Paula Cole, John Coltrane, & Albert Collins

I used to really like this album, but now, it just doesn't work for me. Despite the fact that Paula Cole's "Where Have All the Cowboys Gone" was on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1997, and she won a Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 1998, somehow the music doesn't stand the test of time, and Cole often just sounds shrill. Of course, this is one of my person's extensive collection of "Angry Women of the '90s" CDs, so maybe it's that. The third cut on this album, "Throwing Stones," does still get me all excited because the drummer, Jay Bellerose, sounds like he's going to break his sticks in pieces. And of course, "Feelin' Love" is a make-out classic. Whether you're a human or a cat, you'll get to feeling all romantic with this tune. Here's a link to the song, although--because of the photos--humans have to be over 18 to watch it (cats, that's about 2 cat-years)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSf6-CGEOb8&oref=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fresults%3Fsearch_query%3Dpaula%2Bcole%2Bfeelin%2Blove%26oq%3Dpaula%2Bcole%2Bfeelin%2Blove%26aq%3Df%26aqi%3Dg2%26aql%3D%26gs_sm%3D3%26gs_upl%3D117l5403l0l6154l17l15l0l4l4l0l421l1100l0.1.2.0.1l4l0&has_verified=1

Next up was sax-master John Coltrane's My Favorite Things. This album has only four songs on it, but they run anywhere from 5 to 14 minutes each. If you're still training your ear to jazz, this album is a good tutorial. John's all over the place with his tenor and soprano saxophones, and you can hear his multi-tonic jazz system and harmonizing technique, now called "Coltrane changes." If you want to learn more about this, here's an example of Coltrane's "Giant Steps": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2kotK9FNEYU

Cool cats, listen up: Albert Collins had many nicknames, such as "The Ice Man" and "The Master of the Telecaster," and he earned them all. You can hear his influence in the music of other blues musicians: Coco Montoya, Robert Cray, Gary Moore, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jonny Lang, Susan Tedeschi, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, John Mayer, and many others.
Every song on this album is my favorite, even those with lyrics that, being a cat, I don't quite understand, such as "When the Welfare Turns Its Back on You" and "Master Charge." I think these have something to do with money, but since I never have any cash on me, my person always picks up the check.  
Collins has a keen sense of humor; he made a cameo appearance in the 1987 movie, Adventures in Babysitting, forcing the kids to make up a song and saying, "Nobody leaves this place without singin' the blues." Made me laugh so hard I almost choked on my catnip.
Lots of stories are told about Collins jumping off the stage during performances and wandering through the crowd, sometimes even leaving the club--attached to his amplifier with a very long cable--and playing outside on the sidewalk.
Here's a good example of the Iceman with his smoking hot guitar: www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihvvf1R_vWo
Many of Collins' song titles have to do with ice: "Ice Pickin'," "Frostbite," "Cold Snap," "Don't Lose Your Cool," and "Frozen Alive" are just a few, but I found one on YouTube that's about a cat!
Listen and chill: "My Woman Has a Black Cat Bone": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_6yq_wNNHE&feature=related
Peace out!