L.A. Guns ~ Cocked & Loaded (Live)

There are 2 different versions of L.A. Guns. The one featuring Tracii Guns, of course, & Phil Lewis on the vocals. That is 2 original members from the “Cocked & Loaded” album. Now you can hear it live with these 2 in the front. If you’re a fan of the original album, you will like this, although, there are things missing. It’s not much, but, when they say “in it’s entirety”, this is not exactly it. Again, not much missing, but some. Although the band has some talent, I never really got into their groove. It’s not bad, just not for me. For me, I give this 3.5 out of 5 Music Guru stars.

Coming Soon…

Coming soon…L.A. Guns, Cactus, & some EP’s.

Zero Times Everything ~ Sound Of Music

This album titled “Sound Of Music” is far from it. This album is mostly an album of sound landscapes. There is quite a bit of experimentation on these 2 discs, but, not a lot of music. There is some structure, but, I’m not sure that I would want to listen to both CDs at 1 time. Again, a lot of experimentation is on this album, and if you like that kind of sound, then this is the album for you. The first track from Black Hole disc, “You Are Here”,starts off with a very slow monolithic keyboard sound that repeats over & over again. It does pick up with “Razorblade Keychain, which starts off strong, then, for me, seems to go nowhere. The rest of the albums follow suit. Again, if yoou’re a fan of experimentation sounds, this may be the album for you. For me, I give it 3 out of 5 Music Guru stars…but just barely. I’m really curious to hear what you think.

Tony Kaye ~ End Of Innocense

To me, this album by progressive keyboardist Tony Kaye, once a major player in the band YES & Circa. This album, reminds me of a soundtrack album. It was actually a soundtrack of the corona virus from 2020 to current times. With this in mind, you can understand the low energy throughout most of the album. There are 1 or 2 moments where it picks up, but, then goes back to depression mode. That may have been Tony’s idea when he wrote these tracks. As the title of the album states “End Of Innocense”. Tony’s wife does a real nice job with the vocals on her tracks. The rest is all music. This is Tony Kaye’s debut album. Let me know what you think. I give this 3.5 out of 5 Music Guru stars.

Angela Autumn ~ Frontiers Woman

If you’re a fan of americana, or country music, this album will fit you well. I hear some great playing on this album. The only problem that I found is that the singer seems to have that country twang, that I haven’t liked since I first heard it (1960’s). In addition to guitar & vocals, you have fiddle, bass, percussion, mandolin, banjo, dobro, pennywhistle, organ & pedal steel. Once again, the musicians do a great job on the album, if the singer gets rid of the twang, this would get a higher rating. I would love to hear her sing without the twang. I would give this 3 out of 5 Music Guru stars.

Bluhauz

This new album, from Bluhauz, is a great lesson on how to make great music in 2020’s. Most of the songs are very positive. The music is top notch & has a great analog feel to it. It reminds me of music from the 1960s & 1970s. Very classic rock oriented with some great blues as well. Starting off with “Purify My Soul”, you can tell he is on a path. Each song has the same positive vibe as the single listed above. What a great song to start the album off with. I love this album. I give this 5 out of 5 Music Guru stars. LISTEN TO THIS ONE!

Ellen Foley ~ Fighting Words

e

Ellen Foley? Why does that name sound so familiar? She played the lead female part on the TV show “Night Court”. She was also the female singer on Meatloaf’s “Paradise By The Dashboard Light”. This is her 3rd solo album since she performed with Meatloaf. The vocals are definitely still there. You can still feel that anger in her voice in some songs. Among the songs that she sings, are, Wilson Pickett’s “I Found A Love”, and a nice cover of Meatloaf’s “Heaven Can Wait” written by Jim Steinman, who wrote the whole “Bat Out Of Hell” album. Playing along with Ellen are Slim Simon, Paul Foglino, Michael Jung, & Stephen B. Antonakos on guitars, C.P. Roth, Mark Ettinger, & J.C. Chmiel on bass, C.P. Roth on keyboards & drums, also on drums, Steve Goulding and vocals by Ula Hedwig, Rachelle Garniez, & Karla Devito on a duet. I give this album 4 out of 5 Music Guru stars. What do you think?

Foghat ~ 8 Days On The Road

This live set from Foghat is pure fun. With original drummer & founding member Roger Earl, who has recruited lead vocalist & guitarist Charlie Huhn, bass & vocalist Rodney O’Quinn & lead & slide guitarist & vocalist Bryan Bassett into a new version of Foghat, as Roger says he wanted to keep on playin & keeping the legend alive. This version of Foghat have some chops as Bryan Bassett has played with Wild Cherry & Molly Hatchet, Rodney O’Quinn played with the Pat Travers Band & Charlie Huhn has played with Ted Nugent, Gary Moore, Victory & Humble Pie. While the vocals don’t sound like the original Foghat, the band is tight & they play very well together. Some songs, you may not even realize that they were recorded live. This album comes with 2 CD’s & 1 DVD. You can see the fun energy on the DVD while they were playing at Darryl’s House Club. There were some other covers that were not Foghat, but, considering the ban’s background, this would be expected. They did play Fooghat’s hits of course including “Fool For The City”, “I Just Want To Make Love To You”, “Slow Ride” & my favorite song on this set “Stone Blue”. This album is a celebration of 50 years of Foghat. A fun album. Give this a listen. I give this 4 out of 5 Music Guru stars.

Richard X Heyman ~ Copious Notes

Another fun album from Richard X Heyman. This time Richard added some other musicians to this album including Julia Kent on cello, Chris Jenkins on viola, Kaitlin Wolfberg on violin & viola, Duke Guillaume on various saxophones, Probyn Gregory on trumpet, French horn, flugel horn & trumbone, and Nancy Leigh on bass & background vocals. Richard is a great songwriter & this album is equally as good as previous albums. You can see other Richard X Heyman reviews in previous notes. Keep writing good stuff Richard, and I’ll keep listening. Some of the music was a bit slower than previous work, but, again, is still good solid work. I give this 4 out of 5 Music Guru stars. The album cover is really good.

Greg Antista And The Lonely Streets ~ Under The Neon Heat

This sophomore album from Greg Antista And The Lonely Streets seems to be relying on Greg’s roots in punk. Although the punk movement may be in the band’s soul, the music seems to resemble classic rock even more. The music resembles Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes. The Jukes vocals were a bit better, but some of the vocals are not bad. The music is solid & recently they added Frank Agnew from the Adolescents, a punk band. Actually the other members also come from different punk bands. Give this one a try, you may find that you like it. Me, I give it 3.5 out of 5 Music Guru stars.