Rave On Buddy Holly
Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#1051 in the Series) is Rave On Buddy Holly. Back in the early 90s I worked as a District Manager for a music distributor. One of our accounts was Wal-Mart. We would stock them with their music and make sure they were fixture properly etc. (BTW, back then, they refused to stock AC/DC because their albums had parental warning stickers on them. Later there was a new AC/DC release and the ONLY place you can get it was Wal-Mart!) At one point, we were doing some major renovations that had to be done only at night after the stores closed. I was the head of one of these projects. I had to use...
Jeff Beck “Rock N’ Roll Party (Honoring Les Paul)”
Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#1048 in the Series) is Jeff Beck, Rock N’ Roll Party (Honoring Les Paul) Every Monday night for 12 years up until his death at age 94, Les Paul would hold court with his Les Paul Trio with a show at The Iridium Jazz Club in New York City. The shows more often than not included guest musicians that happened to be in town at the time. The club after his death, in keeping with this tradition, has renamed the room he would play, The Les Paul Room, and invites special musical guests to play with The Les Paul Trio each Monday to keep this time honored tradition alive. To give you an...
The Black Keys “El Camino”
Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#1046 in the Series) is The Back Keys, El Camino (Nonesuch Records) I’m actually fairly new to The Black Keys. I only recently took a closer look at them when I picked up their last release, Brothers. I listened to it, but my thinking was along the lines of “OK, this is just the latest in a long line of hot, new bands, that everyone is supposed to like” that I’m going to listen to it once and then never play it again. I know enough about The Black Keys that even Brothers was seen by some of their early fans as a sellout and that they were not staying true to...
Rockpile ‘Live at Montreux 1980’
Today’s ‘Cool Album of the Day’ (#1040 in the Series) is Rockpile Live at Montreux 1980 – In 1980, Nick Lowe, Dave Edmunds, Billy Bremner and Terry Williams, collectively known as Rockpile, released their only official album, Seconds of Pleasure. On August 23rd, 2011, they released their second. It’s called Live at Montreux 1980. Sure we know there were about four or five more albums that could have been called Rockpile, except Dave Edmunds was contracted to one label and Nick Lowe to another, so we never had a second Rockpile album. This one is a live album and features 16 tracks. You’ll find some goodies from all three “franchises, “there are some Rockpile tunes, some songs that were...
Nomad Planets ‘You’re Never Lost Until You Panic’
Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#1033 in the Series) is Nomad Planets, You’re Never Alone Until You Panic The following was originally posted back about seven years ago. Let’s read it again shall we… This is a piece that I’ve been meaning to write for quite some time. What’s taken so long? That’s an easy one. I love this album so much that I never thought I could do it justice with words. I still don’t think I’ll be able to but I had to make sure that you knew about. You can hear the album its entirety below so even if I slobber and make zero sense at least you can just blow me off and...
Phil Lucafo ‘One Block East’
Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#1023 in the Series) is Phil Lucafo, One Block East. One Block East is the first solo album by former Heartsfield co-lead guitarist/co-lead vocalist Phil Lucafo. (Full disclosure: One Block East was released by Cool Album Productions which is also owns this website.) Phil was responsible or partly responsible for many of Heartsfield’s better known songs such as “The Only Time I’m Sober Is When You’re Gone,” “Pass Me By,” “Gypsy Rider,” “I Like It A Lot” and “Rock and Roll Farm.” “The Only Time I’m Sober Is When You’re Gone” was just recently covered by a new band called Buck Satan and the 666 Shooters featuring Cheap Trick’s Rick Nielsen and Ministry’s Alain...
The Bryan Ferry Orchestra ‘The Jazz Age’
Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#1012 in the Series) is Bryan Ferry, The Jazz Age Talk about something coming completely out of left field. I had heard nothing about this album until one day I saw it pop up on a listing of new releases for the week. What makes it more surprising is that was true even though it had been out in the UK for about three months. The premise of The Jazz Age is quite simple. Bryan Ferry takes some of his more popular recordings and transposes them into 1920s era jazz pieces. I love the idea but I must admit that it did take me a few listens to warm to the record....
Jason Isbell ‘Southeastern’
Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#1011 in the Series) is Jason Isbell, Southeastern. Well, this one has kinda taken me by surprise to be honest. As a long-time admirer of both Jason Isbell and his former band Drive By Truckers I really thought I had him pegged and that I knew pretty much what to expect from anything he’d release next: good, solid Americana fare with maybe three or four exceptional songs on each album. I have to say however that he’s proved me wrong with Southeastern, this time out he’s offered up a complete gem of an album, full of wonderfully personal songs, straight from the heart, sparkling and emotive. He’s taken it to the next level...
Carole King “The Legendary Demos”
Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#1008 in the Series) is Carole King, The Legendary Demos Carole King demos have been floating around the music industry for as long as I can remember, some were better than others. This release is the first time that some of those have hit the streets on an official basis. Let’s say, it’s been worth the wait. It’s not too late. This package was released in 2012 and it covers about a decade of Carole’s early writing career. These songs are indeed demo versions, but they are not solo demos. Many of the songs do indeed have a small band playing with her, some songs however are just her. I have a...
My Morning Jacket “Circuital”
Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#982 in the Series) is My Morning Jacket, Circuital A Review of Circuital ….With a Slight History and Very Public Secret Crush Thrown in. When I first heard of My Morning Jacket, their genre was described as “Southern Rock”, which instantly made me turn my head and say bleh. Then, shortly thereafter, WXRT in Chicago played a song from their 2001 Release, At Dawn. (Bermuda Highway). I remember being in the car, pausing, thinking, then saying to myself. “Who the hell was that?” You see, that was long before I could look anything up in the car, , and I certainly didn’t have the internet at my fingertips, otherwise known as the Pre-...
