Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “Playing The Game” Live 1978 by Gentle Giant They were one of the premier Progressive Rock groups in their day…right up there with King Crimson, Yes and Genesis. Highlighting the stellar musicianship of brothers, Derek and Ray Shulman, Kerry Minnear, Gary Green and John Weathers, the Giant were adept multi-instrumentalists who would dazzle in concert with their intricate vocal arrangements and odd time signatures. The group’s “purple period” of greatness was roughly from the 1972 release of Octopus through 1975’s Free Hand, and encompassed the albums In A Glass House (1973) and The Power And The Glory (1974). In America, their early albums were released by Columbia Records and starting with...

Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “Infestissumam / Per Aspera Ad Inferi” by Ghost B.C. It’s not Spinal Tap during their “Stonehenge” phase, however Ghost B.C.’s satanic metal church music offers a theatrical twist (a la Tap’s “Henge”) unseen in rock music for many years. The stage fills with thick plumes of white smoke while the sound of Latin liturgical chanting fills the air. Out of the haze emerge five group members wearing hooded robes, their faces obscured by masks. The band members, known as Nameless Ghouls, represent one of five elements; fire, water, wind, earth and ether. Their robes are adorned with a different symbol for each element, and their brand of rock is the chunkiest,...

Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#874 in the Series) is Barrence Whitfield & the Savages, Dig Thy Savage Soul Walking the genre splitting tightrope of blues, soul, and rock, with an incendiary vibe that would make Dante himself blush, Boston based legends, Barrence Whitfield and the Savages have released “Dig Thy Savage Soul” on Bloodshot records, their first full length record since 2011. Stalwarts on the Boston club scene throughout the 1980’s, their live shows were a scorched earth, leave it all on stage full out of body experience, an energy that could equally be displayed in a punk rock club, a rockabilly hoedown, or a shoulder to shoulder high energy soul venue.  While 2011’s Savage Tracks, an...

Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “Foolin’ Around” by Vince Gill & Paul Franklin Paying homage to those who have come before you is nothing new in Country music. Merle Haggard paid tribute to Jimmie Rodgers on his classic 1969 album Same Train Different Time, and also recorded tribute albums to Bob Wills and Elvis Presley.  Buck Owens also did it on albums that saluted the influence that Tommy Collins and Harlan Howard had on him. It’s a tradition that has continued throughout the years with one notable entry being Dwight Yoakam’s 2008 Buck Owens tribute album Dwight Sings Buck. Dwight and Buck were also very good friends who toured together in 1988 (I was lucky enough...

Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “The Promised Land” from Sunshine Daydream by Grateful Dead (from the film Sunshine Daydream, Veneta Oregon, 8/27/72) I look all around me and see dead people…” We’re in our local movie theater in Lincolnshire, Illinois waiting for the Third Annual – (Jerry Garcia’s Birthday) -Grateful Dead Meet-up At The Movies to begin. This year’s film is from footage that was shot at a benefit show for the Springfield Creamery (makers of Yogurt) in Veneta Oregon on August 27, 1972. The superb footage in this film is a treat for the eyes …where has this footage been for 41 years? The film captures the band basking in the afterglow of their triumphant...

Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “A Hard Rain’s Gonna Fall” by Bob Dylan and his Band from the “Americanarama Festival” 2013 We live in the day and age of festivals. For music fans, festivals offer bang for the buck providing the opportunity to see numerous bands that you might not ever get to see otherwise at one time and in one place. For musicians, they open up the possibility of gaining a wider audience, particularly with festivals like the annual Pitchfork Music Festival that will be taking place here in Chicago next weekend. With a roster consisting of mostly up and coming artists, Pitchfork provides a bonanza for inquiring fans who want to discover music they’ve...

Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “I Sat By The Ocean” by Queens Of The Stone Age Great modern classic “rawk” records: Superunknown by Soundgarden, “The Black Album” by Metallica, Nevermind by Nirvana, Mellon Collie by Smashing Pumpkins, Blood Sugar Sex Magic by Red Hot Chili Peppers, Icky Thump by White Stripes, American Idiot by Green Day, All That You Can’t Leave Behind by U2, Kid A by Radiohead, A Ghost Is Born by Wilco, Funeral by Arcade Fire, Bothers by The Black Keys and even Rated M by Queens Of The Stone Age — Each group is closely defined by their lead singers, and each lead singer has a classic, unique sound of their own. One...

Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “Central Time” by Pokey Lafarge Everything old is new again…and while it seems the world has gone apeshit over supposed wood and string groups like The Lumineers and Mumford & Sons, Pokey Lafarge is the genuine real deal. As a youth growing up in Illinois, Pokey Lafarge (real name Andrew Heissler) mixed his interest in history and the literature of John Steinbeck and Ernest Hemingway with a love for blues, swing and old-time bluegrass music by the likes of Bill Monroe & The Blue Grass Boys, Milton Brown & his Musical Brownies, The Mississippi Sheiks, The Skillet Lickers, Carolina Tar Heels, Howlin Wolf and Jimmie Rodgers, coming up with a sound...

Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#867 in the Series) is Josh Halverson, One Shot When you are applying your trade in a neighborhood that many consider to be the hottest breeding ground of stellar artists this side of Brooklyn or Glasgow, and hang up your performing shingle in Austin, Texas, a city that bills itself as “The Live Music Capitol of the World,” it takes a lot of mojo and a boat-load of talent to set yourself apart, and Josh Halverson has both. From the opening track, “Take Me to Forever,” from his excellent new album, One Shot, your ears perk up to the point that would make a Doberman Pinscher proud as you are treated to a...

Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#866 in the series) is Beach House, Bloom (Sub Pop) When you think of rock ‘n’ roll epicenters in the colonies you think of New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Austin, Seattle, and Athens (GA.), etc… Of all places, Baltimore has dropped Beach House on us. Baltimore’s two biggest musical exports may be O.A.R. and Good Charlotte. Beach House, at an early point in their career, may already be “Charm City’s” most accomplished band. Beach House is a series of musical contradictions. The name Beach House may give you the impression of warm, breezy, summer tunes (each time you say Beach House there may be some brain activity that wants to link this band...