Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#324 in the Series) is Drive-By Truckers, Southern Rock Opera This is really an interesting project.  Drive-By Truckers had been around since 1996. They had released three albums. None that would make them household names, not even “trailerhold” names. For years they (actually mostly band leader Patterson Hood) had been thinking about a project that would eventually go a long way to raising their popularity to what it is now. That would be the double album Southern Rock Opera.  It was a tribute to the rock music of the south, leaning heavily toward Lynyrd Skynyrd.  It would not just feature Skynyrd, but southern rock and southern lifestyles in general. As alluded to earlier,...

Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#323 in the Series) is Rick Wakeman, Six Wives of Henry VIII Back in the early 70s I was really into art-rock. I don’t remember using the term, prog-rock yet. I guess progressive rock was tossed around a little. Mostly it was art-rock. I just couldn’t get enough of Yes; Emerson, Lake and Palmer, King Crimson, etc. This album was quite ground breaking. I don’t  think I  realized it when I was listening to it. I was just doing some reading on it this this week. Many experts credit Six Wives of Henry VIII as being one of the first albums to bring keyboards to the forefront in an art-rock setting.  If you have feelings...

Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#322 in the Series) is The Jimi Hendrix, Are You Experienced? I started making my notes and was thinking, “what can I say about an album that everyone pretty much knows already.” Well, there’s not much really. You know what jumped out at my first? What I noticed was the length of these tracks.  Over the years we think about these long, guitar solo heavy Hendrix pieces. It’s funny to look at all these track lengths in the two minute and low three minute times. This was Jimi’s debut album. QUICKLY!!! How many official studio albums did he release? Again, it’s hard to believe, but there were only three Hendrix albums.  Are You...

Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#321 in the Series) is Supertramp, Crime of the Century Crime of the Century was Supertramp’s third album. It was the first one that actually started putting the band in our ears. Their first album Supertramp peaked at #158 on the Billboard Top 200 Album chart while the next album, Indelibly Stamped didn’t even chart.  Crime of the Century charted as high as #38. It featured a couple of hit singles; “Bloody Well Right” did hit the Top 40. Its raise ended at #35. I’d consider its success more as an FM hit however. The same could be said for “Dreamer. Dreamer” did not hit the singles charts but was definitely, a hit...

Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#320 in the Series) is Paul Revere and the Raiders, Midnight Ride. This is another album that was a staple during my formative years.  My two older sisters didn’t bring home a ton of albums but this is one that they did.  I played it to death. Well, in all actuality I played “Kicks” to death.  I probably should have had them buy me the 45. It could have saved them some wear on their album. I only learned years later that the song was actually drug related. I just thought it was cool! This, as do many Paul Revere and the Raiders albums, falls into the same formula. That being, “Go ahead boys, feel free...

Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#318 in the Series , and #24 in the Live, Saturday Night Series) is B.B. King, Live in  Cook Country Jail. B.B. King, Live in Cool County Jail was most likely my introduction to the blues. It was a long time ago. I don’t remember any other blues albums that I had before this one.  I don’t think I had it the year it was released, 1971, but it wasn’t long after that. This isn’t a long album. It clocks in just over 38 minutes. It does however; contain many of the B. B. King songs that you’d want.  I’ve seen him in concert a few times. I can tell you that his...

Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#317 in the Series) is Rosanne Cash, The List When Rosanne Cash was 18, she was spending most of her time on tour with her famous father, Johnny.  One day, Johnny was checking out what she was listening to.  Most of her tastes, like most teenagers, were towards the music of the day.  He thought it was time to teach her a little bit about music. So he brought her into the tour bus, sat her down, and wrote out a list of, what he felt, were the 100 most essential country songs of American music history. She held onto that list. She would look at it year after year.  She became quite...

Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#316 in the Series) is Orange Juice, You Can’t Hide Your Love Forever It’s impossible to write anything about Orange Juice without first mentioning Postcard Records.Founded by Alan Horne and operated from his bedroom , Postcard was a tiny independent label which went on to have massive influence. It was also the label which released the debut singles by Aztec Camera, The Go – Betweens, Josef K and, trailblazing the labels tongue-in-cheek motto “The Sound Of Young Scotland”, with four seminal 7′ releases , Orange Juice. Orange Juice quickly outgrew the label and moved on to Polydor Records, heading straight into the studio to start work on their debut album. When it finally...

Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#315 in the Series, and #3 in the Whale Wednesday Series) is Elton John, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. Today we continue our Whale Wednesday Series.  The idea being that we don’t want to neglect the big sellers that also hold onto some “cool” status. We know you know about these albums. However, as mentioned before, once a week, on Wednesdays, we’re still going to give them a feature. I think it’s fun to check back on some of them. I also love clicking on that playlist and just letting it roll. One of the reasons I like clicking on those playlists is of course to hear these albums again. Why? Mainly it’s because...

Today’s Cool Album Of the Day (#314 in the Series) is The Walker Brothers, Night Flights What do David Bowie, Brian Eno, Midge Ure of Ultravox, and Iggy Pop all have in common?  One unlikely musical hero: Scott Walker. Okay, let’s dispense with the shameless yellow journalism right out of the gate: no, it’s not THAT Scott Walker.  In fact, none of the Walker Brothers, the subject of today’s Cool Album, are actually Walkers by birth, but, rather, took the Ramones approach to pop stardom, way back in the early 60s. A little history: The Walker Brothers started as a pop group in pre-British Invasion Los Angeles, and found themselves positioned as a unique (and somewhat feeble) American “counter-strike”....