What do former members of bad 80s bands do when they've had enough of dodging flying furniture? They start a solo career. Izzy Stradlin is one of the founding members of Guns N' Roses. He left that nightmare behind him in 1991.

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His first effort without hairspray was with a back-up band called the Ju Ju Hounds. They put out their first album in 1993 under the moniker Izzy Stradlin and the Ju Ju Hounds. I was expecting a GNR'ish sounding album from Izzy on his first endeavour without the other Gunners. Shuffle It All off that self-titled release sounded more like the Georgia Satellites than anything his former band ever did. And with good reason. One of the Ju Ju Hounds started his career with the Georgia Satellites.

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The odd tune off 117° sounds like old Georgia Satellites, Rick Richards of the Satellites is with Izzy on this one, but that's not all you'll get from 117°.

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The list of styles they borrowed from to put this latest together is quite long - metal, punk, rockabilly, blues, country, and something they call surf.

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If you're the type of person who buys mixed nuts from the bulk section at the grocery store you'll like 117°. If you're a one nut individual - for example, cashews and nothing but cashews - then you might not like Izzy's latest album. Not to say that the type of nut you might like has anything to do with your like or dislike of this album. I enjoyed it because it's fun. I found myself wondering what they were going to do next.

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