Sir Douglas Quintet,”Texas Tornado Live” (Wienerworld)- Texas born country singer and guitarist Doug Sahm enjoyed a good deal of commercial success during the mid sixties as the leader of the Sir Douglas Quintet, delivering an infectious brand of music making which drew on elements of Cajun music, blues, rock and Mexican tejano music and brought him sizeable Top 40 hits such as “She’s About A Mover” and “Mendocino.” This enjoyable live set was captured for posterity at the Troubadour nightclub in Los Angeles in 1971 and found Sahm, distinctive organist Augie Meyers and their like minded cohorts in sparkling form as they regaled their uncharacteristically laid back audience with an appealing assortment of bona fide hits and superior album tracks.

Eddie 9V, ”Capricorn” (Ruf Records)- Eddie 9V is the alter ego of Atlanta guitarist Brooks Mason, and his latest offering for Thomas Ruf’s excellent Ruf label is a welcome throwback to the sort of organic soul sound which would have emerged from the legendary Capricorn Studios in Macon, Georgia during its creative heyday in the late sixties. Eddie’s own Capricorn recordings are also well worth investigating, the bulk of them self penned with the notable exception of a fine cover of Bob Dylan’s “Down Along The Cove.”

The Moody Blues,”The Royal Albert Hall Concert, Dec.1969” (UMC)- The vinyl resurgence is still seemingly going from strength to strength at the moment, and the latest addition to the rapidly expanding catalogue of new twelve inch albums is an historic live set from the Moody Blues. The audience at London’s iconic Royal Albert Hall venue were treated to the cream of the Moodies’ repertoire at the time, including perennial crowd pleasers such as “Ride My See Saw,” “Have You Heard” and their musical tour de force “Nights in White Satin.” The finished product is now available in a stunning new stereo mix taken from the original multi-track master tapes and fans of the band should find it a well nigh indispensable purchase.