Philip Kamin – Not Your Average Rock Photographer

Philip Kamin, one of the world’s leading rock photographers, entered the music scene like so many of his peers, because of his passion for the music. It is with this passion that he amassed the largest single fully copyrighted collection of its kind. 

Unlike most of his peers, Kamin kept most of his collection from the public and copyrighted the images. Some of these he provided to the stars he toured with, others went into 35 music titles his publishing company produced. But thousands of amazing rock and roll images stayed archived in his personal collection. 

Kamin picked up his first camera decades ago and his natural talent was readily evident, and in short landed him the coveted gig as tour photographer for the band Genesis. His artistry met instant success, and Kamin became one of the most in-demand music photographers on the United Kingdom’s rock ‘n’ roll circuit. 

Jim Morrison

Over the years, Kamin also has worked with Paul McCartney and Wings, The Rolling Stones, The Who, Bob Dylan, Phil Collins, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Peter Gabriel, Yes, Mick Jagger, The Clash, AC/DC, Rush, Queen, King Crimson, Van Halen, Motorhead, Roxy Music, Bill Bruford, Black Sabbath, The Cars, Madonna and John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd’s Blues Brothers, but who's name dropping here? 

There are over 100 auction lots featuring original classic rock negatives and slides, including 1964 Yardbirds with Eric Clapton, 1965 Yardbirds with Jeff Beck and a stunning 1965 Rolling Stones in Paris. Equally impressive are never before seen images of The Doors, Jimi Hendrix, David Bowie, Genesis, Grateful Dead, Boston and Dire Straits, just to name a few. "Kamin's photographs are collectively rare and unique glimpses of days past. It is truly an honor to represent such an amazing collection of photographs, negatives and slides which capture a front row view of rock and roll history," says Jacques van Gool, founder and president of Backstage Auctions.

Jimi Hendrix

But there’s more to the “wow” factor of these iconic images that sets them apart. They’ve never been sold to newspapers, magazines or photo agencies, and both the photos and their original rights have remained in Kamin’s possession for decades. Kamin only sold his photographs to the bands he toured with, the band’s manager, their public relations firms, record companies, or the band’s merchandisers. As a result, these photographs and their original rights have remained in Kamin’s possession for decades. “I have had a lot of time to enjoy these images and I want to make sure they end up in the hands of individuals who will cherish them as much as I have,” said Kamin. “Bringing them to avid collectors seems to make the most sense.”

Kamin's collection, which will be featured in the Rock 'n Pop Summer Auction at Backstage Auctions, is being offered with both images and copyrights. The real value of the images is priceless. Whether purchased as art or an investment – the potential is enormous.

Yardbirds - Jeff Beck

The Rock 'n Pop Summer 2011 auction goes live on June 4^th and will run for one week, coming to a close on June 12^th. To receive your VIP All Access Pass for the auction please register at www.backstageauctions.com.

Philip Kamin:  is one of the world's leading rock photographers .Philip has also published over 90 books, including 40 in music, plus novels, non fiction, trade paperbacks and coffee table books in a variety of subjects.

DVD Review: The Rolling Stones "Ladies And Gentlemen...The Rolling Stones"

DVD Review:  The Rolling Stones "Ladies And Gentlemen...The Rolling Stones"
Eagle Vision
All Access Review:  A

The shock and horror of Altamont had subsided, and to avoid a tax hell in England, the Rolling Stones had reluctantly taken their rock and roll circus to France. And somehow, in that crumbling palace of sin and dissolution known as Nellcote villa, where Keith Richards lived and did an obscene amount of drugs and parties went deep into the night, as did the occasional recording session, the Stones created a masterpiece, Exile on Main Street.

As the recently released documentary “Stones in Exile” so eloquently illustrates, the hazy, elegantly wasted atmosphere was hardly conducive to focused, intense work. Indeed, the Stones took their own sweet time in finishing the album, and by all rights, considering the environment, Exile on Main Street, a double album of all things, should have been a mess. And it was … but what a glorious mess it was.

Released to lukewarm reviews initially, the fabled Exile … would, as everyone knows, become one of the most revered albums in rock history, but then came the supporting tour. By Mick Jagger’s own admission, the far-flung band, spread out all over France, wasn’t always on its game every night. They could be sloppy and uninspired, but by the time they got to Texas, the Stones had transformed, once again, into the raucous, energized and tight-as-a-corset unit that made them one of rock’s greatest ever live acts.

Filmed over four nights in the Lone Star State in 1972, “Ladies And Gentlemen … The Rolling Stones” was original released theatrically for limited engagements in 1974. Few eyes have seen it since. Hidden from the public for 35 years, “Ladies And Gentlemen … The Rolling Stones” is an absolute treasure, a beautifully shot concert film – the colors rich and dark, and the camera angles varied and placed just right – that captures the Stones at the height of their live prowess. If previous shows on the Exile tour didn’t exactly set the world on fire, the performances here are the work of gleeful arsonists, the Stones blazing from the onset through such spirited numbers as “Brown Sugar” and “Bitch.” 

Cameras hone in on the flashy Jagger as he prances and crows with undisguised enthusiasm for the material, and he never lets up, even when sharing the spotlight with Richards on a rip-roaring, horn-splashed version of “Happy.” And his deliciously mischievous drawl wraps around every word of the acoustically tangled country gold of “Sweet Virginia” and “Dead Flowers” with equal doses of pleasure and pain.

