Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#1002 in the series) is the self-titled debut from Randy Hansen. 1980 was a bit of a hazy year for me. Turning twenty-one will do that! Looking back, there are definitely many question marks. However, Randy Hansen’s debut that year was an exclamation point in my life for several reasons. I previously had heard of Hansen as yet another in an endless line of Jimi Hendrix impersonators. No offense, but… yawn. On a lark, I bought his debut, and continue to play it, 34 years later. Side note- you probably have already heard him- his guitar histrionics are on the Apocalypse Now soundtrack. Side one opens with the energetic “Champagne And Cocaine,”...

  In the words of great, noted philosopher, Joe Biden, “This was a big f-ing deal!” It was opening night of the North American tour of, arguably, one of the greatest rock groups of all time, now fronted by a singer young enough to be the grandson of its founding members. No pressure, right? Arriving early at Chicago’s United Center, we were dumbfounded to see a single line around the block. We overheard a guard mention an “issue,” but never heard any more. All the while, storm clouds were rolling in. An ominous start, perhaps? Maybe it was just me, but I felt a strong sense of electricity and anticipation, if not anxiousness, in the air. I hadn’t seen...

  Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#908 in the Series) is the self-titled debut from Wishbone Ash. Everyone has a band or two, that, for one reason or another, they consider “their band.” Perhaps you were the first kid on the block to discover them, and then couldn’t wait to tell everyone about them! Or they simply remind you of a special time in your life. For me, Wishbone Ash is one of those bands. Wishbone Ash was the first “real” band I ever saw. They were opening for Alice Cooper at the long since demolished International Amphitheatre in the lovely stockyard area of Chicago’s south side. That show was in the year of 1972. I was 13...

Today’s Cool Albums of the Day (#863 and #864) in the series are Dust, Dust & Hard Attack (We’re going to do something a little differently and bring you both of these albums on one piece since they were just rereleased together on one Compact Disc.) Forty-two years ago (wow!), this skinny, longhaired, 12-year-old future metal head (thank you, Steppenwolf & Blue Cheer!) opened his trusty Circus magazine and read a small story about a new band called Dust. I don’t recall any specifics, but I assume the words “hard,” “heavy,” and, quite probably, “power trio” were used to describe this rather surly-looking threesome. Imagine Motörhead in 1971… Like most, I’m always up for new music. So, off I...

Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#482 in the Series) is the debut from Lucifer’s Friend. If ever a band fit the category “cult,” it’s Lucifer’s Friend. I guarantee 90% of casual rock music fans will respond “Lucy-who’s what?!” Unfortunately, they also join the long list of bands that never were quite able to surpass, or even equal, their debut album. It’s like the old adage- bands have twenty years to make their first album. They’ve got six months for the follow up. I can still remember the day I bought Lucifer’s Friend’s 1970 debut, some 38 years ago. (It wasn’t released in the US ‘til around ‘73.) I was actually buying The New York Dolls debut when a curious-looking...

Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#480 in the Series) is Alice Cooper, Easy Action I’ve always had a soft spot for Alice Cooper. No, let me rephrase that—I’ve always been a diehard Alice Cooper fanatic! It all stems from AC being the first “real” band I ever saw, back in 1972 on the School’s Out tour. I was 13 years old, and alone. To say the event was life-changing would be an understatement. The seedy, yet exciting, world of rock n’ roll was now at my fingertips and in living color! Even better—there were no grownups to be found! But, first, let’s back up just a tad… Following their experimental and, quite frankly, bizarre debut album, Pretties For...

Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#478 in the Series) is self-titled debut from Crack The Sky Rarely do I agree with anything in Rolling Stone magazine. Sorry, but that’s the fact, Jack. But, when they awarded Crack The Sky’s 1975 debut Album of the Year, they nailed it! Sadly, I wouldn’t be surprised if the album also was the least sold ever bearing that critical distinction. Ever since needle touched vinyl, various artists from every era and genre have somehow slipped through the cracks and into obscurity. Whether due to poor management, bad luck, or, perhaps, merely being ahead of their time, many bands never got their just due. CTS are one such band. I first heard CTS...

Today’s Cool Albums of the Day (#863 and #864) in the series are Dust, Dust & Hard Attack (We’re going to do something a little differently and bring you both of these albums on one piece since they were just rereleased together on one Compact Disc.) Forty-two years ago (wow!), this skinny, longhaired, 12-year-old future metal head (thank you, Steppenwolf & Blue Cheer!) opened his trusty Circus magazine and read a small story about a new band called Dust. I don’t recall any specifics, but I assume the words “hard,” “heavy,” and, quite probably, “power trio” were used to describe this rather surly-looking threesome. Imagine Motörhead in 1971… Like most, I’m always up for new music. So, off I...