Boyce III: Back From The Dead by Boyce

For my 3875^th  music review, I am excited to present the March 31, 2021 album Boyce III: Back From The Dead, which is the follow-up to the September 1, 2016 album Boyce II released by Auburn, California metal band Boyce.  The great band is the brainchild of singer/songwriter and amazing musician Gregory Boyce.  This ten-track album showcases the growth of this amazing performer as a songwriter and musician with such great songs as Listen To Your Heart, Emerald City Suicide, Come On Home, Back In The Day, the title track Back From The Head and so much more.  I totally enjoyed this album from start to finish and was very moved by his performance with powerful vocals and heavy guitar work, as well as this creative songwriting and a superb recording.  It is not often that you find an artist that plays all the instruments his self which by itself I am very impressed.  This is definitely an album you will want to add to your rock library which is available on CD and digital download from Amazon, Apple Music, and many other music retailers.

Made In America by John Nymann

I have been a big fan of the legendary band Y&T, especially my friend Guitarist & longtime member John Nymann for a long time, so I am proud and honored to announce the birth of his first solo album called Made In America released November 5, 2021, on the IAC Records label.  This ten-track album showcases his amazing vocals and brilliant guitar work on such tracks as Made, Losing Track, Pray, Fall In Love, Fly Angel Fly and so much more.  I enjoyed this album from start to finish with excellent performance, creative songwriting work, and a superb recording.  If you are a fan of Y&T, you will definitely enjoy this debut solo album which is available in CD and digital download from Amazon, IAC Records, Bandcamp, and many other music retailers.  Also, it is due to be released on Vinyl sometime in the future.

Kobold Moon by Eric Westphal

Twenty years after the original release of Alice Street Sessions, Eric Westphal returns with his spectacular new album, Kobold Moon which was released November 1, 2021, on the IAC Records label.  This twelve-song album showcases his still brilliant voice, amazing musicianship, and more with such tracks as Indians, Vanity Gone, Dollar Moves. Days Long Gone (I Like Your Sweater), the title track Kobold Moon and so much more.  I am quite moved by the performance on this album as well as his songwriting talent and superb recording.  It was quite worth the wait to hear more from this amazing artist. I highly recommend this album to your music library which is presently available on CD and digital download from Bandcamp, Apple Music, Amazon, and many other music retailers. It will also be available in my favorite format 180-gram vinyl soon.

Sleepy Sunday by Greg Johnson

For those that are fans of jazz and crooner music, I have a treat for you with the album Sleepy Sunday by jazz singer-songwriter, Greg Johnson released August 27, 2021, on the Starburst Records label. Listening to this ten-song album was quite relaxing with tracks such as the title song Sleepy Sunday, What Ya Done To Me, When Smokey Plays, Lonely Again and so much more.  I was impressed with his voice and the instrumentation which showcases a brilliant performance and great songwriting.  I don’t know if it is my ears, my headphones, or what but the recording sounded a little muffled with the voice not being that clear sounded like it was recorded in an enclosed room with microphones on the outside.  Please tell me if I am wrong.  This album is available on CD and digital download from Bandcamp, Starburst Records, and other music outlets.  In closing, I love the music but the sound was not right.

Marthology: In And Outtakes by Martha And The Muffins

Martha Johnson and Mark Gane, founding members of Martha and the Muffins, have gone into their extensive archives to select 12 rare singles, B-sides, and unreleased tracks for ‘Marthology: In And Outtakes released on December 11, 2021, which spans 35 years of recordings, including the 30th-anniversary version of Echo Beach, previously limited releases of Summer Of Song, Big Day and Do You Ever Wonder? as well as never heard before songs and alternative versions of album cuts. This album also features such great tracks as Resurrection, There Comes A Day, Don’t Monkey With My Love and so much more. This compilation showcases a brilliant performance, great songwriting talent, and a superb recording.  I am glad I got the opportunity to listen to this album which is on CD from Amazon, Target, and many other music retailers.

