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Otis Blue: Otis Redding Sings Soul (Album of the Day)
Friday, October 23, 2015
With his powerful voice and boundless energy, Otis Redding helped define the sound of Sixties soul like no other male singer. Redding's crowning achievement was OTIS BLUE: OTIS REDDING SINGS SOUL, largely recorded in a whirlwind 24-hour studio session in July of 1965, backed by the Booker T. & The MG's, Isaac Hayes, and the Mar-Key horns. The collection went on to top the R&B charts behind such iconic singles as "I've Been Loving You Too Long," Otis' take on The Rolling Stones classic "Satisfaction," and "Respect," a song famously covered two years later by Aretha Franklin. Rhino recently reissued its two-CD Collector's Edition of the set after years out of print to celebrate the album's 50th anniversary. With stereo and mono versions of the original 11 tracks, plus previously unreleased alternate mixes and selections from Redding's explosive LIVE AT THE WHISKY A GO GO and LIVE IN EUROPE releases, it's the ideal way to experience the soul masterpiece that is OTIS BLUE.
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Young, Loud and Snotty (Album of the Day)
Thursday, October 22, 2015
New York and London weren't the only places with punk scenes in 1977 - Cleveland had one too, and Dead Boys were the new music's leading exponent there. Nonetheless, the quintet felt the pull of Manhattan and cut almost all of their Sire Records debut, YOUNG, LOUD AND SNOTTY, in the city's Electric Lady Studios with producer Genya Ravan (a live cover of “Hey Little Girl” was recorded at CBGB). From the opening classic “Sonic Reducer” to the closing complaint “Ain't Nothin' To Do,” the collection has attitude to burn and pulverizing riffs that would be the envy of The Stooges or Ramones. Frontman Stiv Bators was born on this day in 1949, and we'll mark the occasion with one of the defining U.S. punk albums, the aptly named YOUNG, LOUD AND SNOTTY.
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Doin' Our Thing (Album of the Day)
Wednesday, October 21, 2015
It's tough to go wrong with a record by Booker T & The MG's, the Memphis group whose instrumental backing helped turn Otis Redding, Sam & Dave and many more into stars. The quartet also had a string of hits in their own right, and the aptly titled DOIN' OUR THING, the band's sixth studio album, shows why. The 1968 Atlantic collection simmers with soul on 11 tracks, and while most of them are covers, the inventive arrangements and top-notch playing on “Ode To Billie Joe,” “You Keep Me Hanging On,” “Expressway To Your Heart” and “Let's Go Get Stoned” make this a virtual master class for aspiring musicians. The work by drummer Al Jackson, Jr. and guitarist Steve Cropper is particularly noteworthy here, and as this is Cropper's birthday, we'll cue up DOIN' OUR THING and shout “Play it, Steve!”
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The Long Run (Album of the Day)
Tuesday, October 20, 2015
Among the most anticipated albums of the 1970s, THE LONG RUN was Eagles' follow-up to HOTEL CALIFORNIA, and three years after that multi-platinum smash the band had checked out – but not quite left – the disillusionment that haunted its hallways. There's a dark, urban edge to songs like “King Of Hollywood,” “Those Shoes” and closing track “The Sad Café,” though THE LONG RUN 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. The Asylum album was another hit – it started a nine week run atop the U.S. chart on this day in 1979, eventually going 7-times platinum. Superbly crafted, THE LONG RUN brought a graceful close to both the decade defined by the Rock and Roll Hall of Famers and the first chapter of their still-ongoing career.
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Hunting High & Low – Super Deluxe 30th Anniversary Edition (Album of the Day)
Monday, October 19, 2015
Thirty years ago today, a-ha became the first Norwegian group to score a U.S. No.1 when “Take On Me” soared to the top of the chart. The single helped launch the debut album from singer Morten Harket, keyboardist Magne “Mags” Furuholmen and guitarist Pål Waaktaar, which sold more than 10 million copies around the world (including a million in the U.S.) and earned the group a Best New Artist Grammy nomination. Along with that aforementioned hit, the ten varied originals on HUNTING HIGH AND LOW include such addictive singles as “The Sun Always Shines On T.V.,” “Love Is Reason,” “Train Of Thought” and the title track. Last month Rhino released a 4-CD/1-DVD 30th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition of the synth-pop gem, including a remastered version of the original album, B-sides, two dozen rare demos, an unreleased version of the album in early and alternate mixes, and a 60-page hardback book packed with photos and stories about the making of the album.
