in to a sort of psychedelic ragtime style.

This release from Pete is not widely available yet, but it can be ordered from Amazon. Hopefully it will get a wider distribution, because this is a nice record with many highlights. Pete enlisted many of his Bay Area friends to help him out with this project. A few of the big name players are John Lee Hooker, Steve Kimock, Maria Muldaur, David Grisman, Jorma Kaukonen, Jack Casady, Levon Helm, Charlie Musselwhite and Alvin Youngblood Hart. Even though there are so many different musicians on this CD it is held together by Searsý sterling piano and keyboard work.

The album starts off in fine fashion with a raucous tribute to departed Quicksilver Messenger Service guitarist, John Cippolina. Pete and John actually played together in that band in the 70ýs so this is a very heartfelt song written by Pete and his wife. Pete recruited Chicago Blues veterans Charlie Musselwhite, Nick Gravenites and Mark Naftalin to help out on this track and it ends up sounding like a lost Paul Butterfield song, which is a good thing.

Grateful Dead lyricist, Robert Hunter helped out on two cuts, "Fair to Even Odds" and "Darien". Both sport Hunterýs typical cynical yet hopeful worldview and are sung nicely by Davey Pattison who handles the bulk of the albums vocals. He has a good bluesy voice that has some similarity to Peteýs former employer, Rod Stewart.

Van Morrisonýs gifted daughter, Shana Morrison also turns in vocals on a few tunes including "Dance with the Past" that features beautiful mandolin by David Grisman.

One of the striking things about this album is the variety of different styles. Some of the songs are folky while others are more pop or straight-ahead rock. One of the nicest things about The Long Haul is the instrumentals that are peppered throughout the CD. This is where Sears really gets a chance to stretch out. "Old Friends" is a really nice little dirge with a great Steve Kimock solo while "Spitfire" is more of a funk workout.

The only misstep is here is a song called "12 Long Years with No Parole". It is musically nice, but its message of decriminalization for marijuana offenses comes off as too heavy-handed to my ears.

There are 18 tracks on this CD and over 70 minutes of music and the vast majority of it is excellent. The production is very good and you canýt beat the supporting cast. Pete Sears will probably never be as famous as the musicians he usually supports, but his playing helps define their sound. This album is another example of his talent.

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