Private Eyes

Iowa-born Tommy Bolin was a guitar hero who died young (overdosed at 25) after making records with Colorado rockers Zephyr, The James Gang, and Deep Purple. And he guested on lots of others, including the classic Spectrum by jazz-fusion kingpin Billy Cobham. Bolin also released two great, time-tested solo albums. This one, his second, shows just how evolved Bolin was as a writer, singer, and guitarist, showing wisdom (musical and otherwise) that transcended his youth. The songs, which often grapple with themes of isolation and addiction, are rich and stylized. Sinister jazzy rock (“Bustin’ Out for Rosey”) sidles up to swollen-strings balladry (“Hello, Again”) and white-boy blues (“You Told Me That You Loved Me”). There are also poppy refrains (“Someday Will Bring Our Love Home,” “Sweet Burgundy”) and stinging rock ’n’ roll (the nine-minute cautionary confessional “Post Toastee”). Bolin’s songs sometimes had a kind of mystical sense about them, especially the riff-and-organ head-spinner “Shake the Devil.” Guests on the album include drummer Carmine Appice and saxist/singer Norma Jean Bell.