In sharp contrast to Jagger’s attention-grabbing histrionics, Mick Taylor stands in stony silence off to one side, fluidly wringing out guitar leads that curl up and around Richards’ rhythmic stabs like ivy, while drummer Charlie Watts and bassist Bill Wyman set a quick pace for every song, handling their melodic contours with grace and toughness. An absolutely joyous “All Down the Line” chugs into the evil blues of “Midnight Rambler” like a runaway train, and the Stones inject a shot of adrenaline into Chuck Berry’s “Bye Bye Johnny” to name just a few of the many highlights here. And though the absence of the soaring female backing vocals on the recorded version of “Gimme Shelter” might be missed here, the band’s electrically charged performance will make you forget they were ever there. Every song is pure dynamite, the playing dynamic and forceful and Jagger rallying the troops with that trademark herky-jerky vim and vigor is a total delight.

An “Old Grey Whistle Test” interview with Jagger that’s included with the DVD isn’t very interesting, except as a piece of nostalgia from the period. Jagger’s 2010 interview about the film serves as a better companion piece, as do tour rehearsals from Montreux that find the band working through “Shake Your Hips,” “Tumbling Dice” and “Blueberry Jam.”

A deluxe edition box set of “Ladies And Gentlemen … The Rolling Stones” is also out. It includes additional bonus material and memorabilia. But if that’s a little out of your price range, this DVD is an essential historical document all on its own. 

-         Peter Lindblad

The Rolling Stones Official Site 

Eagle Rock Official Site

CD Review: Otis Redding 'Live on the Sunset Strip'

CD Review: Otis Redding 'Live on the Sunset Strip'

All Access Review: A

Awkward, clumsy, maybe even a bit oafish, Otis Redding didn’t dazzle crowds or make girls swoon with suave, sophisticated dance steps. He left the polished choreography to those slick, twinkle-toed Motown crews, with their impeccable footwork and stylish moves. Redding, being the showman that he was, albeit one who wasn’t afraid to show genuine emotion, would be more inclined onstage to fall on the ground in tent-revival ecstasy and rip those snazzy suits he wore right off his body. And if he could have, he would have plunged his sweaty hand deep into his chest cavity and pulled out his still beating heart for all in the audience to see.

Nothing like that happened at the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival, which served as Redding’s coming-out party. Still, his raw energy, infectious smile and powerful drive, presented without the slightest bit of guile, left no doubt to anyone in America, including those who had no idea who he was before that monumental event, that he could deliver the goods live.

But, what was it exactly that set tongues wagging from sea to shining sea about this tall, gangly African-American soul singer from the South? Was it that his singing, at once soulful and pleading, before exploding with joy and inexhaustible emotion, was so passionate and honest that it simply couldn’t be ignored? Could it be that he was one of the most physical and hardest working of all soul and R&B men, James Brown included, and that he always wore his heart on his sleeve, wringing every drop of blood, sweat and tears out of every song he did and never reaching that point where he just simply gave out?

Yes, yes and, again, yes, but Redding was doing this long before Monterey. In fact, California had witnessed his power to galvanize an audience the previous year, when Redding brought his own band to Los Angeles’s Whisky A Go Go and turned the place inside out, as the two-CD, 28-song Live on the Sunset Strip points out in such strikingly rich sound and unadulterated realism – all the good-natured between-song chatter, crowd applause and riot-inciting introductions that yell out “Are you ready for star time?” transporting you back that hot, sweaty club.

In 1966 having marked a turning point for Redding in terms of national, and perhaps international, exposure even before Monterey, he was at the top of his game when these recordings were made. What sets them apart from other live recordings of the time that Redding made with the Bar-Keys or Booker T. & the MGs was the simple fact that … well, those famed backing bands weren’t there and Redding’s own hand-picked unit was. For that alone, this release might be considered a historical artifact.

But, holy God, don’t believe for a second that that is all there is to the lively, combustible Live on the Sunset Strip, which features three start-to-finish, guns-a-blazing sets in their entirety. Backed by tight, radiant horns and full-bodied instrumentation that bleeds with him when he bleeds and rejoices when he’s ready to summon angels from heaven, Redding tears through multiple covers of The Rolling Stones’ “Satisfaction” (Disc 1and Disc 2) and stomps (in the best way possible) gleefully all over The Beatles’ “A Hard Day’s Night” (only on Disc 2), while injecting “Respect,” the song made famous by Aretha Franklin that he wrote, with a lethal dose of testosterone. And he huffs and puffs his way through three powerhouse performances of “I Can’t Turn You Loose,” each one leaving you more breathless than the last, and pleads, or perhaps “prays” is a better word, expressively for second chances in “Just One More Day,” three gripping versions of “Chained and Bound” and “These Arms Of Mine.”

Speaking of Brown, Redding embraces “Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag” in Set 2 of Show 3 on Disc 2, stopping midway when the mood strikes him and then starting again, adding his own lyrics, in an improvised throwdown that includes a jazz-flavored sax solo that fits perfectly and unstoppable, tasty grooves that never once let up. When Redding asks the crowd if they’re tired and they answer, “No,” you can’t help but scream in agreement, even while reading the detailed and smartly written, well-researched liner notes by Ashley Kahn in the accompanying booklet, a great color photo of Redding flanked by go-go dancers adding to the overall experience.

Thrilling to the absolute last note, Live on the Sunset Strip is a must-have for any Redding fan and should be required listening for today’s soul and R&B pretenders. This is how it’s done, kids.

-         -  Peter Lindblad