San Fernando Beat by Sandy McKnight and Fernando Perdomo

With my upcoming move coming up I am trying to balance my time between packing and catching up with reviews that are sitting on my desk.  Today’s review is the new album, released March 5, 2020, by Sandy McKnight, a songwriter, producer, and performer along with Fernando Perdomo a multi-instrumentalist, producer and noted session player.  Together they bring an exciting album called San Fernando Beat which is a six-track EP.  This my first review for Sandy McKnight who plays bass, keyboards, acoustic guitar and provides vocals and my thirteenth review for Fernando Perdomo who plays guitars, drums, and keyboards and which features the tracks Facing The End Of The World, Single Flowers, Chloe’s Grace, Heart In Your Hands, Any Time Of The Day and Fake.  I was quite impressed with the performance on the EP as well as the recording and the songwriting talent that is featured on this album.  This is definitely an album you need to check out on CD and digital download from Amazon, https://sandymcknight.com/, and many other music retailers.  I look forward to hearing more from Sandy and of course much more from Fernando.

Water Theory by Lorena Leigh

This morning I started my day listening to a CD I received in the mail the other day by an independent artist from Fort Worth, Texas that mixes pop with a little of island and folk sound.  The artist is Lorena Leigh and the album is Water Theory released November 8, 2019, on the Cowgirl-Mermaid Records label.  This eleven-track album showcases a great voice and talent as a songwriter on such tracks as Into The Water, Girls Like Me, Can’t Undo, Take It Slow, Follow You and so much more.  I was quite impressed with the performance on this album as well as it’s superb recording. This album takes you from Texas to Florida and the Caribbean where you can listen to this album while enjoying the sun, surf, and a tropical drink.  This album is available on CD and digital download from Amazon, Itunes, and many other music retailers.   You can also learn about the artist and her music by going to her official website https://www.lorenaleigh.com/

Live From The Wildey Theatre by Nektar

Nektar’s album Live From The Wildey  Theatre was filmed on March 7, 2020, on their Up Close And Intimate Tour of North America.  This show performed in Edwardsville, Illinois focuses on new and classic Nektar tracks spanning their 50 Year career as a band.  The psychedelic progressive rock band Nektar comprises of Randy Dembo on bass, 1 string guitar, bass pedals and vocals, Kendall Scott on keyboards and vocals, Ryche Chlanda on guitar and vocals, Ron Howden on drums, and Derek “Mo” Moore on bass.  This fourteen track album features such greats songs as The Light Beyond, The Devil’s Door, Love Is The Other Side, It’s All Over, I’m On Fire and so much more.  I first listened to the audio tracks which I enjoyed tremendously before watching the video of the concert.  Both the audio and video were well performed and recorded in addition to excellent songwriting. I hope one day I will get the opportunity to this band live if they play in my area.  You can purchase this album from the band’s official website https://nektarsmusic.com/ where you can also learn about this band, their music, and more.

Yacht by Fernando Perdomo

Yacht is the March 27, 2020 album and my eleventh review for by Fernando Perdomo, guitarist, and bassist of the Dave Kerzner Band.  I have been a fan of his work for many years and always look for something new as in this album.  This ten-track album which features Fernando Perdomo on all instruments and vocals with a different sound than his previous album that has the sound like such groups and Little River Band, Pablo Cruise and others on such tracks as I Wanna Look In Your Eyes, Streetwalkin Rhythm, Side By Side, Feels and so much more.  I am quite moved by this performance as well as his songwriting talent and a superb recording.  This is an album that I wish he would release on vinyl so I could listen to this on my turntable.  I loved this release so much that I have already listened to the complete album three times already and will listen to it many more times.  This album will be available today from Bandcamp and other music outlets.  To learn more about this amazing artist, his incredible work and more please go to his official website https://www.fernandoperdomo.com/  In closing, I want to thank Fernando for turning me on to this amazing album looking forward to many more reviews from this great artist.

Tanglewoods by The Empty Pockets

Tanglewoods is the January 18, 2019 album and my third review for the Empty Pockets which features Josh Solomon, Erika Brett, Nate Bellon, and Danny Rosenthal on the MT Pockets Records label which features vocals of energetic pop-leaning country Americana, with careful and bright vocal harmonies on such songs on this ten-track album such as The Grind, Asleep On The Subway, Brand New Eyes, the title track Tanglewoods and so much more.  Listening to this album, I hear the growth of this band as performers and as songwriters from the first album I reviewed to this current one.  I was impressed with many facets of this band, their performance, their songwriting talents, the way this album was recorded and their marketing strategy by offering a free CD for the cost of shipping because once you hear one album, you will want to buy more from this band.  In the upcoming weeks, I have one more release to review which is their Live In Seattle album.  If you get an email for a free CD offer from this band, don’t turn it down, it will only cost you shipping and you will enjoy this band enough that you will want the other albums in their library.  You will be able to learn more about this amazing band, their other music releases, and their current tour schedule by going to their official website http://theemptypockets.com/.  In closing, I want to thank this great band for the opportunity to hear their music and support their work.

