realthog: (sunset)
realthog ([personal profile] realthog) wrote2008-01-31 11:45 am

Doug MacLeod

Thanks to a chance discovery a couple of weeks ago, I've been playing bluesman Doug MacLeod's music a lot lately, and have plans to dent the credit card soon getting some more of it, heh heh. I've had a query offlist from someone who (like me until recently) had never heard of MacLeod; by coincidence, I discovered that the new site established by the record industry, last.fm, encourages users to embed material in their own websites. Accordingly, here's a sample track:

Doug MacLeod BandSend the Soul on Home (live)

The track's from the album The Doug MacLeod Band Live in 1991 Vol. 1, about which you can find more here: http://www.last.fm/music/Doug+MacLeod+Band/Live+in+1991+Volume+1. (My fave track on the album is in fact "Roll Like a River", which comes immediately before the one I've embedded above, but unfortunately it has a very long spoken introduction so is unsuitable as a taster.) This album was released back in the days when MacLeod was performing electric blues with a full band; some (not all) of the tracks have a feel a bit like Mark Knopfler and Dire Straits backing David Ackles on the latter's more ballad-like, less Brechtian songs.

Macleod's last half-dozen or so albums have been acoustic, with minimal (but superbly minimal!) backing, and are if anything even better. He coaxes noises out of an acoustic guitar I didn't know could be found there.


Post a comment in response:

This account has disabled anonymous posting.
If you don't have an account you can create one now.
HTML doesn't work in the subject.
More info about formatting