i Cannot Yet i Must

Contemporary Mississippi blues musician Eddie Cotton, Jr. has combined university training with service in his father’s church and a love of the blues to produce commanding music of fiery intensity and power. Following his spectacular 2000 debut Live at the Alamo Theater and Extra in 2002, Here I Come shows the triple threat singer, songwriter and guitarist breaking out and up to establish serious credibility as a major new star demanding and deserving to be heard. Cotton performs 10 uniquely original tracks backed by Myron Bennett (bass), Samuel Scott, Jr. (drums) and guest artists Grady Champion (harmonica), Carlos Russell (harmonica) and Sam Brady (organ).

Dynamic, hip and modern; the effervescent jazz and soul vocal star Kellylee Evans presents 'I Remember When' The album blends soul, R&B and hip-hop, captivatingly re-imagining modern hits from heavy hitters including Dr. Dre, Eminem, John Legend and Kanye West…

Next to Ian Williams of Don Caballero (and now Battles), Victor Villareal is one of the most of the most inventive guitarists in indie rock. Villareal’s astonishing guitar work was first on display in the legendary emo outfit, Cap’n Jazz. He next appeared on the Owls’ full-length, which was essentially Cap’n Jazz minus Promise Ring member Davey von Bohlen. On the side, he played in Ghosts & Vodka, an instrumental rock band that also had a Cap’n Jazz/Owls connection, with Sam Zurick taking second guitar duties. It would turn out that Ghosts & Vodka would be more prolific than Owls, releasing a full length and seven-inch before disbanding. Drunks & Addicts is a discography of this overlooked band, collecting their entire recorded output, as well as a bonus unreleased track.

The true power of music is impossible to define and yet we can all feel it when the sonic planets align. The magical impact of the finest rock'n'roll - that hazy but overwhelming blend of inspiration and perspiration - sustains us through dark times and fills our hearts with joy and strength. Music unites us, nourishes us and provides us with an emotional clarity that the rest of our turbulent lives singularly fails to offer. For those reasons and many more, we must proudly acknowledge and salute the true architects of the musical world that we call home. Above all else, Ritchie Blackmore is one of rock's greatest architects; a six-string seer that laid robust foundations upon which four decades of thunderous, perpetual evolution have taken place.

The latest in a long line of Queen compilations stretching back to 1981's Greatest Hits, 2009's Absolute Greatest runs a generous 20 tracks yet still manages to miss several classic Queen songs, such as "Fat Bottomed Girls," "Bicycle Race," "Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy," "Flash's Theme," and "Tie Your Mother Down." In their place are several latter-day singles that were hits in Europe but not America ("The Show Must Go On," "Who Wants to Live Forever," "These Are the Days of Our Lives"), so it makes sense that this compilation in its various formats – a single-disc set, a double-disc where the second CD contains commentary by Brian May and Roger Taylor, one with a hardcover book, one with LPs – appeared in the U.K. and Europe first, because it was tailored for this market.

This is an excellent spoof/satire of all things American with a side swipe at impoverished European royalty and the operetta genre to boot. Deborah Riedel is absolutely magnificent both in her acting and her singing. Her intentional horribly bad American accent in German is absolutely hilarious and is exactly the way so many Americans speak German although never so completely and swiftly. Yet when she sings, her German, of course, is impeccable and unaccented for, after all, she is an opera singer and will go only so far to dumb down.