Dave Mason “Certified Live”
Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#428 in the Series and #40 in the Live, Saturday Night Series) is Dave Mason, Certified, Live Back in the mid-seventies Dave Mason had a really nice run. In 1976 he had a nice hit record with this release, Certified Live, and then he followed that up a year later with one of, if not the most popular album of his solo career, Let it Flow. Certified Live was another double live album. They were the rage in the mid-70s. You can thank Frampton Come Alive for that. If you were a decent selling artist in that period that did OK but needed a little kick to break out, you released a double...
Klaatu ‘Klaatu’
Today’s Cool Album Of The Day (#412 in the Series) is Klaatu I have always been a fan of conspiracy theories in general, the JFK assassination conspiracy, The Moon landing conspiracy theory, the Art Bell alien theory, and all the rest. I don’t necessarily believe them, but I enjoy the thoughtful (and sometimes not so thoughtful) debate that takes place around these controversial topics. It is particularly satisfying for me when the conspiracy theory has a Rock & Roll element like the Jim Morrison is alive conspiracy theory and the “Paul is Dead” rumors that circulated after the four Beatles walked across Abbey Road barefoot in front of a VW that had a license plate that said 28-IF (he...
Journey “Look Into The Future”
Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#378 in the Series) is Journey, Look Into the Future Way back in 1975 I was a big fan of Starcastle. They were a darn good band from Champaign, Illinois. I saw they were coming to the Riviera theatre in the Uptown area of Chicago. They weren’t headlining, they were opening for some band named Journey. Journey…. Journey, I knew the name but AH, yes, that’s the new band with Ex-Santana members, Neal Schon on guitar and Gregg Rolie on keys and vocals. They also have Aynsley Dunbar on drums and Ross Valory on bass, Cool. I’m going! So I called up my buddies Carl Adduci and Chuckie Garcia and grabbed some tickets....
Joan Armatrading “Joan Armatrading”
Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#328 in the Series) is the self-titled album from Joan Armatrading. There are so many great Joan Armatrading albums in which to choose. I almost went with Show Some Emotion, since I think that’s my favorite song from this British singer-songwriter. I also could have gone with later works such as Me, Myself I or Walk Under Ladders, also great works. In fact, I’m sure through time, we’ll get to them as well. Today however, it’s her self-titled third album, Joan Armatrading. She did have two earlier releases but this was the first time she tasted success, sales-wise. It was the first album that really let me hear her voice and songs as...
Tom Petty and the Heartbeakers “Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers”
Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#296 in the Series) is the debut from Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. It’s a pretty simple premise. Write some straight-forward, catchy pop rock and roll tunes and then hire a few great musicians. Make them your backing band. Then make it even better, allow them enough room to grow with you so they become band mates and stay with you for the long haul. There it is boys and girls. Now go for it. As if it was all that easy, huh. Tom Petty showcased some of his best writing here. I really do not believe he ever wrote a better song than “American Girl.” I was recently looking at the chronology...
David Bromberg “How Late’ll Ya Play ‘Til?”
Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#255 in the Series, and #15 in the Live, Saturday Night Series) is David Bromberg, How Late’ll Ya Play ‘Til? It’s about time we got some good ol’ blues on here! There is a few different versions of this album. This is, of course, the ‘live’ version. David Bromberg is a multi-instrumentalist. Not just playing, but creating instruments as well. He’s proficient as a fiddler, acoustic, steel, electric guitar and also dobro. He’s only released a handful of albums since 1980 as he’s concentrated more on his violin workshops. His first was in the Chicago area and has since moved it to Wilmington, Delaware. David has completed tracks with the following guest artists...
Robert Palmer “Some People Can Do What They Like”
Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#231 in the Series) is Robert Palmer, Some People Do What They Want. Some People Can Do What They Like (SPCDWTL) was Robert Palmer’s third album. It follows two great releases, Sneaking Sally thru the Alley and Pressure Drop. This has sometimes been referred to often as the ‘Little Feat Album.’ Why, because most of Little Feat appears on the disc and he also covers Lowell George’s ‘Spanish Moon.’ Lowell and Little Fear bassist Kenny Gradney are the only two members to not appear. Robert must really love his regular bassist, Pierre Brock! ‘One Last Look’ and ‘Keep in Touch’ receive mention. ‘Man Smart (Woman Smarter)’ and ‘the title cut ‘SPCDWTL’ receive special...
Jon Anderson ‘Olias of Sunhillow’
Today's Cool Album of the Day (#230 in the series) is Jon Anderson, Olias of Sunhillow. Olias of Sunhillow is my favorite of all of the solo albums by Jon Anderson, lead singer of the progressive rock group Yes (although he's not singing with them right now, but let's not get into that). Released in June of 1976, this was Jon's first solo album. It's also the most successful of all of the solo efforts by members of 'Yes'. It reached #8 on the UK charts and made it into the top 50 in the States.
Rush “All the World’s a Stage”
Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#213 in the Series, #9 in the Live, Saturday Night Series) is Rush, All the World’s a Stage. We did 2112 earlier. So I might be repeating some things here. All the World’s a Stage was the top of the rock candy mountain for me as far as Rush was concerned. I remember buying this album at old Hegewisch Records back in the Day. Many people loved Rush for years. I fell off not long after this point. Nothing day did wrong, my tastes just started to change a little. Plus sometimes, especially back then, it was more fun to follow a band when it seemed like only you and your friends were...
Lynyrd Skynyrd “One More From The Road”
Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#178 in the Series and #3 in the Live, Saturday Night Series) is Lynyrd Skynyrd, One More From The Road. One More From The Road was the only live album that Lynyrd Skynyrd released during their classic era of 1970-1977. It was recorded on the tour following their fourth studio album, Gimme Back My Bullets. I played this album over and over back then. They were one of my favorite bands at the time. The actually were not as big as people remembered at this time. I remember seeing them right about this time and “Free Bird” was still a cult classic. It was not as well-known as it would be later even...
