To attach the “legend” tag to Michael Shrieve‘s name should mean to underestimate his status as a musician – the status which might have been forged at Woodstock where the young drummer set the world alight with his fiery solo on “Soul Sacrifice” before proceeding to play on classic SANTANA platters, including “Abraxas” and “Caravanserai” LPs, and going on to a very varied, in stylistic terms, career. The man driving the heaven-splitting groove on the likes of “Samba Pa Ti” would become a member of Stomu Yamashta’s prog project GO and leave his mark on the tremendous "Go!...Live From Paris" and "Go Too" – the band’s leader himself being the master of rhythm only stressed Shrieve’s talents – and could later be heard on such different records as AUTOMATIC MAN’s eponymous album, where Michael engaged Pat Thrall in space-rocking, and “Trancefer” by Klaus Schulze. With Neil Young, Jerry Garcia, Phil Lesh and David Crosby he cowrote “What Are Their Names” on Crosby’s debut “If I Could Only Remember My Name” – and, of course, the veteran’s had a remarkable solo career that will peak on May 24th with the issue of what he calls “an Offering” – meaning another sacrificial gift.
