Double Dose: Remastered [Original recording remastered]

Two discs-73,40 minutes in length each approximately. The sound is crisp and punchy,even from live tapes from so many years ago. Very occasionally,in very quiet sections of the music (and with headphones),slight tape hiss and feedback from the amps can be heard-but it doesn't intrude on the musical experience. This new (2CD) set contains ALL the original tracks from the original double vinyl release,plus four tracks (approximately 27 minutes) that are a combination of music and (mostly) interviews with the band. The booklet lists song titles,times,and composers,band members (Jorma Kaukonen-guitar & vocals,Bob Steeler-drums,Jack Casady-bass,and Nick Buck-keyboards & back-up vocals on track 12. There are also four b&w photos of the band,plus the original color photos and graphics from the original release.

Finally someone has re-released this set in it's original entirety. If you're a HOT TUNA fan you know that one of the better tracks,"Killing Time In The Crystal City",was left off subsequent CD releases because of space limitations. It's now been restored,along with a bit of intro music ("I Wish You Would"),then a couple of interview segments,and then,for the outro,a piece of "Funky #7" that brings things to a close. The period interview segments are informative and interesting to listen to a couple of times,and helps bring this band (and the JEFFERSON AIRPLANE) into sharper focus,and also brings back memories of those formative days (if you're old enough),when this band was playing great acoustic and electric blues-based music. Interspersed over the interviews are several numbers by the band,which serve as reminders (I was lucky enough to hear the band in both acoustic and electric modes back in their formative days in the bay area) as to just how much great music they generated.

If you've read this far,you're probably a fan of the band,and are familiar with this wonderful set,so there's no reason to go into a track-by-track listing. If you're unfamiliar with the band,and want to hear some electric blues-based music,with some wonderful acoustic guitar playing,along with Kaukonen's slippery-yet-smooth-laid-back vocals,this is one of their better releases,especially for a live recording. In the right frame of mind,this music can quietly do your head in-it's inherent in the subtle yet dense instrumental juggernaut-style of playing of these fine musicians. This is the way this set should have been originally released on CD,and the folks at Wounded Bird Records should be congratulated for finally releasing this cornerstone set of HOT TUNA. It's too bad that,originally on CD,economics got in the way of art. But at least now this set can be enjoyed in it's entirety,the way it was originally intended. It's nice to have it back again.

This album for me catches Hot Tuna at their peak. The early years for the band was good, although it was almost a little too mellow. While in later years, they went back to their psychedelic rock roots and got noticably heavier. Double Dose is special for a couple of reasons:
1 - Sound quality: The excellent live recording of Double Dose is crisp and a little raw, making it far superior to the (sub-par) more-homogenized sound quality of their 70s studio efforts (this was true for MANY 70s acts including Thin Lizzy, Judas Priest, UFO, Foghat, et al). HT was an excellent live act, and it is well documented here.
2 - Timing: At the time of the recording, the band was (relatively) young and energetic capturing the best of their early and new harder material. It is the best of both worlds, balancing the new harder material with the older more sereen blues-oriented material. Every song is good, with lots of musical dynamics to never get bored with it, even after countless listening.
Double Dose provides an excellent snapshot into Hot Tuna that should be considered a staple to any expansive music collection.
Jorma Kaukonen's voice (for many) can be very soothing and hypnotic, and his guitar playing is always within himself and never flashy, making him exceptionably melodic approaching the aura of David Gilmour. This makes for some exceptional music with real depth. This is not true for many of his contemporaries of the day (Alvin Lee and Frank Marino, for example), whose lengthy guitar exploits often become dated and tiresome. Double Dose is as good listen now as it was 30 years ago. ... Wow, are we really that old??

I first saw Jorma and Jack perform back in 1986 with Max Creek (a great live New England band) at this outdoor show somewhere in southern Connecticut. Apparently, it was the comeback tour for Hot Tuna. I guess the deal was that they had taken some time off for a few years to do other things. It was obvious that a lot of people in atttendance hadn't seen Jorma and Jack together in quite a while. They played for about three hours and the musical energy they created for us that afternoon was comparable to this Double Dose album, an album which I was lucky enough to be introduced to in the car on the way home from the show. And even though we had just seen 3 hours of Tuna live, nobody complained. In fact, on the way back we hit traffic and ended up listening to it twice all the way through. It's just one of those kind of records where it comes naturally to want to just hit, "PLAY", again.

Tracks that stand out in particular, for me anyway, are:

2. Keep Your Lamps Trimmed and Burnin'

5. I Wish You Would

6. Genesis

10. Serpent of Dreams

The highlight is Serpent of Dreams. The tempo is a little slower than other versions I have heard, but that only helps make the song more pwerful. Jorma's vocals are perfect and the sounds they are making in the background are very psychedelic and it truely is an example of why these guys really were the pioneers of acid rock...because they are damn good at what they do!!! The only thing that sucks about this record is its availability. They really need to re-release this record at an affordable price. ~ PM