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The Music Center Presents Joni Mitchell 75: A Birthday Celebration (Album of the Day)
To celebrate Joni Mitchell's 75th birthday, an incredible group of singers and musicians gathered at The Music Center’s Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in November to perform Mitchell’s songs at a pair of sold-out shows that garnered rave reviews. Now available, THE MUSIC CENTER PRESENTS JONI 75: A BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION features a star-studded list of performers representing a vast cross-section of genres including Emmylou Harris, Norah Jones, Chaka Khan, Kris Kristofferson, Graham Nash, Seal, James Taylor and Rufus Wainwright. The performances highlight songs from all stages of Mitchell’s career and touch upon many of her most-treasured albums; a group singalong to Mitchell’s best-known song, “Big Yellow Taxi,” closes this tribute to one of the world’s most-remarkable artists.
Stephen Stills 2 (Album of the Day)
Though Stephen Stills is a two-time Rock and Roll Hall of Famer for his membership in Buffalo Springfield and Crosby, Stills & Nash, he still found time for such impressive solo albums as STEPHEN STILLS 2, released 45 years ago today. “Change Partners” and “Marianne” were its singles, but the dozen originals on the 1971 Atlantic collection also include such outstanding songs as “Sugar Babe” and “Fishes And Scorpions.” Though Stills co-produced the set, sings and plays several instruments, he gets a little help from his friends too, including Ringo Starr on drums, Eric Clapton and Jerry Garcia on guitars, Billy Preston and Dr. John on keyboards and David Crosby on backing vocals. Somewhat underrated relative to its predecessor (and the Manassas album soon to come), STEPHEN STILLS 2 nonetheless shows its creator to be one of the most gifted of the rock era.
Crosby, Stills & Nash (Album of the Day)
Featuring an ex-Byrd, a former Buffalo Springfield member and a Hollies refugee respectively, CSN were a supergroup for the Woodstock generation, filtering a sometimes-guarded optimism through glorious three-part harmonies on their epochal self-titled debut for Atlantic Records. The trio's songwriting skills were as impressive as their singing, and the material here is uniformly strong; the ten originals include Top 40 hits “Marrakesh Express” and “Suite: Judy Blue Eyes” as well as such could've-been-singles as “Guinnevere,” “Wooden Ships” and “Helplessly Hoping.” The musical high-water mark of the Rock and Roll Hall of Famers, CROSBY, STILLS & NASH remains a beguiling listening experience, and the perfect way to wish Graham Nash a happy birthday.
Crosby, Stills & Nash (Album of the Day)
On this day in 1970, the trio of Crosby, Stills & Nash was named Best New Artist at the Grammy Awards. Featuring an ex-Byrd, a former Buffalo Springfield member and a Hollies refugee respectively, CSN were a supergroup for the Woodstock generation, filtering a sometimes-guarded optimism through glorious three-part harmonies on their epochal self-titled debut for Atlantic Records. The trio's songwriting skills were as impressive as their singing, and the material here is uniformly strong; the ten originals include Top 40 hits “Marrakesh Express” and “Suite: Judy Blue Eyes” as well as such could've-been-singles as “Guinnevere,” “Wooden Ships” and “Helplessly Hoping.” The musical high-water mark of the Rock and Roll Hall of Famers remains a beguiling listening experience.
Songs for Beginners (Album of the Day)
SONGS FOR BEGINNERS may have been the title of Graham Nash's solo debut, but he was hardly a novice; the singer-songwriter had a long string of hits for The Hollies and Crosby, Stills & Nash under his belt. The 1971 Atlantic collection features plenty of high-profile guests (David Crosby, Jerry Garcia, Dave Mason, and Rita Coolidge among them) lending support on 11 fine originals, including topical material like "Military Madness" and hit single “Chicago” as well as several songs inspired by his recently ended romance with Joni Mitchell. The Gold-certified SONGS FOR BEGINNERS remains one of Graham Nash's best albums, and to celebrate his birthday we'll give it another spin today.
