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Pisces, Acquarius, Capricorn, & Jones Ltd. (Album of the Day)
The Monkees were on a commercial roll when they went into the studio to cut PISCES, AQUARIUS, CAPRICORN AND JONES LTD; the quartet had outsold The Beatles and The Rolling Stones in the preceding year. Micky, Davy, Mike and Peter were also at their artistic peak, and the resulting record stands proudly with the best of the era. A showcase for superb singing and playing from all four members, the 1967 Colgems collection features such outstanding songs as “Love Is Only Sleeping,” “Words,” “What Am I Doing Hangin' 'Round?” and Top 10 hit “Pleasant Valley Sunday.” Like its predecessors, PISCES, AQUARIUS, CAPRICORN AND JONES LTD was a million-seller, going to No.1 in the U.S.
My Favorite Things (Album of the Day)
Rhino reissues have used such titles as “The Last Giant” and “Heavyweight Champion” to describe John Coltrane and that's entirely fitting - the saxophonist grew from accomplished sideman to sonic revolutionary. Trane came into his own as a composer and group leader during his tenure with Atlantic Records, and MY FAVORITE THINGS, his 1961 album for the label, remains a highlight of his career. Along with pianist McCoy Tyner, bassist Steve Davis and drummer Elvin Jones, Coltrane employed extended improvisations to reinvent four standards, turning the title track into one of jazz music's signature recordings. A double-disc 60th Anniversary Deluxe Edition of MY FAVORITE THINGS has just been released including the mono mix of the album which, until its recent rediscovery, had been thought lost.
Jackson Browne (Album of the Day)
Starting in his teens as a professional singer and songwriter, Jackson Browne was well prepared for his eponymous 1972 debut. Sometimes referred to as “Saturate Before Using” after a phrase on the cover, the Asylum collection is filled with strong material, from introspective ballads like “Song for Adam” to such catchy tracks as “Rock Me on the Water” and Top 10 hit “Doctor, My Eyes.” Browne's appealing voice, guitar and piano are joined in the studio by a bevy of stellar guests, including Albert Lee, Sneaky Pete Kleinow and two-thirds of CSN. The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer's Platinum-certified first album has just been remastered for digital release, and JACKSON BROWNE sounds better than ever.
Amazing Grace: The Complete Recordings (Album of the Day)
It was the first day of June 1972 when Aretha Franklin released the instantly classic AMAZING GRACE live album, recorded in January of that year at the New Temple Missionary Baptist Church in Los Angeles, California. With such luminaries in the audience including Mick Jagger and Charlie Watts of the Rolling Stones (as seen in the incredible documentary film of the event that was released in 2018), Franklin and the Southern California Community Choir positively blaze through such Black American church standards as “Mary, Don’t You Weep” and “What a Friend We Have in Jesus.” Franklin’s impassioned performance brings the Holy Spirit to the packed congregation, creating a document that none less than Marvin Gaye once called "Aretha's singular masterpiece ... her greatest work." Today, we praise the eternal spirit of Aretha Franklin, and the indelible classic that is AMAZING GRACE.
Get Closer (Album of the Day)
Between her “new wave album” and her collaborations with Nelson Riddle, Linda Ronstadt returned to the mix of rock, pop and country that made her a star on GET CLOSER. Peter Asher, who'd helmed some of her biggest hits, produced the 1982 Asylum collection, which includes a couple of older recordings along with the new material: SIMPLE DREAMS outtake “Sometimes You Just Can't Win” and “My Blue Tears,” cut with with Emmylou Harris and Dolly Parton years before their TRIO album. James Taylor duet “I Think It's Gonna Work Out Fine,” “Easy for You to Say” (one of two fine Jimmy Webb songs here) and the Grammy-nominated title track are among the other highlights. Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Linda Ronstadt never sang more beautifully than on the Gold-certified GET CLOSER.
Thick as a Brick (Album of the Day)
Building on the success of AQUALUNG, Jethro Tull topped the U.S. chart this week in 1972 with fifth studio album THICK AS A BRICK, no mean feat for a set that consisted of a single epic split into two side-long parts. Representing frontman Ian Anderson's attempt to “come up with something that really is the mother of all concept albums,” the collection is a nod to the likes of Yes and ELP … with a wink at Monty Python thrown in for good measure. While the newspaper parody packaging and lyrics credited to a fictitious boy genius (“Gerald Bostock”) reflect the band's sense of humor, the musicianship - from Anderson's flute to Martin Barre's guitar and John Evan's keyboards - is definitely no joke, THICK AS A BRICK stands as one of the most complex, expertly executed recordings in progressive rock history.
True (Album of the Day)
Spandau Ballet was originally part of England's New Romantic movement, but it wasn't until the group donned suits and reinvented themselves as blue-eyed soul crooners that they really hit their stride. That moment came on their third album, TRUE, which the quintet cut in the Bahamas. Still within the synth-pop vein, but with R&B and jazz influences to the fore, the set's eight originals boast spare, classy arrangements that put the focus on hooks; “Gold” hit the Top 30 in America, and the title track made the Top 10. The set's sleek production practically drips with style but there's passion here, too: when Tony Hadley croons “this is the sound of my soul,” you believe him. This is the frontman's birthday, and we'll celebrate with another spin of Spandau Ballet's most successful album, TRUE.
Decade (Album of the Day)
DECADE brought the 1980s to a close for Duran Duran, and the greatest hits collection shows exactly what turned the U.K. group into MTV icons over the preceding years. Drawing from all six of their studio albums along with one or two noteworthy odds and ends, the EMI album includes 14 tracks – half of them Top 10 hits. “Hungry Like The Wolf,” “Is There Something I Should Know,” “The Reflex” and “Notorious” are but a few songs here that will be instantly familiar to anyone who listened to the radio in the '80s; presented chronologically, the set generally sticks to the most popular edit of each recording. Certified Platinum on both sides of the Atlantic, DECADE is a must for new wave fans, and we'll give it another spin now to wish Duran Duran's Nick Rhodes a happy 60th birthday.
Purple (Album of the Day)
On a roll after their debut, Stone Temple Pilots scaled even greater heights with follow-up PURPLE, released on this day in 1994. Though the San Diego band emerged just as grunge was on the rise, their sound proves broader here, combining the intense heaviness with a little psychedelia and a lot of accessibility. Allmusic called STP “the best straight-ahead rock singles outfit of their time,” and it's hard to argue with that when “Interstate Love Song,” “Big Empty” and “Vasoline” are among these 12 gracious melodies. PURPLE debuted at number one on the Billboard chart and quickly went multi-Platinum, and its music easily justifies that commercial success.
Made in Japan (Album of the Day)
Originally a progressive rock group with classical leanings, Deep Purple soon emerged as one of the greatest hard rock bands. The British quintet's early '70s lineup of Ritchie Blackmore, Ian Gillan, Roger Glover, Jon Lord and Ian Paice followed three storming studio sets with a landmark concert collection, MADE IN JAPAN. The double live album took the best songs from IN ROCK, FIREBALL and MACHINE HEAD and pushed them to the breaking point to become Deep Purple's breakthrough in the U.S., selling more than a million copies. Epic versions of such favorites as “Child in Time,” “Space Truckin'” and signature song “Smoke on the Water” are driven by terrific solos by Blackmore and Lord, and we'll celebrate the keyboardist's birthday by turning MADE IN JAPAN up to 11.