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Never Trust A Happy Song (Album of the Day)
Los Angeles alternative rockers Grouplove made U.K. music mag NME's list of the “Best New Bands of 2010,” and one spin of NEVER TRUST A HAPPY SONG makes it easy to see why. Released ten years ago this month, the quintet's full-length Atlantic debut reworks a pair of tracks from their preceding E.P. and adds 10 more wonderfully catchy originals, whose sunny, upbeat vibes belie the skepticism of the album title. With influences ranging from 1960s folk-rock to 1980s dance music, there's plenty of variety on the set, and vocalists Christian Zucconi and Hannah Hooper practically dare listeners to sing along to “Colours,” “Itchin' on a Photograph” and US Alternative Chart-topping single “Tongue Tied.” You're sure to love Grouplove's gold-certified NEVER TRUST A HAPPY SONG.
Scoundrel Days (Deluxe Edition) (Album of the Day)
Norway's a-ha surely owed much of its popularity to MTV, but a closer listen to the group's albums makes clear that its music was worthy of that success. The 1986 set SCOUNDREL DAYS, the trio's second album, takes the melodic synth-pop of their debut in a darker but equally satisfying direction on such songs as “Cry Wolf,” “Manhattan Skyline” and “I’ve Been Losing You.” Rhino's Deluxe Edition of the set adds 21 tracks to the original ten, including extended single mixes, live recordings and the entire album in demo and alternate versions. A big international hit, SCOUNDREL DAYS sold more than 6 million copies worldwide, and we'll give the collection another spin now to wish guitarist Pal Waaktaar a happy 60th birthday.
Warren Zevon (Album of the Day)
Warren Zevon may have written songs for The Turtles and led a band for The Everly Brothers, but upbeat pop-rock was just his day job. To judge from 1976's WARREN ZEVON, his real passion was for richly detailed, somewhat astringent character sketches. His talent along these lines wasn't lost on the Southern California music community - Jackson Browne produced Zevon's Asylum debut, recruiting members of Fleetwood Mac, The Beach Boys and Eagles to lend a hand. The arrangements provide bright frames to dark portraits of “Frank and Jesse James,”“Desperados Under the Eaves” and others (though not so dark as to scare Linda Ronstadt off; she covered “Poor Poor Pitiful Me” and “Hasten Down The Wind” to great success). Warren Zevon passed away on this day in 2003, and this outstanding album makes a fine epitaph – smart, memorable and not the least bit sentimental.
Heartbeat City (Album of the Day)
The Cars had been on cruise control for a couple of years when they traveled to London to cut their fifth album, HEARTBEAT CITY, with producer Robert “Mutt” Lange. An effort to stretch out beyond the upbeat new wave for which they were known, the 1984 collection showed the band could be moody and atmospheric on such songs as the title track and the Top 10 ballad “Drive,” sung by bassist Benjamin Orr. The Cars also shook things up on MTV with inventive videos for “You Might Think,” “Magic” and “Hello Again” helping drive the album to #3 on the Billboard chart. HEARTBEAT CITY wound up being The Cars' biggest seller ever (and, along with their debut, the group's most critically acclaimed). It's an ideal way to remember Orr, who was born on this day in 1947.
Satellite (20th Anniversary Edition) (Album of the Day)
Two years after their platinum-selling major-label debut, P.O.D. had an even more significant commercial breakthrough with SATELLITE. After debuting at #6 on the Billboard 200, the record went on to sell more than seven million copies worldwide, including three million in the U.S. To date the band’s best seller, the 2001 album generated four singles: the title track, “Boom,” “Alive” and “Youth Of The Nation” - the last two earning Grammy nominations for Best Hard Rock Performance. The San Diego-based group has just released a newly remastered and expanded version of the Atlantic collection; the 27-song SATELLITE: 20th ANNIVERSARY EDITION includes a bonus disc of rarities, remixes and four previously unreleased demos.
+ (Album of the Day)
Ed Sheeran's high school classmates voted him “most likely to be famous” and within a few years he proved them right – the British singer-songwriter has become one of the world's best-selling artists. Following several self-released E.P.s and indefatigable gigging, his debut album PLUS (or +) was released 10 years ago today, and the talent that turned the likes of Jamie Foxx and Elton John into Sheeran boosters is on full display. Shifting skillfully from melodic balladry to hip-hop beats, these dozen originals are sure to strike a chord with listeners, and “The A Team,” “You Need Me, I Don't Need You” and “Lego House” were all Top 10 U.K. singles. PLUS helped the performer earn a pair of Brit Awards and was a hit stateside as well, reaching the Billboard Top 10 and passing platinum status.
Silver Side Up (Album of the Day)
While Canadian rockers Nickelback were already a band on the rise in 2001, it was their third album, SILVER SIDE UP, that really put the quartet in the big leagues. Vocalist-lyricist Chad Kroeger's systematic study of what makes a single a hit paid off with “How You Remind Me,” which topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart for four weeks; follow-ups “Too Bad” and “Never Again” each reached No.1 on the Rock chart. As its cover art suggests, the Roadrunner collection tells tales of emotional turmoil, paired with intense performances that suggest 1990s grunge (co-producer Rick Parashar was a veteran of the Seattle scene). Released 20 years ago this month, SILVER SIDE UP went 6x platinum, helping make Nickelback one of the most successful rock groups of the decade.
Back in the U.S.A. (Album of the Day)
Some of the most exciting music made in America at the end of the 1960s came from Detroit, thanks to bands like The Stooges, The Alice Cooper Group … and The MC5. The “Motor City Five” had already kicked out the jams on a live album before heading into the studio with producer Jon Landau to see if they could capture their high-energy attack in a more controlled setting. The resulting album, BACK IN THE USA, answered that question with a resounding “yes.” Along with nods to rock's raucous past (like the Chuck Berry-penned title track) and the MC5's revolutionary roots (“The American Ruse”), the set provided a template for the punk rock to come with such driving songs as “Tonight” and “Shakin' Street.” MC5's Fred "Sonic" Smith was born on this day in 1948, and we'll fire up BACK IN THE USA to salute the guitarist.
Invisible Touch (Album of the Day)
Though they had a successful run in the 1970s as progressive rockers, Genesis is perhaps best remembered as a pop hitmaking machine of the 1980s. With Phil Collins' appealing vocals leading the way and solid instrumental work from guitarist Mike Rutherford and keyboardist Tony Banks, there were few musical mountains they couldn't climb that decade, and Genesis reached a summit with INVISIBLE TOUCH. The title track provided the British band with its first American No.1 single, and “Throwing It All Away,” “Land Of Confusion” and “Tonight, Tonight, Tonight” all made the Top Ten stateside as well – all the more impressive for having emerged from jam sessions (“On day one, we had no songs, no ideas, and a blank bit of paper,” recalled Rutherford). Released 35 years ago today, the multi-platinum INVISIBLE TOUCH remains the group's all-time best seller.
Coltrane Plays the Blues (Album of the Day)
That the blues is more a feeling than a specific style is borne out by John Coltrane's PLAYS THE BLUES. Distilled from the same October 1960 recording sessions that yielded MY FAVORITE THINGS, the Atlantic collection was issued after the saxophonist's departure for Impulse Records when the remarkable quality of its six tracks demanded release. 'Trane soars on tenor and soprano sax here, accompanied by pianist McCoy Tyner, bassist Steve Davis and drummer Elvin Jones (who penned the opening “Blues to Elvin”; all others are Coltrane originals). While less famous than some of the performer's other Atlantic LPs, the reviews of COLTRANE PLAYS THE BLUES are near-unanimous in their praise, and one listen makes it easy to hear why.