Texas Tornado

In the 1960s and early '70s, no band better illustrated the richness of the Texas musical experience than the Sir Douglas Quintet. Lead singer Doug Sahm and his friends could almost always be counted on for versatility, and they could usually be counted on to cook. A 1998 reissue, Live Texas Tornado is a gem-filled CD that boasts classic live performances at the Whiskey-a-Go-Go in Hollywood and the Club Foot in Austin, TX. The band is in excellent form on everything from Tex-Mex ("Who Were You Thinking Of" and "The Rains Came") to 1960s rock ("She's About a Mover," "Wooly Bully") to 1940s-type R&B (T-Bone Walker's "T-Bone Shuffle"). Another high point of the CD is an interpretation of Charley Pride's country smash "Is Anybody Going to San Antone," which gets the Tex-Mex treatment instead of the Nashville treatment. Unfortunately, the CD doesn't list the dates or even the years of these recordings, and equally frustrating is the fact that it clocks in at a skimpy 35 minutes. As much great music as the Quintet recorded, Takoma could have easily made it twice as long. But the music that Takoma does include is superb. Despite its skimpiness and lack of recording dates, this is a CD that's well worth having.