Published on Feb 20, 2000
There’s something inherently dangerous about putting several
musical virtuosos together. Sure, you’re going to be in for some
wonderful treats, but in the end, the individual performances tend
to take precedence over the most important thing – the music.
The Dixie Dregs have been slugging it out on and off over the
better part of 20 years, though they may be one of the best-kept
secrets in the musical world. Before receiving their latest disc
California Screamin’ in the mail, I didn’t own one of their
albums, though I had at least heard of the band. Guitarist Steve
Morse (who has recently been doing double-duty as a member of Deep
Purple) and crew plow through some wonderful songs that cover a
wide berth of genres. However, in the end, it seems like the
spotlight fails to shine on the whole performance, per se.
For starters, the Dixie Dregs take on two of instrumental rock’s
most beautiful and challenging numbers – Frank Zappa’s “Peaches En
Regalia” and the Allman Brothers Band’s “Jessica” – and plow
through them with amazing agility. Zappa’s son Dweezil joins in on
his father’s track, and it is a testament to father, son and the
Dregs that his performance blends in so well that you can’t tell
when he’s playing. I’ll always be partial to the version on
Hot Rats, but this particular rendition is a very close
second.
“Jessica” suffers a little bit in that Morse doesn’t have a
second guitarist to fall back on to provide some more rhythm licks,
but the version presented here is just as respectable and just as
enjoyable. It also gives Morse a chance to add his own signature to
the solos that Dickey Betts would have played in that spot.
As for the original music,
California Screamin’ runs the gamut from all-out exciting
to, I’m sorry to say, boring. Tracks like “Wages Of Weirdness,”
“Aftershock” and the country hoedown-turned-mosh pit “The Bash” all
make the listener sit up and wonder why they haven’t been taking
more note of this band.
However, the more that individual performers get highlighted in
songs, the harder it is to keep an interest in some of the music in
general. Tracks like “Night Meets Light,” “Ionized” and “The Great
Spectacular” all fall under this trap. However, special attention
should be called to the track “Sleeveless In Seattle,” which does
inject new life into a part of the album that tends to drag. In a
sense, by the time the group closes things out with their rendition
of “Dixie,” it almost comes as a relief.
The Dixie Dregs are an incredibly talented bunch of musicians
who have rightfully earned their places as masters of their craft.
And while there are many moments on
California Screamin’ that emphasize this, sometimes it just
feels like too much of a good thing.