I’ve always had a love-hate relationship with Frank Zappa’s “Joe’s Garage” records. As usual, Zappa’s heart was in the right place when it came to issues like government control, censorship and organized religion, and he certainly could play guitar. But I never really got off on Zappa’s scatological and somewhat immature lyrical side. “Joe’s Garage” […]
Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “L.A.” by Neil Young
A song from what has become the great lost Neil Young album, “Time Fades Away.” The album was recorded on the 1973 tour that followed Young’s biggest album “Harvest,” but as usual Young did not give in to fan expectations and performed mostly new rock’n’roll material on the tour that had little or no connection […]
Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “Soul Sacrifice” by Santana
This blazing performance comes to you from the Woodstock Music & Arts Fair, the mother of all rock festivals. It’s amazing to watch a then, mostly unknown, Carlos Santana catch fire in front of the biggest audience he had ever played to at that point…not to mention that he was tripping his face off on […]
Song Of The Day – “Joy In Repetition” by Prince
Editor’s note: this originally ran on January 18, 2012 There are guitarist who can play from the head, but rarer are the guitarists who play from the heart….you know, the ones whose emotions are left out hangin’ to dry with each note. Jimi Hendrix did…so did Jerry Garcia and Stevie Ray Vaughan. Derek Trucks sure […]
Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “5 O’Clock In The Morning” by Godley & Creme
Kevin Godley and Lol Creme were one half of British 70s supergroup 10cc, along with Eric Stewart and Graham Gouldman. After the release of 10cc’s album “How Dare You” in 1976, Godley and Creme decided to leave the 10cc fold in order to record an album to promote an early guitar synthesizer they invented called […]
Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “Fire” by Bruce Springsteen
It boggles the mind the songs that were left on the cutting room floor from Bruce Springsteen’s “Darkness On The Edge Of Town” recording sessions. There was a plethora of material to choose from due to the legal problems that resulted in a three year span between “Born To Run” and “Darkness.” As a result, […]
Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “Ice Age” by Dr. John
Whether you know him as Mac Rebennack, “The Night Tripper” or Dr. John, he’s been responsible for healthy doses of New Orleans swamp, Gris Gris and funk for over 40 years…and on the strength of his latest record, The Doctor is most definitely IN! Over the last decade or two, Dr. John has been searching […]
Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “We The People” by Garland Jeffreys
Back in 1980, Garland Jeffreys released an album that the record company he was recording for really got behind in an effort to break him big. The record was “Escape Artist” and featured an all-star backing band that included Lou Reed, Roy Bittan (E Street Band), Danny Federici (E Street Band), G.E. Smith (Bob Dylan, […]
Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “Get Down” by Gilbert O’Sullivan
You can deride ol’ Gilbert O’Sullivan all you want, but you can’t deny the guy wrote his own hits…and they were indelible. Perhaps, his getup of a floppy hat and short trousers didn’t make you stand up and shout…or maybe ballads like “Alone Again (Naturally)” and “Clair” weren’t to your liking. But his 1973 hit, […]
Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “Cheese And Onions” by The Rutles
From the 1969 album “Yellow Submarine Sandwich” comes this Nasty classic from the Rutles’ psychedelic period. At this point, the prefab four were at odds with each other. Stig was becoming too bossy in the studio trying to control the group’s sessions. Both Dirk and Barry had both left the group and returned. The end […]