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Californication (Album of the Day)
Friday, October 16, 2015
The Red Hot Chili Peppers made a strong return to form with 1999's CALIFORNICATION, an album that marked the return of prodigal son John Frusciante, who had left the band after the triumph of BLOOD SUGAR SEX MAGIK for a solo career – and a dalliance with drugs that nearly killed him. The guitarist isn't the only one who sounds rejuvenated here; vocalist Anthony Kiedis sings better than ever on these 15 originals, and bassist Flea and drummer Chad Smith drive the band forward with grooves worthy of one of rock's greatest rhythm sections. Introspective songs like “Scar Tissue” and the title track show a new maturity to the Chili Peppers' songwriting, though the quartet delivers more raucous material like “Around The World” and “Otherside” just as effectively; producer Rick Rubin keeps these sides of the band in perfect balance throughout the album. This is Flea's birthday, and we'll celebrate it with the multi-platinum CALIFORNICATION.
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Full Circle (Album of the Day)
Thursday, October 15, 2015
With the post-Jim Morrison OTHER VOICES reaching the Top 40 and a successful U.S. tour behind them, surviving Doors John Densmore, Robby Krieger and Ray Manzarek returned to the studio in 1972 to begin recording FULL CIRCLE, which came out that summer. From their earliest days, the band relished the chance to broaden the sound of rock, and that's manifest here in the jazz-influenced arrangements on several songs like "Verdilac" and "The Piano Bird" (both of which feature saxophonist/flutist Charles Lloyd). The group's final charting single, “The Mosquito,” also shows their taste for the unusual – and in its closing jam, the trio's matchless cohesion as instrumentalists. Recently reissued after many years of undeserved obscurity, FULL CIRCLE brings the legendary band's studio career to a graceful close.
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Other Voices (Album of the Day)
Wednesday, October 14, 2015
After The Doors finished recording L.A. WOMAN in 1971, frontman Jim Morrison moved to Paris, France. In the meantime, the three other members - drummer John Densmore, guitarist Robby Krieger, and keyboardist Ray Manzarek - stayed behind in Los Angeles where they worked on music for what would be the group's seventh studio album. When the legendary singer passed away in July, 1971, the trio used those songs as the basis for OTHER VOICES, with Krieger and Manzarek provding the vocals. Given the presence of producer Bruce Botnick as well as the work process behind these eight originals, the classic Doors sound is strongly evident. Tracks like “In the Eye of the Sun,” the epic “Ships w/ Sails” and single “Tightrope Ride” are stirring reminders of the Rock and Roll Hall of Famers' instrumental brilliance. Often overlooked and hard-to-find until its reissue earlier this year, OTHER VOICES is an album no Doors fan should be without.
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OU812 (Album of the Day)
Tuesday, October 13, 2015
If the title “Oh, you ate one too” was a nod to David Lee Roth's EAT 'EM AND SMILE, Van Halen's 1988 album shows the band settling in quite well with frontman Sammy Hagar. The second album with the Red Rocker at the microphone, OU812 scores with a wide variety of originals, Top 10 power ballad “When It's Love,” the acoustic-inflected “Finish What Ya Started,” and party-rock anthem “Cabo Wabo” among them. The set was dedicated to Eddie and Alex Van Halen's late father, and it's clear the boys are playing their hearts out here – this is some of Van Halen's most ambitious instrumental work. Sammy Hagar was born on this day in 1947, and in his honor, we'll dish up some birthday cake and the quadruple-platinum OU812.
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The B-52's (Album of the Day)
Monday, October 12, 2015
When The B-52's self-titled album landed, there was nothing quite like their quirky blend of new wave and '60s kitsch. That 1979 debut, cut with producer (and Island Records founder) Chris Blackwell at his studio in the Bahamas, features such energetic originals as “Planet Claire,” “Dance This Mess Around” and signature song “Rock Lobster,” which became the band's first hit single. The Athens, GA quintet - Fred Schneider, Kate Pierson, Cindy Wilson, Ricky Wilson and Keith Strickland – made music that was as catchy as it is campy, and sales of THE B-52'S rose to platinum status as a result. Ricky Wilson died 30 years ago today, and we'll remember the talented guitarist by giving one of his band's very best albums another spin.
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