Seven Moons

Jack Bruce must have enjoyed his 2005 get-together with Cream so much that, when Clapton and Baker were unwilling to continue the collaboration, he rang up Robin Trower to renew the brief power trio fling they had in the mid-'80s. The Trower-Bruce pairing had released only two albums, B.L.T. and Truce, and was dormant since 1982, so this 2007 reunion was somewhat of a continuation of the project, albeit one separated by a quarter century. The results impressively continue where Truce left off, as Bruce brings his distinctive croon/moan to bluesy, riff-oriented tunes dominated by Trower's silvery guitar runs. Gary Husband fills the drum slot adequately if inconspicuously, but his contributions are mixed so far under Bruce's vocals and Trower's guitar that they are secondary. The yin/yang pairing keeps Bruce's more oblique jazz influences in check and does the same for Trower's space rock instincts, yielding a throwback that fans of both artists' previous work should enjoy. Trower's patented Hendrix-styled guitar adds a psychedelic edge to songs that generally stick to a midtempo lope and never blast out with Cream's insistent power, which can be somewhat frustrating to anyone who would like to hear these guys let loose. Still, there are enough strong moments on Seven Moons to recommend it, especially to those who enjoyed the duo's previous work 25 years ago.

Smokin' In the Boys Room: The Best of Brownsville Station

A roaring romp through Brownsville Station's back pages compiled by Cud Koda himself, Smokin' in the Boy's Room: The Best of Brownsville Station makes a convincing case that these Ann Arbor, MI, garage punks were one of the most underrated rock & roll bands of the 1970s.

Brownsville Station

Way back in 1977, die-hard Aerosmith fans waited and waited for the follow-up to the raging Rocks album to finally drop. We filled the down-time crankin' the latest releases from other American rockers, such as ol' Uncle Ted (Cat Scratch Fever), Starz (Violation), Derringer (Sweet Evil and Derringer Live), Cheap Trick (Cheap Trick and In Color), Lynyrd Skynyrd (Street Survivors), Ram Jam (Ram Jam) and the legendary Blue Öyster Cult (Spectres). In addition, the boys from Brownsville Station filled the Aero void when the group pushed out their self titled LP.

Issued in May of '77, the Brownsville Station album was promoted with the slogan "Comin' right at ya!". Billed as their most powerful album to date, the quartet of guitarist Michael "Cub" Koda, bassist Michael Lutz, primal drummer Henry "H-Bomb" Weck and newest member Bruce Nazarian, locked-in and banged-out a fun collection of cuts. The ten song album rolls from the off with the heated action of "Hot Spit", which is chased by the raunch of "Sleazy Louise", and lead single "Lady (Put the Light on Me)".

Brownsville Station lay on three-minutes of Motor City action with "Rockers 'n' Rollers", while trippin'-in with a shot of power pop via a short cover of "Ain't That a Shame". Produced by Eddie Kramer, Brownsville Station closes in a major way with the lengthy and comical "The Martian Boogie". For those that were around at the time of it's release, you can relate to the lyrical reference from "The Martian Boogie" that notes the old, all-night dives that simply went by the name of "EAT". spelled out in loud neon lights. That don't make 'em like "EAT" anymore... and bands like Brownsville Station are long gone as well.

A Night on the Town

This is the second Brownsville album, and the last that then rhythm guitarist Mike Lutz sang lead. The third album, Yeah! (Smokin'in the Boy's Room) saw Lutz move from guitar to bass and lead guitarist Cub Koda take over the majority of the vocal duties, as the quartet changed to a power trio. While it can't be argued that Koda was the band leader and made them run, Lutz' vocals were far superior IMHO. In any event, this album is full of good old rock and roll. Rock to the Music and Mr. Robert are great tunes, and the boys do a fantastic rendition of When the Saints Come Marching In, as well as a great cover of Motown's Leavin' Here. For anyone who likes roots rock, this one is a winner!

Running on Empty

Having acknowledged a certain creative desperation on The Pretender, Jackson Browne lowered his sights (and raised his commercial appeal) considerably with Running on Empty, which was more a concept album about the road than an actual live album, even though its songs were sometimes recorded on-stage (and sometimes on the bus or in the hotel). Audience noises, humorous asides, loose playing -- they were all part of a rough-around-the-edges musical evocation of the rock & roll touring life. It was not what fans had come to expect from Browne, of course, but the disaffected were more than outnumbered by the newly converted.As a result, Browne's least ambitious, but perhaps most accessible, album ironically became his biggest seller. But it is not characteristic of his other work: for many, it will be the only Browne album they will want to own, just as others always will regard it disdainfully as " Jackson Browne lite."

Summerfest Milwaukee, WI 6/25/1998

Brother Cane returns to Milwaukee's Summerfest for another round of songs in support of their latest album, Wishpool. These Southern grunge rockers still manage to keep things cool and hard rockin' even with technical difficulties at the end of "The Road". A good and solid show.

Summerfest Milwaukee, WI 7/9/1995

Supporting their successful Seeds album, Brother Cane comes to Milwaukee's Summerfest's Laser 103 Stage. In this high intensity radio broadcast, Brother Cane rocks their Southern grunge like "And Fools Shine On", "Breadmaker" and "Got No Shame". A must have for fans of the '90's.