Provogue and Mascot Records moves on up to even further musical greatness with Shades, the 2018 CD by guitarist / composer Doyle Bramhall II. The 12 track CD is truly spellbinding in scope and features Doyle’s music which includes a stunning mix of stellar blues, grunge rock, psychedelia and even soulful pop ballads on an album that never fails to amaze. Assisting Doyle are some top names like Eric Clapton, Norah Jones along with Austin band The Greyhounds and The Tedeschi Trucks Band. Doyle’s core band also features excellent musicians including Adam Minkoff (keys, guitars), Tchad Blake (percussion), Carla Azar and Abe Rounds (drums) and much more including guitarist Chris Bruce. Clearly, the songs Doyle has composed are the main stars of the album and many of the tracks are co-writes by Doyle with various band members although the CD closes out with a Bob Dylan cover of “Going, Going, Gone”, produced by Doyle and guitarist Derek Trucks. Doyle explains, “As an artist, writer and producer, I'm in a good place, and I think I can allow this flow of music to come out and form a real body of work that my fans can appreciate. I'm thrilled to have them go on this journey with me." Clapton’s influence, as both songwriter and guitarist, is quite clear although Doyle’s own vocals and electric guitar work are excellent throughout, with track 10, “Parvanah” a standout psychedelic tour-de-force. Recorded in Brooklyn, Jacksonville, Austin and L.A., Doyle Bramhall’s Shades album sounds great and is clearly one of the finest pop-rock albums of 2018.