One of Smooth Jazz's true sax icons has outdone himself once again! Richard Elliot, with his fourteenth solo release, on his own label this time (he, along with Rick Braun, is a partner in the company), nails it with METRO BLUE. He's an amazing player, and he gets better with each new release, showing more creative twists and nuances every time out. METRO BLUE contains nine new songs, all collaborations with Rick. They didn't spare superstar talent in the studio, either, using Jeff Lorber, Peter White, Brian Culbertson, Dwight Sills, and Gregg Karukas, among others, on the sessions. METRO BLUE is an exhilarating meeting of both old and new schools, using classic horn sections and very cool keyboard sounds...but always sounding clearly "today." The one cover on the set is a song Richard's been wanting to re-do for years, The Stylistics' "People Make the World Go Round." This new version takes a great song and creates an even better one, sounding incredibly fresh and different. No wonder it's already propelled METRO BLUE into the [...] Top 5 most played new CDs on Smooth Jazz radio stations across the U.S. and abroad. Other standout tracks to my ear include "Inside Out," "Camella," "Coastline," "Mystique," and "Maxi's" but, then again, I wouldn't tune anything on this album out if I heard it on the radio. METRO BLUE is signature Richard Elliot kicked up yet another notch, and I'm predicting that it will end up on everyone's list of the best Smooth Jazz albums of the year! ~Scott O'Brien