Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#1047 in the Series) is Arc Angels If there is such a thing as a one-hit wonder record, The Arc Angels self-titled debut album, released in 1992, would probably rank at the top of the heap.  The Parker Lee of rock bands, comprised of the Stevie Ray Vaughan rhythm section Tommy Shannon and Chris Layton along with Austin guitar legends Charlie Sexton and Doyle Bramhall II, the band that was named after their practice facilities at the Austin Rehearsal Center, was ready and seemingly able to take the Stevie Ray torch and become the preeminent power blues band in the world, or so it seemed. Charlie Sexton, guitar prodigy extraordinaire, returned...

Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#1024 in the Series) is Jeff Healey Band, See The Light See The Light was the break through album by Canadian Blues guitarist Jeff Healey.  It was released in 1988. It was steep in Blues-Rock but actually featured a hit that was John Hiatt (with help from Fred Koller) penned ballad, “Angel Eyes.” “Angel Eyes” wasn’t the only Hiatt tune on the disc.  Healey does a killer job on “Confidence Man.”  Some other highlights include the title cut, “See the Light” plus “My Little Girl,” “Hideaway” and “Someday, Someway.”  Jeff also does a wonderful version of ZZ Top’s, “Blue Jean Blues.” See the Light was produced by the great team of Greg Ladanyi and...

Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#1004 in the Series) is the Hindu Love Gods. There’s something cool about two of your favorite acts coming together on side projects.  That’s exactly what we have here in the Hindu Love Gods.  Who are they? (REM-Michael Stipe) + Warren Zevon = Hindu Love Gods. For those of you that hated Algebra, this would mean… take REM but leave Michael Stipe home, now add Warren Zevon on vocals and you got the idea. OK, now which tunes should they do you “ax?”  Well, they really did hang together enough to do much writing, so like many quickie, one-off side projects, they resort to covering many songs that they just happened to like....

  Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#1002 in the series) is the self-titled debut from Randy Hansen. 1980 was a bit of a hazy year for me. Turning twenty-one will do that! Looking back, there are definitely many question marks. However, Randy Hansen’s debut that year was an exclamation point in my life for several reasons. I previously had heard of Hansen as yet another in an endless line of Jimi Hendrix impersonators. No offense, but… yawn. On a lark, I bought his debut, and continue to play it, 34 years later. Side note- you probably have already heard him- his guitar histrionics are on the Apocalypse Now soundtrack. Side one opens with the energetic “Champagne And Cocaine,”...

  Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#968 in the Series) is Ten Years After,  A Space In Time When you are three pints in, and the conversation as it inevitably does, turns to the greatest guitar players of all time, and the usual suspects Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, and the rest are shouted out from around the bar, the name Alvin Lee is largely and criminally ignored.  As one of the early pioneers of Blues Rock, Lee and his band Ten Years After were mostly known for their spacey psychedelic blues jams that were groovy enough to grab the ears of concert promoter Bill Graham, who brought the band to San Francisco for a series of...

  Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#947 in the series) is Tom Petty,  Hypnotic Eye Every couple of years, starting in 1976, Tom Petty demands our attention. With his debut, self-titled release, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, a game-changing blend of straight ahead Rock, Ramones style Punk, and Byrds harmonies, a new contender for the title of future King of American Rock and Roll was Born. Stretching their influences instead of imitating them, this was about as strong a coming out party as you could possibly find, and “American Girl,” the first actual full-length song that Petty ever wrote, created the blue print for the straight ahead sound, and the lyrical purity that has served them well over...

    Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#924 in the Series) is The Allman Brothers Band, Idlewild South. Idlewild South was the second and last of the two  “true” Allman Brothers Band albums. They’ve had many, many great albums, but the first two are always considered the only “true” Allman Brothers, meaning, Duane and Gregg were both included. I’ve also read more than one review that has called this the best studio album that band ever produced.   As mentioned, this was the last full studio album that included the great Duane Allman. He would lose his life in a motorcycle accident while recording the follow up, Eat a Peach.  Of course it didn’t end there either. Original...

Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “Hot Stuff” by The Rolling Stones Today’s Song Of The Day comes from the Rolling Stones’ 1976 album Black And Blue. Next to Goats Head Soup, the album stands as one of the most maligned Rolling Stones releases of the 1970s. That assessment is totally unfair since the album actually is one of the most varied and forward looking records in their catalog, featuring two superb ballads, two terse rockers and several songs that add reggae, soul, funk and disco into the mix. Many of the record’s songs stemmed from studio jams that were recorded while trying out new guitarists to replace Mick Taylor, and guitarists Wayne Perkins and Harvey Mandel...

Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#877 in the Series) is Billy Prine, Billy Prine’s Big Beat Battalion.  I was lucky enough to go to the album release concert for Billy Prine’s Big Beat Battalion and what a night of hard Southern-style rock we experienced. Since Billy Prine was a new experience for me I was primed for a comparison with Billy’s big brother John Prine. Once the show started that thought left me immediately. Billy is not a John Prine clone, he is living in his own hard rocking world and having a ball doing it right. Billy Prine’s Big Beat Battalion is a seven song album loaded with driving rock and some surprising moments as well, all...

  34th Annual Blues Music Award Winners Last Night the 34th annual Blues Music Award winners were announced at a ceremony at  Cook Convention Center in Memphis, Tennessee. We have the nominees and winners listed below. —————————————————————————————————————————————– Acoustic Album **Not Alone – Ann Rabson w/ Bob Margolin** -** winners listed first** Billy Boy Arnold Sings Big Bill Broonzy – Billy Boy Arnold Blues on Solid Ground – John Primer Deeper In The Well – Eric Bibb Talking Guitar – Paul Rishell Acoustic Artist **Eric Bibb** Carolina Chocolate Drops Doug MacLeod Harrison Kennedy Paul Rishell Album of the Year **Show of Strength – Michael Burks** And Still I Rise – Heritage Blues Orchestra Double Dynamite – The Mannish Boys Son of...