"Feeling Good" on Hump Day

Struggling to get to the weekend? It happens to most people once and a while (or every week) and if you need a little pick-me-up, you've come to the right place.

The Sheepdogs are a Canadian import from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

Despite becoming the first unsigned act to grace the cover of Rolling Stone in 2011, they've continued to fly largely under the radar—probably because I don't think anyone reads that magazine anymore.

They've got a kind of blues/rock thing going on that the kids love, which makes it no surprise that their next album is being produced by Patrick Carney of The Black Keys.

They're certainly on the rise, and with an unbelievably awesome music video like the one above, there's no reason to think they won't be wildly successful.

Song Of The Day- Richard Thompson

You probably don't know the name Richard Thompson, but you should. The Englishman is considered to be one of the best guitarists, being listed in the top 20 of Rolling Stone's list of 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time.

"1952 Vincent Black Lightning" is a track off Thompson's 1991 album Rumor and Sigh. This particular tune has become Thompson's most well known and to this day is the most requested song on NPR.

It's a tale of star-crossed lovers that utilizes a traditional English melody and structure. It's played in a very folksy way and has come to be a favorite song of bluegrass fans and is a standard in that genre.

Special thanks to Loran Bush who posted this acoustic version on the Facebook for me to find. That thing is useful once in a great while.

Song Of The Day - July 24, 2008

Today's rendition comes from that band across the pond whose music was considered innovative, creative, cutting-edge, inappropriate, weird, and awesome all at the same time. The Beatles are one of the greatest rock bands of all time. In fact, in 2004 Rolling Stone magazine selected them number one on their list of 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. The Beatles are  well known for stretching the envelope and innovating in the recording studio by introducing instruments, sound effects, sound loops, double tracking, and many other studio tricks. With more than 40 singles, albums and EPs that reached the number one sport on the music charts it is difficult to select just one of their masterpieces, so expect more from Paul, John, George, and Ringo in future song of the day posts.

Without question, today's song is from perhaps the strangest album produced by the band. The Yellow Submarine album is unique in that the band did not consider it to be a true studio release since several of the songs had been previously released on other albums (including "Yellow Submarine" and "All You Need Is Love"). Today's song was initially supposed to be called "Hey Bullfrog", but unexpectedly started to bark during the recording sessions and the title was changed to "Hey Bulldog." The video is a clip from Yellow Submarine (the movie). This version of the film was only released in Europe (the song was a bonus segment) because it was thought at the time that American audiences would not be comfortable with the length of the movie. Behold, The Bealtes in animated (and no doubt drugged) brilliance.

Fun fact: the Yellow Submarine album was produced by Apple Corps, a record label founded by The Beatles. Ten years after its formation in 1968, Apple Corps filed a lawsuit in 1978 against newly created Apple Computer for trademark infringement. A settlement was reached in 1981, although relations between the two companies have always been on thin ice. Since the original settlement, several additional lawsuits have been filed. For a better synopsis of their embattled history, click here.  

Album Review: O.A.R. All Sides

O.A.R. (Of A Revolution) released their sixth studio album All Sides last week, to both critical and fan distaste. Some see the new record as a bit too poppy and that's led to mixed reviews including this Rolling Stone review that says among other things that O.A.R. have, "...cultivated a slick pop sound to match their arena-size ambitions."

I can certainly see why some might feel that way. All Sides features songs that do sound more polished and that's largely thanks to producer Matt Wallace (Maroon 5). The big thing about the record that jumps out to me is that the songs have a much more mature sound. While I've always hated making the comparison, in some spots this record feels a bit Dave Matthews Band inspired.

I think the band has come a long way and this album is potentially as good a studio album as the band has put out. Despite Rolling Stone only giving All Sides 2 stars, they also gave In Between Now And Then, potentially O.A.R.'s best studio album just 2 stars when it released in 2003.

One thing that's clear on this effort is that the addition of Mikel Paris (keys, bongos, back-up vocals) really helps to fill out their sound. The featured song today, the first single off the album, "Shattered (Turn The Car Around)" benefits from and leans on Paris' key riff throughout. Other album cuts show Paris' flair on the bongos. "Whatever Happened" opens with a tribal sounding intro with nice percussion and a strange vocal that melts into Jerry DePizzo's saxophone part.

There are some songs that sound more like older O.A.R. songs. Tracks like "Living In The End", "What Is Mine" and "This Town" which was featured heavily on ESPN's coverage of the College World Series this year manage to blend their new maturity with the more upbeat classics of their past.

It's exciting to watch a band that continues to grow and push themselves as they get older. Clearly, O.A.R. still hopes to become more mainstream but they still stay true to their roots for the most part. Ultimately, this is a band that will continue to earn their bread on the road for some time as they will no doubt keep filling venues all over the U.S.

Based on early listens, I would definitely recommend this album to both new and old O.A.R. fans alike.