Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#397 in the Series) is The Rolling Stones, Sticky Fingers Before I go into a quick recap on The Rolling Stones, Sticky Fingers, let me take a moment to once again discuss what Whale Wednesdays are all about. As you most likely know, we here at Cool Album of the Day like to showcase many albums from different genres. Since most of you are real audiophiles, most of the time you’ll be seeing titles that you know, but not always. I’m sure most of you specialize in one area or another.  Hopefully you’re seeing some names that you may not be familiar with at all, or most likely, you’ll see names that you’ve...

Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#396 in the Series) is China Crisis, Flaunt the Imperfection Flaunt the Imperfection is the third studio album from one of my favorite acts, China Crisis. I love their What Price Paradise album. Like I’ve mentioned before, it seems like my favorite albums coincide with the tours that I’ve seen, having said that, this is probably a better album. This one has a big name attached to it. That name is Walter Becker.  Who? Many of you know that name. He’s one half of the famed duo that fronts Steely Dan, the other half being of course, Donald Fagen. Mr. Becker produced Flaunt the Imperfection. He also ads some synthesizer touches along with...

Today’s Cool Album of the Day(#395 in the Series) is The Meters, Look-Ka Py Py Today we’re going to take a look at The Meters’ classic album called Look-Ka Py Py. Classic you say? Well, for its genre it is. Actually you can probably say maybe even more than that.  We’ve referred to that Rolling Stone Top 500 Albums of all-time list more than once in these parts. Well, The Meters had the #138 entry with Rejuvenation while Look-Ka Py Py was listed at #218.  So I guess they actually had a pair of classic albums. So you’re not familiar with The Meters you say and “what genre is that of you speak?” Yeah, I guess I’m getting a...

Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#394 in the Series) is Cheap Trick, at Budokan: The Complete Concert. Cheap Trick’s first album, which was simply self-titled, did OK here in the States. Their second release, In Color gave the band a whole new audience as it stepped them up a notch. Dream Police, the same deal, they went up another notch but not a real big deal. Then came Cheap Trick at Budokan, after this was released, they became stars. All that was referring to the United Stated, beginning in late ’77, they had become a huge act in Japan.  How did that happen? Mainly it was because they had done two big tours of the island. One as...

Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#393 in the Series) is Linda Ronstadt, Heart Like A Wheel Laurel Canyon is a stretch of Los Angeles wonderland that runs through the Hollywood Hills from the Sunset Strip to the San Fernando Valley. That curving, stretching, boulevard of hipness and “California Noir” is where Carole King escaped to create her “Tapestry” masterpiece.  It was in Laurel Canyon, while living on Lookout Mountain with Joni Mitchell, that Graham Nash wrote “Our House”.  Leading the “Soft Parade” of Laurel Canyon artists, musicians, singers, and songwriters that included Jackson Browne, J.D. Souther, Warren Zevon, The Mamas and the Papas, the various incarnations of The Flying Burrito Brothers including Gram Parsons, most of The Eagles,...

Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#392 in the Series) is Sinéad O’Connor, I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got When I started doing this write-up I noticed one thing that I had pretty much forgotten. I really could have saved this album for a ‘Whale Wednesday.’ You know, on Wednesday’s we featured the big, big whale sellers. This album was a number seller on the Billboard Top 200 Album chart and sold more than 7 million units worldwide. That sounds pretty ‘blubbery” to me! This album featured her huge selling single, the Prince penned, “Nothing Compares 2 U.”  It also had a lesser hit with “The Emperor’s New Clothes.” As every reader hear knows however, that’s not what...

Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#391 in the Series and #14 in the Whale Wednesday Series) is ZZ Top, Eliminator. Is Eliminator my favorite ZZ Top release, oh heck no. My vote would always by placed on one of the earlier, more guitar driven more blues based offerings.  I’m featuring Eliminator because it truly was a “Whale.” No, it wasn’t a number one album, far from it. It actually only made it up to #9 on the Billboard Top 200 Album chart.  I don’t care where this charted, this was a HUGE album.  This album was all over the radio during the summer of 1983. ZZ Top was clearly an established act when this was released in March....

Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#390 in the Series) is Grace Potter and the Nocturnals The word “Nocturnal” means “of or pertaining to the night,” a perfect moniker to describe the band of traveling gypsies known as Grace Potter & The Nocturnals. 2010 and on in to 2011 has been a very busy time for the band. In an effort to make a name, and establish their identity, they embarked on a “scorched earth” tour of America, traversing the country, delivering to the unwashed masses, their unique blend of funky blues, gritty soul, and smoldering rock. The band also made time to make all of the usual Fallon, Kimmel, Letterman, talking head stops, as well as to lend...

Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#389 in the Series) is Wayne Toups and Zydecajun, Blast From the Bayou This is one of the highlights about working for a music distributor. Having a label rep walk into your office and have him toss a little nugget like this on your desk. I was a fan of Cajun music for quite some time.  I had a few albums, Buckwheat Zydeco, etc., but not too many, definitely not enough.  Getting this helped my library. Wayne Toups and Zydecajun were a mainstay of the New Orleans music scene in the Eighties, in fact they still are. This was an interesting release. It contained some fantastic original tunes such as “Sweet Joline,” ”Two...

Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#388 in the Series) is John Fogerty, The Blue Ridge Rangers Rides Again Creedence Clearwater revival, in 1973, was the hottest band on the planet.  The group  was praised as the successors to the Beatles hit making machine with a strong string of hit singles that included  “ Proud Mary”, “I Heard It Through The Grapevine”, “Bad Moon Rising”, “Green River”, and many more. John Fogerty, the main songwriter, leader, and lead singer , was one of only a handful of artists to make The Rolling Stone list of the 100 greatest guitar players (40), and the 100 greatest vocalists (72). So what do you do as an encore on the heels of...