JEFFREY MORGAN’S MEDIA BLACKOUT #543.174!

Head Of Femur – Great Plains (Greyday) :: Wouldn’t it be nice if these Mod-decked dudes from the Windy City recorded a psychedelic smiley smile of an album that sounds just like what the Beach Boys would’ve sounded like had Randy Newman formed them instead of Brian Wilson?

SBB – The Rock (MVD Audio/Metal Mind) :: Straight outta Poland comes this slab of prog metal that’s alternately guitar-heavy and synth-airy with an epic ode called “Sunny Day” that’s bent outta Love It To Death. Do you hear what The Rock is cookin’?

Shakura S’Aida – Blueprint (self-released) :: Soulful street-smart singin’ from a stridently strong sistah who belts out dem honky tonk hoodoo blues like there ain’t no tomorrow. Thirty years ago, she would’ve been one of Leon Russell’s Shelter People; she’s that good.

Various Artists – The Gift: A Tribute To Ian Tyson (Stony Plain) :: Everyone from Gordon Lightfoot to Ramblin’ Jack Elliott pitch in to hoist this long-overdue rock solid salute to one of Canada’s greatest country songsmiths. Inspirational lyric: “If whiskey was his mistress, his true love was the West.”

Dala – Who Do You Think You Are (Universal) :: “Marilyn Monroe” is the greatest Marilyn Monroe song since “Candle In The Wind.” Which really isn’t saying much if you stop and think about it.

Lori Yates – The Book Of Minerva (Laly) :: “The Cameron 1985” is a sullen smack-sodden song that evokes one of Toronto’s most notorious watering holes, back in the days when Handsome Ned tore up the front room while the used syringes clogged up the toilets in the back.

SIZZLING PLATTER OF THE WEEK: Handsome Ned – The Ballad Of Handsome Ned (Virgin) :: I doubt that this 1989 release is still in print. But see if you can pick up a copy online somewhere because Robin D. Masyk was one of the greatest country rockers that Canada ever produced and this posthumous compilation still does him proud almost three decades later.

Be seeing you!