Record Store Wanderings

Aside from classic rock, I love blues, so when I noticed Dion's Bronx in Blue CD I couldn't help but take a peek at the track list. Number one was Walkin' Blues, originally done by Robert Johnson, who is my favorite all-time blues artist. He also is being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. I've always thought someone should do a movie about Robert Johnson; he may have been on earth just a short time, but he made an impression that will last forever.

Bronx in Blue has several Robert Johnson songs, plus Jimmie Rogers, Hattie Hart, Bo Diddley, Lightnin' Hopkins, Howlin' Wolf, Hank Williams, Jimmie Reed and Blind Willie McTell. If you don't know who those people are, you owe it to yourself to check them out. Oh, and Dion. Dion DiMucci. Yes, that's the same Dion from Dion and the Belmonts who sang Runaround Sue and The Wanderer. If you aren't familiar with him, and some of you younger folk might not be, his influence of the music you and I listen to today is enormous. Click here to go to his website.

Crosby, Stills & Nash have two expanded CD's out. Crosby Stills & Nash and Daylight Again have been remastered and reissued. I don't have CSN yet, but Daylight Again is fantastic! Daylight Again has Southern Cross on it, so that tipped the scales of my wallet. It was kind of hard to choose between the two, but in the end, Southern Cross won out over Marrakesh Express. It's the song I listen to when I need to really chill out.

Los Lobos has a new DVD out that's on my list of gotta haves. It's Los Lobos - Live at the Fillmore. Plus there's a new CD, Wolf Tracks: The Best of Los Lobos that is coming out on Valentine's Day, so that's going to be my present to myself!

Also coming out on that day are three (count'em 3) Talking Head classics: Speaking in Tongues, Little Creatures and True Stories. All dual disk! I can hardly wait to hear them; I think my cassettes are about shot by now!

I have to admit I'm was a little late to hop on the technology train. Mostly because other things kept coming up, like work, and I really didn't have the time to sit back and relax and enjoy the music. One day I decided "what's up with that?" and went out and got a CD player. Now I can't live without it. If I remember right, the first CDs I bought were Meat Loaf's Bat out of Hell and Midnight at the Lost and Found, Queen's Live at Wembley Stadium and Greatest Hits (1 & 2), and one by Frank Sinatra CD; I don't remember which one.

Journey's "Generations"

This is much better than their last effort, Arrival, which, although I do like ballads, seemed to OD on them. The new CD is much more to my liking. More rock, less ballads.

Everybody gets a chance at lead vocals on this which is really nice - especially Steve Augeri. Probably my favorite track is "Out of Harm's Way", with Neal Schon's vocals. The song should resonate with certain Americans who (like me) who aren't too fond of the Iraqi situation. Schon is downright impressive.

If you like your rock blue tinged like me, you'll like "Gone Crazy". A bit of a caveat here: Ross Valory's voice is a bit quirky. I've always been a fan of quirky voices, so I like it, and the guitar playing by Schon is fantastic.

Definitely worth picking up!

I working on a rating system, just because people seem to like that sort of thing. I'm sure it'll be kind of quirky.

Yesh: that is my word of the day: quirky.

JOURNEY Generations is released by Frontiers/Sanctuary Records Group

Why I wish I could go to England in March

Two words; no make that three: Jethro Tull's AQUALUNG LIVE TOUR! Wait, that's five. OK, I need more coffee. And maybe some bangers and mash. Yum.