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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.
Carnival (Album of the Day)
Oxford quartet Ride's third studio album, CARNIVAL OF LIGHT, shares its name with a legendary unreleased Beatles song, and the 1994 collection is steeped in 1960s classic rock and psychedelia. There's a fine cover of The Creation's “How Does It Feel to Feel?” among the dozen tracks, Deep Purple organist Jon Lord guests on “Moonlight Medicine” and the closing “I Don't Know Where It Comes From” features a school choir that could've come from a Jimmy Miller-era Stones record. The John Leckie-produced set didn't fall easily into the band's former shoegaze camp or the then-ascendant Britpop scene, and 25 years on, that may be part of its appeal. Songwriters Mark Gardener and Andy Bell both contribute winners (as does drummer Loz Colbert with “Natural Grace”) and the harmonies and guitar work are also strong – you're sure to enjoy the ride on CARNIVAL OF LIGHT.
Crash! Boom! Bang! (Album of the Day)
When Per Gessle and Marie Fredriksson teamed up as Roxette in the late 1980s, Sweden's most popular musical duo was born. CRASH! BOOM! BANG! was the pair's fifth studio album, and as the title suggests, the 15 originals (mostly by Gessle) boast a tougher edge than their previous work. That said, there's still lots of variety on the 1994 collection, which ranges from the hard-rocking lead single “Sleeping in my Car” to the pop of “Fireworks” to the acoustic “The First Girl on the Moon” and the title ballad. The album made the Top 10 in nearly 20 countries around the world, but missed the chart in America, where it was issued as a stripped-down McDonalds promotional version whose sales went largely uncounted by Billboard. Don't let some marketer's mistake dissuade you from giving this a listen; on its 25th anniversary, CRASH! BOOM! BANG! still hits the spot.
This Perfect World (Album of the Day)
Kansas-born Freedy Johnston moved to New York in the mid-1980s and by the decade's end had earned a place on the Bar/None roster; after two fine collections on that label, he graduated to Elektra for 1995's THIS PERFECT WORLD. Nirvana producer and Garbage-man Butch Vig might seem an odd choice to helm a singer-songwriter's major-label debut, but the combination works, bringing an immediacy to these dozen introspective originals. The worlds of which Johnston sings here are hardly perfect – the characters peopling tracks like minor hit “Bad Reputation,” “Evie's Tears” and “Two Lovers Stop” contend with things like regret, sexual abuse and suicide – but the craftsmanship with which they're detailed is immaculate, leading Rolling Stone to name the performer “songwriter of the year.” As dark as its themes are, the music brims with strong melodies, and few who visit THIS PERFECT WORLD leave unimpressed.
Warning (Album of the Day)
Reportedly, singer-songwriter Billie Joe Armstrong spent time listening to BRINGING IT ALL BACK HOME while prepping his band's sixth studio album, and just as that earlier record marked a major transition for Bob Dylan, so WARNING did for Green Day. The pop-punk approach for which the Bay Area trio was famous remained in spirit - there is a confident, anti-authoritarian feel to much of this - but the sound owed more to 1960s classic rock and folk in its adventurous instrumentation and arrangements. You can do that sort of thing when you've got songs as catchy as “Minority,” “Waiting” and the title track, all of which were Top 40 hits. What Allmusic called “the first great pure pop album of the new millennium” turns 20 tomorrow, and the gold-certified WARNING is a reminder that Green Day is at its best when challenging expectations.
Led Zeppelin III (Album of the Day)
Following the whirlwind success of the first two Led Zeppelin albums and near constant touring, guitarist Jimmy Page and vocalist Robert Plant took to the now famous Bron-Yr-Aur cottage in Wales in 1970 to start the early composition of LED ZEPPELIN III. They later convened with drummer John Bonham and bassist John Paul Jones for rehearsals before entering London’s Olympic Studios to begin recording in May of that year. The collection that emerged – 50 years ago today – displays a greater emphasis on acoustic textures and a broader instrumental palette (Jones in particular helps in this regard) and includes such classic tracks as “Immigrant Song” and “Since I’ve Been Loving You.” Another triumph for the Rock & Roll Hall of Famers, LED ZEPPELIN III soared to the top of charts worldwide upon release and has since been certified 6x platinum.
Sign O' The Times (Super Deluxe Edition) (Album of the Day)
Overflowing with musical ideas and topical lyrics that sound just as relevant today as they did when they were initially released, Prince’s iconic SIGN O’ THE TIMES captured the artist in a period of complete reinvention. The final 16-track album included just some of the countless songs Prince recorded in the prolific period of 1985-1987, which saw the dissolution of his band The Revolution, the construction of his innovative recording complex, Paisley Park, and the creation (and ultimate abandonment) of the albums DREAM FACTORY, CAMILLE, and CRYSTAL BALL. The epochal double album has just been remastered for the very first time and is now available as a 3-CD Deluxe Edition including single mixes and edits of such SIGN O’ THE TIMES favorites as “If I Was Your Girlfriend,” “U Got The Look” and “Hot Thing.”