Damn Fine Day

Announcement

JL — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 23:00:03 +0000

Dear Damn Fine Day subscribers/visitors,

We are suspending the service due to technical issues. We hope to have a solution in place in the near future and be back up and running with more of those overlooked gems.

Reggatta de Blanc

TC — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 19:16:48 +0000

Songs like this make me crazy. It’s only 3 minutes long. I wish it was at least twice that. The title cut of their second album defines The Police at their best. The playing is immaculate, with each member shining equally. And, it proves that there was only one band like The Police – instantly identifiable, especially with Stewart Copeland’s phenomenal opening. That’s not to say that Sting and Andy Summers don’t deliver the goods. In fact, it is such a team effort, it’s one of the very few Police songs with all three members getting a writing credit. It even won a Grammy® for “Best Rock Instrumental Performance.” It’s pretty close to perfection. If only they hadn’t faded it so darn early…

Lay It On The Line

TC — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 19:23:47 +0000

Rocking it up today is Triumph. The Canadian rockers give you “Lay It On The Line” and that’s what the power trio does. Known for the incendiary guitar of Rik Emmett, the incredibly melodic harmonies and the hard rocking rhythm section of Mike Levine and Gil Moore, Triumph has given us all that throughout their career. This is just one of many great tunes from their catalog that get us through our days. Thanks Triumph!

Rene And Georgette Magritte With Their Dog After The War

TC — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 19:46:46 +0000

Paul Simon’s 6th solo album wasn’t supposed to be a solo album at all. Hearts And Bones was originally slated to be a Simon & Garfunkel release, due to the enormous popularity of their Concert In Central Park. In fact, some of its material premiered in their world tour which followed that event. Unfortunately, the “old friends” couldn’t keep it together and the reunion album never happened. So, Simon retooled it himself. He ended up delivering one of his most personal and innovative albums to date. While it wasn’t warmly received upon release, time has shown that the album (and incredible tracks like “Rene And Georgette Magritte With Their Dog After The War”) is one of Simon’s most succinct, daring and essential offerings.

You Got To Pay The Price

TC — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 19:52:46 +0000

I love discovering music I somehow missed along the way. I recently picked up a Silver Fox label compilation released by Sundazed (check the Sundazed website for My Goodness, Yes!) and stumbled upon this gem and a whole host of brilliant tracks from the small Nashville imprint. “You Got To Pay The Price” started out as an instrumental written and performed by Al Kent in 1967. The version here was cut by Gloria in 1969, but Al went and cut another vocal version with The Supremes (post Diana Ross) in 1970. The song really didn’t see any chart action, but that gives us all the more reason to discover and enjoy this long lost gem from Ms. Taylor.

Oh Pretty Woman

TC — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 20:13:19 +0000

Got a case of the Monday blues? Well DFD has just the thing you need. “Oh Pretty Woman” is a tasty number by John Mayall and The Bluesbreakers. The song was originally recorded by Albert King, but Mayall does this track justice with his fiery guitar licks and a grooving horn section. One listen to this track and it’s no surprise that his work has been influential on musicians like Eric Clapton, Mick Fleetwood, and Mick Taylor.

Aht Uh Mi Hed

TC — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 20:15:47 +0000

You may not know the name, but you probably know one of his songs. Shuggie Otis, son of ‘50s R&B bandleader Johnny Otis, wrote “Strawberry Letter 23” which The Brothers Johnson turned into a HUGE hit in the late ‘70s. “Aht Uh Mi Hed” came from his 1974 album Inspiration Information. Despite a host of strong songs and rhythms, the album surprisingly went nowhere upon release. Shuggie is a fascinating character. Playing with his father’s band at 12, recording with Al Kooper at 15 and Zappa at 16, he released his first record at 17. Inspiration Information was released when he was the ripe old age of 21 and unfortunately would be his last proper album. He turned down offers to tour with the Stones at the time as well as to have Quincy Jones produce the follow up to this record, and we still haven’t heard much from him after 36 years. Do yourself a favor and check out the 2001 re-issue on Luaka Bop.

Guitar Noire

TC — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 18:39:10 +0000

Here’s one for a hot summer day. Hailing from San Francisco, The Aqua Velvets, lead by Miles Corbin, are one of the current surf/exotica revival bands that have carried the instrumental rock flag into the new millennium. “Guitar Noire” has a relaxed feel that makes the mysterious sounds of The Aqua Velvets all the more enjoyable. The track is off their fourth album, Guitar Noir, released in ’97. So wipe your brow and check to see if that mirage in front of you is real.

Faron

TC — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 20:46:38 +0000

In the early ‘80s, Prefab Sprout was a jangly, often heady, melodic English band that drew comparisons to Aztec Camera, Steely Dan, and Elvis Costello. For their second album, they hired synth-pop wiz Thomas Dolby to helm it. His presence brought a more polished production sheen, and the band showed up with a batch of tunes that would launch them into pop consciousness around the world except…in the U.S. “Faron” opens Two Wheels Good, retains some of their jangle, and starts off a brilliant alternative pop album. While Paddy McAloon’s words are often impenetrable, the melodies, arrangements, and production override any lack of lyrical understanding. Even though they weren’t able to conjure a strong follow-up on their subsequent releases, here Prefab Sprout really crafted an ‘80s pop gem that perfectly captures that moment in time.

Decisiones

TC — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 21:34:48 +0000

Before his appointment in 2004 as Panama’s Minister of Tourism, singer/songwriter/actor/lawyer/politician Rubén Blades reigned as the heir apparent to salsa king Willie Colón, producing a thoroughly modern melange of salsa, Central American nueva canción and Cuban nueva trova infused with politically charged lyrics inspired in part by the magical realism of Gabriel Garcia Marquez. “Decisiones” opens Blades’ stunningly polyrhythmic magnum opus Buscando América (Searching For America). Each of the song’s three stanzas meticulously details the kind of impossibly heartbreaking, horrifying and tragic moral choices that everyday people face with heroic regularity. “Decisions, every day,” Blades cries for the unwed mother, the cuckolded husband, the unrepentant drunk, “Decisions, everything costs.” Backed by the precise, supple musicianship of the seven-member Seis del Solar, Blades’ gorgeous clarion vocals soar and rise above it all like a prophet’s in the wilderness.