ing album. “Wild Thing” and “Magic Carpet Ride” are equally fun, and his “cover” of the song he wrote for KISS, “Cold Gin,” fits the mix well. Ace brings fellow rocker Slash in for a remake of Thin Lizzy’s “Emerald,” another winner. Of course, most KISS fans are loving the song (and video) “Fire & Water,” which re- unites him with KISS band mate Paul Stanley. In my not so humble opinion, this is the best Ace solo record yet. Way to go, Curly… Another ‘70’s band that rocked was Blackmore’s Rainbow, featuring former Deep Purple guitar hero Richie Blackmore. The band would shorten their name to Rainbowby the dawn of the ‘80’s, when they played the Monsters of Rock show at Castle Donington in England on August 16, 1980. At that time, the band lineup included Blackmore, fellow Purple mate Roger Glover, Cozy Powell on drums, Don Airey on keyboards and a kind of unknown singer by the name of Graham Bonnet, who took over the center stage spot following the departure of Ronnie James Dio to join Black Sabbath. Rainbow headlined the huge metal festival that year as a finale to their tour sup- porting their Down to Earth tour of 1979. On Monsters Of Rock - Live At Donington 1980 (Ward Records), they perform several songs from that record along with some classic Rain- bow tunes. Bonnet does a pretty good job on vocals. He’s no Dio, but then again, who is? Great live versions of “Stargazer” and “Catch the Rainbow.” I was a bit disappointed they didn’t do “Man of the Silver Mountain,” but truthfully, without Dio at the helm, it may have sounded lacking. As it is, this is an ass kicking record with all of the staples you’d want, Richie’s guitar solo and a Cozy drum solo. If you close your eyes, you can almost smell the weed smoke. A truly rocking little disc. Blackmore forever…
..Shake Your Faith (Diamond Day) is the Steepwater Band’s
sixth full-length album, and their best yet, fea- turing 11 new songs. Recorded last winter at Cleveland’s Crushtone Studios, the album was produced by studio veteran Jim Wirt (Fiona Apple). The album is filled with Steepwater’s own brand of blues, rock and boogie, featuring red hot guitar and lyrical subject matter that runs from love to murder. While the album is not really a concept record, it flows like one, with each song being it’s own chapter, while enhancing then album as a whole. It flows. Know what I mean? From the beginning of the record, the title track “Shake Your Faith,” the melodic lyrics and apt musi- cianship just wins one over immediately. It is obvious just how much The Rolling Stones have influenced the band, es- pecially when you hear “Mama’s Got to Ramble” or “Walk in the Light.” Of course, the band is no one trick pony. Not all of the songs evoke images of Jagger and Richards. Songs like “I Will Never Know” really
sound like no one else. Steepwater is one fine band, and Shake Your Faith is a winner in every respect…This has to be one of the great- est issues of KUDZOO as far as great albums coming out. Another excellent band is Jeri- cho Woods, whose latest release Same Ol’ Dirt (Yellowberri) is a joy from start to finish. While the album actually came out in 2015, I felt compelled to say a few words about how much I love this Kentucky country-rock outfit. Now, I am not going to sit here and run it down song by song. I am just going to promise you that if you love great music, you will love these guys. Of course, many others feel the same way, including this issue’s cover boy, Greg Martin of Kentucky Headhunters, who says “I dig this band, they know their roots, haven’t gotten above their raisin’ and do know their state and musical heritage.” Pretty good endorsement right there. Highly recom- mended… I have known the lead
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