JEFFREY MORGAN’S MEDIA BLACKOUT #616.257!

Third Place – Welcome To Lifeland (self released) :: Third place is second loser and this generic wad of angst rock doesn’t do anything to change that. Welcome To Lifeless is more like it.

Mick Jagger & The Red Devils – Unreleased Blues Album (embargoed) :: Now lemme see if I got this straight: the guy spends the last quarter of a century hacking out lame Stones albums that should’ve been put to sleep before they ever saw the light of day and he keeps this superlative solo session from 1992 sitting on the shelf? Look, I’m all for selfless devotion to craft, but this is the most sincere music Jagger’s made since Exile so do a search and download it now before you write the guy off entirely—assuming you haven’t already done so.

The Rolling Stones – “Claudine” (embargoed) :: And if you have, you’d better likewise listen to this 1980 outtake from Emotional Rescue which is nothing less than the greatest track that the Rolling Stones weren’t allowed to release. Not only do the withering lyrics about actress Claudine Longet and her involvement in the 1976 shooting death of her boyfriend, skier Vladimir “Spider” Sabich, go beyond black humor into an ultraviolet—and ultra-violent—vein, they redeem all of the singer’s dodgy musical indiscretions for the past fifty years, they’re that good: “She shot him once right through the head. She shot him twice right through the chest. The judges ruled it was an accident, Claudine. Accidents will happen!” Bonus points for having the drummer accentuate each “gunshot” with a rimshot.

Peter Green Splinter Group – Time Traders (Eagle Records) :: Ably augmented by harp ’n’ horn, this tasty 2001 album from Fleetwood Mac founder Peter Green harkens back to the glory days of classic blues rock when gents like John Mayall and Eric Clapton used to rule the royal roost—which more than makes sense given Green’s own Slowhand-supplanting stint in the Mayall’s Bluesbreakers. And because it’s still grievously unfortunate that Green’s untimely departure split up Splinter in 2004, maybe it’s about time that you revisited this overlooked gem and mourned along with the rest of us.

SIZZLING PLATTER OF THE WEEK: The River Junction Band – Limited Edition EP (self released) :: One of the things that I love best about attending Canadian Music Week each year is all the stray records that struggling musicians leave lying around for someone like me to pick up—which I do. This five track slice of hot toe-tappin’ country honk one starts off a mite too slow for my liking but then the band wisely floors it to exceed the speed limit, which is where they always oughtta cruise ’cause that’s where they do their best gitbox pickin’ and violin pluckin’. Bonus points for having a dynamite he ’n’ she dual duet combo and inspirational lyrics like: “Born country, it ain’t hard to tell: my Mama was a Christian and my Papa was Hell.”

Be seeing you!