King Crimson ~ Heroes EP

 

This EP from KING CRIMSON, titled “Heroes”, is a live release with only 4 songs. It starts off with David Bowie’s “Heroes” in which Robert Fripp performed on the hit from David Bowie. Also included are live versions of “Easy Money”, “Starless”, “The Hell Hounds Of Krim”, and a single version of “Heroes”…again. Whereas I’m not the biggest fan of King Crimson, this EP works for me. I like just about everything about it. The “Heroes song really sticks out, mainly because of Robert Fripp’s guitar work. It almost sounds like the original version, but, of course, missing the Bowie vocals. This was recorded live in Europe in 2016. I give this 5 Music Guru Stars. Not bad for a band that I’m not a big fan of.

Brian Tarquin & Co. ~ Orlando In Heaven

 

This release from Brian Tarquin along with some guests including Larry Coryell (his last recording before his death, this year), Chris Poland, Hal Lindes, Mike Stern, Tony Franklin, Phil Naro, & more, is for the victims of the Pulse Nightclub shooting in Orlando Florida. Musically, this is a gem. Playing all types of music. Starting off with some Jazz/Fusion & flowing that way for most of the album. The music is outstanding, actually, everything about this album is great. I rate this 5 Music Guru Stars. Outstanding!

The Tangent ~ The Slow Rust Of Forgotten Machinery

 

I am a big fan of the Tangent. As I’ve noticed over the years, their music goes in peaks & valleys. This album falls between the peak & the valley. Certainly not a bad album, also, not a great album. I did like it, but, again, not great. I love the music textures & the vocals, but, something is missing somewhere. I just can’t put my finger on it. Perhaps I need to listen to it more. For now, I give this 3.5 Music Guru Stars.

Junk Machine ~ Inner Child Labour

 

I didn’t know what I was getting when I listened to Junk Machine. I like the feel of the music, but, I’m not a fan of the vocals. Actually I couldn’t understand a word that he’s supposed to be singing. I think that he’s using distortion on his voice, & to me, that doesn’t work. I liked the vibe, but, couldn’t tell you what the singer was trying to tell me. I give this 3 Music Guru Stars.

Ritchie Kotzen ~ Sailing Earth

 

What can I say that I haven’t already said about Ritchie Kotzen. A great musician, songwriter, & performer. This album doesn’t let you down. During the first track, Ritchie uses something that makes his guitar sound like it’s out of tune. It’s not, it just sounds that way. The second track “Thunder” goes into a traditional sound for Ritchie. The guitar work is spot on. The rest of the album soars as well minus the other track with that weird out of tune sounding guitar sound that pops up again somewhere closer to the end. I give this 4 out of 5 Music Guru Stars. It would’ve been 5 if not for that weird guitar sound. Maybe Robert Fripp was helping on that track.

Todd Rundgren ~ White Knight

 

This album, to me, is one of the best Todd Rundgren albums that I’ve heard since “Adventures In Utopia”. The only problem that I had with this album is a lack of good drums, since most of the tracks are drum machines. Todd works with some of the finest drummers including The Tubes’ Prairie Prince. I know he’s on this album somewhere, but, he should play drums on each track instead of the drum machine that I heard on some tracks. Other than that, Todd’s vocals are good, as are Robyn’s vocals, on the song “That Could Have Been Me”. Another friend from Philadelphia, Darryl Hall, shares vocals with Todd on “Chance With Us”. Other musicians on the album include Trent Reznor & Donald Fagen. This is a gem of an album. I give this 4 out of 5 Music Guru Stars. It would have received 5 if not for the drum machines.

STYX ~ The Mission

 

I listened to this album & had some questions buzzing through my head. Why does Tommy Shaw not do much singing. He DOES sing, but, Tommy being the front man for the band only sings on a few of the tracks on this album. That being said, even without Tommy singing on most of the album (background vocals not included), This is the best STYX album since “Paradise Theater”. The rest of the STYX albums, following “Paradise Theater” were all very good, just not as good as “The Mission”. Great keyboards, great guitars, & vocals from at least 3 different vocalists. Going back to the great sound that STYX had back in the 1970’s. This seems like a concept album, which I thought, was one of the reasons that they got rid of Dennis DeYoung. Just a mystery to me, but again, a great album for sure. That was one of the other questions buzzing through my head. This album is their first studio album in 14 years. It’s glad to have you back with new music. This gets 5 out of 5 Music Guru Stars. I highly recommend this album.