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Watermark (Album of the Day)
Thursday, October 29, 2015
Born Eithne Ní Bhraonáin in northwest Ireland, Enya grew up with musical siblings and was briefly a member of her family's group Clannad, leaving to go solo just before the folk-rockers scored their first big U.K. hit. But Enya was not to be outdone; on this day in 1988, the singer's “Orinoco Flow” began a three-week run at No.1 on the U.K. singles chart. That enchanting song, which encourages listeners to “sail away” to exotic locales, was the centerpiece of Enya's breakthrough album, WATERMARK, which sold millions of copies around the world. The collection has several additional standout tracks (including the title number and “Storms In Africa”) and employs rich soundscapes and multi-tracking to fuse traditional Celtic and New Age sounds. WATERMARK has a vision and confidence that transcends all such labels, and the Grammy-nominated album remains one of Enya's finest.
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Psychocandy (Album of the Day)
Wednesday, October 28, 2015
For their 1985 debut, The Jesus And Mary Chain combined pop melodies worthy of Brian Wilson, echo-laden production worthy of Phil Spector and guitar feedback noisier than The Velvet Underground; alternative rock has yet to recover. Scottish siblings Jim and William Reid (along with bassist Douglas Hart and future Primal Scream leader Bobby Gillespie on drums) grace PSYCHOCANDY with 14 hazy, intoxicating originals that range from amphetamine rush (“Never Understand”) to spectral beauty (“Just Like Honey”). Outlets including Rolling Stone, Pitchfork and Q Magazine have hailed the set as one of the best of the 1980s, and the band recently brought it on the road for a 30th anniversary tour. Today is William Reid's birthday, and in his honor, we'll have another taste of the seminal PSYCHOCANDY.
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Retrospective 1990-2005 [Ltd. Deluxe Version] (Album of the Day)
Monday, October 26, 2015
For more than a decade, Natalie Merchant was the focal point of 10,000 Maniacs, fronting the band during its rise through the alternative rock ranks in the 1980s. At the peak of the band's success, the singer left for a solo career neatly summarized on RETROSPECTIVE 1990-2005. It gathers 13 highlights from Merchant's four Elektra albums (including hits like “Wonder,” “Kind & Generous” and the Top 10 ”Carnival”); a limited edition Deluxe Version of the collection adds a disc of 15 additional bonus tracks including outtakes, B-sides and duets with the likes of Billy Bragg, The Chieftains and R.E.M. Natalie Merchant was born on this day in 1963, and we'll celebrate the birthday with the superb RETROSPECTIVE 1990-2005.
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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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