Justin Johnson

Justin Saladino’s A Fool’s Heart is a pleasant R&B influenced, John Mayer soft-rock informed, guitar based ride. Montreal’s native 23 year-old son is a guitar wizard and feel-good chill-vibes phenom. With a smooth voice, boyish good looks and guitar chops to spare, Saladino is an adult-contemporary monster. But warning fair Blues Blast reader, this is not strictly speaking Blues. There are a few classic soul styled ballads and a bit of Blues Rock guitar wailing, but mostly this is a record of soft-funk with neo-yacht rock hooks.

Featuring alumni Justin Avery, (keyboard, vocals), Tom Brislin (orchestration), Steve Buslowe (bass), Paul Crook (guitar), Randy Flowers (guitar), David Luther (saxophone), Lyssa Lynne (‘Stop Right There!’), John Miceli (drums) — plus American Idol Season 13 winner Caleb Johnson providing lead vocals.

The funk runs deep and rich on "World Wide Funk," Bootsy Collins' first studio album since 2011's "Tha Funk Capital of the World". Populated with musical friends old and new, and recorded in his Cincinnati home's Bootzilla Re-hab studio, "World Wide Funk" marks both a reckoning and significant reboot, if you will, for the Rhinestone Rock Star Monster of a doll baby baba! Blue-chip rappers like Doug E. Fresh, Big Daddy Kane, DJ Quik, Dru Down, and Chuck D, along with guitar shedder Buckethead join a Bootsy-curated posse of fresh new artists on a record that embraces everything from the classic P-Funk sound Bootsy pioneered to the closest Collins has ever come to radio-active, boots on the ground friendly fire in a musical-P-rated-adventure.