Brian Eno / Harold Budd “Ambient 2: The Plateaux Of Mirror”
Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#631 in the Series) is Harold Budd / Brian Eno, Ambient 2 :The Plateaux Of Mirror It was a beautiful day today, sunny in the morning, and you could easily have been fooled into thinking spring was arriving early. There’s a row of old-fashioned houses that I can see from a window at work and all morning long, as the slow rising sun crept up, the houses were changing colour, pink, orange, red. It was a lovely sight and it brought this album to my mind, it’s an old favourite which I hadn’t played in such a long time. Up until 7 years ago I worked in a paper mill and worked...
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...
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...
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...
Roxy Music ” Flesh and Blood”
Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#451 in the Series) is Roxy Music, Flesh and Blood I see Avalon mentioned all the time. I see Country Life, Siren and some of the other albums mentioned all the time. What am I referring to? The answer to the question about ‘What is your favorite Roxy Music album. What I almost never see is Flesh and Blood. Having said that, when I do listen to this album, I find myself digging it as much as, if not more, those other classic titles. There might not be one song as perfect as ‘Avalon’ or as memorable as ’Do the Strand’ here, maybe that’s why it gets short changed. There also was a couple...
The Teardrop Explodes “Kilimanjaro”
Today’s Cool Album of The Day (#440 in a Series) is The Teardrop Explodes, Kilimanjaro. The decade of the 1980’s saw the punk rock explosion extinguishing. While punk attacked, and damaged, the old guard prog movement (Yes; Emerson, Lake, and Palmer; etc.), its fading left a large void for the followers of punk who were looking to diversify their listening habits. The New Romantic/Blitz movement (Soft Cell, Duran Duran, Spandau Ballet, etc.) had a definite lack of testosterone for the old punks. Enter the new psychedelia. Bands like Echo and the Bunnymen, Psychedelic Furs, Soft Boys, and The Teardrop Explodes filled this empty space in a more hard edged way. The Teardrop Explodes was led by singer, lyricist, bassist,...
Stiff Little Fingers “Nobody’s Heroes”
Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#430 in the Series) is Stiff Little Fingers, Nobody’s Heroes. 1977. Northern Ireland. Punk rock was exploding in Britain with the Sex Pistols, Clash, Buzzcocks, Jam, Stranglers, Eddie and the Hot Rods, and Damned dominating the airwaves, charts, and tabloid headlines. Where was Ireland’s entry into the punk sweepstakes? The Undertones, one of the greats of the decade, were more of a pop band than punks. Enter Stiff Little Fingers. SLF’s debut (Inflammable Material) broke in 1979. It’s follow up, Nobody’s Heroes was released in 1980. As its title infers, anyone could be in a band and Stiff Little Fingers avoided most of the traditional trappings of stardom. Any group of kids could...
Genesis “Duke”
Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#236 in the Series) is Genesis, Duke. I’ve always loved the Duke album. Not every track is great like most of the early works, but from start to finish, Duke was a darn strong Genesis effort. It should be listed to in its entirety. The songs play together as a story. It opens with the great ‘Behind The Lines’ and segues thru ‘Duchess’ and ‘Guide Vocal. Man of our Times’ is another great song. Side two opens with another great side opener, ‘Turn it on Again.’ It ends with the reprise tinged ‘Duke’s Travels’ and ‘Duke’s End.’ If you’ll notice I’ve deliberately left out mentioning one song. It also was left off the video montage...
Mike Rutherford "Smallcreep’s Day"
Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#130 in the Series) is Mike Rutherford, Smallcreep’s Day. OK, it’s time to go a little more obscure. Not as much obscurity in the artist, but in the material chosen. Smallcreep’s Day is the first solo work by guitarist Mike Rutherford. Rutherford is known, of course, mainly for his work with Genesis. But like all members in that band, he’s done work outside the group. His main solo project that he’s known for is Mike and the Mechanics. They had some popular songs in the mid eighties. “All I Need is a Miracle” and “The Living Years” being the best known of them. Smallcreep’s Day was more of a progressive album as compared...
Ultravox “Vienna”
Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#125 in the Series) is Ultravox, Vienna Ultravox was one of my favorite bands in the 80s. Great albums, great live shows. I was lucky enough to see them at the Aragon Ballroom when they toured a few years after this release. They were out on the road for “Quartet” when I saw them. A real interesting show. EVERYTHING was gray. The guitars the backdrop, the amplifiers, the guitar chords, the drums, the clothes. I don’t know what they were trying to say, but the music was superb! “Vienna” housed some of Ultravox best songs. “Quartet” had the hottest single, ‘Reap the Wild Wind’ so it sold the most. But give me “Vienna.”...
