Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#377 in the Series) is Pink Floyd, Wish You Were Here. What can you say about Wish You Were Here that hasn’t been said already? This is one of the iconic albums in rock and roll.  This is one of Pink Floyd’s best.  It was released in 1975 which was right in the middle of their “meat era.” The period where they produced four of their most popular releases, they being of course The Dark Side of the Moon (‘73), Wish You Were Here (‘75), Animals (’77) and The Wall (’79.) That was four of the most popular albums of the seventies, and yes, I do feel that they were their best albums.  That...

Yes, it was only a one-off. At least that’s what all parties are saying at this point. However, that won’t stop us from enjoying a 3/4 Pink Floyd reunion for at least one night. A while back, David Gilmour lost a bet. He lost, we won. To pay up, he had to join Roger Waters for one night on Waters’ highly successful tour of “The Wall.” That night would be last night in London at the 02 Arena. We didn’t expect Nick Mason to be there as well. How lucky a cool for the 02 crowd. David did his soaring solo in “Comfortable Numb” as expected. He did it high on the wall as in the past. They also...

As composer, guitarist and vocalist for the band Citadel, Rejyna’s sonic work ranges from searing to serene.  Her lyrics and vocals present phonic ponderings and philosophical premises that contemplate dreams and inner intuition as the source for true peace and happiness.  Rejyna often strays from standard song structure, such as using silence as a chorus, or putting two or three short songs into one interwoven full-length piece, straying from 4/4 whenever a chance presents.  The harmonic interplay and moods are intended to match lyrics and guitar phrasings to the message of the song. Taking time to return to her hometown for some overdue reunions presented Rejyna the opportunity to play some solo acoustic sets.  She put together a set...

Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#323 in the Series) is Rick Wakeman, Six Wives of Henry VIII Back in the early 70s I was really into art-rock. I don’t remember using the term, prog-rock yet. I guess progressive rock was tossed around a little. Mostly it was art-rock. I just couldn’t get enough of Yes; Emerson, Lake and Palmer, King Crimson, etc. This album was quite ground breaking. I don’t  think I  realized it when I was listening to it. I was just doing some reading on it this this week. Many experts credit Six Wives of Henry VIII as being one of the first albums to bring keyboards to the forefront in an art-rock setting.  If you have feelings...

Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#321 in the Series) is Supertramp, Crime of the Century Crime of the Century was Supertramp’s third album. It was the first one that actually started putting the band in our ears. Their first album Supertramp peaked at #158 on the Billboard Top 200 Album chart while the next album, Indelibly Stamped didn’t even chart.  Crime of the Century charted as high as #38. It featured a couple of hit singles; “Bloody Well Right” did hit the Top 40. Its raise ended at #35. I’d consider its success more as an FM hit however. The same could be said for “Dreamer. Dreamer” did not hit the singles charts but was definitely, a hit...

Today’s Cool Album Of the Day (#298 in the Series) Is Robert Fripp, Exposure. Robert Fripp had a plan in the late 70s. He wanted to have three albums released as a ‘Trilogy.’ They would be related releases and would share musicians, producers, song writers, etc.  Not completely, but there would be enough overlapping to show the plan that Fripp had in his head. Besides Sacred Songs, the second album would have been Peter Gabriel’s second solo album, or as you may know it as ‘Scratches.’  We’ll be featuring that album soon enough. The third installment of the trilogy would be this one, Robert Fripp’s Exposure.  Daryl Hall adds some great vocals on tracks like “North Star” and “You Burn...

Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#293 in the Series) is The Nice, Elegy The Nice was one of those bands that I found ‘retroactively.’  I was a big fan of Emerson, Lake and Palmer in the seventies. Were they my favorites? Actually, yeah, pretty close!  I knew about Greg Lake’s earlier work as I was already a King Crimson fan as well. I had to do a looking research to find out about Carl Palmer’s and Keith Emerson’s beginnings. Ok, I did some reading and found that Carl spent some time with two bands. Atomic Rooster and before that, The Crazy Work of Arthur Brown.  They of ‘I am the God of Hell Fire… and I bring you,...

Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#265 in the Series) is Kayak, Royal Bed Bouncer. OK, I really wanted to run with something not completely obscure, but not a household name either. I want something in ‘Progressive Rock,’ let’s say something that might challenge some of you a little.  I really want to stay away from things that everyone knows.   There are plenty of sights that just have the huge hit records. Well How ‘bout Kayak, Royal Bed Bouncer. I really like the fact that I couldn’t even find a good clear photo of their original cover. I had to use a picture of an actual vinyl LP cover.  I really like that. In fact, if I can find...

Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#260 in the Series) is Kansas, Masque I have been wanting to do a write-up on an old Kansas album for sometime.  The passing of Don Kirshner was a perfect reason to do it today. I was a little worried that Mr. Kirshner was only going to be remembered for his 1970’s television show Rock Concert. He was much more than that. He was the major inspiration behind the ‘Brill Building’ and ‘Tin Pan Alley.’ It was home for some of the great songwriters of the 60s and 70s. Included in that group was Carole King and Gerry Goffin, Neil Sadaka, Barry Mann, Cynthia Weil, Jack Keller, etc. The Monkees hired him to...

Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#236 in the Series) is Genesis, Duke. I’ve always loved the Duke album. Not every track is great like most of the early works, but from start to finish, Duke was a darn strong Genesis effort. It should be listed to in its entirety.  The songs play together as a story. It opens with the great ‘Behind The Lines’ and segues thru ‘Duchess’ and ‘Guide Vocal. Man of our Times’ is another great song. Side two opens with another great side opener, ‘Turn it on Again.’  It ends with the reprise tinged ‘Duke’s Travels’ and ‘Duke’s End.’ If you’ll notice I’ve deliberately left out mentioning one song. It also was left off the video montage...