Snapshot of an artist at a crossroads
Ultimate Guitar celebrates 50th anniversary of Tommy Bolin’s Private Eyes with a feature penned by Greg Prato:
Fifty years ago, Tommy Bolin offered his second solo effort, “Private Eyes”, an album that found the gifted guitarist and songwriter moving in a noticeably different direction from both his work with Deep Purple and his eclectic 1975 solo debut, “Teaser”. Released in 1976 – usually listed as arriving in September, although the exact date appears to have been lost to the sands of time – the album captured Bolin at a pivotal moment in his career.
By then, Bolin had already packed an extraordinary amount into his career. After making his name with Zephyr, he joined the James Gang before establishing himself as a remarkably versatile guitarist, equally comfortable with hard rock, jazz, funk, and more experimental sounds. His work on Billy Cobham’s 1973 jazz classic, “Spectrum,” further demonstrated that he wasn’t interested in being confined to traditional rock-guitar conventions.
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