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More Soul (Album of the Day)
Atlantic Records was famous for both jazz and R&B, and as you'd guess from the title of his debut for the label, Hank Crawford stood at the intersection of those styles. MORE SOUL was recorded 60 years ago today and finds the Memphis-born performer leading a septet that also included fellow saxophonists David "Fathead" Newman and Leroy "Hog" Cooper. Both of those musicians - along with bassist Edgar Willis, drummer Milton Turner and Crawford himself - were part of Ray Charles' band, and Brother Ray's influence can be heard in the gospel-tinged swing of these 7 instrumentals. Whether on such standards as “Misty” and “Angel Eyes” or the original “Four Five Six,” the playing is tight and Crawford's tone is sweet and substantive. If you prefer your jazz with MORE SOUL, this superb 1961 set is just what you need.
Smile (Album of the Day)
A collection of Ride's first two EPs rather than a proper studio album, SMILE nonetheless merits a place of honor in the band's catalog. The success of these early releases helped keep the group's U.K. label, Creation, afloat while earning the Oxford quartet a spot on Sire Records in America. The headlong rush of “Chelsea Girl,” with its bright melody and call to “take me for a ride,” could serve as a statement of purpose for the young band, and tracks like “Furthest Sense” and the majestic “Like a Daydream” underline the songwriting skills of singer-guitarists Mark Gardener and Andy Bell - these tracks are as catchy as shoegaze music ever got. While the critical praise that greeted NOWHERE the following year was well-deserved, anyone who'd heard SMILE already knew Ride was something special.
All the Right Reasons (15th Anniversary Edition) (Album of the Day)
Nickelback’s third consecutive #1 album, ALL THE RIGHT REASONS topped the charts in the band’s native Canada, the U.S., U.K., Germany, Australia and New Zealand. “We are so proud of the fact that this album connected with people the way it has,” says guitarist Ryan Peake of the 2005 collection, which has sold more than 19 million copies worldwide and is certified diamond by the RIAA. The record produced seven singles, including five Top 20 hits: “Photograph,” “Savin’ Me,” “Far Away,” “Rockstar” and “If Everyone Cared.” Now available, the two-CD ALL THE RIGHT REASONS: 15th ANNIVERSARY EXPANDED EDITION features a newly remastered version of the original album, a selection of B-sides and a 2006 live concert made in Sturgis, SD during the annual Sturgis Bike Rally.
Digging Deep Anthology (Album of the Day)
Robert Plant’s work draws from a lifetime of journeys exploring music from the Welsh borders to the Sahara and from Nashville to the misty mountains; since 2019, the singer-songwriter's Digging Deep with Robert Plant podcast has revisited his back catalog and told stories of inspiration, collaboration and intervention. Recently released to mark the podcast's third season, the career-spanning 2-CD set DIGGING DEEP gathers 30 extraordinary songs spanning four decades, including three previously unreleased new tracks. The collection showcases landmark recordings from each of the 8x Grammy winner’s 11 solo albums, including such highlights as the #1 rock hit “Hurting Kind” and the Grammy-nominated “Shine It All Around.” A truly remarkable lineup of musicians - including Jimmy Page, Buddy Miller, Patty Griffin, Phil Collins, Nigel Kennedy and Richard Thompson - accompanies Plant throughout DIGGING DEEP.
5150 (Album of the Day)
Born on this day in 1947, former Montrose frontman Sammy Hagar stepped up to the mic with Van Halen when David Lee Roth jumped to a solo career. The first studio set from the reconfigured foursome, 5150, would become Van Halen's first No.1 album and remains a highlight not just of Van Halen, Mark II, but of the band's entire career. The collection marks VH's first foray into balladry (“Love Walks In,” “Dreams”), though the guys rock as hard as ever on songs like “Best Of Both Worlds” and the Top Ten hit “Why Can't This Be Love.” The group's instrumental work, particularly Eddie's Van Halen's playing, is more sophisticated than ever on 5150, and we'll give the 6x platinum-certified set another spin in memory of the legendary guitarist.
