There were quite a few releases in 2008 that we meant to share with our readers but, for one reason or another, just never got around to:

A "Higher Standards"

Lori Bell Trio

Beezwax Records

B "The Music of Djavan"

Lori Bell

Resonance Records

San Diego-based jazz flutist Lori Bell released two albums in 2008 -- a straight-ahead set with her trio and a tribute to contemporary Brazilian composer Djavan with a specially assembled quintet/sextet.

The "Higher Standards" set takes in everything from the Gershwins to Charlie Parker to Freddie Hubbard. Joined by guitarist Ron Satterfield and drummer Kevin Koch (Fattburger), Bell turns in a stellar session marked by superb playing. The arrangements are mainstream, but spare enough to provide Bell and Satterfield plenty of room to stretch out. And Koch provides a surprisingly robust foundation on the traps, fully immersed in jazz with none of the R&B underpinnings of Fattburger's music.

The Djavan set, on the other hand, never seems to really find its footing. The rhythm section occasionally darts off into a mild Brazilian Afro-beat, but inevitably reverts to a safe straight-ahead groove. Bell's gorgeous tone on flute and her fluid segues from the main theme into her improvisational solos remain as addictive as on the earlier set, but that sense of magic that so defines "Higher Standards" is much more fleeting on the Djavan set.

Contact Lori Bell at loribellflute.com.

B+ "Chubbed Up"

The Bigfellas

Self-released

Unlike the vast majority of local bands that are itching for the national stage, Encinitas' the Bigfellas seem to relish being a Southern California band. The opening track on their second disc is titled "California King" and is an affectionate nod to their home state. Then there's the entire smart-guy attitude of the rest of their songs -- any band trying to get rich and famous wouldn't be so mocking of everything in life.

But the men who constitute the Bigfellas are in their 30s and 40s, and have long given up serious dreams of hitting it big -- they're focused on making the best music they can. Mixing classic rock sounds with '80s and '90s alternative threads and song titles such as "I Wish That I Were Gay" and "Adam & Eve & Ted & Alice" or a rap song about golf ("On the Green"), the Bigfellas are all about a good time -- well, a good time backed up with some top-notch musicianship.

And on that score, they more than succeed.

Contact the Bigfellas at bigfellas.net.

A "Closer Than You Realize"

Matt Commerce

Self-released

San Diego singer-songwriter Matt Commerce brings a Southern sensibility and comforting charm to his folk rock. Hearkening back to mid-'70s Little Feat or the Band, his five-song EP's most marked characteristic is its utterly relaxed atmosphere. Like the two bands offered as comparisons, he builds his songs on a solid foundation of mainstream rock with broad streaks of country and R&B running through the music.

"Back in the Game" is a slowly percolating Southern boogie about a buddy just coming out of a long-term relationship (and Jeff McCullough's acoustic piano anchors the song with some nice New Orleans flavoring). On the second track, he ventures to the Caribbean with the reggae-pop of "Only With You," before moving back to his country-influenced folk-rock for the last three tracks.

With a warm, instantly comfortable singing voice and a nice variety of approaches to his tunes (all of which have the kind of addictive melodies you find yourself humming long after you've listened to his album), it's the sort of release that just grows on you the more you listen to it.

Contact Matt Commerce at myspace.com/mattcommerce.

A- "From the Motion Picture Soundtrack"

Death Valley Pizza

Self-released

Vocalist Ian Zalewski lists his residences as Julian, Eugene, Ore., and Death Valley on his MySpace page, but the presence of Dennis Caplinger on banjo, mandolin and fiddle makes this an album of absolute interest to local audiences. Caplinger is not only a regular presence in the house band for just about any musical that stops at the Welk Resort Theatre, but he's also played with everyone from Eve Selis to Tim Flannery to Berkley Hart. Caplinger is a magician with strings, and here he's surrounded by Doug Meyer on pedal steel, Megan Jane on drums and Zalewski's own soaring electric guitar.

The result, combined with Zalewski's alt-rock (and sometimes even further out) vocal style, is an album that -- like former Penetrators lead singer Gary Heffern's latest solo outing (below) -- is an almost-always intriguing melange of bluegrass and trad country coupled to all kinds of experimental threads from the last four decades, plus blues, jazz and mainstream rock.

Folks looking for a normal country or country-rock experience might be turned off by the weirdness, but there is an overriding sense of melody that grounds even the most out-there attempts at pushing the envelope. Plus the musicians are just so darn talented that no matter how experimental they get, their playing is so outstanding that you can't help but want to hear where they're going next.

Contact Death Valley Pizza at myspace.com/deathvalleypizza.

B+ "Consolation"

Gary Heffern

Self-released

As lead singer for the Penetrators, San Diego's pre-eminent punk band of the late 1970s and early '80s, Gary Heffern was known for his energetic singing and stage presence.

Now living in Finland (although he'll be back in town this month for a Penetrators reunion at the Casbah on Jan. 24), Heffern's latest solo CD is every bit as immersed in country and roots music as was the post-Penetrators music of the band's drummer, the late Dan McClain -- who went on to fame as "Country Dick Montana" in the Beat Farmers and Pleasure Barons.

