Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#927 in the Series) is Dusty Springfield, Dusty in Memphis The stable of Blue-Eyed Soul fillies from across the pond has been Kentucky Derby quality over the last 10 years. Duffy, with her 2008 release Rockferry has more of a sensitive delivery than her more bombastic contemporaries that should serve her well with the AOR crowd as her career progresses. Joss Stone burst on to the scene in 2003 with The Soul Sessions, an unabashed tribute to the soul singers of the past sounding more like Carla Thomas or Aretha Franklin than a sixteen year old girl recording her eponymous album.  But even though her later releases seem to lack direction and continuity...

Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#871 in the Series) is Otis Blue, Otis Redding Sings Soul.  If you are a musical purist and do not allow live albums, compilations, or greatest hits packages to infiltrate your desert island disc knapsack, then Otis Blue / Otis Redding Sings Soul should be added to your collection post haste. The album, released in 1965 just months after the death of Sam Cooke, was the first really pure Otis Redding record.  More cohesive in style, this effort has much more of a live feel about it, with the entire package (including the sultry, evocative blond on the album cover) produced with an artistic flow that was previously missing from his prior efforts that...

  39 Years. That’s a long long while since a “Long Long While” played second fiddle to the “A” side of the UK single, “Paint It Black” … then the current chart topper by Rock’s Bad Boys back in Summer ‘66. And yep!  I waited 39 years and a long long while to see the return of  “therollingstones*” to ….. The Hollywood Bowl.  From teenager to fifty-something, I am wai-ting … ting … I am wai-ting … ting … oh yeah oh yeah! On 25th July 1966, Buffalo Springfield opened for therollingstones* … but I was no longer a 17 year old kid and now had a lifetime of concert memories embedded in this old grey-matter & matted brain....

  The fun did not end at 1 AM this morning when the screen faded to black ending the 37th season of Saturday Night Live. Host and musical guest Mick Jagger along with The Foo Fighters led an after party that lasted well into the wee hours of the morning. The band played numerous cover tunes that saw a variety of past and present cast members joining in on the fun. Will Forte sang some Black Sabbath, and Amy Poehler some  Joan Jett. They also covered some Cheap Trick, this time with Fred Armisen on drums while Jason Sudeikis showed off his lead vocal skills. Mick did take the stage and treated the party to “Bitch” and “Miss You.”...

    Saturday Night Live has released some great promos for this weekend’s season finale starring Mick Jagger. He come across as quite a comic natural in these. I’m looking forward to the show. One thing that hasn’t been mentioned much about this episode is “Who of the long term regulars will be appearing for the final time?”  I’ve heard rumblings that many could be leaving including Kristen Wiig, Fred Armisen, Jason Sudeikis and Andy Samberg. Oh, and it doesn’t appear that Keith Richards will be part of the fun. He recently told Rolling Stone Magazine. “I spoke to Mick and he said it’s something that he said yes to many months ago, so he’s just doing it,” Richards says. “He’s on his...

  Hot off the press. The fine folks at Saturday Night Live have just announced that Mick Jagger will host this season’s finale on May 19th.  This will be Mick’s first time as official solo host. He has made several cameo appearances. I wonder if there will be any on this show by anyone we might know? The Rolling Stones have  performed on the show on three occasions. He’s also listed as the musical guest. We have no idea who he’ll have in his band. We’ll be watching that’s for sure! ———– UPDATE!: We now know who his band will be for the musical portion of the show. He’ll be performing with two bands actually. The Foo Fighters and Arcade...

  Things are looking good, very good thank you for a Rolling Stones 50th anniversary tour. However, it would most likely be held 51 years after their birth.  The news doesn’t stop there however as there is talk that ex-band mates, bassist Bill Wyman and guitarist Mick Taylor may also be part of the happening in some formation. The main obstacle to overcome, that being Mick Jagger and Keith Richards getting along has indeed been rectified.  Just last night after a long get together in New York City, this was said by Mr. Mick:  “Looking back at any career you are bound to recall both the highs and the lows.”In the 1980s, for instance, Keith and I were not...

  The Rolling Stones to reunite with Bill Wyman and Mick Taylor? Well, Kind of. maybe. Our friends at Spinner.com recently interviewed Keith Richards. He  shared with them some thought on an upcoming jam session and also the possibility of a 50th anniversary tour. The band is re-releasing a their Some Girls album this week (Nov 21st) As a promotion, Keith,  and Charlie Ronnie will be jamming and have invited Bill and Mick to join them. We’re not sure if Mick will be there. We hope. Here’s the interview Keith did with Spinner.com When do you start those jam sessions with Ronnie and Charlie? The idea is to go in December. I said, “Jesus Christ, we haven’t played together...

Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#453 in the Series) is Carly Simon, No Secrets A “Whale?” You’re actually putting this album in the “Whale Wednesday” category? If you’re questioning that, then you weren’t around in the late 1972 or early ’73.  If you were, you’d have remembered how big this album was. Singer-songwriters were all the rage at this time. A year and a half earlier, Carole King was top of the charts forever it seemed with her masterpiece “Tapestry.” That album was released in March on ’71 and she actually released another album, Music before ’71 was out. Carly’s No Secrets was not another Tapestry, but it may just have had a bigger hit than anything of...

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...