Racoon - Another Day Review by Greg Olma The great thing about reviewing music is that you get exposed to so many different artists and styles of music that you would otherwise never really hear. Racoon is one of those pleasant surprises that hit me right off the bat. More
Jody Raffoul - Big Sky Review by Gary Hill Here’s a contemporary release that’s very classic rock in nature.
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Rainbow - Live In Munich 1977 Review by Greg Olma A Rainbow show from the Dio-era is always a welcome addition to any collection. There have been a couple of live albums put out, On Stage and Live in Europe, but this one is the first with the Daisley/Stone line-up. More
The Ramones - Ramones Mania Review by Gary Hill This collection of music by the Ramones would be a perfect way to start your personal Ramones collection. More
Dave Rave - Anthology Vol. I Review by Gary Hill I have to admit to never having heard of Dave Rave before this collection. Apparently the guy has been making music for a long time with a number of different groups.
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The Ray Gradys - Die Mindless Fools EP Review by Gary Hill I suppose if you are used to listening to punk rock you'll know that “parental discretion is advised.” Just in case, though, I felt it appropriate to mention. I didn't count how many “f bombs” were dropped on this EP, but it has to be a big number.
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Real Be Easys - Lost Paradise Review by Gary Hill Red Hot Chili Peppers, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Red Hot Chili Peppers – OK, got that out of the way. Yes, these guys do have a lot in common with that band, but it’s only the starting point and not the full picture.
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Dan Reed - Coming Up For Air Review by Larry Toering I have to admit I'm quite a fan of Dan Reed, but I haven't exactly been following his career as of late. More
REO Speedwagon - Essential REO Review by Gary Hill The story is a familiar one - a band forms and creates their own sound, putting out a wealth of material, with some strong and others not so strong. Eventually they stumble onto a major hit, and suddenly their entire output seems to be based around trying to recreate that sound. More
Hard rocking and quite industrial in nature, this is a cool disc. These guys are from my hometown area and I really never expected to hear a band this good at this type of music from Northern Illinois.
Adam Rich - You Can't Escape Life Review by Lisa Palmeno Adam Rich’s You Can’t Escape Life is a progressive/alternative offspring of the punk era. Rich has pinned power pop down to science.
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Bob Rivers & Twisted Radio - I Am Santa Claus Review by Gary Hill The back cover of this CD contains the following admonition. “If you’re looking for the true meaning of Christmas, buy this album. Then, by all means, keep looking.” More
Julie Roberts - Men and Mascara Review by Gary Hill The "sophomore jinx" it's called. That's the phenomenon where an artist's second album isn't as good as their first one. More
Julie Roberts - Julie Roberts Review by Gary Hill When I was younger I wouldn't have touched country music with the proverbial ten-foot pole. As I've matured, though, I've found that all musical forms have artists of merit within them, and by closing out an entire genre, you are depriving yourself of some very good music. More
Robbie Robertson is someone who I’ve always been aware of for his work with The Band, but other than watching a video of The Last Waltz film by Martin Scorsese about 20 years ago, my only insight into his life and influences were through the first two Band albums, Music from Big Pink and The Band, plus The Basement Tapes album they did with Dylan.
RockBitch - Motor Driven Bimbo Review by G. W. Hill Reading a bit of background about this band, it would be easy to see them as a gimmick band of the highest order. Indeed, here you have an almost exclusively female band, who perform mostly in the nude. More
Lee Rocker - Racin' The Devil Review by Eric Meli Lee Rocker put rockabilly on the map again with this, his Alligator Records debut. Rocker started playing at 8 yrs old, during grade school. That’s where he befriended the guys who would become his cohorts in the ‘80’s band The Stray Cats.
This live recording by the Gregg Rolie Band will certainly please fans of Santana. Rolie was the original keyboardist and vocalist in that band before moving onto Journey.
The Rolling Stones - A Bigger Bang Review by Gary Hill While the Stones have always produced entertaining albums, for a long time it has felt like they weren't entertained by them. It almost seemed like they were phoning in their performances much of the time. More
The Romantics - Super Hits Review by Gary Hill
Compilation discs are always a tricky thing. When you have one that’s entitled “Greatest Hits” or, in this case, “Super Hits,” though, it takes away the guess work of “Best Of” or “The Definitive Collection.” More
Stacie Rose - Shotgun Daisy Review by Gary Hill I like this album. I wouldn’t say I’m completely ecstatic about it, or that it’s the most original think I’ve heard, but it’s quite good. More
Uli Jon Roth - Earthquake Review by Greg Olma When Uli Jon Roth left the Scorpions, that old excuse of "musical differences" did actually apply. While the Scorpions went on to write more commercial rock songs, Uli Jon Roth decided that he was not going to compromise his musical ambitions just to chase the dollar (or Deutsch Mark as in this case). More
Todd Rundgren - Arena Review by G. W. Hill For my money the two greatest songwriters of the twentieth century are Todd Rundgren and Prince.
Running Still - Running Still Review by Gary Hill This is really a strong CD. Fans of Radiohead should find plenty of common ground here as it seems that Radiohead must be the biggest influence on these guys More
Otis Rush - And Friends - Live At Montreux 1986 Review by Gary Hill I have to admit a couple things up front. First off, I find that a lot of blues tends to sound too much alike and can't get boring after a while. More
Tim Russ - Brave New World Review by Gary Hill Often when you hear an album by an actor - some recent examples certainly come to mind - you might think that this person really is neither a singer or a musician and is just being force fed the lines one by one to sell the album based on their name. More
Tim Russ - Kushangaza Review by Gary Hill Kushangaza is Tim Russ' second album, and it definitely was a step up from the debut. Frankly, the majority of that was in the production department because his self-titled disc suffered more than anything from some over polishing and augmenting. More
Tim Russ - Tim Russ Review by Gary Hill This debut from Tim Russ (best known as Tuvok on Star Trek Voyager) came out on the Crescendo label. If you are familiar with that label, you'll know that a lot of the material they have released is Star Trek related - including various soundtracks and albums by cast members. More
Tim Russ - Bugsters Tunes and Tales by Tim Russ and Friends Review by Gary Hill This is a bit of an usual review for me and for MSJ - being that it is a children's CD. We've never done one before, in fact, I've never done one before, but there's a first time for everything. More