And while Heffern had a charismatic presence out front of the Penetrators, you couldn't really judge the purity of his singing voice in that environment. But on this set of country songs (including a haunting cover of Merle Travis' "Dark as a Dungeon"), you get Gary Heffern the country crooner -- Gary Heffern, the musical descendant of George Jones, Willie Nelson and Ray Price, as filtered through a punk and modern chamber prism.

While his voice is fairly ragged around the edges, Heffern turns that to his advantage -- laying his vocal imperfections out on the table for all to hear. On a song of regret and redemption like "Consolation," that physical vulnerability plays right into the emotional openness of the lyrics.

Heffern wrote nine of the songs here, and while all have a certain twang to them, they range from the uptempo country swing of "Ghost on the Screen" to the country rock of "That's the Beauty of the Little Things" to the way-scaled-back art-rock of "First Kiss."

It's a bit uneven at times, but generally a fascinating listen.

"Consolation" is available from CDBaby.com.

B+ "Caledonia to California"

Highland Way

Self-released

Escondido's Highland Way is one of the area's best-known (and certainly most active) Celtic bands. The quartet is led by lead singer Brian Caldwell, a native of Scotland (now living in Del Dios) -- and while Caldwell has all the cultural authenticity in the world, he's also not one to let things ever get too serious.

And so the band's new album not only features traditional reels and jigs and a cover of Robert Burns, but also, on "Scotland the Brave Medley," riffs on the "Mission Impossible" theme, surf-rock anthem "Tequila," the theme from the Disneyland ride "Pirates of the Caribbean," Charlie Daniels' "The Devil Went Down to Georgia," and the themes from "The Addams Family" and "The Flintstones."

Good fun, that -- but no more so than their cover of Dougie MacLean's contemporary Scottish number "Turning Away" or the sentimental vocal duet of Caldwell and guitarist Heloise Love on "Black Is the Colour." Paul Castellanos (who doubles with Caldwell in the Clachan Boys) is a tremendous fiddle player, and Richard Gordon Heinz adds low-end depth on bass and keyboards.

Rather than a museum piece of some long-lost ideal of Scotland and Ireland, Highland Way is a Celtic band that lives in the present -- tongues firmly in cheek, the good humour balanced by virtuosic playing and rich singing.

Contact Highland Way at highlandway.us.

C+ "Terribly Happy!"

"Happy Ron" Hill

Self-released

Presenting an onstage personna of a lovable rogue, "Happy Ron" Hill of San Diego has a new CD out that displays a beyond-frayed singing voice that's more than saved by an enthusiasm that's impossible to resist.

Hill apparently wrote all 13 songs, and they alternate between autobiographical lounge songs (complete with female chorus) and naughty novelty songs ("All She Needs Is a Spanking" and "No Tantric Woman Blues" are pretty representative samples). None of the songs have particularly memorable themes, but the lyrics occasionally show real cleverness.

His MySpace page indicates he's a regular at open mic shows in San Diego proper, and his wink-and-a-nod approach is undoubtedly a nice break from the overly serious angst that typifies many of the contemporary folk singers who populate open-mic nights.

Contact Happy Ron at myspace.com/happyron.

A- "Ruf's Blues Caravan: Guitars & Feathers"

Deborah Coleman, Candye Kane, Dani Wilde

Ruf Records

While Oceanside's blues diva Candye Kane didn't release a new studio album in '08 (she was otherwise occupied in kicking a bout of cancer), she was part of a live set issued by her label, Germany's Ruf Records. Recorded while Kane was on tour with fellow contemporary blues singers Deborah Coleman and Dani Wilde last year, the album showcases all three women -- although Kane gets more than half the featured vocals (as well as both the opening and closing tracks).

What's interesting about the shows is that Coleman and Wilde are as well known as guitarists as they are singers, while Kane is strictly a singer onstage. That might explain the stylistic differences between Kane and the other two -- Coleman and Wilde both play a rock-blues hybrid, giving them plenty of solo time on guitar. But if they're closer to Bonnie Raitt or Stevie Ray Vaughan than they are to the high blues of Bessie Smith or the south-side Chicago blues of Koko Taylor, Kane is the purest heir to Taylor's title of Queen of the Blues.

Kane's over-the-top approach to the blues takes Smith's operatic approach and Taylor's larger-than-life energy, and infuses the mix with Jimmy Rushing's blues shouting and a huge dollop of 1960s' blue-eyed psychedelic blues a la Janis Joplin and Tracy Nelson.

The mix on this live set is fairly clean (although muddier than her studio albums), the energy from the three singers and the band is sky-high, and the audience is appreciative.

B- "Subject to Change"

Joe Palen

Self-released

Joe Palen's debut has a charming homemade roughness to it that hearkens back to 1980s college radio. The 40something Oceanside resident accompanies his singing on guitar, and while he's got a nice, clean singing voice, it's the urgency of his autobiographical songs and the jangly guitar that give this seven-song release a bit of an edge.

