on Becoming Baby Wise

After the premature breakup of the Marbles, larynx acrobat Graham Bonnet took a stab at movie stardom (landing a role in Three for All), and then returned to mount a solo career with this eponymous outing, an Australian hit distributed by Ringo Starr's label. As with his previous duo, Bonnet exclusively interprets other folks' tunes. One can't really fault any of the songwriting, as most of these numbers are dependable standards; and nothing's ever wrong with Bonnet's sterling voice. But the record definitely betrays its time. The disco-string coda on "Goodnight and Goodmorning" (from Hall & Oates' debut) screams 1970s, which doesn't diminish the entertainment value one iota.

Three-CD, 75-track box of T-Bone Walker's recordings for the Capitol and Black & White labels in the 1940s. From a historical perspective, this is perhaps the most important phase of Walker's evolution. It was here where he perfected his electric guitar style, becoming an important influence on everyone from B.B. King down. It was also here where he acted as one of the key players in a small combo West Coast bands' transition from jazz to a more jump blues/R&B-oriented sound (though most of these sides retain a pretty strong jazz flavor).