BACK DOOR SLAM
''LIVE FROM BONNAROO''
OCTOBER 6 2009
59:14
1 /Outside Woman Blues
Blind Joe Reynolds/5:49
2 /Heavy on My Mind
Davy Knowles/5:38
3 /Gotta Leave
Davy Knowles/7:13
4 /Riding With the King
John Hiatt/5:31
5 /Almost Cut My Hair
David Crosby/5:31
6 /Come Home
Davy Knowles/4:33
7 /Back Door Slam
Bonnie Hayes / Kevin Hayes/4:01
8 /It'll All Come Around
Davy Knowles/5:44
9 /Red House
Jimi Hendrix/11:41
10 /Been Down So Long
Jim Morrison/3:33
REVIEW
by Jonathan Widran
Kind of a rare thing for an indie label to quickly release a live set so soon after a band's debut album -- and with five of the same tracks -- but Blix Street is simply celebrating the intensity and blues-rock joy that Davy Knowles and Back Door Slam stirred up live over the course of 300-plus performances during 2007-2008 in support of that album. Captured live at the June 2008 festival in Manchester, TN, it's also a noteworthy chronicle because Knowles, between recording Roll Away and his 2009 Peter Frampton-produced album Coming Up for Air, parted company with longtime bandmates Adam Jones and Ross Doyle -- thus Live from Bonnaroo is a testament to the electric interaction between the three, in addition to being a truly slamming show. Complementing Roll Away gems like "Come Home," "Heavy on My Mind," and "Gotta Leave" are infectious, explosive, free-for-all covers of John Hiatt's soaring and seductive "Riding with the King," Jimi Hendrix's searing, slow-simmering "Redhouse," and, yes, "Back Door Slam," Robert Cray's torchy blues groove jam that was the inspiration for the band's name. Raw, electric and brilliant all around.
BIOGRAPHY
by Mark Deming
British blues-rockers Back Door Slam boast a tough, streetwise sound that recalls veteran U.K. blues players such as Eric Clapton, Peter Green, and John Mayall, though these young guitar slingers represent a new generation -- when bassist Adam Jones joined the group in 2006, guitarist and singer Davy Knowles and drummer Ross Doyle were all of 20 years old, while Jones himself was just 19. The members of Back Door Slam grew up in the tiny seaside community of the Isle of Man, and Knowles decided he wanted to be a guitar player at the age of 11, when he heard "Sultans of Swing" by Dire Straits on the radio while riding in the car with his father. After borrowing his father's acoustic guitar, Knowles began teaching himself to play and digging into his dad's old records, which led him to discover the sounds of the golden age of British blues, while later he began embracing the music's American roots (the name comes from a song by latter-day blues guitarist Robert Cray). After mastering the rudiments of live performing with a handful of local bands, Knowles joined forces with Ross Doyle, bassist Jamie Armstrong, and rhythm guitarist Brian Garvey to form Back Door Slam in 2003. After Garvey died in an auto accident in 2004, the band stripped itself down to a power trio and began earning a potent reputation playing clubs and festivals as well as opening for acts ranging from Don McLean to the Who. In 2006, Jamie Armstrong left the band and Jones arrived to solidify Back Door Slam's lineup. In 2007, Back Door Slam recorded their debut album, Roll Away, and headed to the United States for a concert tour that included appearances at the Lollapalooza and Austin City Limits music festivals. Tour dates with Kid Rock followed in 2008.
''LIVE FROM BONNAROO''
OCTOBER 6 2009
59:14
1 /Outside Woman Blues
Blind Joe Reynolds/5:49
2 /Heavy on My Mind
Davy Knowles/5:38
3 /Gotta Leave
Davy Knowles/7:13
4 /Riding With the King
John Hiatt/5:31
5 /Almost Cut My Hair
David Crosby/5:31
6 /Come Home
Davy Knowles/4:33
7 /Back Door Slam
Bonnie Hayes / Kevin Hayes/4:01
8 /It'll All Come Around
Davy Knowles/5:44
9 /Red House
Jimi Hendrix/11:41
10 /Been Down So Long
Jim Morrison/3:33
REVIEW
by Jonathan Widran
Kind of a rare thing for an indie label to quickly release a live set so soon after a band's debut album -- and with five of the same tracks -- but Blix Street is simply celebrating the intensity and blues-rock joy that Davy Knowles and Back Door Slam stirred up live over the course of 300-plus performances during 2007-2008 in support of that album. Captured live at the June 2008 festival in Manchester, TN, it's also a noteworthy chronicle because Knowles, between recording Roll Away and his 2009 Peter Frampton-produced album Coming Up for Air, parted company with longtime bandmates Adam Jones and Ross Doyle -- thus Live from Bonnaroo is a testament to the electric interaction between the three, in addition to being a truly slamming show. Complementing Roll Away gems like "Come Home," "Heavy on My Mind," and "Gotta Leave" are infectious, explosive, free-for-all covers of John Hiatt's soaring and seductive "Riding with the King," Jimi Hendrix's searing, slow-simmering "Redhouse," and, yes, "Back Door Slam," Robert Cray's torchy blues groove jam that was the inspiration for the band's name. Raw, electric and brilliant all around.
BIOGRAPHY
by Mark Deming
British blues-rockers Back Door Slam boast a tough, streetwise sound that recalls veteran U.K. blues players such as Eric Clapton, Peter Green, and John Mayall, though these young guitar slingers represent a new generation -- when bassist Adam Jones joined the group in 2006, guitarist and singer Davy Knowles and drummer Ross Doyle were all of 20 years old, while Jones himself was just 19. The members of Back Door Slam grew up in the tiny seaside community of the Isle of Man, and Knowles decided he wanted to be a guitar player at the age of 11, when he heard "Sultans of Swing" by Dire Straits on the radio while riding in the car with his father. After borrowing his father's acoustic guitar, Knowles began teaching himself to play and digging into his dad's old records, which led him to discover the sounds of the golden age of British blues, while later he began embracing the music's American roots (the name comes from a song by latter-day blues guitarist Robert Cray). After mastering the rudiments of live performing with a handful of local bands, Knowles joined forces with Ross Doyle, bassist Jamie Armstrong, and rhythm guitarist Brian Garvey to form Back Door Slam in 2003. After Garvey died in an auto accident in 2004, the band stripped itself down to a power trio and began earning a potent reputation playing clubs and festivals as well as opening for acts ranging from Don McLean to the Who. In 2006, Jamie Armstrong left the band and Jones arrived to solidify Back Door Slam's lineup. In 2007, Back Door Slam recorded their debut album, Roll Away, and headed to the United States for a concert tour that included appearances at the Lollapalooza and Austin City Limits music festivals. Tour dates with Kid Rock followed in 2008.