Since I now have a shiny new iPod Classic 160GB*, and since iTunes is now offering DRM-free music at decent bit-rates, and since I didn't want to wait for delivery from the OW OM Store in the US, I've just purchased Rainer's Westwood Sessions Volume I.
I've got everything else of Rainer's that I can find (all his CDs, mainly bought from Glitterhouse), and the two live recordings at Archive.org, so it's no real suprise that I think it's great!
Rainer was a Tucson-based guitarist, master of dobro and slide guitar, who played with among others Giant Sand, Robert Plant, Billy Gibbons (of ZZ Top - see Rainer's The Texas Tapes), and released a handful of recordings before his tragic death in 1997. The website at www.raineroftucson.com seems to have gone, but a biog can be found at Wikipedia.
The Westwood Sessions were recently found and dusted off by Jim Blackwood, and release on Howe Gelb's OW OM label. They're unreleased tapes from sessions Rainer did between Barefoot Rock and Worried Spirits, and contain some real gems. It's a very bluesy record, including songs such as J B Lenoir's Voodoo Music, but for me the highlights are Rainer's own songs, especially Zealots Serve Dogmas and I Am A Sinner.
The last word goes to Howe:
"these unearthed tapes were recorded in the best studio tucson had to offer at the time and were recently rediscovered and dusted off properly by jim blackwood. and so now, with its scorching tumble, we all get to stumble into celebrating rainer, with this joyous sonic soar that soothes the sorrow of his death 10 years ago. he was my best friend. he was my brother. and he taught without really teaching."
- howe gelb
* I've been waiting for an MP3 player that has sufficient capacity for ages... I used to have an Empeg Car with 70GB of discs in it, and had filled that by the time I changed my car 2 years ago (though I never got around to putting it in this car), so I've been wanting something big enough to take everything I've got... Now, as a car player the iPod is just rubbish compared to the Empeg. I'm using it with a tape adapter so the sound is... well, ok at best, and I really do miss the flexible playlist structure of the Empeg. And the ease of use in the car. And the extra features like filters. And being able to see what's playing all the time. The radio never worked properly, mind you! But, overall, I'm very happy with the iPod.