Doo-Wops and Hooligans (Album of the Day)
Born Peter Gene Hernandez in Hawaii, Bruno Mars began performing at a young age but his career didn't really take off until he focused on songwriting and production, working on hits by Travie McCoy and B.o.B. Those skills paid off big time when Mars cut his own album, DOO-WOPS & HOOLIGANS, released 10 years ago this month. Spanning pop, R&B, reggae and rock, the Atlantic/Elektra collection spun off a string of successful singles, of which “Grenade,” “The Lazy Song” and “Just the Way You Are” were all Top 10 hits. The latter track brought Mars a Best Male Pop Vocal Performance Grammy (the album earned four additional nominations), and his inviting, easy-going style is this set's secret weapon. Certified 6x platinum, DOO-WOPS & HOOLIGANS made Mars one of music's brightest stars.
Paranoid (Super Deluxe Edition) (Album of the Day)
After the success of Black Sabbath's self-titled debut in early 1970, Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, and Bill Ward returned that fall with PARANOID. The record became the band's first album to top the U.K. charts and has sold more than 4 million copies in the U.S. alone. Today, songs like “War Pigs,” “Planet Caravan,” “Iron Man,” and of course, “Paranoid,” continue to inspire a new generation of musicians around the world. In honor of the 50th anniversary of the heavy metal classic, a new five-LP version has just been released. Along with the original and Quadraphonic mixes of the album, PARANOID: SUPER DELUXE EDITION includes the official vinyl debut of two storming 1970 live shows – a pre-release concert in Montreux, Switzerland and an oft-bootlegged performance done for Belgian television a few months later.
The Studio Albums 1978-1991 (Album of the Day)
Led by charismatic singer-songwriter, producer and instrumental virtuoso Mark Knopfler, Dire Straits emerged on the U.K. club and pub circuit and went on to defined the late '70s and early '80s with such monster hits as “Sultans Of Swing,” “Romeo And Juliet,” “Money For Nothing” and “Walk Of Life.” Now available as 6-CD, 8-LP and digital collections, DIRE STRAITS: THE STUDIO ALBUMS 1978-1991 includes all six of the band's studio sets. Featuring the group's self-titled 1978 debut, COMMUNIQUÉ, MAKING MOVIES (released 40 years ago today), LOVE OVER GOLD, global No.1 smash and double Grammy winner BROTHERS IN ARMS and final release ON EVERY STREET, THE STUDIO ALBUMS 1978-1991 displays Dire Straits' sophisticated guitar rock and literate, story-telling lyrics to perfection.
Pleased To Meet Me (Deluxe) (Album of the Day)
The Replacements' PLEASED TO MEET ME was recorded over three months at Ardent Studios in Memphis with legendary producer Jim Dickinson before it debuted in April 1987; the Sire collection steered the combustible Minneapolis combo from the brink of collapse and became one of the definitive albums of the band’s career. That process is chronicled in-depth on the new 3-CD/1-LP Deluxe Edition of the classic set - more than half of the music (29 of the 55 tracks) here has never been released, including demos, rough mixes and outtakes as well as original lead guitarist Bob Stinson’s last recordings with The Replacements from 1986. Several exclusive PLEASED TO MEET ME (DELUXE EDITION) bundles are available now at Rhino.com with a variety of limited edition items including a T-shirt, tote bag, iron-on patch, bumper sticker, placemat and a cassette featuring a previously unreleased interview with singer-songwriter Paul Westerberg recorded just before the release of the album.
Live From The Forum MMXVIII (Album of the Day)
The best-selling American band of the 1970s, and one of the top-selling acts of all time, the Eagles spent the majority of 2018 on an extensive North American tour that teamed Don Henley, Joe Walsh and Timothy B. Schmit with Vince Gill and Deacon Frey. Earning rave reviews from fans and critics alike, the quintet arrived at the Forum in Los Angeles for three sold-out, critically-acclaimed concerts on September 12, 14 and 15. Now available, LIVE FROM THE FORUM MMXVIII captures definitive live performances of the group's most iconic hits (“Hotel California,” “Take It Easy,” “Life In The Fast Lane,” “Desperado”) and beloved album tracks (“Ol’ 55, “Those Shoes”), along with some of the individual members’ biggest solo smashes (Henley’s “Boys Of Summer,” Walsh’s “Rocky Mountain Way,” and Gill’s “Don’t Let Our Love Start Slippin’ Away”).