It's alright with me (Hot Tuna) (LP 1046 -1048)

Hot Tuna  Pair A Dice Found (CD, CBS Records, 1990) ****  

Hot Tuna  Bearsville Theater December 13 2009 (CD, Festivalink, 2010) *** 

Hot Tuna  Steady As She Goes (CD, Red House Records, 2011) *** 

Genre: San Francisco bands/ Grunt Records artists 

Places I remember: Real Groovy Records/ Vinyl Countdown/Amoeba Music

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Flying In The Face Of Mr Blue (Pair A Dice Found)

Gear costume: It's Alright With Me (Pair A Dice Found); Blue Railroad Train (Bearsville Theater)

Active compensatory factors: Although Spotify has acres of live material from Jorma and Hot Tuna, studio albums from Hot Tuna pretty much dried up after Hoppkorv  in 1976 - in fact, there have only been two since then!!

1990's Pair A Dice Found is a superb collection of songs. Jorma's singing is at a peak in my humble opinion, and the band feel and sound at home in the studio so I'm flummoxed as to why there have only been two studio albums for the last 47 years. Maybe he just doesn't enjoy the studio experience much.

Steady As She Goes (great ironic title) is the second studio album since 1976. Jorma contributes more songs to this set (only three on Pair A Dice), but he's never been that prolific so I don't think that's the reason he neglects the studio.

It's not as in-the-pocket as Pair A Dice though. Since this one Jorma has concentrated on his solo career and Hot Tuna no longer seem a going concern.

The live double CD finds Jorma and Jack in acoustic vein over a great set that takes in all corners of Hot Tuna/Jorma Kaukonen music. They are joined by Barry Mitterhoff on mandolin and various other stringed instruments. The three play brilliantly together.

Where do they all belong? That completes the Hot Tuna collection. One of my favourite bands, with the majority of their albums on Grunt Records. Love it!