(Blues-Rock/Modern Electric Blues/Electric Texas Blues) Corey Stevens - Blue Drops of Rain 1995, Road To Zen 1997 - FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Кори Стивенс – электрический техасский гитарист, в середине 90-х один из претендентов на замещение вакантного места, освободившегося после ухода Stevie Ray Voughan. Конечно, ко всем сравнениям надо относиться с должной долей иронии: навешивать этот ярлык пытаются каждому второму новому гитаристу. Тем не менее, Кори Стивенса часто включают в списки лучших американских слингеров последнего десятилетия, отмечает наш рецензент Олег Павлов.
Первый диск Кори Стивенса "Blue Drops of Rain" вышел в 1995 году и сразу был по достоинству оценен критикой. Сравнения с SRV всё же небезосновательны. Бросаются в глаза ковбойская шляпа (правда, в обиход слингеров её ввел Джонни Винтер, а не SRV) и сапоги-вакерос, техасский шаффл и композиция Lenny (классика SRV), включенная в альбом. В довершении заметим, что первая группа Кори называлась The Texas Flood.
Диск получился очень динамичным, с недетским драйвом. Заглавная песня «Blue Drops of Rain» была написана Кори лет за 15 до выхода дебютного альбома. Всё это время он медленно и настойчиво пробивался к успеху.
Все песни Кори поёт сам и, надо признать, вокал - не самое сильный его козырь. В первом шаффле (Gone Too Long) его легко принять за голос SRV, а уже во второй и третьей композиции – и далее со всеми остановками - он напоминает флегматичного Эрика Клэптона.
Исполнение стандарта «Crosscut Saw» можно сравнить с клаптоновским с альбома "Money And Cigarettes" (1983). Кори играет более резво и бегло (вставляет в проигрыши больше нот), но, кажется, он переигрывает именно версию Клэптона, а не оригинал.
«Lenny» в исполнении Стивенса стала более роковой пьесой. В ней чётче выделился ритм, главная фраза звучит не так зыбко и хрупко как у SRV, а соло в середине пьесы тяготеет к стандартным рок-баладным «запилам».
Очень хороши медленные ритмичные блюзы «I Got a Rich Man's Woman» и «It's Over». В песне «The Brothers», совсем простенькой, слышно влияние калифорнийского рока (или даже кантри-рока).
В целом дебют удался. Не случайно в опросе BluesNews.ru диск попал в сотню лучших блюзовых альбомов. Сравнения с SRV выглядят очень несерьезно: такой энергии и свободы управляться с инструментом, как у Стиви, вы здесь не найдете.

Второй диск Кори Стивенса "Road To Zen" вышел в 1997. Кори успел поиграть на одной сцене с ZZ Top, Lynyrd Skynyrd и Полом Роджерсом (ex-Bad Company, Free). Бесконечные выступления отразились и на настроении альбома. Идущие подряд «Road To Zen» и «Take It Back» слушаются как единое целое и выражают вселенскую грусть по поводу бесконечных дорог и оторванности от дома. Эта же печаль и в прекрасной медленной композиции «Blues Are Here To Stay» («С тех пор как ты ушла, мне остался только блюз»). Явно Кори возмужал и закалился. Его игра стала более акцентированной, а в быстрых вещах (My Neighborhood, Too Much Fun, Charles Bronson Vibe) даже более злой. Стиль большинства композиций с трудом можно определить как «блюз». Будет правильнее сказать, что это хороший рок-альбом в лучших традициях, без оглядок на модные веяния. На этом диске Кори как гитарист звучит интереснее, разнообразнее и своеобразнее, чем на дебюте.

This first project by Corey Stevens is an energetic, witty combination of country, rock and blues. Stevens exhibits a talent for writing the kind of songs that appeal to a wide variety of listeners. Always poignant, Stevens can cover a tune and make it his own, as he does here with the R.G. Ford song "Crosscut Saw." He can also hold his own when tackling a Stevie Ray Vaughan number — his version of "Lenny" is graphic in its approach and delivery. As for his own tunes, "Gone Too Long," "Goin' Crazy" and the title cut all come across with panache. A most impressive first round for a man with the promise of a long career.

