And On...

Evermore - Truth of the World: Welcome to the Show

I get asked how I find these bands nobody seems to know about. I'm a sick pup, really. This one I found looking at the Australian ARIA charts. I always had a thing for Aussie music ever since Spaceman brought back some from there on his exchange term. I've even got a old Mad Rocker show on cassette that has me playing some new "Australian punk-rock by a band called AC/DC"! Anyway, these guys are actually New Zealanders that sound like Muse, or the Music to me. How ironic, huh? I don't know much about them, but apparently this is a 4th album and it is different from what made them popular Down Under. Fine, then I don't want to hear the others because this one is fantastic! A concept album with a story on the control the media has on the general public...outstanding! Catchy hooks, cool lyrics, and you can dance to it.... Plus, they opened for the legendary Split Enz on their reunion tour in '06! How awesome to be that close to the greatest living pop songwriting team of the Finn brothers.

Ian Gillan - One Eye to Morocco

I've always said he's one of the greatest rock voices of our time, and at 63 he's still sounds as if he's 33. Amazing. Deep Purple is one of the all-time greats, right there with Floyd, Zeppelin, etc.

Outside of Purple he has probably 30 records of his own, and I own several of the heavier ones from way back in the day. Over the years his releases have been spotty at best, sometimes his vocals are sketchy, or the music is contrived, or some combination of the two just sounds forced or wrong. But when he's on.... This album caught me totally by surprise. It's nowhere near a rock or metal release. This a worldly, seasoned, eclectic pop rock album. The voice is spot on, gracing various styles of musical origins, almost the sort of thing Robert Plant was doing in his solo career before Ms. Krauss.