B4 Internet Money

This strong debut benefits greatly from the expertise of veteran producer Bruce Botnick as well as the likes of former Steve Miller bassist Lonnie Turner and saxman Tom Scott. Guitarist Jimmy Lyon was to Money what Keith Scott was to Bryan Adams. Money, son of a New York City cop, had a rock & roll epiphany en route to following his dad's career path. The debut album, long on craft but not without inspiration, deservedly shot radio-ready tunes "Two Tickets to Paradise" and "Baby Hold On" up the charts, the latter helped by former Elvin Bishop songmate Jo Baker. The key tune is the spirited "Wanna Be a Rock 'n' Roll Star," which spells out the game plan.

Veteran blues pianist (and longtime Howlin' Wolf sideman) Emery Williams Jr. - known professionally as Detroit Junior - has had a renaissance of sorts in the past decade, releasing three albums on Blue Suit Records, and now this one, Blues on the Internet, on Delmark Records. Williams is a throwback to the classic Chicago blues piano style, and his warm, expressive vocals fall somewhere between a hoarse Ray Charles and a latter-day Bob Dylan, while his songwriting, although hardly innovative, is solid and workmanlike, avoiding most of the obvious blues clichés. His intent isn't to move blues into the 21st century so much as preserve the way it was played in Chicago in the 1950s (where Williams played alongside the likes of Jimmy Reed, Eddie Boyd, Eddie Taylor, and Little Mack Simmons)…

Hitzone - Best Of 2020 is a double CD with only the greatest hits of the past year. 2020 was a good year not only for fans of the popular hits. There was also a lot to enjoy for the true music lover. In addition to hits from The Weeknd, Dua Lipa and Benee, 2020 is also the year of home-grown music with hits from Snelle, Suzan & Freek, Davina Michelle, Racoon and Kris Kross Amsterdam. In addition to a lot of new artists, we also saw many familiar names in the charts, such as Tiësto, Lady Gaga and Sam Smith.