Exact Audio Copy V0.99 prebeta 3 from 28. July 2007

EAC extraction logfile from 27. December 2008, 12:56

Corey Stevens / Blue Drops of Rain

Used drive : PHILIPS SPD2415P Adapter: 0 ID: 0

Read mode : Secure
Utilize accurate stream : Yes
Defeat audio cache : Yes
Make use of C2 pointers : No

Read offset correction : 6
Overread into Lead-In and Lead-Out : No
Fill up missing offset samples with silence : Yes
Delete leading and trailing silent blocks : No
Null samples used in CRC calculations : Yes
Used interface : Native Win32 interface for Win NT & 2000
Gap handling : Appended to previous track

Used output format : User Defined Encoder
Selected bitrate : 128 kBit/s
Quality : High
Add ID3 tag : No
Command line compressor : C:\Program Files\FLAC\flac.exe
Additional command line options : -V -8 -T "artist=%a" -T "title=%t" -T "album=%g" -T "date=%y" -T "tracknumber=%n" -T "genre=%m" %s

TOC of the extracted CD

Track | Start | Length | Start sector | End sector
---------------------------------------------------------
1 | 0:00.32 | 4:36.25 | 32 | 20756
2 | 4:36.57 | 4:44.20 | 20757 | 42076
3 | 9:21.02 | 3:38.40 | 42077 | 58466
4 | 12:59.42 | 3:53.55 | 58467 | 75996
5 | 16:53.22 | 5:23.38 | 75997 | 100259
6 | 22:16.60 | 2:59.45 | 100260 | 113729
7 | 25:16.30 | 3:48.27 | 113730 | 130856
8 | 29:04.57 | 5:18.70 | 130857 | 154776
9 | 34:23.52 | 5:01.33 | 154777 | 177384
10 | 39:25.10 | 3:47.17 | 177385 | 194426
11 | 43:12.27 | 3:25.05 | 194427 | 209806

Track 1

Filename C:\Documents and Settings\Doug\Desktop\Corey Stevens\Blue Drops of Rain\01 - Gone Too Long.wav

Pre-gap length 0:00:02.42

Peak level 95.0 %
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC BB3C47E6
Copy CRC BB3C47E6
Copy OK

Track 2

Filename C:\Documents and Settings\Doug\Desktop\Corey Stevens\Blue Drops of Rain\02 - Blue Drops of Rain.wav

Pre-gap length 0:00:00.86

Peak level 95.0 %
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Test CRC 1183275B
Copy CRC 1183275B
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Track 3

Filename C:\Documents and Settings\Doug\Desktop\Corey Stevens\Blue Drops of Rain\03 - Crosscut Saw.wav

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Peak level 93.7 %
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Test CRC 8A0361B8
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Copy OK

Track 4

Filename C:\Documents and Settings\Doug\Desktop\Corey Stevens\Blue Drops of Rain\04 - I Got A Rich Man's Woman.wav

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Peak level 95.0 %
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Test CRC EF38FE78
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Track 5

Filename C:\Documents and Settings\Doug\Desktop\Corey Stevens\Blue Drops of Rain\05 - It's Over.wav

Pre-gap length 0:00:00.97

Peak level 95.0 %
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Test CRC C2307272
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Track 6

Filename C:\Documents and Settings\Doug\Desktop\Corey Stevens\Blue Drops of Rain\06 - Back In Time.wav

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Peak level 95.4 %
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Test CRC 431E3E0E
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Track 7

Filename C:\Documents and Settings\Doug\Desktop\Corey Stevens\Blue Drops of Rain\07 - I'll Play The blues.wav

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Peak level 95.0 %
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Test CRC 955FDD23
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Track 8

Filename C:\Documents and Settings\Doug\Desktop\Corey Stevens\Blue Drops of Rain\08 - Lenny.wav

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Peak level 93.9 %
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Track 9

Filename C:\Documents and Settings\Doug\Desktop\Corey Stevens\Blue Drops of Rain\09 - The Brothers.wav

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Peak level 95.0 %
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Test CRC F473C848
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Track 10

Filename C:\Documents and Settings\Doug\Desktop\Corey Stevens\Blue Drops of Rain\10 - Headshrinker.wav

Pre-gap length 0:00:00.97

Peak level 95.7 %
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC C39E9025
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Track 11

