Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#627 in the Series) is The Undertones. This is an album that claimed a place in my heart 30 years ago and retains it to this day. And that’s not just because of its musical merits, of which there are indeed many. It’s also due to the time, the place and the circumstances during which I first really got into it, and the company I was keeping at the time, all of which invoke nothing but good, happy memories. I’d like to take you back now, way way back to the long, hot, glorious (in my recall at least!) summer of 1982. Back when I still had my youth, my good looks...

Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#520 in the Series) is Garland Jeffreys, The King of In Between Ladies and Gentleman, we have another entry in the running for “Album of the Year.” The latest being Garland Jeffreys’ The King of In Between. I didn’t even know that Garland had any projects in the works. One day, I’m putting together a list on who was going to appearing on the coming weeks late night talk shows here in the states.  One name jumped out at me, was of course Garland Jeffreys.  I’ve always been a fan, going all the way back to 1977 when he was Rolling Stone Magazine’s Best New Artist. Everyone remembers “Wild in the Streets.” After...

Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#470 in the Series #46 in the Live Saturday Night Series) is The Ramones, It’s Alive Rock and Roll Hall of Fame members The Ramones performed 2,263 concerts in their career.  They picked one of the best to record and use as a live album and eventually a concert video. The show was New Year’s Eve in 1977.  It would take until April of ’79 to get this released. The double album contains 28 songs and there’s not a bad one in the mix. When this was recorded the band had released three classic albums, The Ramones, Ramones Leave Home and Rocket to Russia.  Those three albums are represented heavily on the live...

Today’s Cool Album of the Day (# 450 in the Series) is The Wildhearts, Earth vs. the Wildhearts. A friend once questioned my musical tastes. “What do you do when you want to mellow out?” I believe that she was telling me that I should listen to her favorite band, the Eagles (something which I would never do). I replied “Watch television or take a nap. Rock and roll is supposed to be fast, loud, aggressive, and a bit obnoxious.” The Wildhearts debut “Earth vs. The Wildhearts” fits this philosophy perfectly. Visualize a blender with equal parts hard rock, glam, and punk in it and you would have England’s The Wildhearts. In 1993, The Wildhearts dropped their debut on...

Today’s Cool Album of The Day (#440 in a Series) is The Teardrop Explodes, Kilimanjaro. The decade of the 1980’s saw the punk rock explosion extinguishing. While punk attacked, and damaged, the old guard prog movement (Yes; Emerson, Lake, and Palmer; etc.), its fading left a large void for the followers of punk who were looking to diversify their listening habits. The New Romantic/Blitz movement (Soft Cell, Duran Duran, Spandau Ballet, etc.) had a definite lack of testosterone for the old punks. Enter the new psychedelia. Bands like Echo and the Bunnymen, Psychedelic Furs, Soft Boys, and The Teardrop Explodes filled this empty space in a more hard edged way. The Teardrop Explodes was led by singer, lyricist, bassist,...

Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#433 in the series Series) is the Jim Jones Revue. Imagine just for a minute. You are a mad scientist in the rock and roll laboratory. You fuse the DNA of Jerry Lee Lewis , Little Richard, and the New York Dolls. What do you get? London’s Jim Jones Revue. Jim Jones (ex-Thee Hypnotics) and his band push the term rhythm and blues to its furthest limits. While Jones is the undeniable star of the show, the band fights Jones for every bit of the spotlight. The album is produced by Jones which produces shocking results. This record is very loud. Undoubtedly, the needles on the sound board were well into the red...

Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#430 in the Series) is Stiff Little Fingers, Nobody’s Heroes. 1977. Northern Ireland. Punk rock was exploding in Britain with the Sex Pistols, Clash, Buzzcocks, Jam, Stranglers, Eddie and the Hot Rods, and Damned dominating the airwaves, charts, and tabloid headlines. Where was Ireland’s entry into the punk sweepstakes? The Undertones, one of the greats of the decade, were more of a pop band than punks. Enter Stiff Little Fingers. SLF’s debut (Inflammable Material) broke in 1979. It’s follow up, Nobody’s Heroes was released in 1980. As its title infers, anyone could be in a band and Stiff Little Fingers avoided most of the traditional trappings of stardom. Any group of kids could...

Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#346 in the Series) is The Screaming Blue Messiahs, Bikini Red Now, this is one of those titles that you might not be familiar.  Well, except for “I Wanna be a Flintstone.” That song did bring the band some notoriety. I’m hoping you check out the playlist below. The Screaming Blue Messiahs were a darn good band!!  One that I’d have a real hard time trying to fit into a category. Maybe that’s one of the reasons I like them. One description of read of the band was “Rampaging Rockabilly.” Maybe?  “I’ve read “Rockabilly from Hell” as well.  Don’t let the title “Rock a billy” define them however.  They had more pub rock...

Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#316 in the Series) is Orange Juice, You Can’t Hide Your Love Forever It’s impossible to write anything about Orange Juice without first mentioning Postcard Records.Founded by Alan Horne and operated from his bedroom , Postcard was a tiny independent label which went on to have massive influence. It was also the label which released the debut singles by Aztec Camera, The Go – Betweens, Josef K and, trailblazing the labels tongue-in-cheek motto “The Sound Of Young Scotland”, with four seminal 7′ releases , Orange Juice. Orange Juice quickly outgrew the label and moved on to Polydor Records, heading straight into the studio to start work on their debut album. When it finally...

Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#309 in the Series) is Elvis Costello and the Attractions, Punch the Clock. Elvis Costello is one busy guy, and with over 30 studio albums (and counting!) it’s hard to pick just one, especially when every one seems to have its own feel. Punch the Clock is one of those albums that people either love or hate, and for good reasons either way. It was roundly described as “uneven,” and although that may be, there are a few compelling reasons to give it another listen. One for me is personal, and that is its issue in 1983 was in my “formidable” years of music, and later in college I think I wore the...