Weird that we’re almost in the middle of July. Hmmmm…. what have I been doing? Busy week for sure … lots of new stuff hitting the desk. Have fun y’all … 🙂
Big Head Todd & the Monsters – Rocksteady (BIG)
Genre/style: rock, funk, adult alternative
Recommended tracks: Rocksteady, Beautiful, Happiness Is…, Smokestack Lightening, Beast of Burden
Notes: ok, so what gives with “Big Head” Todd Park Mohr lately? Is he like totally schizo or what? Todd has taken to changing his noticeable influences not just every album, as he’s done for at least the last three now, but now changes mid-stride in the middle of an album. This past December, keyboardist Jeremy Lawton sends me a dl for the single, Smokestack Lightening (sample #1, track #7). I’m like shocked … this is BHTM??? This sounds like it crawled out of the belly of the wolf himself. Then a couple of months ago all of us in radio got the “single” from the new album, Beautiful (sample #2, track #2). Okay – this is cool. Not like anything really I’ve heard from the band over the years, and it is a bit “soft,” but it works … folks are diggin’ it … and then I get the album yesterday and come across the title track “Rocksteady” (sample #3, track #1) and “Happiness Is…” (sample #4, track #5), both of which show a funky side to Todd I cannot recall hearing over the past two decades. Todd’s time in Chi-town has infused him with more than just a bit of that city’s sense of the blues. There’s a playful soul thing going on here (cool horns btw) that I can’t recall hearing in previous efforts, and is considerably more refined and tasty than a lot of the the classic blues-rock sounding records I do recall. Oh … and that cover of the Rolling Stones “Beast of Burden” (not sampled) is pretty tasty too 🙂
Jeff Finlin – The Tao of Motor Oil (Bent Wheel)Genre/style: rock, alternative adult contemporary, singer/songwriter
Notes: I have no idea what more can or should be said about Jeff’s work. He says of the new album, Tao of Motor Oil, that it is a “foray into the mystical experiences of life, itself.” Jeff’s unique voice and phrasing highlight the journey. He’s also one hellova producer.
Emily Hurd – Daytime Fireflies (self)Genre/style: alternative adult contemporary
Notes: ok, I’m fessing up that I know very little about Emily other than from her website and the fact that her brother (?) Michael Schenkelberg said she’s moving to Denver (pretty much the same as FoCo gal Lindsey O’Brien, another Chi-town native). Gotta say, the record has captured my ear.
Jeff Brinkman – To The Bones (Devonshire Records)Genre/style: alternative adult contemporary, singer-songwriter
Notes: Jeff is becoming a popular local out of the Longmont/Lyons area. If you’re a fan of Dave Matthews and Counting Crows, no doubt you’ll find something here you’ll like also. A very solid debut record.
Chris K's Colorado Playlist 
I look forward to sitting down and wrapping my ears around the new Jeff Finlin album.