Robbie Robertson Classic Masters (2002)

The April Wine entry in Capitol Records' midline-priced Classic Masters series is a reasonable best-of culled from the group's tenure at Capitol from the late '70s to the mid-'80s.

Canadian only 13-track collection spans the years 1987 through 1997. Highlights includes a duet with U2 on 'Sweet Fire of Love', 'Showdown at the Big Sky' which peaked at #2 on the Billboard Mainstream rock chart' and 'Broken Arrow' which was a hit single for Rod Stewart in 1991…

Digitally remastered two CD deluxe package containing the first two solo albums from the former leader of The Band, each of them featuring bonus tracks. His self-titled debut album, originally released in 1987, features two bonus cuts: 'Christmas Must Be Tonight' and 'Testimony' (Edited Twelve Inch Remix). Storyville, his 1991 sophomore effort, features 'The Far, Lonely Cry Of Trains' and Storyville' as bonus tracks.

Classic Bites is a compilation album released in 2002 by the German hard rock/heavy metal band Scorpions. It features songs from two studio albums—Crazy World (1990) and Face the Heat (1993)—as well as a single track from the 1995 live album Live Bites…

Robbie Robertson was once asked why he waited 11 years after the breakup of the Band to release a solo project, and he replied, "I wasn't so sure I had something to say." One can hear a bit of this thinking in Robertson's self-titled solo debut; it's obvious that he didn't care to revisit the country- and blues-flavored roots rock that had been his bread and butter with the Band, and at the same time Robertson seemed determined to make an album that had something important to say, and could stand alongside his legendary earlier work…

With songs like "The Weight" and "Up on Cripple Creek," songwriter/guitarist Robbie Robertson and his partners in the Band introduced a music lexicon, one soaked in the mythology of the Old South, that has influenced countless musicians. In this remarkable memoir, Robertson weaves together his rollicking years with rockabilly Ronnie Hawkins; the Band’s formation and trial-by-fire supporting Bob Dylan on his ’66 world tour, and the cloistered sessions leading to their unique sound. He recounts catapulting to fame and takes us through the astonishing album run that culminated in The Last Waltz farewell concert. Testimony is the story of seismic 1960s change, of how Dylan and the Band redefined culture, and of the profound friendship between five men who created music that still fascinates us.

That a quarter of the songs on this generous three-CD live set stretch beyond the ten-minute mark goes a long way toward explaining why Widespread Panic continues to be such a popular draw on the jam band circuit. Playing before an enthusiastic hometown Athens, GA, crowd, the band combines exploratory jamming and muscular riffing in just about equal measures…