Thank God and the passion within that BLUE RODEO still have FIRE IN THEIR  BELLY. Think that’s easy. Did you get this memo?

Conventional wisdom states that after countless albums, tours and the music business being what it is few artists can still dig deep to come up with the goods late in an already successful career.

Jim Cuddy, Greg Keelor, Bazil Donavan, Glenn Milchem and Bob Egan apparently never recieved that memo. Instead the band has forged an album rich in lyrical content and high in muscianship.

Should anyone care that a band spreads out and tackles a double album opus in these non attention to detail times?

That would depend on who’s listenening. I stil listen  to records the old fashioned way.

 WITH MY EARS. The disc opens with a soon to be Greg Keelor classic. (You may recall he has written a few already)  It’s the title track and offers up shimmering colors, intimate lyrics and a powerful Beatlesque chorus that blows you out of the room. Jim Cuddy fires up the “rhodes” piano mid tempo One More Night with his passionate vocal,   small town vibe and everyman stance it displays Cuddy and the band at the top of their game.

Despite these new inflections fans can still take stock that Waiitng for the World, One Light Left In Heaven and Sheba all three Cuddy tracks offer up craftsmanship without sacrificing melody and depth.

However, Keelor always known to take chances with his material spreads the sound into a wide  open D concept soundscape  with the refreshing Million Miles and his gorgeous “Harvest’ era Neil Young inspired  Don’t Let The Darkness In Your Head.

The beauty of Blue Rodeo as an outfit is that multi-instrumentalistist Egan, Milchem’s expressive stickwork and Donavan’s always vital bass lines invoke musicanship first and foremost providing Keelor and Cuddy’s song framework with emotion. With this in mind it should be said that as a recent add in tour and  studio player piano man Bob Boguski adds tremendous depth and clarity to a lot of the material

Other highlights include the big ambience of Venus Rising, The Band Stage Fright era roots inflections of  Arizona Dust and Keelor’s own Lost Togther era track Wasted.

Earlier in the year as this album was being mixed I had conversations with Keelor and Cuddy about how this album was going to be meant and conceived as a double album/four sided opus. For the band to pull this off with integrity intact remains a testament to the band’s musicality.   Yes, it’s good, and I NOW HAVE THE DOUBLE VINYL..which I will write about shortly

JOSS..STONE/COLOUR ME FREE/CARRIE UNDERWOOD/PLAY ON.

As most people are aware both Stone and Underwood are exceptional vocalists. The difference on these releases is that Stone’s cd comes off more  organic to her own talent. On tracks like Parrallel Lines  the new single Free Me, and her gorgeous cover of Ray Charles’ I Believe It To My Soul Stone reaches an emotional depth while keeping the tempo upbeat, making intelligent lyrical choices on her own songs, and singing the hell out of the tracks.

Stone seems in lock and step with the musicians among them David Sanborn and Jeff Beck and feeds off of their chops . Underwood relies on a more polished studio approach on Play On  where ballads rule. That may be fine, but there seems less distinction in the overall songcraft. Even the rock single Cowboy Casanova sounds like a Mutt Lange/Def Leppard outake.

Elsewhere Mama’s Song, Temporay Home, and Someday When I Stop Loving You all containing superb vocals sound like they could have come from any country album over the last 5 years by any female vocalist

The better songs on Play On such as the funky Undo It and the banjo jump/rock vibe of Songs Like This find  Underwood simply getting closer to a performance feel. If you have ever watched Underwood on stage you know just how captivating she can be

Elsewhere on Colour Me Free Stone’s  originals like the smoldering Lady, the unforced duet Big Ol’ Game with Raphael Saadiq and the political soul show stopper Governmentalist with it’s terrffic wordplay  really push her talent in a good way.

In the mid 80’s Alternative Country became a buzz word and catch phrase for music that had it’s inspiration and influence rooted in rock n roll, rural attitude and turned up and turned on musicians. Personally it brought me back to the earlier work of Bob Dylan, The Band, The Byrds and the first four albums by The Eagles. I recognized it again when I first heard Blue Rodeo, Wilco, Lucinda Williams and  The Jayhawks.

At the root of all these recordings are songs of substance. This 20 song compilation is a dandy overseen by one of the band’s  main songwriters Gary Louris.

There are  10 tracks from the band’s classic Americana work that yielded the albums Blue Earth, Hollywood Town Hall  and Tomorrow The Green Grass. 

However what becomes apparent  on this cd is that the period from 1996 to 2002 where Louris took over the lead role with other talented players is in fact a solid and criminally overlooked piece of the band’s recorded legacy. 

As of this writing co-leaders Gary Louris and Mark Olsen have been back together doing some acoustic shows . For Canadians fans of Blue Rodeo this is a must have collection.

My wife plays Frank Sinatra every Sunday morning. It’s relaxed and hip music. She also digs Harry Connick Jr. and Michael Buble’..I could probably understand why. However after about 3 or 4 solid listens I as a MUSIC JOURNALIST and my wife as A FAN have mixed feelings for HC’ s new cd. .. For me, it’s one of the best reecorded cd’s I have heard this year. Clean and uncluttered with amazing audio, and  superb musicianship. This cd folows in the mold of  the Rod Stewart/Barry Manilow Great Amercian songbook idea.