Filename C:\Documents and Settings\Doug\Desktop\Corey Stevens\Blue Drops of Rain\11 - Goin' Crazy.wav

Pre-gap length 0:00:01.04

Peak level 95.3 %
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC D412DCD9
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No errors occurred

End of status report

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PERFORMER: auCDtect Task Manager, ver. 1.0.0 Stable build 1.0.0.0
Copyright (c) 2008, 2009 y-soft. All rights reserved
http://y-soft.110mb.com

ANALYZER: auCDtect: CD records authenticity detector, version 0.8.2
Copyright (c) 2004 Oleg Berngardt. All rights reserved.
Copyright (c) 2004 Alexander Djourik. All rights reserved.

FILE: 02 - Blue Drops of Rain.flac
Size: 33302603 Hash: CDB44292872193F00E610551E2C6792B Accuracy: -m0
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FILE: 09 - The Brothers.flac
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FILE: 10 - Headshrinker.flac
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FILE: 11 - Goin' Crazy.flac
Size: 24149019 Hash: 0432B06669E2F54E08FD9F88B6F954E9 Accuracy: -m0
Conclusion: CDDA 100%
Signature: B3FEDF72AD6C1CC706240556490400259BCDCA91

Making a name for himself from live performances and a successful first release, being proclaimed the heir to Stevie Ray Vaughan, Stevens shows himself to be a more mature, evolved guitarist, writer and performer. While not as raw as his freshman effort, Blue Drops of Rain, Stevens continues to build a rock-solid career. Road to Zen features more of Stevens' guitar style as well as a tighter production spearheaded by Edward Tree. A passionate performer, this comes through clearly. Especially effective is the Linda and Corey Stevens effort, "Only One for You," a tribute to their partnership; also good are "Lessons of Love," "Take It Back" and "Charles Bronson Vibe." With all cuts written by Stevens this time, he establishes himself as a talent to be reckoned with in several different arenas.

Exact Audio Copy V0.99 prebeta 5 from 4. May 2009

EAC extraction logfile from 23. June 2009, 0:59

Corey Stevens / Road To Zen

Used drive : LITE-ON DVDRW LH-20A1L Adapter: 4 ID: 0

Read mode : Secure
Utilize accurate stream : Yes
Defeat audio cache : Yes
Make use of C2 pointers : No

Read offset correction : 6
Overread into Lead-In and Lead-Out : No
Fill up missing offset samples with silence : Yes
Delete leading and trailing silent blocks : No
Null samples used in CRC calculations : Yes
Used interface : Native Win32 interface for Win NT & 2000
Gap handling : Appended to previous track

Used output format : User Defined Encoder
Selected bitrate : 320 kBit/s
Quality : High
Add ID3 tag : No
Command line compressor : C:\Program Files\FLAC\flac.exe
Additional command line options : -V -8 -T "artist=%a" -T "title=%t" -T "album=%g" -T "date=%y" -T "tracknumber=%n" -T "genre=%m" %s

TOC of the extracted CD

Track | Start | Length | Start sector | End sector
---------------------------------------------------------
1 | 0:00.00 | 4:37.09 | 0 | 20783
2 | 4:37.09 | 4:22.11 | 20784 | 40444
3 | 8:59.20 | 4:24.45 | 40445 | 60289
4 | 13:23.65 | 4:14.34 | 60290 | 79373
5 | 17:38.24 | 4:14.00 | 79374 | 98423
6 | 21:52.24 | 6:54.64 | 98424 | 129537
7 | 28:47.13 | 4:31.36 | 129538 | 149898
8 | 33:18.49 | 4:06.32 | 149899 | 168380
9 | 37:25.06 | 6:08.71 | 168381 | 196051
10 | 43:34.02 | 3:20.47 | 196052 | 211098

Track 1

Filename D:\EACrips\Corey Stevens - [1997] - Road To Zen - FLAC\01 - Only One For You.wav

Pre-gap length 0:00:02.00

Peak level 94.9 %
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC 7B54451C
Copy CRC 7B54451C
Accurately ripped (confidence 4) [486CC983]
Copy OK

Track 2

Filename D:\EACrips\Corey Stevens - [1997] - Road To Zen - FLAC\02 - Too Much Fun .wav

