Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “Did You See?” by John Simon John Simon’s 1970 first album for Warner Brothers, called John Simon’s Album, was a culmination of the many album projects he produced over the two years it took to record. While a staff producer at Columbia Records, Simon produced such classics as Simon & Garfunkel’s Bookends, Big Brother & The Holding Company’s Cheap Thrills, Leonard Cohen’s Songs By Leonard Cohen, Blood Sweat & Tears’ Child Is Father To The Man, The Electric Flag’s self-titled debut album and The Cyrkle’s Paul Simon-penned hit “Red Rubber Ball.” Simon met Albert Grossman through his work with Peter Yarrow on the soundtrack and film You Are What...

Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “Café Regio’s” by Isaac Hayes This breezy instrumental comes from the movie Shaft, one of the most popular Blaxploitation films of all time. However, most people probably first discovered today’s Song Of The Day on the B-side to the number one single “Theme From Shaft.” Hayes initially agreed to write the score for the film only if he was given the chance to try out for the lead role. And while he did have a bit part in the film as a bartender, he was never afforded the opportunity to audition for the lead. Fortunately he decided to fulfill the agreement anyway. Isaac Hayes was the backbone of Stax Records, who...

  Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “Push Push” by Herbie Mann Duane Allman’s final session… Herbie Mann was already ten years into a career that established him as a purveyor of Afro Cuban Jazz, Latin Jazz and Bossa Nova music by 1971 and the release of his album Push Push. Mann had released albums for Bethlehem, Prestige, Epic, Verve and Savoy, before signing with Atlantic Records in 1962 where he would release numerous records for the label over the next eight years that established him as the premiere flautist in all of jazz. While at Atlantic, Mann worked with a whole host of influential percussionists and instrumentalists like Ray Barretto, Michael Olatunji, Sergio Mendes, Antonio Carlos...

  Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “Lordy” by Neil Diamond If ever an album was ripe for reissue and expansion, it would be Neil Diamond’s 1970 live album Gold. While most people reach for their copy of the Hot August Night when they want a live fix of Neil Diamond, his Gold album finds him sweating it out backed by a small group in front of an intimate audience, and is a far more satisfying listen. The album was recorded live at The Troubadour in Hollywood, California on July 15, 1970. Diamond’s small but powerful backing band included Carol Hunter on guitar, Randy Sterling on bass and Eddie Rubin on drums. While the band was small...

  Song Of the Day by Eric Berman – “On The Air” & “Moribund The Burgermeister” by Peter Gabriel (Live from Rockpalast, 1978) By the time of the broadcast from this 1978 Rockpalast show, Peter Gabriel was three years past his Genesis days and was out on the road promoting his second solo record, Peter Gabriel (which also goes by the names Peter Gabriel II and Scratch because of its album jacket image). I’ve already written several pieces on Peter Gabriel’s second album and its unique relationship with two other Robert Fripp productions, Sacred Songs by Daryl Hall and Fripp’s own Exposure , but a nice pro-shot concert from this era is a real find worth sharing. The video...

  Today’s Cool Album o the Day (#843 in the Series) is Montrose, Paper Money. I’m writing this on  March 3rd, a year to the day that Ronnie Montrose left us for what many believe is a better place. So for today’s Cool Album Of The Day we are honoring  Ronnie with a piece on Paper Money,  his second Montrose band album which was released in 1974. People ALWAYS mention the genius of the Montrose debut album which was released just a year earlier. That is completely legit however Paper Money certainly deserves its own accolades. Featuring the same lineup as the debut (with the exception of Alan Fitzgerald taking over bass duties for Bill Church) and the same...

  Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “Picture This” by Blondie There was nothing new about punk and new wave. It came about as a reaction to the bloated excesses of progressive rock groups like Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Genesis and Yes and their seemingly obligatory side-long multi-part suites of music.  (Not that there was anything wrong with that…) Groups like Ramones and Blondie brought back the sounds of the early 1960s. They simplified things, kept their songs under three minutes and created sugary-sweet melodic gems that were bashed out on guitars and drums. But being from New York, Blondie were just as inspired by the Broadway scene, and you can feel the presence of Broadway all...

Yes, the rumors are true. All signs are pointing to a reunion of the original Santana band and an album looks imminent. Carlos recently told music Vintage Vinyl News: “So far we have invited the original members like Gregg Rolie from the first three albums, It will be like Santana IV because we stopped at ‘Santana III’” Carlos continued that the album will have the African feel of the first three Santana records. “We have been checking out a lot of African music, African patterns,” he says. “Each artist has his own thing that he listens to. Led Zeppelin listened to Otis Rush. Cream listened to Freddie King and Albert King. We all had someone that we listened to....

    Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#840 in the Series) is Tommy Bolin, Teaser Tommy Bolin, a shooting star if there ever was one. Here is an artist that crammed so much talent, inspiration, influence & music from so many different styles into one of the shortest career spans I’ve ever witnessed. In 1968 at the tender age of 17 he began working with a band called Zephyr. By 1969 the were recording their debut album and within a year or two Zephyr were opening for the likes of Led Zeppelin.  Two albums later they drifted apart due to various reasons including  the frustration of not being able to take the band to the next level. It...

  Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#838 in the Series) is Jimmy Spheeris, Isle of View For today’s album review I wanted to pick someone out that has been overlooked for the most part. Jimmie Spheeris had all of the makings to go down as one of the quintessential singer-songwriters of the 70s. He had a poetic lyrical sense, a unique voice, and an intriguing history. His poetry conjures up vivid imagery and his voice fits perfectly within the scenery he has laid out. Part of the reason for such an uncanny ability to describe such vibrant settings is probably from his childhood. Jimmie was born into a traveling carnival family. This unique upbringing would be referenced in...