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...
Joni Mitchell “Shadows and Light”
Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#510 in the Series, and #52 in the Live, Saturday Night Series) is Joni Mitchell, Shadows and Light. I’m not going to sit here and type away about how much I think this is a perfect and fantastic album. If you’re a jazz affectionado, then maybe it is to you. I like jazz, I appreciate jazz, but I’m not head over heels in love with it. (BTW, when someone does a flip, shouldn’t it be “heels over head? As soon as I stand up I’m going to be head over heels. When I walk to the fridge? Yup, head over heels again!) … anyway, I like jazz but not enough to site through two to...
Was (Not Was) “What Up, Dog?”
——————————————————————————————- Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#506 in the Series) is Was (Not Was), What Up, Dog? Have you heard this one? I’m guessing many of you have not. Well, you may have heard one of the singles, “Walk the Dinosaur” or “Spy In the House of Love,” but like many great albums, the singles don’t tell the story. Was (Not Was) is the brainchild of Don Was and David Was. Two outstanding producers/musicians. Don Was has done many things you’ve heard. From the great Bonnie Raitt album, Nick of Time to The Rolling Stones. The majority of this album is a hard funk/ jazz sound, with a couple great ballads tossed in. The band’s sense of humor...
R.E.M. “Chronic Town”
Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#501 in the Series) is R.E.M., Chronic Town OK, who remembers Trouser Press? Actually, it’s still around. Maybe it’s just online now, I have no idea actually. If you remember the magazine, do you remember when they used to have “flexi discs” in the issues? Who were most of the bands on those discs, no Idea, but I do remember one. That was R.E.M. and the songs that appeared on the flexi discs were from their Chronic Town EP. My good friend Terry took a bunch of those discs and took a bunch of the better songs from these bands and put them on a Maxell or TDK or “something” cassette tape. Two...
Simon and Garfunkel “The Concert in Central Park”
Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#491 in the series) is Simon and Garfunkel, The Concert in Central Park. Electric guitars played through a stack of Marshall amps. Double bass drum sets. Ten piece horn section. Taurus bass pedals. Are those powerful? You bet they are. However, as long as I’ve been going to concerts, I’ve always noticed that nothing is as powerful, nothing can make your spine tingle as much as the power of the human voice. Nothing can give you a chill like a perfect note by one of those great voices. It still does it for me every time. Art Garfunkel has one of those sets of pipes. His reading of “Bridge Over Troubled Waters” is...
The Pretenders “The Pretenders”
Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#488 in the Series)is the debut from The Pretenders. Not too long ago, we had a discussion on the Cool Album of the Day’s facebook site on the topic of how often a band’s debut album is their best. It was pointed out that yeah, that was true, but more often than not, those acts were the ones that never did much afterword anyway. That was a great point the more I thought about it. Well, let me give you a band whose debut you album is arguably their best, yet still had a body of work that was phenomenal. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Quality to be exact. So know I’d...
The Hooters “Nervous Night”
Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#486 in the Series) is The Hooters, “Nervous Night.” The Hooters are yet another band from that hotbed of music, Philadelphia. I’ve always loved the Philly sound, Todd Rundgren, Hall and Oates etc. There must be something in that water by the port. “Nervous Night” was released in 1985 and features The Hooters ever present melodica. Hence the band name. The two main men in The Hooters are Eric Bazilian and Rob Hyman. They handled most of the songwriting and all lead vocals. Eric plays guitar and Rob keys mainly. The act is filled out by Andy King on bass, John Lilley also on guitar and David Uosikkinen on drums. This was another...
James McMurtry – Too Long in the Wasteland
Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#483 in the Series) is James McMurtry, Too Long in the Wasteland James McMurtry’s Too Long in the Wasteland hit the streets in 1989 with a huge push from Columbia Records, as it should have. This was one of the best records of the year, much less one of the best debut albums. You’re probably familiar with his story, but if you’re not, James is the son of long time writer Lawrence McMurtry. He being the 1985 Pulitzer Prize winning author of Lonesome Dove and many more familiar workings. So, tell me a little more about “Too Long in the Wasteland” you say. Well, it was produced by John Mellencamp… and you can...
Graham Nash “Innocent Eyes”
Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#472 in the Series) is Graham Nash, Innocent Eyes. I’m curious how many people even heard of this album much less remember it and even much less, even liked it! It wasn’t won of Graham’s better known albums, far from it. I liked it, and I want to tell you about it, that’s really all that matters I guess. This was 1985 and 1986. Graham didn’t really have much to do. His constant musical partner David Crosby was…. How can I put it nicely, ‘not available at this time.’ So he decided to record a solo album. He’d done three already. The first was Songs For Beginners in 1971. This album did quite well....
Dave Edmunds and Nick Lowe “Dave Edmunds and Nick Lowe Sing The Everly Brothers”
Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#469 in the Series) is Dave Edmunds and Nick Lowe, Dave Edmunds and Nick Lowe Sing The Everly Brothers. We’re going to go in a completely different direction today. Today’s Cool Album of the Day wasn’t really an official album. It was actually a bonus EP released in 1980. However, it’s so good and so special that I wanted people to know about it. So for those reasons, we’re going to feature it. There are only four songs on this EP. It is just the two men and their guitars. You’ll hear a little banter with a DJ in between songs as well at times. This is very hard to find. I see...
