_{Jean Beauvoir has a long and distinguished career, releasing numerous albums and working on many more as a singer, bass-player, guitarist, song-writer or producer. The release of “Rock Masterpieces Vol 1” by AOR Heaven on 29th June captures some of the excellent tracks from his albums over the years; as a solo artist, with Crown of Thorns and with Voodoo X. I included the Crown of Thorns track “Rock Ready” on the Friday NI Rocks Show on 6th July.}

_{“Looking For Today” is the debut album from LA-based band The Rare Breed. It was originally self-released back in 2016 but was given a world-wide release by Ripple Music on 22nd June. The Ozzy-era Black Sabbath influences on the band are very evident and I’m guessing that their name is a homage to ‘Rare Breed’, the short-lived band formed in 1967 that featured Geezer Butler and Ozzy Osbourne before they formed Black Sabbath. The track “Echo from The Sun” is included on the Friday NI Rocks Show on 13th July.}

_{Phoenix based band Co-Op released their self-titled debut album via Ellefson Music Productions/ SPV on 29th June. It was released a couple of weeks earlier in the USA via the EMP Label Group (the company started by Megadeth’s David Ellefson). The band formed in 2014 and is fronted by Dash Cooper; son of rock legend Alice Cooper. The album features a guest appearance from Alice Cooper and from Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry. The single “N.O.W.” was included on the Friday NI Rocks Show on 29th June.}