Content tagged ''
Road To Ruin (40th Anniversary Remastered) (Album of the Day)
For the Ramones' ROAD TO RUIN, Dee Dee, Joey, and Johnny were joined for the first time by drummer Marky Ramone, as founding member Tommy Ramone moved to the producer's chair. More accessible than ever without sacrificing the quartet's blitzkrieg power, the 1978 Sire set introduced a nation of pinheads to such classics as “I Wanna Be Sedated." In honor of its 40th anniversary, Rhino has just released a 3-CD/1-LP boxed set of the seminal collection including two different mixes of the album, unissued rough mixes for every album track and an unreleased 1979 concert recording of the Ramones in New York – all packaged in a beautiful 12 x 12 hardcover book. To mark what would have been Johnny Ramone's 70th birthday, we'll crank up the ROAD TO RUIN: 40th ANNIVERSARY DELUXE EDITION.
Skyscraper (Album of the Day)
David Lee Roth continued to scale hard-rock heights with SKYSCRAPER, the performer's second full-length solo album. The 1988 Warner Bros. collection was produced by Roth and guitar virtuoso Steve Vai, who together add a high degree of polish to these 10 tracks, most of which were co-written by the pair. Highlights include “Hot Dog and a Shake,” Billboard Rock chart-topper “Damn Good” and Top 10 hit “Just Like Paradise”; the album as a whole also reached the Top 10 and went double-platinum. The band (which includes bassist Billy Sheehan shortly before he left to form Mr. Big) sounds like it's having a blast, and the sense of fun is contagious. This is David Lee Roth's birthday, and we'll wish him a happy one with SKYSCRAPER.
For Everyman (Album of the Day)
Released 45 years ago this month, Jackson Browne's second album, FOR EVERYMAN, was proof that his remarkable debut was no fluke. As on that earlier work, the lyrics offer sharp observations on both personal and social concerns, and Jackson sings them with even greater confidence - among the standouts from his songbook are single “Redneck Friend,” “These Days” (a song he'd given to Nico years earlier) and “Take It Easy,” which he'd co-written with Glenn Frey. Frey appears here in support, along with fellow Eagle Don Henley and a host of L.A. rock greats including David Crosby, Joni Mitchell and Bonnie Raitt; additionally, multi-instrumentalist David Lindley begins his long collaboration with Browne on the 1973 Asylum set. Today we'll give the platinum-certified FOR EVERYMAN another spin to wish Jackson Browne a happy birthday.
The Blue Hour (Album of the Day)
Brit-pop leading lights The London Suede made one of the most welcome comebacks in recent memory when they returned from a near-decade recording hiatus in 2013, and THE BLUE HOUR completes a triptych of albums made since their reunion. It's the band's first collaboration with producer Alan Moulder, whose name can be found on some of the most iconic shoegazing records of the 1990s, and while the new set is short on hazy guitar feedback, it brims with atmosphere. The 14 originals incorporate choir and orchestral arrangements as well as spoken word sections to add an art-rock romanticism to the quintet's sound; singles include “The Invisibles,” “Don't Be Afraid If Nobody Loves You” and “Life Is Golden.” The London Suede's most successful album on the U.K. charts since 1999's HEAD MUSIC, the adventurous THE BLUE HOUR further burnishes a great band's legacy.
Go Slow Down (Album of the Day)
Released 25 years ago today, GO SLOW DOWN was the fifth studio album from Wisconsin quartet BoDeans. The Slash collection was executive produced by T-Bone Burnett, who'd helmed the group's acclaimed debut, and the set has a relaxed, acoustic feel well-suited to the dozen Neumann-Llanas originals here. The best-known of these songs is surely opener “Closer to Free,” which became the band's biggest hit after it was used as the theme to the TV series Party of Five in 1994, but as “Idaho,” “Save a Little” and the title track illustrate, there's no shortage of fine material here. This hook-filled, heartfelt set is easily among the best BoDeans albums, and GO SLOW DOWN will reward any fan of American roots rock.
