The Rainmakers - The Good News And The Bad News (1989)

The good news is that once again this Kansas City quartet marries hard-rocking blues to literate references, mentioning Abraham Lincoln, John F. Kennedy, and John Wilkes Booth in the opening track alone. The bad news is that the enthusiastic whoop of songwriter and frontman Bob Walkenhorst will put off some listeners. Their loss. Guitarist Steve Phillips sings on his own tune, "Knock on Wood" (no relation to the Eddie Floyd classic). Murky production by Walkenhorst and engineer Jeff Glixman is another piece of bad news, but this is another strong outing that failed to connect with the larger audience it deserved. The band took a four-year break after this release.