Relix Magazine

Where He Left Off /Feb. 1998

If you crave good old-fashioned rock 'n roll a la early Elvis Presley and the Sun era, there's couple of albums that should delight you. The first is Where He Left Off (Burning Tyger), the latest album from California-based Dave Crimmen. The second is Train Kept A-Rolling (Sweetfish), the debut solo album by Paul Burlinson, the guitar pioneer and member of the '50s rockabilly band, the Rock 'N Roll Trio.

Crimmen's roots are firmly entrenched in the '50s rock 'n roll and rockabilly, yet he adds a slight contemporary twist here and there. For the most part, however, this ten-cut collection draws on the past with respect and imagination. Best cuts are the rollicking "Go Cat Go" and "A Girl Like You."  The latter features a really sharp guitar solo. Also of note is the infectious "She Can't Stop Dancin'."

The Son Of Sun/Dec. 1996

Dave Crimmen is a San Francisco-based rock 'n Roller with roots in the classic Sun Records era. It's quite appropriate, therefore, that his new disc is entitled The Son of Sun. Crimmen has a great voice and plays a mean guitar. Songs such as "It's Got That Beat" and "Dancin' Shoes" have all the trademarks of '50s rock. Crimmen adds a more comtemporary twist to things with the grittier, moddy rock of "Looking Back" and the swampy, bluesy "Come On And Take Me Home." The last cut, "Dancin' Shoes," which is an Elvis Presley-like rocker that's dedicated to Carl Perkins, finds Crimmen at his strongest.

The Infinite Summer Of Love/Aug. 1995

Slow Motion Ocean: The Bay area music scene has always been a melting pot of diverse musical styles, and recently a group of San Francisco musicians paid tribute to those bygone days by recording a wonderful CD compilation, The Infinite Summer Of Love (Taxim). Returning to the days of "flower power," producer Michael Molenda brought together the likes of Harvey Mandel, Henry Kaiser, Dave Crimmen and Scott Matthews, to reprise some of that era's most beloved songs by the Jefferson Airplane, Quicksilver Messenger, Service and the Grateful Dead. Local club veterans, the Soul Poets are joined by guitar legend Harvey Nandel for a wild romp through Quicksilver's "Pride of Man."   Mandel's fiery guitar solo does little to recall the late John Cipollina, but instead wisely gives the classic tune a new take altogether. And that is the joy of the entire project.

The Jefferson Airplane is well represented here with new versions of the Cave God's "Plastic Fantastic Lover," late saxaphone maestro Steve Douglas' "Come Up The Years" and Ron Nagel's "Please Come Back." Local rockabilly king, Dave Crimmen, raves up the old Beau Brummels smash "Just A Little," and literally redefines the tune in the process.

Not everyone goes that route, however. Toys in the Attic, featureing Celtic fiddle goddess Cat Taylor from the popular band Phoenix, plays it straight during its rendition of It's A Beautiful Day's "White Bird." Experimental guitarist Henry Kaiser, who has always been a fan of the era, turns in a stellar version of The Son's of Champlin's "Get High." Former Hot Lick, Naomi Ruth Eisenberg, accompanied by former Charlatan Michael Wilhelm, reprises "Slow Motion Ocean," a cong from Eisenberg's tenure with Dancing Food and Entertainment, a group that also featured keyboardist Tom Constanten.

The wildest tune on Infinite Summer Of Love would have to be The Beast's deconstructed view of the Grateful Dead's "The Golden Road To Unlimited Devotion." It won't leave many folks rushing to form a fan flub. Overall, the Infinite Summer Of Love serves to reintroduce a new generation of rock music fans to the music of those wonderful times and, in that regard, it fully succeeds.

Just Call It Rock & Roll/April 1995

Dave Crimmen is a Bay Area musician with a penchant for simple, class-influenced rock 'n roll. In his album, aptly titled Just Call It Rock And Roll (Sound & Vision), he shows himself to be a good writer in the Bob Seger/Bruce Springsteen mold with a nod to the late '50s and early '60s. Best cuts in this collection of hook-filled originals are the wistful "Time Will Tell" and the jaunty "Gotta Get Out."