My Feeling For the Blues (Album of the Day)
Freddie King, beloved by blues aficionados as “The Texas Cannonball,” was born on this day in 1934. While the performer had his biggest hits on the fabled King Records label during the 1960s, fans are quick to point out that King's end-of-the-decade stint on Atlantic produced work that was just as memorable. Case in point: MY FEELING FOR THE BLUES. The 1969 set, helmed by sax great King Curtis and featuring horn arrangements by Donny Hathaway, frames King's amazing axework perfectly, but the real revelation on these 11 tracks is how soulful Freddie was as a singer. From the opening “Yonder Wall” to the closing title track, the underrated MY FEELING FOR THE BLUES will have you feeling them, too.
Ananda Shankar (Album of the Day)
A nephew of the great Ravi Shankar, Ananda Shankar was himself a gifted sitar player - and perhaps even more dedicated than his uncle to bridging the gap between Eastern and Western musics. Released in 1970 on Reprise, his self-titled debut featured Indian classical tracks side-by-side with sitar-driven instrumental versions of rock hits (“Light My Fire” and a gloriously over-the-top “Jumpin' Jack Flash”). With psychedelic production touches and early Moog synthesizer work (from collaborator Paul Lewinson), it may qualify as an exploitation album, but like the best releases in that vein, its guilty pleasures are many, and hip club DJs have gotten a lot of mileage out of these funky grooves. Rightfully included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, ANANDA SHANKAR is masterfully played and thoroughly enjoyable.
More Fun in the New World (Album of the Day)
According to an election campaign, the 1980s represented “morning in America,” but to judge from MORE FUN IN THE NEW WORLD, X wasn't buying it. The band's final collaboration with producer (and former Doors keyboardist) Ray Manzarek, the Elektra collection deflates the hollowed-out optimism of the era on such cuts as “The New World” and “I Must Not Think Bad Thoughts,” though John Doe and Exene Cervenka's sharp lyrics go way beyond politics here. The sound can't be pigeonholed, either – along with punk, the set offers nods to new wave, funk, blues and rockabilly (as on the set's sole cover, “Breathless”), and the quartet are firing on all cylinders throughout. Released 35 years ago, MORE FUN IN THE NEW WORLD still makes the music go bang.
Unattended Luggage (Album of the Day)
A co-founding member of Pink Floyd, Nick Mason is the only constant member of the legendary group, performing on all of their albums as well as all of their live shows. For the first time in over 20 years, Mason's solo albums are available again in the limited edition UNATTENDED LUGGAGE. The new 3-disc boxed set contains 1981 solo debut NICK MASON'S FICTITIOUS SPORTS, 1985's PROFILES (made with 10cc guitarist Rick Fenn) and the 1987 British thriller soundtrack WHITE OF THE EYE (also cut with Fenn). Arriving on the heels of rapturously received tour performances with his band Saucerful Of Secrets, UNATTENDED LUGGAGE is a further celebration of Nick Mason and his undeniably significant contribution to music.
Goodbye and Hello (Album of the Day)
Tim Buckley's second album represented a major step forward from the singer-songwriter's debut a year earlier. GOODBYE AND HELLO could only have been recorded during the Summer of Love, though the era leaves its stamp more on the set's visionary spirit than through any sonic conventions. Produced by Elektra Records founder Jac Holzman and Jerry Yester of the Lovin' Spoonful, the collection remains rooted in folk-rock, though the occasional use of Renaissance-era instrumentation adds to the psychedelic air – as does Buckley's remarkable multi-octave voice. The lyrics of these 10 songs (half of them co-written with poet Larry Beckett) are equally adventurous, and “Morning Glory,” “Once I Was” and the title track continue to dazzle 50 years on. As Tim Buckley changed game plans with every record, it's tough to pick a single best album, but GOODBYE AND HELLO is surely a contender.