Vinyl Junkie #2 - Pictures from the Front

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Yep, I am now eight records into my quest to re-establish myself as a vinyl junkie. I am right on JJ's tail, only a thousand or so more and I'll be running neck and neck with him! On Wednesday, I upgraded my turntable, still a basic, entry-level job, but light years beyond what I was using for the last month. Thursday, I had twenty bucks burning a hole in my pocket, so I headed down to Wax Trax II to see what I could find. Instead of searching for specific bands, I worked my way through the "various" offerings for each alphabetic letter. And in the "B" bin, I scored big-time with not one, not two, but three albums by rock/blues guitarist Jon Butcher! For a total of 11 bucks and change. Even better, whoever it was that previously owned these took really good care of them; they are in excellent condition! I've owned other Jon Butcher releases over the years, but for some reason, I've never owned a copy of his 1989 album, Pictures from the Front, which is odd, considering that it's my favorite album by the guy, and contains my favorite song by him, "Might as Well Be Free." Well, now I own it! Produced by Glen Ballard, and featuring guest vocals from Eagles/Poco bassist Timothy B. Schmit (on "Waiting for a Miracle,") Pictures from the Front reached #121 on the Billboard 200, with the singles "Send Me Somebody" and "Might as Well Be Free" hitting #7 and #38, respectively, on that magazine's Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. It's chock-full of tasty guitar play and radio-friendly arena rock tunes, and now it's mine! (Info verified by Wikipedia)