Baton Rouge Shake Your Soul LP (Magenta Vinyl)

This 1990 debut record from Louisiana band Baton Rouge is something of a melodic metal masterpiece that, once again, got expunged by the grunge craze of the early '90s. Produced by early Bon Jovi collaborator Jack Ponti, Shake Your Soul packed a formidable one-two songwriting punch in the persons of guitarist/lead vocalist Kelly Keeling (Michael Schenker Group, Trans-Siberian Orchestra) and lead guitarist/vocalist Lance Bulen (Kingbaby, Puzzle Gut), who (together with Ponti and associate producer Vic Pepe) crafted such hooky highlights as "Doctor," "Young Hearts," and "Walks Like a Woman." Fans of Aerosmith and REO Speedwagon will find much to cherish here...First time on LP in the U.S., magenta vinyl edition limited to 2,000 copies!

Louisiana quintet Baton Rouge did what was asked of them as they aimed for the big time, changing their name to reflect their home state and moving guitarist Kelly Keeling into the front man role to make use of his Sammy Hagar-like growl. Somehow, though, their 1990 debut Shake Your Soul only managed to scrape the bottom of the Billboard charts in spite of the group’s hooky, anthemic songs that were the equal of their contemporaries.