In a perfect world, Carla Olson would be as widely known as Bonnie Raitt. But it’s not a perfect world, and that’s why we’re thankful that a label like Collector’s Choice exists. The label has recently unearthed two of Olson’s best recorded efforts – Detroit ‘85: Live & Unreleased and Too Hot For Snakes (Plus).
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Backed by her band the Textones, Detroit ‘85 finds Olson ripping through a 14-song set in gloriously raw fashion. Combining original tracks with songs by Bob Dylan, John Fogerty, Clarence Carter and Dwight Twilley, Olson stakes her claim as an accomplished vocalist, guitarist and songwriter. Originally taped for a Westwood One show on the band’s Midnight Mission tour, the disc has been released with no overdubs to retain its authenticity.
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Too Hot For Snakes (Plus) finds Olson collaborating with onetime Rolling Stone Mick Taylor (famous for his work on Sticky Fingers and Exile On Main Street in the post-Brian Jones era). The live portion of the double-disc set captures Olson and Taylor in a 1990 show backed by stalwarts Ian McLagan, Barry Goldberg and John Juke Logan. The expanded recording includes studio recordings by Olson that feature Taylor as well. In addition to “Broken Hands,”Taylor’s best-known solo song, Stones’ numbers “Sway,” “Winter” and “You Gotta Move” are found here. Too Hot For Snakes reinforces that the Olson/Taylor collaboration should be placed among the most potent male/female duets in rock history.
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