There’s lots of good content happening over at MusicTAP this week including a great post about the addition of vintage concert videos to Wolfgang’s Vault. We welcome Matt Rowe of MusicTAP back with a review of the new Hot Tuna album.

Lucky is what Hot Tuna fans are. Many classic bands that recorded back in the ’60s/’70s find it quite the chore to produce an album of immense worth, a worthy addition to a successful catalogue. It usually seems to be a blended mess of current musical styles and the “breath” of the original sound that got them onto turntables and radios in the first place. Not a good mix. But when a band opts to continue recording the stuff that got them attention in the first place, as this current Hot Tuna band has done, well, the results can be stunning.

Hot Tuna began as a side venture for Jorma Kaukonen and Jack Casady (both members of Jefferson Airplane), which allowed them the vent with which they let their blues steam from. Once they began releasing albums, they found an audience that never let go. Over the decades, the constant stream of Hot Tuna albums solidified the band’s legacy.

With the release of Steady As She Goes, Hot Tuna have added to an already strong body of work that began way back in the early ’70s with their debut released in 1970. The album is loaded with 12 excellent tracks, acoustic and electric. Kaukonen’s guitar is as sharp as it has always been, as is Casady’s bass. And with Barry Mitterhoff, and drummer, Skoota Warner, along with a few pals, Hot Tuna has delivered an unforgettable album worthy of being spoken of with reverence.

There are no bad tracks on the album. And that’s quite a bonus. To isolate certain songs as great examples would be to shortchange the album as a whole. Hot Tuna fans, you’re going to have to trust me on this one. Steady As She Goes is a classic Hot Tuna album, fitting in with every other album created by the band. Do I have favorites? Yes, all twelve tracks.

All twelve tracks.