Year Of Pain by Robert Stoner

Year Of Pain is the debut album by Robert Stoner, a singer-songwriter from Berkeley, California scheduled for release on July 9, 2021. Despite the fact YEAR OF PAIN is his debut release; Robert Stoner is a prolific songwriter who has been writing songs his whole life.  This nine track album showcases his amazing talent as a songwriter and a performer with Ben Bernstein on lead and electric guitar, drums and percussion from Mike Stevens, additional vocals by Robert’s daughter Lily Stoner and vocal and instrumental contributions from singer-songwriter Maya Elise on such tracks as Just A Riverboat, The Principle, Out of Time, Wait Until The Morning, the title track Year Of Pain and much more.  This album was well recorded and produced and I am looking forward to see what is next in his career as a songwriter/performer.  This album will be available on CD and digital download from Amazon, Apple Music, and other retailers.

Comfort In Illusion by Head With Wings

Comfort In Illusion is the upcoming album by progressive rock quartet Head with Wings to be released July 16, 2021.  This amazing band features Andrew Testa on drums, Brandon Cousino and Mike Short on guitars, Steve Hill on bass, and Joshua Corum on lyrics, lead & backing vocals.  This three track EP features the tracks Of Uncertainty, Contemplating The Loop and In A House Without Clocks.  Listening to this album I hear an amazing performance, great musicianship, creative songwriting and a superb recording.  This is a band I would love to hear live and hear more in the future.  This album is available on digital download on Bandcamp and other music retailers.  To find out more about this band go to their Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/HeadWithWingsband/

That’s What I’m Talkin About by Sean Chambers

Good Morning everyone, I am glad to start my day with the Quarto Records label debut album by acclaimed blues-rock guitarist/singer Sean Chambers called That’s What I’m Talkin About, a tribute to legendary former Howlin’ Wolf guitarist Hubert Sumlin, released on June 11, 2021. In addition to Sean Chambers (guitar, vocals) and members of his band which is Todd Cook on bass and  Andrei Koribanics on drums, That’s What I’m Talkin About also features guest appearances from lauded keyboardists Bruce Katz and John Ginty.  This amazing eleven track album features such great cuts as Chunky, Rockin’ Daddy, Goin’ Down Slow, Taildragger, Louise, Hubert’s Song and much more.  I was quite moved by the performance on this album with amazing guitar work and vocals and a superb recording.  I was so impressed with this album, that I need to find a way to get my hands on his earlier work to see his growth as a performer.  Sometime in the future, I need to see this artist perform in person.  This album is available on CD and digital download from all major music retailers.  To find out for about this artist, his music, his tour schedule and more, go to his official website https://www.seanchambers.com/

Joan Of Arc 2021 by Peggy James

My friend and great producer Gary Tanin turned me on to an amazing single by singer/songwriter Peggy James called Joan Of Arc 2021, released May 28, 2021.  This is her second single for this year and is from the forth coming album yet to be named to be released later this year. Joining Peggy James on guitar is Jim Eannelli on drums, guitars, keyboards and bass. Listening to this single I hear an amazing sound with superb vocals and exceptional musicianship along with creative songwriting and a brilliant job of recording.  This is a song that I feel should make its place on top ten country radio where it would compete with all the major label artists out there and still make it to the number one position. Until the full album releases, you can still get the single on digital download from Amazon, CD Baby, Apple Music and many other music retailers.  I am looking forward to hearing the full album when released.

Live In The Cyberiam by The Cyberiam

Live In The Cyberiam is a Bluray from the Chicago act The Cyberiam live in concert.  These guys, like a lot of prog bands, are impressive on studio releases, but really need to seen in live performance to be fully appreciated. With Covid and a many bands not touring, this is the best thing to it. The Cyberiam filmed live at the Copley Theater in Aurora, IL on November 16, 2018 and release on Blu Ray on October 11, 2019 features Keith Semple on vocals and guitar, Tommy Murray on drums, Frank Lucas on keyboards, and Brian Kovacs on bass and backing vocals.  This amazing video features such tracks as Cool Kids, Alice In Afterland, Nostalgia, The Historian, Don’t Blink and much more.  This film showcases excellent production, a great performance.  I am so glad that they sent me this film in the package with their CD’s which you can get this amazing package by going to https://thebandwagonusa.com/collections/the-cyberiam/products/the-cyberiam-all-in-package or at the same site get the video by itself.

