Right Said Fred “I’m Too Sexy”
Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “I’m Too Sexy” by Right Said Fred I worked at Reader’s Digest in their recorded music division for five years compiling music collections for people who were much older than I was at the time. In effect, I was selling nostalgia to folks whose memories I did not share. The job proved research intensive and ultimately rewarding, and by creating these music collections, I got a pretty good idea about what makes people feel nostalgic for music while garnering a newfound appreciation for a whole host of music I might not have ever heard otherwise. One of my co-workers at Digest was a musicologist named Gary Theroux. Gary used to say...
The B-52s ‘Cosmic Thing’
Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “Follow Your Bliss” by The B-52’s “Follow Your Bliss” is perhaps the most unique recording in the entire B-52’s catalog, it is also the perfect closer to their greatest album. By the time of The B-52’s comeback album Cosmic Thing the group was ten years into their career. After becoming media darlings for the new wave, they soon found themselves in a dramatic free fall that left them practically unable to give their records away at retail. Formed in Athens, Georgia in 1976, The B-52’s consisted of Fred Schneider on vocals, percussion and keyboards, Kate Pierson on organ, bass and vocals, Cindy Wilson on vocals, tambourine and guitar, Cindy’s brother Ricky...
Walker Lukens ‘Devoted’ – NEW MUSIC REVIEW
Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#856 in the Series) is Walker Lukens, Devoted. If Harry Nilsson, Paul Simon, and Warren Zevon had a love child, his name would be Walker Lukens. This Austin settled, by way of Houston and New York City musician is that good, and with his new album Devoted he has managed to combine the raw, vulnerable musings of Nilsson, the pop sensibility of Simon, and the “on the edge” coolest guy in the room vibe of Warren at his Excitable Boy peak. With the current Mumford-ization trend that is so popular in today’s musical landscape, it is somewhat of a refreshing change to find a record that is equally, if not more enjoyable than...
Eric Carmen ‘Eric Carmen’
Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “That’s Rock ‘n Roll” by Eric Carmen Eric Carmen was one of the prime purveyors of 1970s power pop with his group Raspberries and their hits “Go All The Way,” “I Wanna Be With You,” “Let’s Pretend” and “Overnight Sensation (Hit Record).” With the breakup of Raspberries in 1975, producer Jimmy Ienner brought Carmen to the fledgling Arista record label where, under the aegis of Clive Davis, he took on a more baroque ballad style. Carmen hit the ball right out of the park with the first single from his self-titled debut album, “All By Myself,” which went all the way to the number two position on the charts. The...
John Simon “John Simon’s Album”
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...
The New Musical Express Poll Winners Concert 1965
Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood” by The Animals (Live NME Version 1965) Some classic Animals from the 1965 NME Poll Winners Concert, as “Song Of The Day by Eric Berman” looks at a terrific “grey area” CD release! The New Musical Express is a weekly British newspaper that has focused solely on the music scene for nearly 50 years. For several years during the 1960s, the paper sponsored concerts featuring artists who topped their music polls. The 1965 edition took place at Wembley Stadium on April 11, 1965, and was filmed. An edited version of the concert was screened on ABC TV in the U.S. on April 18 of that...
The Partridge Family ‘Come On Get Happy’ & ‘When We’re Singing’
Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “Come On Get Happy” and “When We’re Singing”– by The Partridge Family The Friday nights of my wonder years would have never been complete without The Partridge Family. The Partridge Family TV show was based on the real-life family group, The Cowsills, who had hits in the 1960s with “The Rain, The Park and Other Things” (1967) and “Hair” (from the musical of the same name, 1969). The Cowsills were originally slotted to play themselves in the series; however they weren’t trained actors, so the decision was made to put a TV group together. Shirley Jones, who played the group’s mother (Shirley Partridge), was already a well-established actress and a...
‘Cool Album of the Day’ Favorite Albums of 2012
One of the things that many music websites do this time of year is publish what they call “The Best Albums of Year..blah blah blah.” All I have to say is, if you claim your list is a best of, then you better have heard every album that was released. I read a ton of these lists and I know for sure, these people are deciding on what is a best of and they haven’t come close to doing enough homework. Yes, we’re putting out a list as well. But we’re calling it our “Favorite Albums of 2012. I know darn well that I didn’t hear nearly enough to think that I what I have to say is...
Tim Buckley ‘Tim Buckley’
Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “Wings” by Tim Buckley – My sister is seven years my senior, and growing up she was my biggest musical influence introducing me to artists and albums I would have never otherwise discovered at such a young age. And so it was back in 1972 when she brought Tim Buckley’s album Goodbye And Hello home when I was eleven years old. To be honest, it took me years to actually get into Tim Buckley because the combination of his ethereal brand of psychedelic folk music combined with my young age made the music somewhat incomprehensible to me, and it was enough of an obstacle to keep my interest in his...
Top Albums 2012 by Eric Berman (Song Of The Day by Eric Berman)
1. Deerhoof: Breakup Song (Polyvinyl) Emanating from San Francisco(Greg Saunier & John Dieterich) by way of Japan(Satomi Matsuzaki), Deerhoof have released 12 albums of unpredictable music with a sound that would have made Yoko Ono proud and John Lennon jump for joy. It has finally come to pass that the ingredients of Yoko Ono’s recordings circa “Double Fantasy” that were championed by John Lennon have somewhat reached the mainstream with Deerhoof and their brand new release Breakup Song. Part electro-crunch, part sing-song melodies, part twee vocals and completely infectious in the dance rhythm department. 2. Divine Fits: A Thing Called Divine Fits (Merge) When I first started playing Divine Fits’ debut album, I immediately gravitated to the songs that featured...
