The Silencers ‘A Letter From St. Paul’
Today’s Cool Album of The Day (#783 in the Series) is The Silencers, A Letter From St. Paul I’m curious as to how many of you are familiar with The Silencers. A show of hands please..one, two , three, four… oh, I see a few more in the back, not bad! Plus I know a few of our friends from Scotland know of them! That’s where they call home. This one is a little more obscure here in the States. This album was released in 1987. “Painted Moon” actually did get some play. To me though, the title cut, “A Letter From St. Paul” was the song not to miss. You can hear most of this one below. If...
NRBQ “God Bless Us All”
Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#682 in the Series) is NRBQ, God Bless Us All I have always felt that God Bless Us All was NRBQ at their absolute peak. In fact, if someone wanted to know an album to start their Q catalog, this was the one I’d always suggest. This was the one that I’d always play at parties and would always get the the Q fans boppin’. If you weren’t a Q fan when I put this one on, well you would be soon. “Who’s this?” was a question that was asked more than once when I’d put needle to vinyl. Not only did it catch the band at their peak, but it also...
Suzanne Vega “Solitude Standing”
Today’s Cool Album of The Day (#606 in the Series) is Suzanne Vega, Solitude Standing. Solitude Standing was singer – songwriter Suzanne Vega’s second release. It contained the hit song, “Luka.” I always thought that it was a song about spousal abuse. As I did my research on the album, I actually found out that it’s about child abuse. These are Suzanne’s own words… “ A few years ago, I used to see this group of children playing in front of my building, and there was one of them, whose name was Luka, who seemed a little bit distinctive from the other children. I always remembered his name, and I always remembered his face, and I didn’t know much...
Peter Gabriel is Preparing Special 25th Anniversary Edition of his “So” Album, and He’d Like Your Help
2012 marks the 25th anniversay of Peter Gabriel’s classic So album. That’s the one that introduced us to songs like “Red Rain,” “Sledgehammer,” ” In Your Eyes,” ” Big Time,” and the Kate Bush duet “Don’t Give Up.” The Gabriel camp has announced that they will be releasing a 25th anniversary package and they’d like your help on it. Here’s what they’re looking for: “We would love to see your memorabilia from back in 1986. Do you have any original So merchandise, posters and tickets for the So tour? Your photos relating to the album release or the concerts? Even a diary entry from 25 years ago which tells a special story about the album release or So...
INXS “Kick”
Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#514 in the Series, and #32 in the Whale Wednesday Series) is INXS, Kick. I always thought that INXS were just a little bit different from any other rock band that I knew of, they always had this little bit of “funk” in their music that was oddly identifiable to only them. That I think is a real cool thing. I love uniqueness. These guys had it in gobs. INXS followed that familiar path to stardom. Great early releases, build a base, get a little bit more mainstream without losing you identification, let the base get a little bigger, have a big album, then have a huge follow-up. It’s that easy boys and...
The Screaming Blue Messiahs “Bikini Red”
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...
Terence Trent D’Arby “Introducing the Hardline According to Terence Trent D’Arby”
Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#331 in the Series) is Terence Trent D’Arby, Introducing the Hardline According to Terence Trent D’Arby. Terence Trent D’Arby arrived on the scene in 1987 and found immediate success. This album, his debut, peaked at #4, TWICE! His second single “Wishing Well” reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart. He won a Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance. Then…. Not much. He would never see success like that again. That first album though is definitely worth looking back upon. The first single was my favorite on that disc. That was the hard funk of “If You Let Me Stay.” I don’t think anything on the album came close to that...
Swing Out Sister “It’s Better To Travel”
Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#284 in the Series) is Swing Out Sister, It’s Better to Travel. We’re going with another of a little ‘change of pace’ entry for today. I have a feeling that some of you are familiar with Swing out Sister. How can I explain them to those that don’t know of them? I’ve heard them described as anything from ‘Sophisti-pop’ or ‘synth-pop’ to even few others. They had some success with It’s Better to Travel. Getting the most play were ‘Breakout’ and ‘Twilight World.’ I felt that another track, ‘Fooled By a Smile’ was the strongest of the bunch. The band has continued on to this day with few changes in personnel. They did...
Foster and Lloyd “Foster and Lloyd”
Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#275 in the Series) is the self-titled debut from Foster and Lloyd. I’ve stated more than once that Americana is my genre of choice the past few years. Foster and Lloyd is another band that fits my taste perfectly. This was their debut album. I actually started this write up planning to do their second release, Faster and Llouder, but I couldn’t find many videos for that album. I really wanted you to be able to check out some of the album. I was able to find some for the first album so I made the switch. One of the things I’ve always liked about Foster and Lloyd was the little taste of...
The Radiators “Law of the Fish”
Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#245 in the Series) is The Radiators, Law of the Fish. Have you seen the Radiators…One of the best bands to come out of New Orleans? Well you got about 8 months left to do so. Their final tour is underway. Catch ‘em while you can. They have been together for 33 years. The same five musicians that started the band way back when are still together. Ya gotta love The Radiators! Track listing “This Wagons’ Gonna Roll” (Ed Volker) – 4:20 “Like Dreamers Do” (Volker) – 4:04 “Doctor, Doctor” (Volker, Dave Malone, Camile Baudoin, Reggie Scanlan, Frank Bua Jr., Glenn Sears) – 4:05 “Oh Beautiful Loser” (Volker) – 4:12 “Suck the Head”...
