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Tooth And Nail (Album of the Day)
Dokken's debut was not a big commercial hit, and label Elektra was ready to give the quartet the heave-ho, but the band fought TOOTH AND NAIL for a second chance and made the most of it. The 1984 collection of that name has a more commercial glam metal sound than its predecessor, and as such originals as “Into the Fire,” “Just Got Lucky” and power ballad “Alone Again” (which reached the Billboard Hot 100) make clear, the songwriting had taken a leap forward. Frontman Don Dokken and axeman George Lynch clashed during the recording - to the point that they worked separate shifts in the studio – but that individual focus may be why the vocals and endlessly inventive guitar riffs are so strong. Dokken was a band on the rise, and the platinum-certified TOOTH AND NAIL showed them ready for their close-up.
Islands (Album of the Day)
Though it may sound nonsensical, the name Kajagoogoo means '80s new wave fun to countless listeners. The British band's second album, ISLANDS, was helmed by Colin Thurston, who’d produced the group's debut, and includes such catchy singles as “Big Apple,” “Melting The Ice Away” and “Turn Your Back On Me” (a remix of the latter hit No.2 on the U.S. dance chart). Following the departure of singer Limahl, bassist Nick Beggs steps to the microphone for this 1984 collection, which adds some jazz and spiritual touches to their peppy synth pop. ISLANDS was released in America in modified form as Extra Play with band's name shortened to Kaja – but these new wave faves will always be Kajagoogoo to us.
Live (Album of the Day)
The 1970s represented a golden age for both arena rock and live albums, and the two intersect to magnificent effect on FOGHAT LIVE. The half-dozen songs on the Bearsville collection push blues 'n' boogie into overdrive, offering plenty of room for "Lonesome" Dave Peverett's rafter-rattling vocals and Rod Price's slide guitar to stretch out. Recorded at the peak of Foghat's popularity, the concert included all their best-known songs, with fresh arrangements that often surpass the studio versions: “I Just Want to Make Love to You,” “Fool For The City” and “Slow Ride,” which hit the Billboard singles chart on this day in 1976. The double-Platinum FOGHAT LIVE was the U.K. quartet's best-selling album, and one listen makes it easy to hear why.
It's Everly Time (Album of the Day)
Coming on the heels of eight Top 10 hits for Cadence, the Everly Brothers signed a $1 million contract with Warner Bros. and Phil & Don did not disappoint their new label; their WB debut reached No.9 on the chart. IT'S EVERLY TIME includes a dozen fine songs (half of them by the Boudleaux and Felice Bryant writing team that had served the brothers so well in the past), leading off with Don's great “So Sad (To Watch Good Love Go Bad).” Cut in Nashville, the set has a country feel in places, but also touches pop and R&B bases, and as tracks like “Sleepless Nights” show, no one could top these two for romantic balladry. NME named the pair their number one vocal group on this day in 1959, and the brilliant harmonizing of IT'S EVERLY TIME makes it one of the duo's very best albums.
Scattered, Smothered and Covered (Album of the Day)
Hootie & The Blowfish's earliest performances in the clubs, bars and frat houses surrounding the University of South Carolina no doubt included many covers, and the band had a soft spot for these songs even after its multi-platinum 1994 breakthrough. SCATTERED, SMOTHERED AND COVERED gathers 15 tracks originally recorded by other artists and previously unavailable except on B-sides, various artist compilations and foreign-issue bonus cuts. The band's taste is pretty broad, including not just country (Vic Chesnutt's “Gravity of the Situation”), R&B (Bill Withers' “Use Me”) and classic rock (Led Zeppelin's “Hey Hey What Can I Do”), but surprisingly effective takes on favorites from R.E.M., The Smiths and Tom Waits. With Darius Rucker's soulful vocals front and center, the band's committed performances make their love of this music plain for all to hear. The title of SCATTERED, SMOTHERED AND COVERED was inspired by a southern restaurant chain's savory hash browns, and the 2000 Atlantic collection is mighty tasty itself.
