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ONE STEP BEYOND (Album of the Day)
Named after a Prince Buster song, Madness was among the most successful ska revival bands to emerge from England in the late 1970s. Released just over 40 years ago, debut album ONE STEP BEYOND captures the London sextet at its exuberant best (the collection also marks the debut of the Clive Langer - Alan Winstanley production team, who would later helm albums by Elvis Costello, Morrissey, David Bowie and others). “The Prince,” “Night Boat to Cairo” and the title track are but a few of the winners on the Sire set, which spent more than a year on the U.K. album chart, peaking at #2. Suggs and company declared their manic mash-up of styles “the heavy-heavy monster sound … the nuttiest sound around,” and if the gleeful ONE STEP BEYOND doesn't make you want to kick up your heels, you'd better check your pulse...
Paris Encounter (Album of the Day)
With an innovative 4-mallet technique and 7 Grammys to his name, Gary Burton is among the most distinguished vibraphonists in jazz. Violinist Stéphane Grappelli's tenure as a jazz great stretches back to his landmark recordings with guitarist Django Reinhardt in the 1930s. Burton and Grappelli joined forces in 1969 for PARIS ENCOUNTER, a superb set that makes you wish they'd collaborated more often. Joined by bassist Steve Swallow and drummer Bill Goodwin, the two headliners mesh beautifully on a mix of originals (“Eiderdown”) and well-chosen standards (“Here's That Rainy Day,” “Coquette”). Perhaps the most accessible of Burton's Atlantic releases, PARIS ENCOUNTER was recorded in that city at Studio Europe Sonor 50 years ago today.
The Soft Parade (50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition) (Album of the Day)
The Doors’ fourth studio album, THE SOFT PARADE, became the band’s fourth straight Top Ten album when it was released in 1969. Incorporating brass and string arrangements on several tracks, the Elektra collection features such favorites as “Wild Child” and Touch Me,” one of the group’s biggest hits. Rhino commemorates the album’s 50th anniversary with a new 3-CD/1-LP set that includes the original studio release newly remastered by longtime Doors engineer Bruce Botnick, B-side “Who Scared You” and more than a dozen unreleased songs (stripped down “Doors Only” versions of orchestrated tracks, rehearsals and outtakes among them). THE SOFT PARADE: 50TH ANNIVERSARY DELUXE EDITION also includes a hand-numbered 36x18 lithograph of the interior vinyl gatefold artwork – but only if purchased at Rhino.com while supplies last.
No Fun Aloud (Album of the Day)
Long Player (Album of the Day)
British quintet Faces truly hit their stride with 1971's LONG PLAYER. The band's second Warner Bros. album is so loose and high-spirited that you may overlook the quality of the songs here - “Bad 'n' Ruin” and “Sweet Lady Mary” are terrific originals, and the cover of “Maybe I'm Amazed” gives Paul McCartney a run for his money. The playing is offhandedly wonderful as well, and Rod Stewart, then on the cusp of stardom, is in fine voice throughout. A couple of tracks here were recorded live at the Fillmore East with the Rolling Stones' Mobile Recording Unit, and Faces are also linked to the hitmakers through guitarist (and future Stone) Ron Wood and STICKY FINGERS saxophonist Bobby Keys, who appears on “Had Me a Real Good Time.” It's easy to imagine listeners quoting that title in response to LONG PLAYER, one of the most underrated gems of the classic rock era.
Bonnie Raitt (Album of the Day)
Though the daughter of a Broadway musical star, Bonnie Raitt's heart lay with the blues, a fact made abundantly clear on her eponymous 1971 debut. The Warner Bros. collection includes material by Robert Johnson and Sippie Wallace, and harmonica great Junior Wells provides a stamp of approval by playing on several tracks. But Raitt's take on the blues is more about feel than history - her strong vocal and guitar work bring a down-home, lived-in appeal to Stephen Stills and Marvelettes songs, too. The set's immediacy is partly due to its no-frills recording (at a remote campsite on Lake Minnetonka); as the singer noted, “we recorded live on four tracks because we wanted a more spontaneous and natural feeling in the music.” BONNIE RAITT was an auspicious start to the Grammy winner's career, and we'll give it another spin now to wish her a happy 70th birthday.
Resident Alien (Album of the Day)
Though the members of Spacehog all hail from Leeds, the group only formed after they'd each moved to Manhattan, a situation that likely inspired the title of their debut, RESIDENT ALIEN. The 1995 Sire/Elektra collection also reflects the quartet's British roots in its neo-glam sound; press materials from the day describe the boys as “the band who fell to earth.” Cut at Bearsville in New York, these 13 originals (plus the hidden track that was de rigueur for mid-'90s alternative rockers) have a live immediacy that lets frontman Royston Langdon and guitar hero Richard Steel strut their stuff like spiders from Mars on such standout tracks as “Never Coming Down,” “Cruel to Be Kind” and Top 40 single “In the Meantime.” The Gold-certified RESIDENT ALIEN remains Spacehog's most successful album and it still delivers a kick.
The Long Run (Album of the Day)
Eagles closed out the decade they had so dominated with 1979's THE LONG RUN, the final studio album of the band's original incarnation (they would reunite when “hell froze over” in 1994). Three years after HOTEL CALIFORNIA, Eagles had checked out – but not quite left – the sense of discontent that marked that earlier smash. There's a dark and more urban edge to songs like “King Of Hollywood,” “Those Shoes” and closing track “The Sad Café,” though the album also includes a trio of Top Ten singles to keep the mood from getting too dour: “Heartache Tonight,” “I Can't Tell You Why” and the title track. Released 40 years ago today, THE LONG RUN was another hit, going 7-times platinum and bringing phase one of the Rock and Roll Hall of Famers' career to a graceful close.
It's Alive (40th Anniversary Edition) (Album of the Day)
The Ramones’ first live album, IT'S ALIVE, was recorded in London on New Year’s Eve 1977 and eventually released as a double album in 1979. Taking its name from a 1974 horror film, the concert collection was the last album to feature all four original band members and delivered a blistering barrage of live takes on classic tracks from the group’s first three albums. Now available, a 4-CD/2-LP Deluxe Edition of the seminal set features remastered sound and three additional concerts from the same tour, all of them previously unreleased. Among the numerous highlights are electrifying performances of “Blitzkrieg Bop,” “Gimme Gimme Shock Treatment,” “Sheena Is A Punk Rocker” and “Rockaway Beach.” Packaged in a 12 x 12 hardcover book with new liner notes, IT’S ALIVE: 40th ANNIVERSARY DELUXE EDITION captures the legendary punk pioneers at their peak.
Strategem (Album of the Day)
After forming in Colorado in the mid-1980s, Big Head Todd & The Monsters built a strong regional following before signing to Giant Records and releasing SISTER SWEETLY to platinum-certified success. Recorded in Boulder, STRATEGEM was the 1994 follow-up to that breakthrough, and Todd Park Mohr and company perform these roots and Southern rock-drenched originals with understated assurance. The singing and playing here are superb, and the songwriting (inspired in part by Buddhist koans) invites repeated listening, particularly on such highlights as “Magdelina,” “In the Morning” and the title track. Released 25 years ago this week, the Top-30 charting STRATEGEM is recommended to anyone with an ear for no-frills, straight-from-the-heart rock.