Whispered Lies by Earl C. Webb

Whispered Lies is a collection of twelve original songs performed by legendary R&B/Soul singer Earl C. Webb completed as a collaborative project with writer, producer, publishers Greg Johnson and Jay Carney of Starburst records in 2021.  Listening to this twelve track album, I hear a great mixture of R&B, Blues, Jazz, and even a little country was thrown in with such great tracks as Heart Of Stone, the title track Whispered Lies, It Won’t Help You Now, Help Is On The Way and much more.  This artist showcases a great performance, creative songwriting talent, and superb recording and production.  I look forward to hearing more from this artist in the future.  This album is available on CD and digital download from Amazon, Apple Music, Starburst Records, and many other music retailers.

The Beatles And India by Various Artists

When I think of the album The Beatles And India, I normally would think about the Indian-styled music that George Harrison played while with The Beatles. But one new movie soundtrack releases August 18, 2021, on the Silva America Records label that’s sure to perk up the ears of Beatles fans is the 2CD set The Beatles And India. It may have been called The Beatles In India as many of the songs featured in the film were written during the Fab Four’s fabled sojourn to India to study with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in early 1968. The first track to be made available was Nikhil D’Souza’s version of Lennon’s India, India, and Karsh Kale and Benny Dayal’s recording of McCartney’s Mother Nature’s Son was issued as a second single.  This compilation features such great tracks as Tomorrow Never Knows, Across the Universe, I Will, Julia, I’m So Tired, Martha My Dear and so many others.  The second CD features original music by Benji Merrison.  This release features an amazing performance with the creative Indian arrangement of these Beatles classics, as well as a superb recording featuring a diverse cast of Indian artists bringing their own musical styles, as well as contemporary and classical Indian influences and techniques to the record. This is a great addition to Beatles related library. This compilation is available from Amazon, Apple Music and other retailers.

Christmas From India by L. Shankar

One of the things I enjoy about this time of year is listening to various Christmas albums by artists with a brilliant take of Holiday songs.

Celebrate the sounds and melodies of Christmas with this unqiue world music album by revered electric violinist/vocalist and widely heralded musical genius L Shankar.  His album Christmas From India released October 15, 2021 on the Cleopatra Records label takes us back to his home country of India as he recreates these familiar songs with the sounds of tablas, sitar, and violin, crafting a holiday album like no other with two original songs Christmas Time and Saviour as well as such traditional classic as Jingle Bells, O Holy Night, Silent Night, Joy To The World and so much more.  This release showcases an amazing performance and a superb recording.  If you are looking on a different Christmas sound this year, check out this album available on CD and digital download from Amazon, Spotify, Cleopatra Records and many other retailers.

Animals Reimagined – A Tribute To Pink Floyd by Various Artists

Following the wildly successful Still Wish You Were Here project released earlier this year, another gathering of classic, prog, and art-rock superstars recreate Pink Floyd’s ambitious 1977 album Animals. Includes performances by jazz-rock guitar legend Al Di Meola, psych-rock godfather Arthur Brown, drum master Billy Cobham, UFO’s Vinnie Moore, Bauhaus’s David J, Dream Theater’s James LaBrie, Rainbow’s Graham Bonnet and so many more.  The album Animals Reimagined – A Tribute To Pink Floyd was released September 16, 2021, on the Cleopatra Records label.  This five-song EP features the tracks Pig On The Wing Parts 1&2, Dogs, Sheep, and Pigs (Three Different Ones).  Even though I am more into the later works of Pink Floyd which was Dark Side Of The Moon and after, I was impressed with the performance on this album as well it’s a superb recording.  Please check out this album which is available on Amazon, Cleopatra Records, Apple Music, and other retailers on CD and digital download.

It’s Christmastime by Olivia Rox

Singer/songwriter/pop star Olivia Rox has released the music video to her original holiday song, “It’s Christmastime,” featuring world-renowned jazz artist Warren Hill on saxophone, who just so happens to be her father. The Christmas single was released on November 2 via her label Songbird Records.  I love this single that is perfect for this holiday season.  With a stellar performance, superb vocals, and great instrumentation, I rank this song among some of the great holiday songs you would hear on the radio.  I am looking forward to hearing a full album by this artist.  This is my first-holiday review this year which is sad because most years I get a lot of holiday albums to review.  Check out this video on YouTube and get the single from Amazon, Spotify, and other retailers where digital downloads are sold.