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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.
Better Can't Make Your Life Better (Album of the Day)
Washington, D.C. indie rockers Lilys emerged at the end of the 1980s, adopting a U.K. shoegaze approach. But any band with as many lineup changes as this one (nearly 50 musicians have passed through the still-active group, with singer-guitarist Kurt Heasley the sole constant) is bound to change, so the mid-1960s stylings of BETTER CAN'T MAKE YOUR LIFE BETTER shouldn't be too surprising. Heasley's still looking to Britain for inspiration, but the 11 originals on the 1996 Elektra set hew closer to The Kinks and The Zombies than My Bloody Valentine, as vibrant melodies, hooks and guitar riffs carry the day. “Cambridge California,” “Returns Every Morning” and U.K. hit “A Nanny in Manhattan” are among the ear candy on BETTER CAN'T MAKE YOUR LIFE BETTER, and this consistently listenable album is perhaps the best point of entry for anyone curious about the Lilys.
Junta (Album of the Day)
Phish's long, strange trip began at the University of Vermont in the mid-1980s; with a healthy chunk of Grateful Dead in their repertoire, they soon grew to become one of rock's preeminent jam bands. It's little surprise that the quartet's self-released 1989 debut, JUNTA, reflects a love of improvisation – what's really impressive is the ambition and execution of this music. Forged from extended rehearsal sessions, these progressive rock epics display amazing versatility as the foursome navigates song structures that are both compelling and unusual on cuts like “Fee,” “You Enjoy Myself” and “The Divided Sky.” Reissued on Elektra with three live bonus tracks a few years after the original cassette, JUNTA announced the arrival of a great band, and we'll cue it up now to wish Phish guitarist-songwriter Trey Anastasio a happy birthday.
Saint Of Circumstance: Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, NJ 6/17/91 (Album of the Day)
The Grateful Dead started outgrowing theaters in the late 1970s as another generation of fans discovered the band, and the new SAINT OF CIRCUMSTANCE: GIANTS STADIUM, EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ 6/17/91 captures what is widely considered to be one of the greatest shows the Dead played in its final decade of performing. Recorded about a year after the untimely death of keyboardist Brent Mydland, the 3-CD set features new keyboardists Vince Welnick and Grammy-winner Bruce Hornsby, who brought with them a sense of exploration of repertoire that reinvigorated the setlists. One of only two Grateful Dead shows ever recorded to 48-track tape, SAINT OF CIRCUMSTANCE is rightfully described by the group's archivist David Lemieux as “the stuff of legend.”
Wildflowers (Album of the Day)
Tom Petty's second solo album, WILDFLOWERS, marked a couple of firsts for the singer-songwriter – it was his inaugural release for Warner Bros., and his first of three collaborations with producer Rick Rubin. While most of the Heartbreakers can be heard here (along with Ringo Starr and Beach Boy Carl Wilson), it has a relaxed sound distinct from Tom's previous work with the band (“Rick and I both wanted more freedom than to be strapped into five guys,” he noted at the time). The standard for material remained as high as ever, though, and such songs as “You Wreck Me,” “It's Good to be King” and hit single “You Don't Know How It Feels” rank with Petty's best. We lost the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer two years ago today, and in his memory, we'll give the triple-platinum WILDFLOWERS another spin.