Featuring nine brand-new songs recorded on a quiet summer evening at the Largo club in Los Angeles, "Just Before Dark" reveals for the first time what Viola's fans have known and cherished for years - the depth and power of his one-man show, armed only with an acoustic guitar, a piano, and his incomparable voice.

Eager to follow up on the success of 2004's "Hang On Mike", Viola had entered the studio in early 2005 to lay down tracks on the material that would become "Just Before Dark", but soon found his vision of the project evolving.

"We started recording and it sounded warm and punchy like I like it but something was missing, that spontaneous thing you get when you sing in front of a live audience," says Viola, who recently took control of his own career after spending years on major labels, creating Good Morning Monkey Records specifically to release "Just Before Dark".

"It felt like the right time in my career to give a live record a shot. And while I'm at it, why not do a limited run on vinyl!"

Recorded by David Boucher (Ron Sexsmith, Randy Newman) on the second of a two-night stint at LA's Largo club, where people stand in long lines to see the likes of Ryan Adams, Aimee Mann and Beck perform the kind of small-venue shows that rock 'n roll legends are made of, "Just Before Dark" finds Viola stripping his ornate pop sensibilities down to bare bones and letting the songs speak for themselves.

A further boon for listeners is a guest appearance by Inara George, whose impeccable harmonies provide the perfect sparkling counterpoint to Viola's plaintive balladry.