New Release Monday?

...I'll fess up -- I've been bad! I went on tour with my band a week ago, came home sick for a week, and am only just now feeling like standing up for longer than it takes to stumble to the bathroom. Forgive me. I'll resume posting with some regularity this week.

I got this awful cold in Athens, Georgia. I've since spoken to a bunch of folks who were at the same event, and apparently something was going around -- and not just excitement and enthusiasm. One of the worst effects of this bug is that my ears are really clogged -- I can't hear well out of my right ear. So I don't want to assess anything critically right now, feeling as how I am somewhat incapacitated.

It's ironic that one of the records I really want to sink my words into is Brian Wilson's new one, Lucky Old Sun -- the irony being that Brian is deaf in one ear...I'm only temporarily impaired, but I still want to let it clear up before I talk about someone else's music. I will say that, while far from perfect, this is by a great length his best (non-SMILE) solo album. The lyrics (mostly written by bandmate Scott Bennett, but also one tremendous tune from Van Dyke Parks and one okay one by Brian himself) are a big improvement, and melodically and arrangement-wise, this is much more ambitious.

I'll also blog a little bit about what it was like to do a short tour myself, after supporting touring artists for the past ten years in a different capacity. Stay tuned...