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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.
Apogee (Album of the Day)
From its spare cover art and dueling saxophone concept, you might mistake APOGEE for a 1950s album, but the set was released in 1978 and shows seasoned vets Pete Christlieb and Warne Marsh swinging for the fences. Produced by Steely Dan's Walter Becker and Donald Fagen, the Warner Bros. collection features an appealing mix of standards (like “I'm Old Fashioned” and the Charlie Parker favorite “Donna Lee”) and such new compositions as Christlieb's “Magna-Tism.” The two tenors are in dazzling form throughout, and the rest of the quintet rise to the challenge; as pianist Lou Levy later recalled of APOGEE, “I remember sitting there, playing behind them, and thinking, 'Man, this is a once-in-a-lifetime experience; I may never again hear two virtuosos play with this much speed, authority, and soul.'” One of the unheralded gems of 1970s jazz.
Freddie King Is A Blues Master (Mono) (Album of the Day)
Born on this day in 1934, Freddie King was nicknamed “The Texas Cannonball,” and his powerful guitar playing could certainly knock you flat. In the late 1960s, a fan and fellow musical king – King Curtis – brought Freddie into the Atlantic Records fold for a pair of fine albums. FREDDIE KING IS A BLUES MASTER is the first of these, and demonstrated that the performer's blues mastery extended to singing as well as string bending. The dozen tracks delve into deep soul on a mix of strong originals (“Play It Cool”) and well-chosen covers (Curtis Lewis' “Today I Sing The Blues”). With sax accompaniment from Curtis and piano work by James Booker complementing the axeman's explosive solos, FREDDIE KING IS A BLUES MASTER shows the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer at the top of his game.
The Kindling Collection (Album of the Day)
An alumnus of both The Byrds and The Flying Burrito Brothers, Gene Parsons couldn't have had a more confusing name. He's no relation to Gram, yet to judge from KINDLING, the album he made between stints in those legendary groups, his ear for country-rock is just as strong as his more famous predecessor. The 1973 Warner Bros. collection, produced by Russ Titelman, is a tour de force for Parsons, who penned most of the material (including such ace tracks as “Monument” and “I Must Be a Tree”), sings, and plays percussion and numerous stringed instruments beautifully. He's joined by several stellar guests, including Little Feat keyboardist Bill Payne, ex-Byrd bandmate Clarence White on guitar and the tenor vocals of Ralph Stanley, raising the bluegrass quotient of this set even more. If you love roots or Americana sounds, you owe KINDLING a listen, and we'll give it another spin to wish Parsons a happy 75th birthday.
Bread (Album of the Day)
David Gates, Jimmy Griffin and Robb Royer joined forces as Bread to become one of the most appealing soft rock acts of the 1970s. The Los Angeles-based trio's eponymous debut saw the three multi-instrumentalists joined by a pair of session drummers (one of them being Jim Gordon), and though it only reached #127 on the chart, the Elektra collection was a clear indicator of great things to come. Gates' “Dismal Day” made a fine single and his “It Don't Matter To Me” would later become a Top 10 smash, while the Griffin-Royer partnership contributed such fine songs as “Could I” and “Friends and Lovers.” The strong material is complemented with inventive arrangements that can sound surprisingly tough to listeners who only know the band's hit ballads. Celebrating its 50th anniversary this month, BREAD is a terrific album any way you slice it.
The Best of (Album of the Day)
Morrissey surpassed the commercial success of his former band The Smiths after the singer-lyricist launched a solo career in 1988. Over the next 10 years, “Moz” released six studio albums and a string of hit singles before going on a brief recording hiatus, and his most memorable work as a solo artist up to that point was collected on THE BEST OF MORRISSEY in 2001. That classic compilation has just received its first-ever vinyl release as a 2-LP set featuring tracks from each of the performer's solo albums and several single sides. Among the many highlights are “Everyday Is Like Sunday,” “Hairdresser On Fire,” “”Sing Your Life” and “The More You Ignore Me, The Closer I Get.” Along with a standard pressing, THE BEST OF MORRISSEY is available on clear vinyl exclusively from Rhino.com (limited to 500 copies).
In Person at the Whiskey A Go Go (Album of the Day)
A little over a year before his breakthrough performance at the Monterey Pop Festival, Otis Redding was stunning audiences on the Sunset Strip. IN PERSON AT THE WHISKY A GO GO was drawn from three April 1966 shows at the legendary nightclub, and captures the King of Soul in peak form with his regular touring band. These 10 tracks include some of the most iconic songs in Redding's repertoire - “I Can't Turn You Loose,” “Pain in My Heart,” “Mr. Pitiful” and “Respect” among them – and the singer wrings every drop of emotion from them (the intimate setting also highlights Otis' rapport with the audience; any jaded L.A. hipster who entered the club that evening surely walked out a believer). Redding was born on this day in 1941, and in his honor, we'll cue up the titanic IN PERSON AT THE WHISKY A GO GO.
Good Old Boys (Album of the Day)
Released 45 years ago today, Randy Newman's GOOD OLD BOYS validated all the praise that critics had heaped on the singer-songwriter since his debut. If the wicked insight of songs like “Rednecks” was familiar to longtime fans, the ambitious mix of history (“Louisiana 1927”) and contemporary commentary (“Mr. President (Have Pity On The Working Man)”) kicked things up a notch, as did some of the most masterful arrangements and orchestrations of Newman's career. Produced by Lenny Waronker and Russ Titelman, the Reprise collection also includes guest turns by guitarist Ry Cooder and most of the Eagles. GOOD OLD BOYS was Randy Newman's first Top 40 success, and later earned a place on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.
Blues Ballads (Album of the Day)
Chicago-born LaVern Baker helped bridge the gap between R&B and rock 'n' roll in the mid-1950s with such hits as “Jim Dandy,” but the vocalist always had a soft spot for the blues. She followed up a collection of Bessie Smith covers with BLUES BALLADS in 1959, and the Atlantic album would have made the Empress proud as well. Highlights include “I Waited Too Long,” “St. Louis Blues” and “I Cried a Tear” - the latter a Top 10 single recorded on this day in 1958. All 12 songs here receive sizzling performances from the singer, and if you want to hear the raw intensity that earned LaVern Baker a place in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, give a listen to BLUES BALLADS.