Meat Is Murder (Album of the Day)
For their second studio album, The Smiths took the production reigns themselves (with Stephen Street handling engineering duties) and came up with a collection that's even more musically diverse than the Manchester quartet's striking debut. As its title suggests, MEAT IS MURDER doesn't mince words when it comes to Morrissey's beliefs, though songs like “That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore” show his lyrics could be as keenly personal as political. And Johnny Marr's status as England's most revolutionary new guitarist was clear on the iconic “How Soon Is Now,” a single appended to the U.S. version of the album. Released 35 years ago this month, MEAT IS MURDER was the only Smiths collection to top the U.K. chart during the band's lifetime, and was cited by Rolling Stone as one of the 500 greatest albums of all time.
Plenty, Plenty Soul (Album of the Day)
Detroit-born vibraphonist Milt Jackson performed with virtually all the great post-war jazz artists, so it should come as little surprise that PLENTY, PLENTY SOUL is an all-star affair. The 1957 Atlantic collection, produced by the label's Nesuhi Ertegun, features Cannonball Adderley on alto saxophone, Horace Silver on piano, Art Blakey on drums and Jackson's Modern Jazz Quartet bandmate Percy Heath on bass, among others – and Quincy Jones provides several songs and arrangements. Bags brought out the best in his collaborators, and outside the confines of the MJQ, his love for blues and swing comes to the fore here as both a songwriter and soloist. Though recorded several years before “soul music” came into vogue, the title of PLENTY, PLENTY SOUL is an accurate one, and the set's down-home grooves still carry tremendous appeal.
Mad Love (Album of the Day)
No one has worn more musical costumes than Linda Ronstadt; over the years, she has mastered pop standards, Latin, folk-rock, country and other styles. MAD LOVE was Ronstadt's “new wave album,” and while the Asylum release may have seemed out of left field at the time, in hindsight the spunky energy of the music is perfectly suited to her singing style – Linda loves to belt 'em out, and earned a Best Female Rock Vocal Performance Grammy nomination for this set. While its singles included oldies like “I Can’t Let Go” and “Hurt So Bad” (which hit the Top 10, along with “How Do I Make You”), the album earns its alternative stripes with covers of three Elvis Costello songs and three from L.A.-based power-poppers The Cretones. Nothing else in the Ronstadt catalog rocks quite as insistently as MAD LOVE, which celebrates its 40th anniversary today.
The Odd Couple (Album of the Day)
Atlanta hip-hopper CeeLo Green and producer Brian Burton, aka Danger Mouse, crossed paths shortly after the turn of the millennium and joined forces as Gnarls Barkley. Two years after their debut catapulted them to stardom, the duo returned with THE ODD COUPLE, a strong follow-up that remains their last collaboration to date. The highly anticipated Atlantic collection - which was rush released after Internet leaks - is touched with both beauty and melancholy and includes such standout tracks as “Run (I'm a Natural Disaster),” “Going On" and “Who's Gonna Save My Soul.” Danger Mouse's sonic settings (which include samples from such unusual suspects as Françoise Hardy and Sam the Sham & the Pharaohs) provide the ideal frame for CeeLo's exhilarating vocal work, making THE ODD COUPLE a perfect match.
My Brother The Cow [Expanded] (Album of the Day)
One of the pioneers of grunge, Mudhoney helped put the Seattle scene and Sub Pop Records on the musical map at the end of the 1980s. By the time Nirvana and Pearl Jam hit, Mudhoney had played countless gigs, and the practice paid off on their fourth studio set, 1995's MY BROTHER THE COW. With former producer Jack Endino back behind the boards, the band's fuzz-fueled attack pushes needles into the red with even sharper-edged performances and songwriting on tracks like “Judgement, Rage, Retribution & Thyme,” “Into Yer Shtik” and “1995,” and the group's sense of humor is razor-like as well. The Expanded Edition of MY BROTHER THE COW includes seven non-LP single sides, and we'll give the collection a spin now to wish frontman Mark Arm a happy birthday.