Highlights include the hook-filled “Cactus Music,” an old school anthem that ask you to “get your 45’s together and put a record on the deck,” which I am sure the digital download set will have no clue about, sad but true. “Muscle and Soul,” the title pretty much says it all, is a very steamy, sexy hard rockin’ number about some sweet young thang that has caught someone’s eye. “Electric Blue” is some heavy duty music — McCarty shows why he can still step out and play some great riffs that really grab you, and Runes does a phenomenal job with the vocals on this one. I like the way they wind up the album with a snappy instrumental tune called “Jazzed,” which lets everyone know why they were a great band in the first place. The chemistry and certainly the chops are still in place here.

It is obvious everyone that was involved with this project got a good kick in the pants from it. Now it’s our turn as listeners to give it a spin and feel the music, just as it was back in the day. This is a solid comeback for a forgotten band and it should kick up some dust, joggle some cobwebs, and help people to reevaluate the importance of Cactus music. They are back with a vengeance, so let’s rock to Cactus music — rock, rock, rock.

Artist: Cactus
Title: V
Genre: Blues-Rock
Label: Escapi Music
WebsiteTrack listing:

1. Doing Time (4:49)
2. Muscle and Soul (5:39)
3. Cactus Music (4:34)
4. The Groover (4:47)
5. High in the City (4:11)
6. Day for Night (5:49)
7. Living for Today (2:58)
8. Shine (3:57)
9. Electric Blue (5:40)
10. Your Brother's Keeper (4:33)
11. Blues for Mr. Day [instrumental] (1:21)
12. Part of the Game (5:02)
13. Gone Train Gone (4:50)
14. Jazzed [instrumental] (4:42)