La Bamba (Original Soundtrack) (Album of the Day)
On this day in 1959, Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper died in a plane crash, an event remembered as “The Day The Music Died Day.” Though Valens' life was short, he cast a long shadow for Latino rockers, particularly in his native Los Angeles, so when biopic producers wanted to recreate eight of Ritchie's songs, they turned to L.A.'s own Los Lobos. While the film includes some fine period music, the new recordings on the LA BAMBA soundtrack are truly something special; Los Lobos' versions of “Come On, Let's Go” and the title track became two of the band's biggest hits (Marshall Crenshaw and Brian Setzer also offer wonderful covers of Buddy Holly and Eddie Cochran classics, respectively). A feel-good look at the early days of rock 'n' roll, both the movie and its music were successful – LA BAMBA (ORIGINAL MOTION PICTURE SOUNDTRACK) reached No.1 on the Billboard album chart.
Rumours (Album of the Day)
After starting out as part of the mid-‘60s British blues boom, Fleetwood Mac decamped to California in the mid-‘70s to become one of the most successful AOR bands in history. With a hit self-titled album under their belts already, the “classic” lineup of Mick Fleetwood, John & Christine McVie, Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks topped it with their second, RUMOURS. The 1977 collection was recorded while two romantic relationships within the band were disintegrating – a situation that would’ve produced disaster in most cases but produced a masterpiece in this one, as the raw emotions were channeled into songs like “Go Your Own Way,” “Don't Stop” and the band’s first number one smash, “Dreams.” 45 today, RUMOURS garnered wide critical praise upon release, earning the Grammy for Album of the Year, and has now sold more than 40 million copies worldwide.
Tight Shoes (Album of the Day)
The bright, day-glo colors on the cover of TIGHT SHOES are somewhat of a giveaway that Foghat had discovered new wave. While the British band hadn't entirely checked out of the boogie motel - “Slow Ride” guitar hero Rod Price was still bending the strings here, though he would depart after this 1980 Bearsville set – there was definitely a bit more pop added to their trademark blues-rock. Produced by the band with Don Berman and Tony Outeda at Foghat Studios in Port Jefferson, New York, the collection features top-notch musicianship and such appealing tracks as single “Stranger in My Home Town,” “Baby I Can Change Your Mind” and “No Hard Feelings.” Frontman Dave Peverett penned all eight songs here; “Lonesome Dave” passed away on this day in 2000, and in his honor we'll put on TIGHT SHOES one more time.
Lodger (Album of the Day)
The last album of David Bowie's famed “Berlin Trilogy,” LODGER may be the most accessible of the three with its stronger emphasis on vocal tracks. Though the bulk of the recording was done in Montreux, Switzerland rather than Germany, most of the key collaborators on LOW and HEROES were back, including producer Tony Visconti and Brian Eno (whose Oblique Strategies cards provided inspiration during the sessions). Among the new faces was guitarist Adrian Belew, who called the 1979 collection “more of a world record – urban and eastern at the same time,” likely referring to such songs as “African Night Flight” and “Yassassin.” Despite the set's experimentation, it includes more conventional singles to lead off Side Two: “D.J.,” “Look Back In Anger” and U.K. Top 10 hit “Boys Keep Swinging.” The underrated LODGER brought Bowie's greatest decade to a glorious close.
1999 (Album of the Day)
When Prince took the audacious step of issuing his first double album, he was far from a household name – but 1999 helped turn him into one. The breakthrough Warner Bros. set (the performer's fifth) made both his ambition and craftsmanship undeniable; while it featured extended tracks and wide-ranging lyrical concerns relative to previous releases, the collection also included hook-filled singles like “Delirious” and “Little Red Corvette,” which was released on this day in 1983 and became the Purple One's first Top 10 single. And though we're well past the year that the hit title song predicted would mean “party over,” the set's synth-driven electro-funk still runs at full power. Prince would soon go on to scale even greater heights, but 1999 assured his place in the music history books.