Steve Rodgers ~ Head Up High

 

This album reminded me a lot of solo Paul Rodgers. The vocals were almost right there & the songwriting was similar. While the first song starts off in the classic rock category, the second song goes more in the pop category. “Sorrow” could almost be a Bad Company song. During “Yesterday” Steve even gives that Paul Rodgers hum throughout parts of the song. Some songs are better than others. Best song on the album is “Norah” which is a live track. I give this 4 out of 5 Music Guru stars.

Advertisements

Simulated Sun

 

Another EP for this review. This one is more in the Rock & Roll lineup. The first song “Castles” draws you right in with some great guitar work. The vocals are in good form. “The Emergence” is more of a psychedelic song, which is all instrumental. Following that you have “She Feels” which goes back into the same vein as the first track, this time with more keyboards. “Tannhauser Gate” was also a good contender for best song on this EP. Again with a strong keyboard line. The last song on this EP, “Zero Point Energy”, in my opinion is the weakest song on this EP. It’s not bad, it’s just not up to par with the rest of the EP. The 2 best tracks are “Castles” & “Tannhauser Gate”. I give this 4 out of 5 Music Guru stars.

Jordan Whitmore ~ Good Things

 

This short album (EP) consists of 6 songs, none of them are longer than 4 minutes. The first 4 songs didn’t really move me, but, then the title track “Good Things” came on & I was instantly drawn in. This song had something different going for it. Maybe it was because it reminded me of Sass Jordan. It has a lot more energy than most of the rest of the album. Good guitar, drums & keyboards draw me in as well. “I Wish You Would” the ballad of the album, also worked for me. Not as much as “Good Things”, but the songwriting was strong on this song. Originally, this started out as a 2 star album, but these 2 songs bumps it up to 3.5 Music Guru stars. This EP comes out in September.

Ardours ~ Last Place On Earth

 

This album didn’t really hit me with the first instrumental song, but, by the time that “Catabolic” come on with the vocals standing above the music, really changed my mind. At first, I was ready to just notch this up to another bad album, but, after listening more, I heard more that I liked. I don’t love this album, but, I don’t hate it either. I give it a middle of the road kind of feeling. I rate this 3 out of 5 Music Guru stars.

Mitch Ryder ~ Detroit Breakout!

 

A new album from Mitch Ryder? Wow! This is a covers album, which includes his own “Devil With A Blue Dress”. The band is good, but, better with the older songs from Mitch’s era. He does a good version of Chubby Checker’s “Twistin’ The Night Away”. “Cool Jerk” also works for Mitch, as does “Dirty Water” & “Just My Imagination” & probably my favorite song on the album, Otis Redding’s “Sitting On The Dock Of The Bay”. There were a couple of songs that didn’t work for me, but, all in all, this was a good album. I give this 4 out of 5 Music Guru stars.

Whitesnake ~ Flesh & Blood

 

Whitesnake is back! The new album Flesh & Blood sounds similar to past albums of Whitesnake. The music is tight. The guitar playing is still the treat that you want to hear, just like you did back in the 1980’s. David Coverdale’s voice is not as tight as it use to be, but that comes with age. When you’ve been hitting those high notes for decades, it’s going to happen, but David still makes it work. The album is a bunch of songs about having a good time, and, girls…of course. Reb Beach & Joel Hoekstra really do a great job on the guitars on this album. Not to say that Mike Devin on bass, and Michele Luppi on keyboards aren’t doing their fair share. They certainly are. Of course Tommy Aldridge on the drums always packs a big punch, and it doesn’t stop here. This is the 13th album by Whitesnake & if you’ve liked them then, you’ll like them now. I give this 4 out of 5 Music Guru stars. I wasn’t a big Whitesnake fan, but, after hearing this one, I may have to go back & re-listen to some of the older ones as well. They are also touring for this album, so maybe you should go see that as well. I would like to.

Richard X. Heyman ~ Pop Circles

 

I’ve heard many albums from Richard X. Heyman, drummer for the Doughboys & let me tell you, this is the best album that he’s done. Everything is perfect. The songwriting is top-notch, the music is wonderful & the production is perfect as well. Richard plays almost all the instruments on the album including bass, which is also played by Nancy Leigh, and she also sings harmony vocals. On cello you have Julia Kent & on viola you have Chris Jenkins. There are 17 songs on the album & 1 extra song which is not listed. All of the songs are great. 2 of my favorites are “Where Circles End” & “Until The Clock Strikes Doom”. I give this 5 out of 5 Music Guru stars. You will see this on my best of 2019 list. Thank you Richard for another great piece of music.