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Review: Dixie Dregs 1978 Montreux Jazz Fest DVD

Steve Morse's solo on "The Bash" from the Dixie Dregs album "Night of the Living Dregs" is one of those landmark solo's in guitar history. Now for the first time, we can finally watch him play this classic solo. That could be my whole review right there, and the dyed-in-the-wool Dregs fans would be sold already. But there is much more to be had here. Read on...

The main feature on this DVD is the Dregs' performance at the 1978 Montreux Jazz Festival. The video and sound quality are great. This was their first performance outside of the United States, sort of a coming out party you could say. Four of the songs from this show were included on the 1979 album "Night of the Living Dregs". "The Bash" and "Patchwork" have always been my favorite's off the live portion of that album. It's really cool to finally 'see' these song's being played. Another standout is an early performance of "Attila the Hun", which didn't appear until the "Unsung Hero's" album in 1981. "Country House Shuffle" is also great. It's hard to believe this landmark show has been in the can all this time; almost 30 years! Any fusion or jazz fan will enjoy this show, but for the Dregs fan this is windfall. The only thing that may annoy some viewers is the camera angles. The main camera is on the left side of the stage which is where Morse and bassist Andy West are standing. The rest of the band are off to their left. As a result, whenever Morse faces the band (which he often does) his back is to the camera. For many of Morse's solo's, he is shown at an angle from his right side. There are a lot of shots of violinist Allen Sloan, since he is at the right side of the stage and pretty much faces the main camera straight on.

The bonus features on the DVD are the Dregs' old TV appearances on Don Kirshner's Rock Concert and American Bandstand. Die-hard's like me already have these spots on VHS, but it's awesome to have pristine looking versions now on DVD. The Don Kirshner performance is neat. They do "Punk Sandwich". Morse plays a Fender Lead I (remember those Guitar Player ads from the early 80's?), and the whole band is wearing tuxedo's with no shirts and white bow-tie's.

This DVD is in the "must have" category for Steve Morse/Dixie Dregs fans, but fusion fans in general will dig it too. It may be hard to find in a brick and mortar store, but it can easily be had from any of the following online vendors:

Abstract Logix
Audiophile Imports
Amazon

Rich

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The Guitar Channel will be down until Wednesday

I'm going to be out of town for several days. As a result, the Guitar Channel stream will be down until sometime Wednesday night.

Allan Holdsworth to appear on the next Planet X album

I thought this was just a rumor, but it's true. Allan Holdsworth will play guitar on the next Planet X album. This is huge! For those who are not familiar - Planet X is keyboardist Derek Sherinian's heavy-progressive instrumental band. Holdsworth played on 2 tracks on Sherinian's last solo album. I can't wait to hear the new stuff!

Read more here

UPDATE: Just found this Sherinian interview from May where he mentions Holdsworth being on the new album as well.

Derek Sherinian interview