As with the other cd’s in this genre sometimes THE ORIGINAL SONGS ARE OFTEN HARD TO BEAT

Having said that Connick’s take on The Beatles And I Love Her,Don McLean’s And I Love You So, and the opening Frank Sinatra inspired All the Way with Tenor sax by Branford Marsalis are superb.  HC ’s take on Elton John’s Your Song  The Carpenters Close To You, and a few others miss the mark when I compare it to the vibe of the orignal hits

WHAT A  HUGE SURPRISE-Maybe all of us here in North America should clue into the fact that this band is one of the best  “boogie” bands on the  planet BAR NONE..I basically have not heard of these guys since they opened Live Aid in what 1985 ??..Now here comes this LIVE FROM MONTREUX DVD in 2009 that sets your head in a spin. A few facts. These guys have sold over 118 million albums, have achieved more British single hits than The Rolling Stones. Holy crap.

BOTTOM LINE..   THE REAL THING… 21 SONGS,  GREAT 5.1 SOUND..THESE TRACKS.. have just enough cool changes..that just kill……………….THE MOST FUN I HAVE HAD IN YEARS

WALKER is the perfect blues/roots vehicle for any music label (in this case Stony Plain Records) because he offers listeners such a wide pallete of dazzling song options. Produced expertly by the legendary Duke Robillard Walker has no problem walking the line between the roots of blues with the healthy infusion of rock or soul.

Just check out the mule kick of I’ve Been Down, the whiplash stroll of I’m Tide and cross tie soul of Black Widow Spider.

There is a sense of urgency about this album that jumps out of your speakers. The hard driving If There’s A Heaven with the earthy tones of Kevin Eubanks and the spellbinding slow  minor chord blues of Hallways with it’s  gorgeous piano and guitar solo breaks reach far further into the passion of where many artists would even would dare to go. That is commitment folks!

Tell Me Why written by Duke Robillard is a ’serves you right to suffer’ barn burner that could be a Rolling Stones Exile On Main Street outake that Buddy Guy or Jagger/Richards would have killed to have recorded. An incredible vocal take by Walker both on the aforementioned track and on The Ray Charles penned Blackjack

The album ends with the wah wah rip of  Big Fine Woman and the acoustic Delta-ish vibe of Send You Back.

Walker is not stuck between A Rock and the Blues he’s  burning rubber at the Crossroads

p[assioonatealiking  So Long Cases i npoint are the sweatyking ofd roots tastePassionate playing,  well constructed material and

For the past  seven years since her last cd much of Whitney Houston’s life has been pushed onto the front pages of every tabloid in the world. And usually not in a good way.

Maybe some of this has been self inflicted. Most of us will never know and nor should we want to.  It’s her life.

However when Houston  launches into the slow soul gospel of  her title track you know she means business. I dare anyone to turn this track way up, stand in the room and let her voice flow through your heart and not be affected.

It’s truly one of the finest vocal moments I have heard in the past few years.

 I’m not crazy about the whole album, but make no mistake there are enough vital tracks here that it will quantify what can be described as “Whitney’s Comeback”  Case in point is her cover of the Leon Russell chestunut A Song For You. Starting out slow and deliberate with strength Houston and her producers then turn the track into a Euro dance  number. Not a good idea to my ears.

But believe me, she still has the goods almost purely by her instinct to know what is good for her vocally and songwise.

 I love the fact she does not sing ballads all through the disc. The album statrts with the pumping bass line on the Alicia Keys written track Million Dollar Bill. and Houston commands her vocal range by not over singing on the  excellent Call You Tonight, and that goes for the AOR power of Worth It, a track I guarantee evcery couple will love. In fact, Houston sings ” I know somebody is gonna make love to this song tonight”.  She’s right.

After 170 million combined albums, singles and videos sold all over the world it’s not about money or how any homes you have. For most singers of this calibre it’s about  proving that her musical insight and talent is not hype.  On this return she proves that beyond any doubt.

Like his Irish colleague RORY GALLAGHER..GARY MOORE’S true spirit and soul comes to the fore at a “live” gig. This set of 5 cd’s from Montreux has some of the best blues guitar playing by anyone, anywhere at anytime. I’m often left shaking my head at end of one of Moore’s searing solos. The first cd is taken from 1990 the time when the Belfast native had just released his Still Got The Blues album.  Midnight Blues, the Otis Rush classic All Your Love and Cold Cold Feeling with guest Albert Collins are standouts. Disc 2 comes from 1995 and features a horn section on some tracks and 5 Peter Green songs. Green of course is probably Moore’s single biggest influence. Tracks like Long Grey Mare, Oh Pretty Women, and the slow blues of I Loved Another Women are simply killer. If that was not enough John Mayall’s Key To Love and Freddie King’s the Stumble blaze.

Disc 3 comes from 1997 and is a rock set. Literally only an handful of  blues, and 9 of the 11 tracks are Moore originals When I’m in a blues mood it I will skip this cd.  However I have to say it is by far the most interesting cd in the pack and I will play it from start to finish. Disc4 is back to the blues with blues standards from Elmore James, Jimmy Rogers, Otis Rush,  Wilie Dixon and even a rockin’ cover of Jimi Hendrix chestunt Fire and a dazzling take on Thin Lizzy’s  Parisienne Walkways written with Phil Lynott

Disc 5 comes from 2001 bookending Moore’s astounding journey at the world reknown festival. Check out his take on Stormy Monday,  and B.B. Kings’; You Upset Me Baby. Then again in his  own songs Too Tired and How Man Lies are rough and ready blues rock. FOR THE GARY MOORE FAN-THIS IS ESSENTIAL

someone had asked for this archival..here it is..this was the cd not the dvd which is mindblowing..i tried to make it bigger..but could not

john e.