The melodies are pretty simple, but catchy; the arrangements and production seem a bit thin. Part of it is that Palen's simply not as good a guitarist as he is a singer, so his fills on guitar struggle to hold the listener's attention until he begins singing again.

But the evidence on this disc suggests someone who'd offer a fun live show, something his MySpace page and Web site suggest he does too infrequently.

Contact Joe Palen at palen.com.

A "Based on a True Story"

Podunk Nowhere

Self-released

Back with a more filled-out sound than on their 2007 debut, husband-wife duo of Heather Marie and Johnny Janiga still have that tremendous musical empathy that made their self-titled first disc such a delight. "Before You Go …," the opening track, may be the best distillation of what makes this pair work together so well. Johnny's guitar lays down a '70s-style folk-rock groove, while Heather's deep, rich voice carries the gorgeous melody.

On the other eight tracks, they meld folk, country, rock, blues and jazz into their own update on the '70s Southern California country-rock sound. Framing Heather's confident singing with a full band that loses nothing of the relaxed swing on their more acoustically oriented debut, Podunk Nowhere has turned in a stellar sophomore effort.

Podunk Nowhere's albums are available from CDBaby.com.

C+ "Split Demo"

Protect the Innocent/Ratchetface

Self-released

Two local thrash bands combined resources to issue a handmade disc featuring four songs from each combo.

Protect the Innocent is currently on hiatus, according to its MySpace page, which reports that two of the members are apparently now in Seattle. Even when active and recording its half of this disc, the band seems more political conglomeration than musical: Their stated raison d'etre is to stop the rest of us from stuffing meat in our mouths.

If you enjoy having someone scream barely intelligible lyrics about what a bad person you are for eating a cow while the drummer plays random beats and the guitarist and bass player practice their chords behind him, then this might be something you need to track down.

Escondido's Ratchetface is equally at odds with the mainstream music scene, performing a loud grindcore with dual vocalists John and Jon alternately screaming and singing in a sorty of demented horror film gutteral style -- and yet, they actually seem to have a game plan in place musically. The drums and guitars may be overly loud and distorted, but they're on the same page with both each other and the singing. And it's hard not to admire the enthusiasm present in their four tracks.

Given more time together, the men of Ratchetface may be onto something.

Contact Protect the Innocent at myspace.com/sandiegoinnocent; contact Ratchetface at myspace.com/consumeyourface.

B "Girl Like This"

Laura Roppe

Self-released

Poway's Laura Roppe had quite a 2008: Coming in second in the New Country 95.7 local talent competition and issuing her debut CD.

Roppe has a rich, expressive voice, and a confident delivery on this collection. She wrote all 12 songs, and the second track, "Mama Needs a Girls Night Out" is clearly aimed at country radio stations looking for the next big thing.

It's a nice, hook-laden pop-style "new country" song -- radio friendly, and with lyrics any suburban mom in her 20s or 30s can relate to.

Roppe can also stretch out from contemporary Nashville sounds. "Float Away" is pure pop, with hardly a hint of country -- closer to, say, Wendy Waldman or Laura Nyro. "Free" is pure rock 'n' roll, and "Fly Fly Fly" has a '70s folk-pop groove to it (think the McGarrigle sisters).

Her backing band here is tight and professional (Dennis Caplinger, from Death Valley Pizza, above, also plays just about everything stringed on this album), and the production is as good as what you'd get on a release from a major label.

While about half of Roppe's songs are first-rate, some of the others aren't quite as good -- if she gets her songwriting down on a more consistent basis, Roppe could be headed for the national scene.

Contact Laura Roppe at lauraroppe.com.

A "Opal Essence"

Lindsey Yung

Self-released

San Diego singer-songwriter Lindsey Yung stands out in a crowded acoustic scene for several reasons, all good and all present on her new CD.

Playing keyboards rather than guitar gives her a different sound than most of the county's folk singers. (And, no, the keyboard is not acoustic, but her near-constant presence in local coffeehouses and at open mic nights has made her a treasured member of the local acoustic scene.) Adding to her distinctive sound is her crystalline voice, reminding of early Kate Bush or Jane Siberry.

But what really sets her apart is her songwriting. While most singer-songwriters hew to a folk sensibility, Yung has always been closer to the art-rock school -- and "Opal Essence" moves even further in that direction than her previous disc, "Fusion."

Her songwriting has also improved; "Touchstone" is an alluring, hypnotic art-rock piece, anchored by Yung's haunting vocals. "Scent of Summer" is a cute little love song with clever word play in the lyrics, and "It Doesn't Get Better Than This" is a catchy, Hawaiian-tinged ode to domestic bliss.

While she employs a "wall of sound" approach to the song arrangements and production on the new album, it's done so well that it never sounds anything other than organic. Whether it's a bass line coming in atop her vocal mid-refrain or a slowly growing crescendo on keyboards, it all adds up to work brilliantly.

Contact Lindsey Yung at lindseyyung.com.