FANTASTIC 180 GRAM VINYL RELEASE OF THIS JEFF HEALEY BAND LIVE ALBUM. Capturing a homecoming gig for the conquering hero, Live at Grossman's 1994 finds blues-rocker Jeff Healey returning to a favorite club.

Looking back, it's easy to see that Healey was between stages: his most popular albums were just behind him and the years of him carving out a niche as a working bluesman who dabbled in jazz were ahead of him.

Here, he was performing with the velocity and volume of a blues-rocker at his peak, invigorated by an intimate setting where he could just play, not worrying about throwing in "Angel Eyes" or "I Think I Love You Too Much." The result is a set where he salutes his idols -- Clapton, Elmore James, Albert King, Howlin' Wolf, Hendrix, even the Beatles via an excellent "Yer Blues" -- and it's one of his purest and best records as a straight-ahead blues-rocker.

~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine