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Nirvana (Album of the Day)
Herbie Mann was a leading jazz flutist. Composer-keyboardist Bill Evans was renowned for his work with Miles Davis. When the two joined forces, the result was NIRVANA. Also featuring Paul Motian on drums and new Evans Trio addition Chuck Israels on bass, the 1964 Atlantic album is drawn from sessions for producer Nesuhi Ertegun in 1961 and 1962 yet remains remarkably cohesive; Evans had played the flute before taking up piano, paving the way for a pairing with Mann. Bookended by originals (the title song and “Cashmere”), these six tracks bring both bop excitement and lyrical beauty to standards like Cole Porter's “I Love You” and more experimental fare like Erik Satie's “Gymnopedie.” An unusually effective artistic collaboration, NIRVANA deserves a higher profile among jazz fans.
Under the Pink (Album of the Day)
Tori Amos has sold over 12 million albums, has played over a thousand shows and has had multiple Grammy nominations; the prodigious singer-songwriter touched millions deeply with her arresting melodies, riveting stage presence and heartfelt lyrics. After a striking solo debut in 1992, Amos defied the sophomore slump to release an equally accomplished follow-up, UNDER THE PINK, two years later. The Atlantic collection spotlights piano-led balladry delivered with grunge-rock intensity, and the dozen originals reveal Amos as a master of both memorable singles (“Cornflake Girl,” “God”) and ambitious epics (“Yes, Anastasia”). As it reaches the quarter-century mark, the double-platinum UNDER THE PINK remains not just a highlight of Tori Amos' career, but one of the strongest alternative rock sets of the 1990s.
The Stooges (50th Anniversary Super Deluxe) (Album of the Day)
Iggy Pop, Ron and Scott Asheton, and Dave Alexander predicted the future of rock ’n’ roll a half-century ago with the unrelenting sonic assault heard on THE STOOGES. Armed with hard-hitting tracks like “1969,” “No Fun” and “I Wanna Be Your Dog,” the album kicked down the door for generations of alternative rockers to come. Rhino celebrates the 50th anniversary of one of the most-influential debuts in rock history with a new digital Super Deluxe Edition of The Stooges’ self-titled proto-punk classic. THE STOOGES: 50th ANNIVERSARY SUPER DELUXE EDITION features the original album along with studio outtakes and alternates never-before-available digitally, plus producer John Cale’s rejected mix of the full album, which is being released at the correct speed for the first time.
The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway (Album of the Day)
Called by Rolling Stone “one of rock's more elaborate, beguiling and strangely rewarding concept albums,” Genesis' THE LAMB LIES DOWN ON BROADWAY was the pinnacle of the U.K. band's progressive rock phase. The double LP would be the group's final release with founding frontman Peter Gabriel, who wrote the set's lyrics about a Puerto Rican gang member named Rael and his journey of self-discovery in New York City. The 1974 collection showcases both the group's talent for crafting compelling songs (“Counting Out Time” “Carpet Crawl”) and for inspired instrumental interplay. A personal favorite of both Gabriel and drummer Phil Collins, the gold-certified THE LAMB LIES DOWN ON BROADWAY was released 45 years ago today, and belongs on any good list of the greatest progressive rock albums of all time.
Spurts: The Richard Hell Story (2013 Remaster) (Album of the Day)
Richard Hell's punk credentials are tough to top - he was a founding member of Television, The Heartbreakers (with ex-New York Dolls axeman Johnny Thunders) and The Voidoids (who made their live debut at Manhattan's legendary CBGB club on this day in 1976). With a recording career that's been as sporadic as it's been influential, SPURTS: THE RICHARD HELL STORY is the ideal way to sample the man's music. The 21 tracks on the Rhino collection include cuts from all three above-mentioned bands, as well as pre-Television group The Neon Boys and 1990s supergroup Dim Stars (featuring half of Sonic Youth), and no self-respecting alternative rock fan should be without such seminal sides as “Blank Generation,” “Chinese Rocks” and “Love Comes In Spurts.” The Rhino collection was remastered in 2013, and Hell's creative fire never burned more brightly than on SPURTS.
Space Oddity (2019 Mix) (Album of the Day)
David Bowie’s self-titled second studio album was released 50 years ago this month; opening track “Space Oddity” became the performer’s first trans-Atlantic hit. Inspired by Stanley Kubrick's film 2001: A Space Odyssey, the song had gained huge popularity when it was adopted as the unofficial theme of the Apollo 11 moon landing mission that launched five days after the single’s release. In honor of the golden anniversary, longtime Bowie producer/collaborator Tony Visconti has remixed the track in 360 Reality Audio music format, a new 3D audio from Sony. “You might have heard ‘Space Oddity’ 200 times,” he notes. “When you hear this I guarantee you will listen another 200 times. It’s a new way of hearing the song.”
Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie (Album of the Day)
On the heels of one of the decade's biggest albums, Alanis Morissette returned with SUPPOSED FORMER INFATUATION JUNKIE. Like its predecessor, the collection was co-produced and co-written by Glen Ballard, but it's hardly JAGGED LITTLE PILL II; the lyrics, singing and arrangements all display greater confidence and ambition. There's also greater variety in tone and some unusual influences at work (Alanis' visit to India the previous year clearly left its mark). These 17 originals include such standouts as “Unsent,” “Thank U” and “So Pure” - the latter two both earned Grammy nominations. A triple-platinum hit that topped the U.S. chart on this day in 1998, SUPPOSED FORMER INFATUATION JUNKIE was hailed by USA Today for “a maturity and sophistication rarely found in unseasoned artists. Add Morissette's vision and daring and you've got a spectacular achievement.”
Tom Tom Club (Album of the Day)
In the wake of REMAIN IN LIGHT, Talking Heads bassist Tina Weymouth and drummer Chris Frantz launched a side project, Tom Tom Club, that proved lighter in tone but equally alluring. Recorded in the Bahamas with a small collective of like-minded musicians (including guitarist Adrian Belew), the group's self-titled 1981 debut was a gleeful fusion of new wave and hip-hop. The Sire set includes a cover of “Under the Boardwalk” and a pair of No.1 Dance Chart hits in “Wordy Rappinghood” and “Genius of Love”; the latter's breathy vocals and chirpy electronic keyboard riff would be sampled frequently in the years to come. Fun is the order of the day on the gold-certified TOM TOM CLUB, and we'll give the album another spin now to wish Weymouth a happy birthday.
Love Songs (Album of the Day)
Throughout Tina Turner's extraordinary career, the multi-Grammy winning artist has often sung about the joys and heartaches of romance on such unforgettable recordings as the international smash “What's Love Got To Do With It.” Spanning more than three decades, LOVE SONGS brings together the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer's most memorable takes on the time-honored subject. The Rhino compilation's 18 tracks are drawn primarily from Turner's impressive string of gold and platinum solo records, including the title song from her emotional 1983 comeback album PRIVATE DANCER, “The Best” from 1989's FOREIGN AFFAIR and “I Don't Wanna Fight” from the soundtrack to her 1993 biopic. Along with music from her solo career, the collection also includes 1966's magnificent “River Deep - Mountain High,” cut with Ike Turner. We'll give LOVE SONGS another spin now to wish Tina Turner a happy 80th birthday
Hunting High and Low (Expanded) (Album of the Day)
a-ha rocketed to stardom in dramatic fashion in 1985 when the group’s debut single, “Take On Me,” topped the charts in 36 different countries on its way to becoming one of the best-selling hits of all time. The following year, a-ha was nominated for Best New Artist, becoming the first Norwegian band to be nominated for a Grammy. The group's outstanding debut gets beefed-up to four CDs this month with Rhino's HUNTING HIGH AND LOW EXPANDED EDITION. Its first disc features a remastered version of the original album, which has sold more than 10 million copies since its release. The second disc is packed with more than two dozen rare demos, the third features remixes and single versions from the period, and the final disc presents an alternate version of HUNTING HIGH AND LOW using early and alternate mixes for every album track, including the version of “Take On Me” that was used for the iconic music video.