Heal

Though some purists claim to prefer the unbridled ferocity of 1986's Darkness Descends, most experts would agree that Dark Angel only reached their creative peak with 1991's Time Does Not Heal – a veritable masterpiece of thinking-man's thrash metal…

On May 22, Eagle Rock Entertainment will celebrate the genius of guitarist/blues-rock vocalist Jeff Healey, with the release of a two-disc deluxe edition of "Heal My Soul". For the first time, this critically acclaimed masterpiece will be packaged with its companion album "Holding On". This will also be released on digital formats.

Billed as a "companion" to the 2016 posthumous collection Heal My Soul, Holding On combines a full live concert from 1999 with five additional studio outtakes. According to Roger Costa, the compilation's producer, these five songs were left off of Heal My Soul "primarily because they didn't quite fit into the flow" and "they were too good not to share." They had been shared once before, on a limited-edition vinyl called Heal My Soul: Bonus Sessions, but the digital release is welcome because they're solid songs, highlighted by the charging "Love Takes Time," the hooky "Every Other Guy," and "All That I Believe," which feels a bit like a conscious re-write of Hootie & the Blowfish. All are nice additions to the Healey catalog and the concert is solid, too – perhaps a little too pristine and polished, but still worthy for Healey heads.

South African expatriate Jonathan Butler isn't really a jazz artist, but his laid-back, slightly jazz-tinged approach to R&B/pop has earned the singer/guitarist/songwriter/producer a lot of supporters in the urban contemporary, adult contemporary, quiet storm, and smooth jazz/NAC markets. Butler has enjoyed a following since the late '70s, although he reached his commercial peak in the late '80s, and he continues to tour and record in the 21st century. Born in Cape Town, South Africa in October 1961, Butler was only a child when he started singing and playing acoustic guitar. Butler, who was the youngest of about 12 children, absorbed a variety of music when he was a kid. He was an admirer of South African stars like singer Miriam Makeba, but he was also hip to the American soul and jazz artists who lived thousands of miles away in the United States.

To celebrate their 20th Anniversary, German DISBELIEF will release ‘Heal’, which includes four new songs as well as one remake and three cover versions.

Gurf Morlix' ninth album, 'The Soul & The Heal' yields the expected Morlix darkness and humor, but woven between are numbers imbued with a warm light. The call to positive action on "Move Someone," the mindfulness of "Right Now" and the sensitive finale "The Best We Can" balance this focused collection, an album that manages to run the gamut of emotions without being cloying or obvious.