Thomas Richard "Tommy" Bolin (August 1, 1951 -- December 4, 1976) was an American-born guitarist who played with Zephyr (from 1969 to 1971), The James Gang (from 1973 through 1974), and Deep Purple (from 1975 to 1976). Private Eyes was recorded six months before Bolin's unexpected death, while Tommy's short ride replacing Ritchie Blackmore in the legendary Deep Purple was on the outs. The flagship cut from Private Eyes effort is the storming "Post Toastee", a bold nine-minute track which stands out as an AOR masterpiece from the wild life '70's. Other noteworthy numbers from the eight song disc include the thumping "Bustin' Out For Rosey", the cool strut of "Shake The Devil" and the smooth album closer, "You Told Me That You Loved Me". Unlike Teaser, Private Eyes was laid down with the official Tommy Bolin Band, which at that time included Norma Jean Bell, Reggie McBride, Mark Stein, and Bobby Berge. In the end Private Eyes is not quite as diverse as the Teaser LP, however the album is comprised by an exceptional set of songs, from a truly great musician. Bolin's tour for Private Eyes was his last. In his last concert dates, he opened for Peter Frampton and Jeff Beck. In his final show, he opened for Beck on December 3, 1976, and encored with a rendition of "Post Toastee." He also posed for a photo with Beck after the show. A day later, in Miami, Florida, Bolin died of a drug overdose. His remains are buried in Calvary Cemetery, Sioux City, Iowa. 00:00 Bustin' Out for Rosey 4:24 04:24 Sweet Burgundy 4:13 08:37 Post Toastee 9:03 17:40 Shake the Devil 3:47 21:27 Gypsy Soul 4:05 25:32 Someday, We'll Bring Our Love Home 3:05 28:37 Hello, Again 3:39 32:16 You Told Me That You Loved 5:15 Tommy Bolin - Guitars, Keyboards, Vocals, Piano Reggie McBride - Bass, Vocals Mark Stein - Keyboards, Vocals Carmine Appice - Drums on "Someday Will Bring Our Love Home" Bobby Berge - Percussion, Drums Bobbye Hall - Percussion Norma Jean Bell - Percussion, Vocals, Saxophone Del Newman - string arrangements *Tommy plays with: Patch of Blue Zephyr Energy James Gang Billy Cobham Alphonse Mouzon Moxy Deep Purple In 2010, several well known artists gathered to create a tribute album titled Mister Bolin's Late Night Revival, a compilation of 17 previously unreleased tracks written by the guitar legend. The CD includes works by HiFi Superstar, Doogie White, Eric Martin, Troy Luccketta, Jeff Pilson, Randy Jackson, Rex Carroll, Rachel Barton, Derek St. Holmes, Kimberley Dahme, and The 77's. A percentage of the proceeds from this project will benefit the Jackson Recovery Centers.

• published: 08 Sep 2014
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