Shawn Colvin “A Few Small Repairs”
Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#956 in the Series) is Shawn Colvin, A Few Small Repairs A Few Small Repairs is one of those albums that takes love gone wrong and turns what could be a litany of heartbreak and “woe-is-me” into an autobiographical purging, and the listener goes along for the ride with some soaring beautiful melodies punctuated with hard-knock lessons. Colvin didn’t come to the making of this album without a lot of hard work, learning guitar in her childhood in South Dakota and performing in The King and I as a teen, then like most of us had some twists and turns which led to this release, her fourth, in 1996. The album opens...
The Subdudes “Primitive Streak”
Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#619 in the Series) is The Subdudes, Primitive Streak I have to admit when I first purchased the CD of this album it stayed in my car’s player for a good long time, and back in 1996 I don’t think they had multi-disc players. However, I am quite sure it was not because I was sick of it that it became a forgotten part of my collection until just recently. When I did revisit, I was blue that I had missed it for so long. Luckily my spirits quickly lifted as I made my way through this thoughtful piece of music. It’s best described as New Orleans style roots music, with lots...
Chris Isaak “Baja Sessions”
Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#369 in the Series) is Chris Isaak, Baja Sessions OK, let’s cut straight to the chase here. This album was never going to be a ground-breaking, innovative classic. It was never going to change the face of modern music and it was never going to be sitting atop any “Greatest Album Of The Decade” polls. Heck , it’s probably not even Isaak’s best album. It was never about that. What it IS about though, undoubtedly, is a whole lot of laid-back, easy-going summertime fun ! Pure and simple. And there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that now is there ? Sometime in the early 90’s, Chris Isaak and his band found themselves down in...
Everything But The Girl “Walking Wounded”
Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#361 in the Series) is Everything But the Girl, Walking Wounded. In 1996, Everything But The Girl released their 8th studio album and it boasted a completely different sound and feel to any of their earlier efforts. Casual observers may have been slightly surprised but for long – term admirers it was simply the next logical step. A Brief Historical Detour: Ben Watts and Tracey Thorn met each other in 1981 when both attended Hull University and, by strange coincidence, both had just signed as solo artists to Cherry Red Records. They teamed up, professionally and personally, and formed EBTG which was really a band in name only, it consisted primarily of those two...
Beck “Odelay”
Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#235 in the Series) is Beck, Odelay. I’ve been very lax on featuring albums from the 90s. So I think I found a good one to write up. Beck’s Odelay. This was around the time when the general public started realizing that this ‘Beck’ wasn’t Jeff! He was however, pretty darn good. Actually, Mellow Gold, released two years earlier, charter higher, but Odelay was the one. Odelay peaked at #17 on the Billboard Top 200 Album chart. Accolades Grammy Award for ‘Best Alternative Album.’ Ranked #16 in Spin Magazine’s ‘Top Albums from 1996-2005.’ Voted Best Album by ‘The Village Voice.’ Ranked # 305 on Rolling Stone Magazine’s ‘Top 500 Albums of All Time.’...
