The Kings ~ The Longest Story Ever Told

1.72.6-23L-AMJFLINEJISWOWGN6G5FHD7L7E.0.2-6

This band has some nice pumped up music. The Kings come from Canada. They could give a good fight against another great band from Canada, which would be the Guess Who. Each song has you bopping along with the band. Originally, The Kings had Mike Reno of Loverboy, in their band. Now that he went on to start Loverboy, David Diamond, who is the lead singer on this album as well as bass player. I don’t like his vocals as much as I like Mike Reno’s vocals, but they work for this band. Good pumped up rock & roll. Give this a listen, I think you’ll like this. The Kings are David Diamond on lead vocals & bass, Sonny Keyes & Peter Nunn on keyboards, Todd Reynolds on drums, and Mr. Zero on guitar. I give this 4 out of 5 Music Guru stars.

Stick Men Live At Woodlands Tavern, Columbus Ohio February 22, 2024

If you’re a fan of later King Crimson, this would be an album for you. The Stick Men consists of Tony Levin on Chapman Stick and vocals, Pat Mastelotto on drums, both of King Crimson fame. Also, Markus Reuter on touch guitar & vocals, although live, they switch instruments. The musicians are cream of the crop, but, not being a fan of later King Crimson (I do like early King Crimson), this album waas not for me. For those of you, that DO like later King Crimson, you will probably love it. Me, I can only give it 3 Music Guru stars.

Leave’s Eyes ~ Myths Of Fate

This band has some talent. The music is good, the female vocals are good, unfortunately, the male vocals messed it up for me. When the music & the female vocals were on, I was grooving to this. Then Cookie Monster took over (male vocals) & I lost interest. I know there are people who like the monster vocals, but, not me. For those who do, you may really like this album. For me, I can only give it 3 Music Guru stars. The cover is really nice.

Thor ~ Ride Of The Iron Horse

This is one of the first albums that wasn’t what I thought, from this label. The band wasn’t bad, the band wasn’t good. This album is not something that I would go out and buy. However, if you like punk or alternative, this may be the album for you. I will say, the album did get a little better as it went on, but the songs went on & off the good scale. Give this one a listen & let me know what you think. I’d like some feedback on this one. For me, I can only give this 2 out of 5 Music Guru stars.

Revolution Saints ~ Against The Wind

This is one of those super bands that usually break up after a few albums. After hearing this album, I hope that they stay together for quite a while longer. Upon first listening, I kept hearing Journey, (after Steve Perry) and, later Chicago, after Pete Cetera has left. I like both bands, so, to no surprise, I like this band as well. The singer of the band is Deen Castronovo, drummer for Journey and now drummer & singer for Revolution Saints. Along with Castronovo, is Joel Hoekstra, of Whitesnake on guitar & Jeff Pilson of Dokken & Foreiner, on bass. & Alessandro Del Vecchio of Vanden Plas on keyboards, although, he plays many instruments. This band has good talent, good music & I wish to hear more from them. I give this album 5 out of 5 Music Guru stars.

Big Big Train ~ The Likes Of Us

Believe it or not this is my first listen to Big Big Train. What a delight it was, to listen to this. Very good music. The band was incredible. The only thing missing for me, was a higher pitch in the vocals. Don’t get me wrong. The vocals were fine, but, when I listen to progressive rock, I expect a higher range in vocals. Saying that, the vocals were just fine, the way that they were. I look forward to listening to more Big Big Train. I give this 5 out of 5 Music Guru stars. Keep up the great work guys. Big Big Train is…

Alberto Bravin – Lead vocals,

Clare Lindley – viola, cello, etc.

Dave Foster – guitars

Gregory Spawton – guitars, bass

Oskar Hollorff – Keyboards

Nick D’Virgilio – drums

Cassidy Paris ~ New Sensation

This young woman from Austrailia can surely sing. Pretty impressive vocals. There are 11 songs on this album & they are really good. They are mostly in the rock field, but, there are some ballads as well. This album is better than most that I’ve heard recently. One song that stands out is “Here I Am” as the vocals work really well with the piano & guitar sounds in this song. I would give this 4 out of 5 Music Guru stars.

Cassidy Paris is…

• Cassidy Paris: Vocals
• Steve Janevski: Guitars
• Dave Graham: Guitars
• Alessandro Del Vecchio: Bass, Keyboards, Guitars, Backing Vocals
• Mirko De Maio: Drums
• Paul Laine: Backing Vocals

Kanak ~ On The Outside EP

This New Jersey band has some nice punch to them. They are not your Bruce Springsteen or Bon Jovi, but they have a newer type of sound with that old melodic feeling of yesterday. The first song on the EP, “Outside” sounds familiar to me. This band could be the next thing. The EP was produced by Ed Strasium, who has worked with the Ramones, the Talking Heads & Motorhead, among others. Kanak is Tom Kanach on vocals, Johnny Rao & Peter Wood on guitars, Joe Rowley on bass & Steve Brown on drums. I look forward to hearing more from Kanak. I give this 4 out of 5 Music Guru stars.

Emerson, Lake & Powell Boxset

Not much that I have to say about Emerson, Lake & Powell, except how much that I love their music. This boxset gives you 3 CD’s. CD 1 gives you the original Emerson, Lake & Powell CD, CD 2 gives you some rehearsal stuff, getting ready for their tour. Some people may have this as a bootleg, which would be called the Sprocket Sessions. CD 3 brings you a live concert of Emerson, Lake & Powell. Unfortunately, they only put out 1 studio album. The rehearsal disc & live disc are extremely good quality. The only bad thing that I can say, which I can probably say about any live album, is I don’t ever need to hear a drum solo. I enjoy watching them, but, I don’t want to listen to it. Drummers would probably like the drum solo however. Even with the drum solo, I still give this 5 out of 5 Music Guru stars. I miss these guys, may they rest in peace.

Yosef Gutman Levitt ~ The World And Its People

For those that like instrumental or New Age Music, this may be the album for you. There are no words, just music…and what good music it is. Made up of Piano, guitar, cello, bass, done by Yosef Gutman Levitt on upright & acoustic bass, Yoed Nir on cellos, Omri Mor on piano & Tal Yahalom on guitar. Everything is pieced together perfectly. The band works very well with each other. The production & mixing are very well done as well. Give this one a listen, I think you’ll like it. I give this 4 out of 5 Music guru stars. It may go higher with more listening.