Big Country “Steeltown- 30th Anniversary Edition”
Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#951 in the Series) is Big Country, Steeltown 30th Anniversary Edition The 80s were, without a doubt, a golden era for Scots pop/rock music. A storm which began brewing deep in the punk and new wave sounds of the late 70’s suddenly gathered it’s forces and unleashed a Tsunami of talent which didn’t diminish for years. One of those talents was the wonderfully gifted Stuart Adamson, a young man who was a founding member of The Skids, a fantastic band from Fife which had great success between 1977 and 1982, became very influential , and which these days has attained semi-legendary status among fans of the Punk/New Wave era. Adamson actually left the band...
Philip Bailey ‘Chinese Wall’
Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#930 in the Series) is Philip Bailey, Chinese Wall. Chinese Wall is Earth, Wind and Fire vocalist Philip Bailey’s second solo album. It was released in 1984 and it follows Continuation from the previous year. Continuation did…. OK, but not great. It peaked at #72 on the Billboard Top 200 Album chart. Chinese Wall reached #22. Why the difference? Well, mainly it was because of Phil Collins, but we’ll also say that it did have a bunch of good songs on it too. So what did Phil Collins have to do with the success? For one, he produced the album. Secondly, he plays drums on the entire album, but he also sang the...
Johnny Cash ‘Out Among The Stars’
Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#920 in the Series) is Johnny Cash, Out Among the Stars In the last years of his life, and currently with the multiple releases of the Rick Rubin produced American Recordings series of recordings, we have been treated to new music from Johnny Cash. The songs presented on these records were mostly scaled down un-plugged style versions of old classics along with deep in the vault songs from artists Cash admired. Every song in the series was a powerful reminder of the greatness of the past, and a sobering look into eyes and on to the soul of one of the greatest artists ever to walk the line. And now, courtesy of the...
Spinal Tap ‘This is Spinal Tap’
Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#911 in the Series) is Spinal Tap, This is Spinal Tap Very, very rarely do I toss around words like ‘brilliant’ and ‘masterpiece.’ But I think they apply when describing the humor in the movie, This is Spinal Tap. For those of us that worked in the industry, This is Spinal Tap rang so true, so real, that it is almost scary to watch at times. Yet, the comedy still plays well enough that someone with just casual interest in music can still enjoy it. What also was brilliant was that the stars and writers of the movie also were responsible for creating the music. Christopher Guest, Harry Shearer, Michael McKean played all the...
Tom Russell ‘Heart on a Sleeve’
Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#897 in the Series) is Tom Russell, Heart on a Sleeve Going back to Lukenbach with Waylon, Willie, and the boys, Texas has been ground zero for singer songwriters. With a couple of them you only need to mention their first names to experience the magic. With others, two first names may be necessary. Just ask Jerry Jeff, Billy Joe, or Jimmie Dale, and with Bob Wills you only need to hear a few notes to understand that he is still The King, but the true beauty of the Texas music scene is the regional diversity and eclectic musical differences you can experience depending on what part of the Lone Star State you...
The Replacements ‘Let It Be’
Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “Answering Machine” by The Replacements When they were good, they were really great. But when The Replacements were bad, they were truly awful. Seeing The Replacements in concert was always a crap shoot. Whether it was boredom from being on the road, or just youthful blowing off steam, you never really knew what you were going to get when you went to see the “Placemats.” Heck, I saw them five times during their heyday, and I think they were really good only twice. I’m not sure if that makes me a sucker for punishment, or just addicted to the greatness that I did witness when they did come to play....
Simple Minds “Sparkle in the Rain”
Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#776 in the Series) is Simple Minds, Sparkle in the Rain The band simple minds were one of those acts that really had to stick it out to find success. They first got together toward the end of the 70s. Their first album, Life in a Day did quite well in the UK peaking at #30. It didn’t get a whiff of play here in the states outside of a couple very progressive stations and some college radio. It would take three years and five more releases before an album even charted here. That would be New Gold Dreams which featured the hit “Promised You a Miracle.” Still, the album only reached #69...
Lloyd Cole and the Commotions “Rattlesnakes”
Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#752 in the Series) is Lloyd Cole & The Commotions, Rattlesnakes Glasgow, Scotland in the early 80’s was full to brimming with raw musical talent and inspiration, with new bands springing up all over the place. The independent label Postcard Records was a small but major player, they had two fantastic bands, Orange Juice and Aztec Camera, who recorded seminal singles before moving on to bigger labels where both released superb debut albums. Other acts like Altered Images, The Bluebells and Friends Again swiftly followed and I can’t fail to mention The Blue Nile whose single “Tinseltown In The Rain” may well be the best ever by a Scots band. All of...
Bruce Springsteen “Born in the USA”
Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#745 in the Series) is Bruce Springsteen, Born in the USA At the start of 1984, with a new album imminent, Bruce Springsteen’s longtime fans must have been curious, maybe even anxious, about which direction he was going to take. His last effort, 1982’s superb “Nebraska” had been a bit of a departure, consisting as it did of a fairly sombre, and stark, suite of mainly downbeat songs. Bruce had been given artistic freedom to do his own thing on that release and he delivered a majestic masterpiece which has stood the test of time and remains, for many (myself included), his best album to date. This time around though both fans...
Bangles "All Over The Place"
Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#693 in the Series) is The Bangles, All Over The Place I remember when this one was just released. It was too early in the girl-band genre to admit that a 26-year-old male was a fan. It still had to be a guilty pleasure that you played when no one was around. Heck, I even remember when I bought the first Pretenders album. I looked around the record store to make sure none of my buddies were watching, and that wasn’t even a girl band. The Go-Go’s had much to do with that. Yes, they were a very good band, but they were marketed very much for the young girl record buyer. The...
