Naked 1

Album Review

As evidenced by the multitude of collections the Tommy Bolin Archives label has been issuing on a regular basis since the mid-'90s, Bolin left behind quite a few demos and unreleased recordings. And to the delight of Bolin fans everywhere, there appears to be no end in sight to these releases, as collections continue to roll off the assembly line, such as 2002's double-disc Naked. While cataloging all of Bolin's reel-to-reel tapes during the early 21st century, the Archives unearthed a significant amount of demos of previously unheard songs, in addition to demos of what would become subsequent Bolin classics. The first disc focuses mostly on songs that would eventually be worked up with a full band — "Alexis," "Teaser," and "Wild Dogs" — plus songs that have become well-known to Bolin fanatics via earlier rarities sets: "Evening Rain," "The Meaning of Love," and "Gypsy Moon." The second disc will prove to be the main attraction to longtime Bolin fans, as nearly all of its tracks have been previously unheard in any form (most of the tracks were never even titled by Bolin, so they've been posthumously named by the Archives), including such standouts as "Naked, Pt. 3," "Woman," and "This Is the Way It's Supposed to Be." Newcomers to Bolin should stick with his official studio albums, but for hardcore fans that want to hear everything this sadly tragic guitarist/singer/songwriter was working on straight up to his death, Naked contains quite a few uncommon gems.