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Charlie Daniels Band

With an abundance of good music spread over so many albums we find that one of the greatest hits collections is a great way to go. There are single, double, and triple disc options.  Of them, his two disc collection. The Ultimate Charlie Daniels Band, seems to have the best balance of including his essential tracks without going beyond. 

The Collection: 
Fire on the Mountain, Million Mile Reflections, Full Moon

The Epic Trilogy:
Fire On The Mountain and Nightrider (both from 1975) plus 1976's High Lonesome

Additional Charlie Daniels content
Southern Rock

Reverend Gary Davis  

Reverend Gary Davis is one of the most influential  ragtime blues artists. His impact was not limited blues players and is far reaching, impacting musical legends such as Jorma Kaukonen, The Grateful Dead, Bob Dylan, David Bromberg, and countless others. 

Thankfully he left behind a large body of recorded works. His compilation Pure Religion and Bad Company is a superb introduction to his music.

Additional Reverend Gary Davis content
Acoustic Blues

Blues Greats

Deep Purple

Deep Purple has seen their share of personnel movements. When we think of classic Deep Purple the band of guitarist Blackmore, singer Ian Gillian, bassist Roger Glover, keyboardist Jon Lord, and drummer Ian Paice comes to mind.  

That line-up brought us the classic Machine Head. Is there a better hard rock album? By anyone's scorecard, this one reaches the upper echelon. Deep Purple's 25th Anniversary Edition packages a second disc of alternative versions of all of the songs from the original album plus the B side "When a Blind Man Cries." The original disc has three bonus tracks. 

There is no better Deep Purple listening experience than their studio album Machine Head. Made In Japan includes killer live versions from that era. Favorite song not on Machine Head, "Woman From Tokyo" from Who Do We Think We Are. 

The line-up with Steve Morse is quite thrilling too. 

Derek and the Dominos

Derek and the Dominos was a short lived one of a kind phenomenon. Their studio album paired guitarist legends Eric Clapton and Duane Allman with a superb supporting cast. Duane is on all but three songs.

If you want to hear blistering blues with a jaw dropping guitar attack, this band this will satisfy your craving. Their studio album, Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs was a double LP released as a single disc. 

There is a three disc box set edition. In addition to the complete studio album it includes a disc of alternative tracks, and a disc of jams. We strongly recommend this for serious fans. The live Derek and Dominos does not include Duane Allman.

While there was only one Derek and the Dominos album, Clapton's first solo album, self-titled, will certainly please Dominos fans.

Additional Derek and the Dominos  content
Eric Clapton profile
Allman Brothers Band profile
Rock: guitar and piano

Of interest
Blues
Duane Allman profile

Dire Straits

I especially like the self-titled debut album. The hit, "Sultans of Swing" is a classic. Besides that, the whole album is quite good, "Water of Love" displays some nice slide guitar. The live release Live at the BBC, is basically a live album of those songs and it has pretty good sound. A live version of "Tunnel of Love" is tacked on at the end, the sound quality of it  is not good as the featured disc.
Live at BBC
Recorded live in concert July 22, 1978, for BBC Radio One 
Tracks 1-7
Mark Knopfler on guitar/vocals
David Knopfler on rhythm guitar/vocals,
John Illsley on bass, and 
Pick Withers on drums. 

"Tunnel of Love," recorded for BBC/TV's Old Grey Whistle Test on January 31, 1981.

There is also a live release from the same era Sultans of Swing (Live in Germany), a 2 CD Set, which has inferior sound to Live at BBC, but more music.

Of the two noted compilations, I'd favor the two-disc Private Investigations: The Best of Dire Straits & Mark Knopfler, it includes both Dire Straits as well as Mark Knopfler solo material, and present full album versions and the studio cuts, not live versions. 

Dixie Dregs

Dixie Dregs is a band of enormously talented musicians. Through the years personnel did change, but it never detracted from yielding first class music. They are led by guitarist Steve Morse who was voted best overall guitarist by guitar player five times and has won six Grammy nominations. Their instrumental music ventures into rock, fusion, bluegrass, jazz, and even classical. On occasion they even perform some classic rock covers. One performance I saw they did a stunning Led Zeppelin medley. 

In addition to the Dixie Dregs, they recorded under the name the Dregs. Steve's career also includes numerous stints, notably a vast solo career, and as a member of Kansas, and Deep Purple. One Dregs song, "Leprechaun Promenade," from Night of the Living Dregs reminds me of early Kansas music. 

If you are looking for compilation of Dixie Dregs material, they have two greatest hits releases, which do not overlap. The 20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection: The Best of the Dixie Dregs is from their first three albums, while The Best of the Dregs: Divided We Stand, covers the latter period of their career.  

While we recommend both compilations, 20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection: The Best of the Dixie Dregs would be our top choice. 

Additional Dixie Dregs content
Southern Rock
Instrumental
Dixie Dregs / Steve Morse DVD
Deep Purple with Steve Morse

Willie Dixon

Willie Dixon is  best known for his songwriting contributions to the great Chicago blues musicians such as Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Sonny Boy Williamson, Koko Taylor, Chuck Berry, and countless others.  

