We have had several surprising deaths occur over the last few days.  Most notable is the loss of Blues great, Koko Taylor, whose magnificent Blues voice sprung out of Gospel, with forays into the Blues during her leisure time at Chicago's South-side Blues clubs.  Soon, her powerful voice would catch the ears and hearts of fans, many of them Blues greats themselves, like Willie Dixon, whose “Wang Dang Doodle” became a hit for Taylor.  Her voice and her straight ahead personality will be greatly missed by not only this guy but also the many Blues fans, whose lives and hearts were expanded by her contributions.  She adds a powerful component to the Great Band now.

Koko Taylor
1928-2009
RIP

More shocking is the sudden passing of Pop culture icon, David Carradine, who was found dead in his hotel room in Thailand.  His portrayal of Caine in the popular '70s series, Kung Fu, is still warmly remembered and cherished by many fans.  Additionally, his performance as Woody Guthrie in Bound For Glory is one that remember, not only because of the subject but also because Carradine so easily fit into the role due to his own laid back lifestyle.  We will remember Mr Carradine for the personas that he has given us through the magic of film.  He too will be greatly missed.

David Carradine
1936-2009
RIP

Our Alice Cooper Poll is beginning to show some signs of life.  Good.  Not only does the band deserve a little bit of attention, but they have been consistently overlooked as a Hall of Fame inductee.  Anymore, however, the HoF seems to be underpowered.  With the wealth of bands that deserve induction, the board needs to increase the inductees so that we can begin to catch up.  When you ignore a band that opened the door to shock rock the way the Alice Cooper band had, it becomes a story of negligence.  And that negligence doesn't end with AC.  There are so many neglected bands and artists that it is sad that we can even come up with a viable list.  Oh well...

Also, I just received an email from a voter in the Alice Cooper poll who had just received a 180g, half-speed master LP of School's Out, priced at an audiophile rate of $24.99.  It boasts a “very nice gatefold cover with the original art elements,...”.  However, the original art element was a die-cut 'desk-lift' that jacketed the LP, which itself was placed in a plastic sleeve and secured by paper panties (red, white, or blue).  I have to admit to being greatly disappointed as that is a valued cover, as legendary as the music found on the LP.  Friday Music SHOULD have seized the bull by the horns and recreated one of Rock's finest classics right down to the finest detail, including the unique packaging.  I noted on the website that they plan to reissue other classic Alice Cooper titles.  I have hope that they will pay close attention to the entire package and release them faithful to their original art.  That means that Killer gets the calendar, Billion Dollar Babies gets the play money, and so one.  C'mon label...if you can remaster the music, then you can recreate the awesome packaging that it was originally presented in. Me?  I would have been pissed!  It ain't real if it ain't all original. And I'm on a frakkin', all-consuming quest!

Be sure to vote your Alice Cooper Poll selection (the best career album) because on June 10, I will be posting the results.  Also remember that we will be gone from June 11 through June 23, with our return post planned for June 24.  Upon completion of that Poll, I will introduce a weird one that may be slanted to the older readers.  I have always enjoyed the labels of albums as many record companies had some fascinating label art.  For example, I was mesmerized by the label for Buddah Records.  But I also loved the Elektra label-art as well.  Warner Brothers Records also had a cool, palm tree-lined road that was their label art for the '70s.  The Poll might be limiting to only those that remember such things but I want to run it anyway.  I think it will be fun!

We have no reviews for today but will have a few on Monday.  Again, our news is not as beefy as we'd like it but it should do (for now). 

We'll see you on Monday!!

We have another round (a BIG round) of Great Album Covers, a feature you're all enjoying judging by your emails.  There are plenty more coming up, trust me.  And if you have your own and haven't yet submitted them, by all means do so at the mail link.  You have to have at least one in mind!

We have a new set of album covers from our recently launched Great Album Covers Poll. You can still vote for your favourites here and get them posted so that the rest of us can enjoy them. Here's the next three email lists:

"First, I read an interview with Roger Dean (Yes) and he mentioned a good point that if record companies are concerned about buyers just downloading for free just to get the music, if the record companies would give us more than just regular inserts, but instead printed material that is costly to reproduce for the user, it will increase the chance of people buying the discs because of the inserts. 

I know this is true on some cases for myself.  Given a choice between paying much less for just the music and more for a cool insert, lyrics, who plays what instruments, and maybe even notes from the band, I would rather have the additional information.  And many, many times when I hear a song, I think of the album cover. In no particular order:"  - Ron H.

• Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon
• Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin (I)
• Yes - Fragile
• Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here
• Chicago - V
• Joe Walsh - There Goes The Neighborhood
• Chicago - VII
• Cars - Candy-O
• Stevie Nicks - Street Angel
• Chicago - X
• Heart - Dreamboat Annie
• Linda Ronstadt - Hasten Down the Wind
• Buckingham/Nicks (the left half of it) - Buckingham/Nicks
• Joe Walsh - But Seriously Folks
• Bon Jovi - Slippery When Wet
• Debbie Boone - Choose Life
• Electric Light Orchestra - Out of the Blue
• Boston - Boston
• Shakira - Oral Fixation
• Janet Jackson - Janet
• Stevie Nicks - Belladonna
• Chicago - What's It Gonna Be, Santa?
• Chicago - Night and Day
• Chicago - 25
• Rolling Stones - Liver Than You'll Ever Be

Feralduck

• Beach Boys  – Surf's Up
  
• Beach Boys - Wild Honey
• The Rolling Stones - Big Hits (High Tides and Green Grass)
• Yardbirds - Roger the Engineer

"If you're going with  classic album covers, the first one that comes right to mind is Meatloaf's " Bat Out of Hell" with that motorcycle bursting from the ground and that bat just off to the right. If you listen to Meatloaf sing the  title trackit sounds like the soundtrack to that cover

Others the come to mind:

Molly Hatchet's " Greatest Hits" with that nomadic looking dragon slayer.

Grateful Dead "American Beauty". The cover perfectly matches the earthy tone of that entire album. Plus you have that little visual trick where the word "Beauty" also has a look where it spells "Reality" as well.

Elton John: " Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy". Can't make much sense of the cover but there's soooo much going on in it.
Kinda like band logos, Kiss with the lightning bolt 's, The Rolling Stones with the tongue, the Grateful Dead with the skull and lightning bolt, the album cover is just a lost art. I guess thanks to compact discs or something, It's a shame there isn't anything that you feel like you could walk with under your arm with a great cover sticking out the way you used to." - Brian H.

• Meatloaf - Bat Out of Hell
• Molly Hatchet - Greatest Hits
• Grateful Dead - American Beauty
• Elton John - Captain Fantastic and The Brown Dirt Cowboy

Just look at it! - Matt R.

• Grateful Dead - Blues For Allah

If Paris Hilton can do it, and a host of others in the past, then why not Brooke Hogan.  On July 21,  SoBe Entertainment will release Redemption by the singer thereby raising the bar for any to follow.  I'm excited.

Hollywood Records will release Here We Go Again by Pop artist, Demi Lovato, planned for July 21 in both CD and DD formats

Trustkill Records will release a Metal title from Memphis May Fire called Sleepwalking, scheduled for July 21.

Skaggs Family Records will release a Ricky Skaggs title on July 21 called Don't Cheat in Our Hometown.

Nettwerk Records have several titles on the calendar for July 28.  On that date, you can find Radio Wars from Howling Bells, and The Album from Bad Boy Bill.  In addition, they will issue a Various Artist package called Adam, same date.

Razor & Tie has a Developing Artist CD coming your way on July 28 from Melinda Watts called People Get Ready.

Jive Records has an album coming from Jordin Sparks called Battlefield that will be available on July 21.

Pretty Kids Collective Records will release the debut album by The Idle Hands called The Hearts We Broke On the Way to the Show on September 8.  You can listen to songs by The Idle Hands at their MySpace page.

Whitney Houston is planning to retake her flagging career back with a new album expected on September 1. This as-yet-untitled album has as much a chance as Mariah Carey had when she began to rebuild her sinking career. Carey was wildly successful and Whitney could be as well.

Anyone who has played any of Ensemble Studios' immensely popular Halo games will likely note that the expansive music, which elevates the play factor, is no different than the soundtracks attached to film.  They are there to enhance the experience and to lead you through a variety of anticipated experiences, often memorably.  The Halo Wars soundtrack, so effectively scored by Stephen Rippy, is a 2-disc collection that includes not only the 25 tracks of in-game music that provide the majestic sounds (and yes, Rippy's pieces are often majestic) but it also adds a bonus DVD to the package for more value. ****

This Austin, TX band by way of Dayton OH, has released their third album on Fat Possum Records in January of this year. Named The Mountain, it contains an exhilarating blend of styles to make this one of the more exciting albums of the year. We highly recommend you try Heartless Bastards out by sampling music at their MySpace page.