Myriad by The Lovetones

Myriad is the February 28, 2020 album through Cleopatra Records by the Sydney, Australia Psychedelic Rock/ Pop band The Lovetones featuring Matthew J. Tow on guitars and vocals, Christopher Cobb on drums, Matthew Sigley on bass and keyboards, Tim Kevin on guitars, keyboards and vocals and Nic Dalton on mandolin.  This album brought back such memories as the sound from the 60s and 70s with amazing vocals and instrumentation on such tracks as About The Girl, The Milkman Of Human Kindness, Rescue, Modern Life Is Killing Me, I’ll Never Be That Guy and much more.   This release features great performances as well as superb songwriting and recording.  I am looking forward to hearing more from this band and I will believe you will too when you hear this album which is available on CD and digital download from Amazon, Apple Music, and many other music outlets.

Just Breathe by Willie Nelson featuring Lukas Nelson

It is not very often that I review a single song due to time restraints, but this evening I heard a song that I was so impressed with that I decided to make an exception. Most of the time, the younger generation of artists cover songs of the pioneers, but if it’s the other way around, it’s a different story. The song is Just Breathe, the October 31, 2009 song written by Eddie Vedder and was recorded by Pearl Jam on their ninth album Backspacer.  The version I heard this evening was the cover performed by Willie Nelson and his son Lukas Nelson from the May 15, 2012 album Heroes on the Legacy Records label and later on the October 16, 2015 album The Essential Willie Nelson also on the Legacy Records label.  I was moved by the performance of this song.  Lukas sounds so much like his father it is amazing.  Willie and Lukas gave this great song much justice with great vocals and harmonies.  I have been a fan of Willie Nelson’s music for many years and now I want to hear more of Lukas’s work as a solo artist.  This song is available as a digital download and on the two albums, I mentioned earlier from Amazon and many other music outlets.

Normal Human Feelings by Little Suns

Folk/pop fusion Little Suns are a musical collective that simply can t be placed in any sort of genre; with influences both near and far, it s virtually impossible to compare them to their contemporaries.  I am proud to present their October 8, 2013 album Normal Human Feelings on the True North Records label.  This band features John Aaron Cockburn, Robin Meyer-MacLeod, Daniel Grewal and Liam Smith.  This album of nine pop/folk originals showcases a great performance with such tracks as Sunboat, Black Elephant, Antichrist, Child Of The Night and much more.  I was impressed with the songwriting talent and how it was recorded.  This is an album you will want to check out which is available from Amazon, Discogs and many other music outlets on Vinyl, CD and digital download.   To learn more about this band, their music and their tour schedule go to their official website https://littlesuns.ca/

One Million Words by Chuck Eaton

During Lois High’s show on https://virtuosityworldwideradio.com, I had heard an amazing artist from Brazil Chuck Eaton.  I was so moved by his voice on the song Compensate Me With Love that I wanted to hear more.  The artist sends me some digital files of some of his music so now over the next few weeks I will review the history of his music.  This one is his debut album One Million Words that was released on August 25, 2006.  This album showcases his great voice and relaxing soulful sound on such tracks as Another Day Is Coming, Just One Time, the title track One Million Words, Our Love Is Precious, Save Me From Ruin and much more.  I enjoyed this album from start to finish so it was hard to choose a favorite track.  I was moved with how this album was written, recorded and performed.  This release is still available on CD and digital download from Amazon, CD Baby, and many other music outlets.  In closing, I want to thank Lois High for turning me on to this artist.

Say Something by David Clayton Thomas

Grammy Award-winning musician David Clayton-Thomas has announced the release of his latest album, Say Somethin’ which is set for release on March 20, 2020, via Linus Records.  This former frontman for one of my childhood favorite bands Blood Sweat and Tears showcases some great tracks on this ten-song album in the form of potent music and inspirational songwriting from the legendary artist. In addition, the album confronts many timely issues across today’s social spectrum, including climate change, immigration, and politics with such songs as Never Again, Clayton-Thomas’ powerful battle cry calling attention to the gun violence plaguing the U.S. and The System, his insistent calls for action within the youth justice system.  Other noteworthy tracks on this album feature Dear Mr. Obama, This Town, A Bright Shining City and so much more.  I was quite moved by his songwriting talent, his amazing performance, and a superb recording.  This voice is still as strong as ever and after I finish this review, I think I will pull my old Blood Sweat and Tears album out and listen to it on my turntable.  This release will be available on CD and digital download on March 20^th from Amazon, Linus Records, and other music outlets.   I need to find a way to get my hands on his other solo releases.