Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “Ballad Of Billy The Kid” (Live from C.W. Post College, 1977) by Billy Joel Absence makes the heart grow fonder. Things change… and so do opinions. Several years ago I thought that my days listening to Billy Joel were over. It had been many years since he released a record, and even many more since he released a really good record. I mistakenly passed on the Billy Joel/Elton John stadium tours of the 1990s. Like many, I pretty much stopped caring about him when the trials and tribulations of his personal life began to take center stage in the media instead of his music. But things do change. First there...

  Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “Saddle Up The Palomino” by Neil Young American Stars And Bars was one of Neil Young’s most patchy albums, but that’s not because the material on the record is lacking. Quite the contrary, the songs are pretty much top notch throughout this “Whitman Sampler” of styles and sounds. However, the record does seem to get unfairly knocked for several reasons… For one, the record was recorded in several sessions between 1974 and 1977 with different lineups. This approach to recording doesn’t lend itself to a consistent listening experience. The entirety of the first side was recorded in April of 1977 with Crazy Horse and The Bullets (Frank Sampedro, Billy Talbot,...

Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#801 in the Series) is 801, Listen Now Some times you have to pull one out that I bet many of you have not  listened to in years!  I’m guessing that’s true for 801. When was the last time you pulled this one off the shelf?  There even a good chance that you never even heard of this one. Then again, I’m betting many of you have as well since we do have a large number of audiophiles that frequent the site. 801 is a band put together by Phil Manzanera, Phil is best known as lead guitarist for the legendary band Roxy Music. Roxy would take time off now and then and like most bands,...

  Today’s Cool Album of the Day  (#792 in the Series)is Daryl Hall,Sacred Songs. This is one of the main reasons that I’ve decided to create this site. That is to point out ditties like this. I have a feeling that many people did not know this gem existed. It’s the first solo release by Daryl Hall of “Hall and Oates” fame. I don’t know if DH is the best rock vocalist of all time, but he’s in the team picture. This was recorded in 1977 but not released until 1980. The wonderful RCA records held the album because is was ‘not commercial enough.’ I guess ‘very good’ just isn’t a good enough reason for a label to release...

  Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#751in the Series) is Dave Mason, Let it Flow. Dave Mason has put out a big ol’ chunk of good music,  from the days he spent with Traffic through a long solo career.  His latest album, 26 letters – 12 Notes is also strong as Dave still remains relevant to this day.  It’s too bad radio didn’t go near it.  He commented from the stage at a recent show I saw, “It’s like ‘I’m Selling Encyclopedias to them.” Let it Flow was released in 1977.  Yup, that’s 35 years ago folks! It contained his biggest hit. “We Just Disagree.”  I think it’s one of the best  ”this just ain’t workin’ babe” songs...

  Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#740 in the Series) is Crucis, Los Delirios del Mariscal  It was, I remember, 1977 or 1978… And I was a very young teen, listening to radio in the wee hours. The sadly departed Juan Alberto Badía, a well known local radio deejay and journalist, launched to the air a piece of music of mesmerizing quality: dark, atmospheric… a very slow and subtle crescendo, full of drama, that ended up in a climax of supreme, powerful musical quality. It was Crucis.  And it was a piece called ¨Los Delirios del Mariscal¨ (¨Marshall´s Delirium¨, or something like that). One of the masterpieces of Argentinean prog rock and, in my humble opinion, on par...

  Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#692 in the Series) is The Outlaws, Hurry Sundown. The Outlaws first hit the music scene (at least as far as recordings go) in 1975. They actually had been together on and off since as early as 1967.  Their debut album was simply titled The Outlaws.  It contained a song that would be closely associated with the band for the rest of their career. That song would of course be “Green Grass and High Tides.” While it did help their popularity, I also thing it mistakenly categorized them as a southern rock band from then on.  I use the word “mistakenly” because I really don’t believe that The Outlaws were a southern-rock...

  Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#676 in the Series) is Queen,  News Of The World It’s hard to believe that it’s over twenty years since the passing of quite possibly the best front man ever to grace a stage. Freddie Mercury, the African-born Briton with the enviable vocal range, ability to write hit after hit, and over-the-top stage theatrics, died in 1991, leaving a gaping hole in the music world. Queen (or at least half of them) has limped on, most notably with Paul Rodgers, but it’s painfully obvious that Mercury is irreplaceable. Unfortunately I never got to see him live; I was only ten when he died, but I first got to know the band’s music...

  Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#658 in the Series) Mink Deville,  Cabretta Willy DeVille is a rock star. Just look at him.  If you saw Bryan Adams or Elvis Costello walking down the street they could be mistaken for a mechanic, college professor, or accountant, certainly not for rock stars. But Willy Deville, looking like a slightly less road worn version of Keith Richards with a few less battle scars, could only be mistaken for the front man for the seminal post-punk band Mink DeVille and a rock star of highest order of which he is both. Willy Deville was a product of the 60’s, from the West Village New York City. Very much influenced by the...

Today’s Cool Album of the day (#650 in The Series) is the debut self-titled solo release from Steve Winwood. When discussing Steve Winwood’s solo albums the first one that’s usually mentioned Is Back in the High Life. That indeed was a huge album for “Stevie” and deserves all the praise it received. The 1986 release peaked at #7 on the Billboard Top 200 Albums chart and won Grammys for Record of the Year, Best Male Pop Vocal Performance along with an engineering award.  “Higher Love” was a #1 single. Arc of a Diver also gets kudos tossed its way. And yes, it’s another good one. As far as hits there was the title cut along with “When You See...