Peak level 94.7 %
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC F5B34A1A
Copy CRC F5B34A1A
Accurately ripped (confidence 4) [CBF6379B]
Copy OK

Track 3

Filename D:\EACrips\Corey Stevens - [1997] - Road To Zen - FLAC\03 - Lessons Of Love.wav

Peak level 94.2 %
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC 1A0C89DB
Copy CRC 1A0C89DB
Accurately ripped (confidence 4) [2D39490B]
Copy OK

Track 4

Filename D:\EACrips\Corey Stevens - [1997] - Road To Zen - FLAC\04 - My Neighborhood.wav

Peak level 96.0 %
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC 51155BF9
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Accurately ripped (confidence 4) [285A6456]
Copy OK

Track 5

Filename D:\EACrips\Corey Stevens - [1997] - Road To Zen - FLAC\05 - One More Time.wav

Peak level 96.0 %
Track quality 99.9 %
Test CRC BCD30353
Copy CRC BCD30353
Accurately ripped (confidence 4) [DFA5C432]
Copy OK

Track 6

Filename D:\EACrips\Corey Stevens - [1997] - Road To Zen - FLAC\06 - Road To Zen.wav

Peak level 94.8 %
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC 992AB0DD
Copy CRC 992AB0DD
Accurately ripped (confidence 4) [B1F4AA13]
Copy OK

Track 7

Filename D:\EACrips\Corey Stevens - [1997] - Road To Zen - FLAC\07 - Take It Back.wav

Peak level 94.9 %
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC A9C4ECFE
Copy CRC A9C4ECFE
Accurately ripped (confidence 4) [163F5F78]
Copy OK

Track 8

Filename D:\EACrips\Corey Stevens - [1997] - Road To Zen - FLAC\08 - Big House Blues.wav

Peak level 94.7 %
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC 479C0A4A
Copy CRC 479C0A4A
Accurately ripped (confidence 4) [269DFF28]
Copy OK

Track 9

Filename D:\EACrips\Corey Stevens - [1997] - Road To Zen - FLAC\09 - Blues Are Here To Stay.wav

Peak level 94.6 %
Track quality 99.9 %
Test CRC 535B77DA
Copy CRC 535B77DA
Accurately ripped (confidence 4) [440F419B]
Copy OK

Track 10

Filename D:\EACrips\Corey Stevens - [1997] - Road To Zen - FLAC\10 - Charles Bronson Vibe.wav

Peak level 94.6 %
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC DD254332
Copy CRC DD254332
Accurately ripped (confidence 3) [257651D6]
Copy OK

All tracks accurately ripped

No errors occurred

End of status report

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DON'T MODIFY THIS FILE

-----------------------

PERFORMER: auCDtect Task Manager, ver. 1.0.0 Stable build 1.0.0.0
Copyright (c) 2008, 2009 y-soft. All rights reserved
http://y-soft.110mb.com

ANALYZER: auCDtect: CD records authenticity detector, version 0.8.2
Copyright (c) 2004 Oleg Berngardt. All rights reserved.
Copyright (c) 2004 Alexander Djourik. All rights reserved.

FILE: 02 - Too Much Fun .flac
Size: 33837675 Hash: A9C114636601BB99FD3850F2005DA2E3 Accuracy: -m0
Conclusion: CDDA 100%
Signature: 2146CDBC9AD58453EDCDD870288F2BC8EA460F25
FILE: 01 - Only One For You.flac
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Conclusion: CDDA 100%
Signature: E1998C14840D59FCCA9DBA84BB530262D489B060
FILE: 03 - Lessons Of Love.flac
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Conclusion: CDDA 100%
Signature: C9D25037D937F28EFDECE2B9AF00BCFB80906C47
FILE: 04 - My Neighborhood.flac
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Conclusion: CDDA 100%
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FILE: 05 - One More Time.flac
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FILE: 06 - Road To Zen.flac
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FILE: 07 - Take It Back.flac
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FILE: 08 - Big House Blues.flac
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FILE: 09 - Blues Are Here To Stay.flac
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FILE: 10 - Charles Bronson Vibe.flac
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Conclusion: CDDA 100%
Signature: 37CF366EA8417C2E78883CF4FCA2A5205383C61B