For The Love Of Bass by Alberto Rigoni

Alberto Rigoni, an Italian bass player and composer, released his 10th solo album For The Love Of Bass Features All-Star Bass Player Line-up including Nathan East, Leland Sklar, Michael Manring, Tony Franklin, Doug Wimbish, Adam Nitti, Lars Lehmann, Cody Wright, Mohini Dey, and David Pastorius released April 2, 2021.  This twelve track album as the title suggests, the instrumentation is exclusively electric bass, spanning ambient, fusion, jazz and new age styles with such tracks as Drops Of Memories, Dreamers, Alone In The Dark, Social Distortion, Killers and much more.  This album showcases an amazing performance, excellent composition and a superb recording.  This album is available on CD and digital download everywhere music is sold.  To learn more about this artist and more go to his official website https://www.albertorigoni.net/

Let It Go by Tamara L. Wilson

For my 1825^th review, I am proud to announce the release of the EP Let It Go by singer/songwriter Tamara L Wilson on June 18, 2021.  This four song CD she showcases beautiful vocals joined by Blind blues guitar sensation Joey Stuckey (who I have reviewed several times) on bass, keyboard and guitar, Tom Rule on piano and strings, Miguel Castro on drums, Freddy Tripp on trumpet, trombone and keyboards, Coleman Murphy on guitars, and Tim Loftin on bass on the tracks It’s Your Life (Believe), Little More Love, the title track Let It Go, and Have It All.  This is a well produced album with a brilliant performance, creative songwriting talent and a superb recording.  To learn more about this artist and her music, go to her official website https://tamaralwilson.com/

Memories & Intuition by Shumaun

Back in January of 2019, I had the privilege of writing a review for the sophomore album by Washington DC based progressive rock band called Shumaun called One Day Closer which I thought was an amazing album.  A few weeks ago out of blue I got an email from Farhad Hossain asking me if I was interested in reviewing their latest album Memories & Intuition scheduled for release on September 10, 2021.  The Shumaun sound is shaped by the soaring vocals and lead guitar work of Farhad Hossain, the pounding melodic bass lines of Jose Mora, and the subtle guitar nuances of Tyler Kim. This album also features the amazing drumming of legends such as Thomas Lang (Peter Gabriel, Paul Gilbert), Atma Anur (Jason Becker, Tony Macalpine), Mark Zonder (Fates Warning, Warlord), and Leo Margarit (Pain of Salvation).   This twelve track album shows the growth of this band since their last album with such amazing tracks as Prisoners, Memories Of Water, Jarriel’s Song, Intuition Underground, A Planetary Shift and so much more.  I enjoyed this album from start to finish and was impressed with the performance on this album as well as great songwriting and a superb recording.  This is an album I think would sound awesome on vinyl.  This great album will be available for purchase on September 10, 2021 , from http://www.shumaun.com and other outlets where CD’s and digital downloads are sold where you will be also able to learn more about this band and their music.

Forging Nations Live by The Cyberiam

Forging Nations Live is The Cyberiam’s live performance from Progstock 2019 on October 13, 2019 at Rahway NJ’s Union County Performing Arts Center released December 4, 2020.  This is my third review for this amazing band, my first being their self titled album which I reviewed back in September of 2019 and their latest album Connected that I reviewed just a few weeks ago.  The lineup of this Progressive Rock band from Chicago, Illinois features Keith Semple on vocals and guitar, Tommy Murray on drums, Frank Lucas on keyboards, and Brian Kovacs on bass and backing vocals.  This seven track album features a twenty one minute and nineteen second version of their song Butterfly Effect as well as such tracks as Alice in Afterland, Nostalgia, My Occupation, Don’t Blink and a few others. From listening to this album I can see the growth of the band since their debut album as performers and songwriters and even live they sound amazing.  I am glad that I got the opportunity to hear this album.  I hope they go on tour soon so I can see and hear them live.  This amazing album is available on CD and digital download from Amazon, Bandcamp and many other music retailers. To find out more about this band, their music and where in the future they will be performing live, go to their official website https://thecyberiam.com/

4.0 by The Farmhands

Over the years, The Farmhands have grown to become one of Bluegrass music’s most awarded bands.  Their new album 4.0includes 13 new recordings, which all center around the group’s long history of delivering relatable, story-driven songs released June 18, 2021 via Pinecastle Records. Joining Farmhands founding member Tim Graves singing lead vocals on the album are new band members Kimberly Bibb (fiddle), Bryan Graves (bass), Kelsey Crews (banjo) and David Mansfield III (guitar). This amazing album features a classic Ray Price tune called Pride along with other tracks such as Green River Ferry Boat, Trains Make Me Lonesome, Missing You, Back In My Day, Travelin’ Prayer (written by Billy Joel) and much more.  This band gave us an amazing performance as well as a superb recording.  You can pick up your copy on CD and digital download from Apple Music, Pinecastle Records, Amazon and many other music retailers.  Fans can keep up with all things Farm Hands, including upcoming tour dates, news stories and more by visiting the group’s brand new website www.farmhandsmusic.com