Barefoot Rock with Das Combo

Re-mastered by Jim Blackwood, both formats include a bonus disc featuring previously unreleased material.  Rainer Ptacek's national and international profile commenced rising around the time he founded Giant Sandworms with Howe Gelb; despite the fact that the group's physical legacy includes but a pair of seven-inch records, to this day critics and collectors in far-away places still speak of those singles in reverent tones, citing them as early examples of the area's vaunted desert rock sound.  When Gelb temporarily moved the band to New York, Rainer chose to stay in Tucson. Before too long, in addition to his regular solo gigging, he formed Das Combo, a kind of mutant roots/power blues trio. The impact that the group's debut Barefoot Rock With... Rainer and Das Combo wielded was immediate, despite it originally being released only in Britain. Over the course of five import-only albums and various collaborations, Rainer established himself as an instinctive, honest songwriter and a singularly gifted musician, who earned a phenomenal reputation. In February 1996, Rainer was diagnosed with a brain tumor. He underwent intensive chemotherapy within months of being diagnosed. By summer's end, the cancer had gone into remission. But while the immediate threat to his life had passed, Ptacek still faced an intense period of rehabilitation. He was healthy, but nearly buried under the weight of a staggering pile of medical bills.