Two heritage radio stations abandoned the format this week. At this point in time they were a watered down and smoothed-to-flatline version of their original vision. Over the last 15 years or so, nearly every element of contemporary instrumental music that made it compelling and exciting was excised in pursuit of 3 1/2 minute blurbs of pastel musical wallpaper. This seemed like the perfect time to turn you on to a CD that will remind you of what's been missing. On Out of the Blue, guitarist Jeff Golub delivers heavy doses of every element that needs to be brought back to the forefront of this music - big heart, deep soul, strong melody, and solid musicianship served up with some rock guitar solos to die for and heavy hitting horns on the side.

Out of the Blue was a left field surprise after the laid back subtleties of Golub's two Avenue Blue projects. The guitar work on those albums was heavy with rock and blues shadings but in a chilled out jazzy mode.

This one is anything but chilled out. Lyrical ballads, blistering rock, raw blues and gospel-tinged soul are all delivered with power and intensity. The opener, "Wanna Funk," has a Jeff Beck/Allman Bros. feel with Golub throwing down breakneck speed riffs over Ricky Peterson's churning B-3 punctuated by a three piece horn section. Rick Braun and Golub trade solos over some tight percussion on "Manteca," the album's other really fast one, which has one of Golub's most rockin' solos at the end. "Indiana Moon," "Velvet Touch," and "Paradise Lost" expand on the best parts of the Avenue Blue sound - elegant textural ballads with powerful but nuanced rock guitar soloing up front. "Lucky Strike" is catchy, hooky and has an actual smooth jazz groove spiked up several notches by a funky horn arrangement and Kirk Whalum's sax. "Groanin' " shows that he can hang in a straightahead combo setting too. He swings out on this one. But wait, this song appears to be nine minutes long and it stops at about 3:40. Let it play through about 30 seconds of silence and you'll be treated to a live version of "Wanna Funk" that is raw, gritty, and sizzling!

Golub has always had his foot (and fingers) in several different worlds. He grew up listening to the rock heroes - Clapton, Hendrix, Jeff Beck, etc - then moved into exploring the blues guitarists that influenced them.

Then he heard Wes Montgomery and started getting into jazz. He went to Berklee then jumped into Billy Squier's arena rock band. He has come out of this melting pot with a completely individualistic sound, especially in the smooth jazz world where most guitarists have followed Norman Brown's lead into hollow body guitar/R&B type influences. The other thing Golub does so well is delivering a live, organic sound. A lot of music is so polished and refined by studio technology that it becomes high gloss with little substance. These songs are just the opposite, they sound like human beings are playing, connecting, and interacting. As a matter of fact, one of the most fun things about this one is hearing some artists who have smoothed out their own recordings really cut loose. Braun just blows it away in "Manteca," Whalum fires it up on "Lucky Strike," and Mark Antoine plays acoustic power-solos on "Paradise Lost."

When I interviewed Golub and told him this was my favorite he said it was the one that had sold the least. It's not too late to fix that situation. One of the benefits of having that live sound is that technological affectations tend to be era-specific. You hear certain effects or sounds and know they came from a given point in time. Put a band in a room, let them play and record it like that and you come up with timeless music. If, like Golub (and me), you grew up with rock and blues then grew into this other type of music, this is a must-have. If you want to turn your friends on to instrumental music this is a must-have. If you think rock influenced music is just not your thing this is still a must-have because these rock influences are delivered in a package that includes melody and beauty.

In short, this is a must-have for any music fan who wants to be excited by the possibilities this music has to offer when the restraints are taken off and the musicians can just come to play.