Delaney & Bonnie And Friends - Motel Shot [Expanded & Remastered] (1971/2017) [CD Rip]

The magic of the late-night jam session is one of those rock & roll legends that, much like Bigfoot, doesn't have a lot of concrete evidence to support it. But Delaney & Bonnie believed in it strongly enough to try to put one on tape. Released in 1971, Motel Shot was intended to document the sound and vibe of the after-show jams that Mr. and Mrs. Bramlett often took part in while on the road. After an attempt to record one such jam in the living room of recording engineer Bruce Botnick, Delaney & Bonnie and their friends ended up doing it over again in a recording studio. But if Motel Shot doesn't seem as spontaneous as the principals wanted it to be, it does have a loose, playful feel that's honestly winning. The performances are almost entirely acoustic, and the set is dominated by traditional blues, gospel, and country standards that this crew could ease into comfortably and bend to their moods. Given that Delaney & Bonnie's friends for these sessions included Duane Allman, Leon Russell, John Hartford, Dave Mason, Gram Parsons, and Joe Cocker, it's no great surprise that this material is significantly more accomplished that most folks' musical goofing around, even if Jim Keltner is just slapping an empty box instead of playing a drum kit. And Delaney & Bonnie are both in fine voice on Motel Shot, passionate but very much in the moment, while the gospel jam of "Takin' About Jesus" features some powerful vocal interplay between Bonnie and Cocker. You can't plan a moment of spontaneous brilliance, but Delaney & Bonnie were just smart enough to know their muse didn't like to be forced, and Motel Shot is an admirable compromise between a 2 a.m. guitar pull and an acoustic studio session, and it was their last truly effective album. [In 2017, Real Gone Music released a remastered and expanded edition of Motel Shot that in addition to the studio-recorded version released in 1971 also featured eight songs from the unreleased first pass at the album recorded at Bruce Botnick's house. If the fidelity of the unreleased material isn't quite as good, it's certainly listenable, and the performances do have a bit of spark that's sometimes missing from the studio takes. The package also includes new liner notes in which Bonnie Bramlett, bandmember Bobby Whitlock, Bruce Botnick, and Elektra Records prexy Jac Holzman attempt to sort out the surprisingly complicated story of Motel Shot's genesis. The often conflicting stories suggest there's real wisdom in the axiom that those who remember the '60s and '70s probably weren't there. Fans of the original edition of Motel Shot will doubtless enjoy this expanded version, and roots music fans will likely appreciate the laid-back but potent musicianship on this album.]