Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “That’s Rock ‘n Roll” by Eric Carmen Eric Carmen was one of the prime purveyors of 1970s power pop with his group Raspberries and their hits “Go All The Way,” “I Wanna Be With You,” “Let’s Pretend” and “Overnight Sensation (Hit Record).” With the breakup of Raspberries in 1975, producer Jimmy Ienner brought Carmen to the fledgling Arista record label where, under the aegis of Clive Davis, he took on a more baroque ballad style. Carmen hit the ball right out of the park with the first single from his self-titled debut album, “All By Myself,” which went all the way to the number two position on the charts. The...

    Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#840 in the Series) is Tommy Bolin, Teaser Tommy Bolin, a shooting star if there ever was one. Here is an artist that crammed so much talent, inspiration, influence & music from so many different styles into one of the shortest career spans I’ve ever witnessed. In 1968 at the tender age of 17 he began working with a band called Zephyr. By 1969 the were recording their debut album and within a year or two Zephyr were opening for the likes of Led Zeppelin.  Two albums later they drifted apart due to various reasons including  the frustration of not being able to take the band to the next level. It...

  Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#837 in the Series) is Chris Squire, Fish out of Water I can’t give you the date. I wish I could, but I remember it like yesterday coming home as a wasted teen, turning on Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert and seeing  Bill Bruford with his Boston Bruins cutoff jersey, Chris Squire with his signature cape and Patrick Moraz standing in front of an orchestra performing the first two tracks on this gem of music.  I recognized it well, as I got it on vinyl as soon as I could. It would later remind me of Peter Gabriel’s first solo record, not sounding all that much like the famous and great band they...

  Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “Waters Of March” by Art Garfunkel Art Garfunkel certainly missed his calling during his post Simon & Garfunkel solo career. If ever an artist was better suited to cut a Bossa Nova album with his gentle, smooth voice and octave range, it was Art Garfunkel. Proof positive is his recording of the Antonio Carlos Jobim classic “Waters Of March” from his second solo record, 1975’s Breakaway. “Waters Of March” was written by Antonio Carlos Jobim in both English and Portuguese (“Águas de Março”) and appeared on his 1973 album called Jobim. Although, the Bossa Nova craze was in the early 1960s, the song has since become a standard part of...

  Today’s Cool Album of The Day (#815 in the Series) is Thin Lizzy, UK Tour ’75 Everyone knows Thin Lizzy. The music world is awash with their albums, and there are enough bootlegs, greatest hits, extended versions, live albums, compilations, radio cuts, cover bands, and even versions of the band itself out there to choke the airwaves for the rest of time. Of course, almost every music lover is familiar their “big” rock albums Jailbreak, Johnny the Fox, Bad Reputation, and their touring masterpiece Live and Dangerous; all albums filled with rock radio staples we know and love. But to me, their finest and most interesting period was just before Jailbreak and all-conquering single “The Boys Are Back...

  Today’s Kool Album of the Day (#773 in the Series) is The Kinks, The Kinks Present a Soap Opera Kronikling a Kool & Kollectable Kinks Klassic “The Kinks Present A Soap Opera” Emerging on the first tidal wave of the British Invasion, The Kinks quickly established themselves as one of the greatest bands to kome out of London.  Rather than following the footsteps of  Liverpool’s Finest, like so many other akts who kopied the Merseybeat and Liverpudlian sounds, The Kinks took about defining a sound that remains unique in Pop and Rock musik.  Along with Amerikan producer Shel Talmy, The Kinks went on to kreate The POWERKHORD …  even beating The Who-> to play the first POWERKHORD with...

Today’s Cool Album of The Day (#769 in the Series) is The Sensational Alex Harvey Band, Live. The Sensational Alex Harvey Band, Live, (aka SAHB) was a Scottish band formed in 1972 during the glam/theatrical period that brought us the likes of David Bowie, Genesis, The New York Dolls, Alice Cooper and many more. While not quite as theatrical as some of their peers, Alex Harvey always managed to weave some great storytelling into his songs. The guitarist, Zal Cleminson was known for always taking the stage wearing mime makeup. Alex was almost always seen in his black and white striped t-shirt and leather jacket. Double live albums were de rigueur during this period but SAHB managed to squeeze...

  Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#612 in the Series) is Rush, Caress of Steel Rush really started making a name for themselves with the 1976 release of their classic album 2112. That really started things going for them and it progressed another huge step forward a year later with the live release of All the World’s a Stage. Before that however they have three albums that laid the groundwork for what was to come, you had to get stuff for the live album from somewhere. The first album was simply called Rush. What’s that album know for? Quite simply, it’s known for being the album that didn’t include Neil Peart as a band member.  “Finding My Way”...

Today’s Cool Album of the Day is Neil Young, Tonight’s The Night. Happy 65th birthday wishes go out to Neil Young today as we feature his touching album Tonight’s The Night. Neil lost two close friends to drug deaths, only about six months apart.  One was the guitarist of his backing band, Crazy Horse, Danny Whitten.  The other, Bruce Berry, was a long time roadie for Neil.  Bruce was also the brother to Jan, of ‘Jan and Dean’ fame. Much of this album was a direct response to those losses.  Both of those men died shortly before Neil started writing this album.  Bruce Berry is mentioned by name in the title track while Danny Whitten can be heard on...

  Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#559 in the Series) is NEU!, NEU! ’75. While not a pro at reviewing albums, I fully understand that you are supposed to wait until the end of an article to pass final judgment on a record. In the case of NEU! ’75, I cannot. This is an all-time masterpiece. NEU! was formed in 1971 in Dusseldorf, Germany. Drummer Klaus Dinger and guitarist Michael Rother had just left an early version of Kraftwerk. Rother and Dinger did not want care for the synthesizer heavy direction that Kraftewerk were headed in and wanted to go in a more guitar oriented vein. NEU! was born. NUE! ’75 is the duo’s third release and bore...