Jay Jesse Johnson "Play That Damn Guitar"

I don't remember how I stumbled onto this, but once I did I found a video that stoked my interest. As it turns out, JJJ played on the "Arc Angel" album in 1983. That was a great record, and now I'll have to plow through my stash to find and revisit. It's on a cassette somewhere, so it may not play anyway at over 25 years of age. He was also on a record in 1989 called "Deadringer", and I recognized the cover but I don't own it.

This release smokes something fierce. As I spun it the first time I heard Frank Marino, Blackfoot, Indigenous, with a splash of Robin Trower. And those influences go for the vocals, as well. If you like any of the aforementioned artists, this would be one to seek out for your collection. Hard rockin' and bluesy!

New Porcupine Tree

I bought this on its release date Tuesday and started the initial listen today. One of my favorite bands from this decade. And, finally, I have a list of new releases to get, including Muse, Masters of Reality, and Chuck Prophet, to name a few.

Feel free to comment and suggest new music for me to hear. I spoke with an old co-worker of mine from the Music 4 Less days, Wayne Netzler, who has to be one of the world's biggest Cheap Trick fans, and he hated their studio album from this year. I didn't hate it, but it took some measure of patience to get to the last couple of tracks, which I thought were pretty good. Am I going to get their live rendition of Sgt. Pepper's? Maybe...

I've Been Going Through an Oldies Phase

There just wasn't much new music available that I had a desire to try, so I went back to some old CD storage and pulled about 20 to listen to over the last couple of months. I chose specifically for a continuous project of mine that I hope to bring to fruition one day in some form or fashion. Anyway, I thought some of you would appreciate these selections, and for those of you new to me a chance to see into my experience just a small bit. Granted, many of these are fairly popular, but remember, I'm working on a little something...

Berlin "Count Three & Pray" 1986
The Cure "Kiss Me..." 1990
Deep Purple "House of Blue Light" 1987
Elton John " Captain Fantastic..." 1975
Jerry Harrison "Walk on Water" 1990
The Freddie Jones Band "FJB" 1994
Billy Cobham "Best Of" 1988
Extreme "Waiting for the Punchline" 1995
Frank Marino & MR " Tales of the Unexpected" 1979
George Michael "Listen Without Prejudice" 1990
Mansun "Six" 1999
Ours "Precious" 2002
Rick Derringer "Blues Deluxe" 1998
Styx "Equinox" 1975
Terrell "On the Wings of Dirty Angels" 1990
Wire Train "Wire Train" 1990
Supertramp "Even in the Quietest Moments" 1977
Marty Willson-Piper "Art Attack" 1988
10cc "Deceptive Bends" 1977
Propaganda "A Secret Wish" 1985
Pink Floyd "Piper at the Gates..." 1967

See? All over the board...