Ian Moore - Modernday Folklore (1995)

Spending a lot of time on the road honing his act has really sharpened up Ian Moore. This sophomore studio effort is a million miles beyond his debut release, full of thundering rhythms, wailing guitar, and heartfelt vocals. He's playing and singing better than ever, and the fire we heard on Live from Austin has made its way into this new set, which starts off sounding mysterious and suddenly pounds into the tom-tom-driven "Muddy Jesus." The album does have its moments of subtlety, you'll be happy to hear, but Ian Moore has proven himself to be an absolute fireball with this release. Guitar fans, Southern rock junkies, electric blues fetishists, and general all-around hard rock fans should suck up copies right now, because this music will make all those people happy.~Steven McDonald