The Tangent ~ Proxy

 

Listening to this album ALMOST brings me back to the first time that I listened to the Tangent. That particular album I fell in love with & couldn’t stop listening to it. The music was tight, the voice was perfect & everything was awesome. This album is almost there. There was a moment or two, where I said to myself “Where i this going” then it went & came back to what it was. Other than those few moments, this album could be their best since “The Music That Died Alone”. To me this is their “Abbey Road”. “Proxy” doesn’t quite make 5 stars but, I’ll give it 4 out of 5 Music Guru stars. Maybe 5 if I listen more. “Proxy does have 2 epic tracks that go over the 16 minute mark. I love the epic tracks. The other 3 songs are under the 10 minute mark, but, you may want them to go on a bit further. This is how this album goes. Good music, good singing, good writing & solid songwriting make this a must listen to.

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RPWL ~ Tales From Outer Space

 

Yes! A new STUDIO album from RPWL. It has been too long. This is one of those bands that really has some great progressive stuff that takes you to a new level. This album is another one. This album seems to be a concept album, as most of the songs seem to be in the science fiction stage. This album is probably their strongest album yet, but, I’m not positive on that. It is, however, very good. I give this 4 out of 5 Music Guru stars. It may move to 5 with more listening. If you’re a fan of Pink Floyd with a harder twist to it, this is the band for you.

Chris White Experience ~ Volume One

 

This collection of goodies from The Zombies co-writer and producer, Chris White, comes with a good feeling of “Hey, this sort of sounds familiar.” The songs on this album have a later 1970’s into 1980’s feel to them. They should. That’s when they were written. It doesn’t quite sound like the Zombies, but, it is close enough for me. The vocals are certainly a bit deeper, but, again, it is good stuff. Chris White has written and/or produced albums for Rod Argent, & Colin Blunstone. Other people who celebrated White’s craft are Beck, Foo Fighters & the Beautiful South. The music & vocals are solid. The ballad “She Makes Me Feel” could be a great “Couples” song. This is just a sample of the talent that Chris White has. I rate this 5 of 5 Music Guru Stars.

John Diva & The Rockets of Love ~ Mama Said Rock Is Dead

 

The title of this album is wrong. Rock is not dead, when you listen to this album. Put Bon Jovi together with Van Halen and you get the Rockets of Love. Songs like “Long Legs” & “Get It On” certainly have that Van Halen sexual innuendo floating throughout. There are other snippets that pop out like that. “Rock & Roll Heaven” starts off with a beautiful slow start, then goes into a heavier rock feel. The music does have that Rock / Pop feel to it just like Bon Jovi. Good music, good vocals, good songwriting, it all works. I found myself really liking Bon Jovi. I feel the same way about this band. Give this a try. I believe you’ll really like it. I give this 5 out of 5 Music Guru stars.

Don Felder ~ American Rock ‘n’ Roll

 

Another great album from Don Felder. This man is one of the great guitar players who made the Eagles. After 1980 came around & the Eagles dis-banded, Don Felder made his mark with solo music. There was a great song that he made on the Heavy Metal soundtrack. That song is my favorite song on that album. 2019 sees Don making more great music. This album has a similar feel to it, as the preceeding album “Road Out of Eden”. “Road out of Eden” was a great album. This one is as well. The difference between the two is Road was his first album since he left the Eagles, so, he had something to prove. He played all of the guitar parts by himself. This album, he invited others to join in on “the fun” of this album, “American Rock ‘n’ Roll.” Along with Don, you’ve got Slash, Sammy Hagar, Bob Weir, Joe Satriani, Chad Smith, & Mick Fleetwood. “Rock You” features Don & Sammy Hagar on vocals with Joe Satriani on guitar. As they were recording this song, Bob Weir walked in & was asked if he would sing in the chorus. He did. Maybe this was why this song made the single for the album. It does have that anthem feel to it, so it does work for most people. “The Sun” is a beautiful piece of music that goes to show you, just how great of a guitar player Don Felder is. This album is really good & I must insist that you listen to it. I give this 5 out of 5 Music Guru stars. It will make my Best of 2019 list.

Alan Parsons ~ The Secret

 

A new album from Alan Parsons? I’m so happy to have the chance to hear this. This is, I believe, the first Alan Parsons album that he actually sings lead on. All of the vocals on this album are great & work real well with each song. There are many lead singers on this album. Besides Alan, you have Lou Gramm, who does not sound like the old Lou Gramm from Foreigner, but, it works very well. Also Jason Mraz, Todd Cooper, Dan Tracey, Jordan Huffman, P.J. Olsson, Carl-Magnus “CM” Carlsson, & Andy Ellis. The music sounds like pure Alan Parsons. Just perfect. The first track, which I didn’t like, but, it sets up the album’s run of magic. The first song, “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice” sounds just like Disney’s rendition, but updated by Parsons. “Miracle” sung by Jason Mraz, actually was my favorite track on the album, but again, they were all good, except the intro song. Steve Hackett plays on this album, but again, all of the musical work on this album is great. Most of the rest of the musicians work with his Alan Parsons Project Live band. With all of the work Alan has done in the past, he didn’t really need to release a new album, but, boy, am I glad that he did. I give this 5 out of 5 Music Guru stars. This WILL make it on my BEST OF 2019 list at the end of the year.

Todd Rundgren’s Utopia Live At The Chicago Theatre

 

Back in 1979, this band released the album “Adventures In Utopia”. I really loved this album. Mixing Prog with rock & a bit of pop. This live album brings that charm right back. There was a bunch of Utopia music that I didn’t know, but, after hearing this album, I’m going to go looking for more of this band to listen to. I wanted to see them when they performed near Philadelphia, but, alas, I could not make it on the night that they performed. I would definately love to see this band live, if they are as good as this album is. The band is in it’s prime form, with both Todd Rundgren & Kasim Sultan’s vocals were really good on almost all of the tracks. The band was hot in Chicago & so is this recording. The musicians are Todd Rundgren on lead guitars & lead vocals, Kasim Sultan on bass & lead vocals, Willie Wilcox on drums, Gil Assayas on keyboards. The 3 former were originally in the Utopia line up. Gil was added after Ralph Schuckett backed out. The first disc of this album is great progressive rock at it’s finest. The 2nd disc seems to find the songs that some of you may have heard before. I loved it all. This album is awesome. I give this 5 out of 5 Music Guru stars.