February 14, 2011

The ALBUM OF THE DAY
ROD STEWART...The Best Of... The Great American Songbook (2011)
(CD, Allmusic Review)

This album is currently number 49 on the U.S. Billboard chart. There are two sides to this review. First: this is not a rock 'n' roll CD at all. In fact, Stewart has released 5 American pop standards albums now. This CD takes the best from those 5 and gathers them together. The songs are classic, they are well done with Rod's gravely vocals. The highlights are "You'll Never Know" (the only new track here), "What A Wonderful World" and "Someone To Watch Over Me". With that in mind I recommend it. Second: Where's the rock 'n' roll? The last true rock record from RS came in 1998 (When We Were The New Boys), but the last great record came in 1981 (Tonight I'm Yours). C'mon, Rod, let's rock, or are those days over?


53rd GRAMMYS ROCK GENRE WINNERS
ALBUM OF THE YEAR...The Suburbs by Arcade Fire, Arcade Fire & Markus Dravs, producers; Arcade Fire, Markus Dravs, Mark Lawson & Craig Silvey, engineers/mixers; George Marino, mastering engineer
BEST POP INSTRUMENTAL PERFORMANCE...Nessun Dorma by Jeff Beck, Track from: Emotion & Commotion
BEST SOLO ROCK VOCAL PERFORMANCE...Helter Skelter BY Paul McCartney, Track from: Good Evening New York City
BEST HARD ROCK PERFORMANCE...New Fang by Them Crooked Vultures, Track from: Them Crooked Vultures
BEST METAL PERFORMANCE...El Dorado by Iron Maiden, Track from: The Final Frontier
BEST ROCK INSTRUMENTAL PERFORMANCE...Hammerhead by Jeff Beck, Track from: Emotion & Commotion
BEST ROCK SONG...Angry World by Neil Young, songwriter (Neil Young), Track from: Le Noise
BEST ROCK ALBUM...The Resistance by Muse
BEST TRADITIONAL BLUES ALBUM...Joined At The Hip by Pinetop Perkins & Willie 'Big Eyes' Smith
BEST CONTEMPORARY BLUES ALBUM...Living Proof by Buddy Guy
BEST HISTORICAL ALBUM...The Beatles (The Original Studio Recordings), Jeff Jones & Allan Rouse, compilation producers; Paul Hicks, Sean Magee, Guy Massey, Sam Okell & Steve Rooke, mastering engineers (The Beatles)
BEST LONG FORM MUSIC VIDEO...When You're Strange (The Doors), Tom Dicillo, video director; John Beug, Jeff Jampol, Peter Jankowski & Dick Wolf, video producers

ROCK BIRTHDAYS FOR FEBRUARY 14
Roger Fisher from Heart is 61; Ricky Wolking from The Nixons is 45; Rob Thomas from Matchbox Twenty is 39;

ON THIS DATE
1970 The Who perform at Leeds University in Leeds, West Yorkshire in the UK. This turns out to be the Live At Leeds album, which totally will ROCK your butt off!!!
1972 John Lennon and Yoko Ono begin a week long stint as co-host of The Mike Dougles Show. An interesting week, indeed
1984 Aerosmith performs in Boston. In attendance were original members Joe Perry and Brad Whitford. They rejoin the group after meeting the band backstage after the show
2008 An ex member of Boston, Barry Goudreau, had been performing the Boston classic "More Than A Feeling" at rallies for Republican presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee. Tom Scholtz sends Huckabee a letter asking him to stop using "something of mine and using it to promote ideas to which I am opposed"
2010 Doug Fieger of the Knack died in Woodland Hills, California. Fieger was 57

ROCKLINE with Bob Coburn
Monday, February 14 THE GRACIOUS FEW 11:30 PM Eastern/8:30 Pacific Listen here
Wednesday, February 16 STEVIE NICKS 11:30 PM Eastern/8:30 Pacific Listen here
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