The Willie Dixon Chess Box Set  is a celebration of his songwriting and include performances by Willie, but more frequently the blues legends that made these compositions famous. Tracks such as "I'm Your Hoochie Coochie Man," "Evil," "Mellow Down Easy," "I just Want to Make Love to You," "Spoonful," "I Ain't Superstitious," "You Need Love" (The riff that is the foundation of Led Zeppelin's track "Whole Lotta Love"), "Little Red Rooster," "Back Door Man," "You Shook Me," "Bring it on Home," Wang Dang Doodle," "The Same Thing."  

Additional Willie Dixon content
Blues: guitar and piano

Of Interest
Muddy Waters | Chuck Berry

Donna Jean and the Tricksters

Review continues in our Donna Jean and the Tricksters section.

Doobie Brothers

Disc: 1
1. Listen To The Music 
2. Jesus Is Just Alright 
3. Rockin' Down The Highway 
4. Long Train Runnin' 
5. China Grove 
6. South City Midnight Lady 
7. Another Park, Another Sunday 
8. Eyes Of Silver 
9. Nobody 
10. Black Water 
11. Take Me In Your Arms (Rock Me) 
12. Sweet Maxine 
13. I Cheat The Hangman 
14. Takin' It To The Streets 
15. Wheels of Fortune 
16. It Keeps You Runnin' 

Disc: 2 
1. Little Darling (I Need You) 
2. Echoes Of Love 
3. What A Fool Believes 
4. Minute By Minute 
5. Depending On You 
6. Real Love 
7. One Step Closer 
8. Wynken, Blynken and Nod 
9. Keep This Train A-Rollin' 
10. Here To Love You 
11. You Belong To Me 
12. The Doctor 
13. South Of The Border 
14. Need A Little Taste of Love 
15. Dangerous 
16. Rollin' On 
17. Ordinary Man 

Long Train Runnin': 1970-2000. Though, this has many of their key tracks in single version.

For a single disc
Doobie Brothers - Greatest Hits

For the latter era of the Doobie Brothers, Michael McDonald's 2005 The Ultimate Collection is a great choice. It includes a lot of Doobie Brothers material along with his solo music.

If your seeking albums rather than a compilation:
Captain & Me 

Minute By Minute 

Bob Dylan  

Bob Dylan catalog is immense. This section highlights our favorite Dylan releases. We created a more detailed discography and have reviews in our Bob Dylan section. 

Additional Bob Dylan content
Bob Dylan profile
Dylan and the Grateful Dead

Dylan most recent release is a studio album.  release Together Through Life.

Product Description
Standard: 1CD of 10 new tracks in a jewel box with a four-panel insert.
Together Though Life, produced by Jack Frost, was prompted by the composition of a new song, "Life Is Hard," which was written for a forthcoming film by French director Oliver Dahan (La Vie En Rose). Bob Dylan's latest studio album was recorded late last year and features 10 new songs including "Beyond Here Lies Nothin'" and "It's All Good." This will be the 46th release from Dylan, following his Platinum album Modern Times which debuted at #1 on the Billboard Top 200 chart in 2006. 

Deluxe Edition Product Description
Deluxe: Special 2CD/DVD limited edition package in a jewel box with slipcase includes: 
- Together Through Life collectible poster 
- Together Through Life sticker 
- Bonus CD of Bob Dylan’s 60-minute Theme Time Radio Hour "Friends & Neighbors” episode 
- DVD of “Roy Silver – The Lost Interview” 

Together Though Life, produced by Jack Frost, was prompted by the composition of a new song, “Life Is Hard,” which was written for a forthcoming film by French director Oliver Dahan (La Vie En Rose). Bob Dylan’s latest studio album was recorded late last year and features 10 new songs including "Beyond Here Lies Nothin'" and "It's All Good." This will be the 46th release from Dylan, following his Platinum album Modern Times which debuted at #1 on the Billboard Top 200 chart in 2006. 

Dylan has a few compilations, but for how long he's been around, there has not been an overabundance. Some of the older ones are before the remastered material so the sonic quality isn't as good. 

The compilation entitled Dylan has a single and triple disc edition is a good choice. I tend to think that some niche Dylan compilations would work well. For example folk, blues, country, etc.  Or what the various Bob Dylan and the Band excerpts, studio and live. 

Bob Dylan and the Band is our favorite of the numerous Dylan live releases. Bob Dylan and the Band toured in 1966 and 1974 , and there are options available from both tours. 

There are some other performances that they've done, we capture them in our Bob Dylan and The Band section. 

See also The Last Waltz by The Band, and the studio album Planet Waves. 

With such a varied career and so many different styles everyone will have different niches that they favor. To me, for those eras, a compilation is not appropriate. We have a lot of Dylan releases we like quite a bit. To narrow the list.  Narrowing the list to two, Blonde on Blonde and Highway 61 Revisited make the cut. Some really good backing bands on these two, plus some great song-writing.

Dylan County is a good, not fantastic compilation of great musicians in the Country genre shouting out to the legend.