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BOUNCING OFF THE SATELLITES (Album of the Day)
BOUNCING OFF THE SATELLITES would be the final B-52's album with founding guitarist Ricky Wilson, who died of AIDS a few months after the recording sessions. In the aftermath of this loss, there was no tour and little promotion and the 1986 collection was largely overlooked upon release - but hindsight reveals its strengths. Such songs as “Wig,” “Girl from Ipanema Goes to Greenland” and “She Brakes for Rainbows” are an inspired combination of quirky humor and hooks and Keith Strickland (who celebrates his 70th birthday today) emerges from behind the drum kit to shine in a variety of musical roles. The underrated BOUNCING OFF THE SATELLITES is now available on red vinyl with a bonus 7” as part of the Rhino Reds series.
KNEE DEEP IN THE HOOPLA (Album of the Day)
After strings of hits as Jefferson Airplane and Jefferson Starship, this San Francisco group rechristened itself Starship for KNEE DEEP IN THE HOOPLA and found success a third time. The 1985 collection features a pair of No. 1 singles in "We Built This City" and "Sara" as well as other fine tracks including “Tomorrow Doesn't Matter Tonight” and “Love Rusts” (one of a couple of songs here co-written by Elton John's lyricist, Bernie Taupin). Veteran vocalists Grace Slick and Mickey Thomas sing their hearts out on this set, which reached the Billboard Top 10 and Platinum sales status. KNEE DEEP IN THE HOOPLA is now available on red vinyl with a bonus 7” as part of the Rhino Reds series.
DREAMS (Album of the Day)
Six years after her solo debut (and following her initial exit from Jefferson Starship), Grace Slick was back in record stores with DREAMS. The 1980 collection finds the legendary singer in power ballad mode for the most part, with producer Ron Frangipane's orchestrations and varied arrangements adding dramatic dimension to the music. Slick penned the lion's share of these songs, including lead single “Seasons” and album closer “Garden Of Man; her writing strikes a reflective tone that's direct and accessible. DREAMS was the performer's most commercially successful – and for many fans, most artistically accomplished – solo album, and we'll give it another spin now to wish Grace Slick a happy birthday.
THE LONG RUN (Album of the Day)
Eagles finished off the decade they had so dominated with THE LONG RUN, the last studio album of the band's original incarnation (they would reunite when “hell froze over” in 1994). Three years after HOTEL CALIFORNIA, Eagles had checked out – but not quite left – the sense of discontent that marked that earlier smash. There's a dark, urban edge to songs like “King Of Hollywood,” “Those Shoes” and closing track “The Sad Café,” though the album 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 #1 album in the U.S. this week in 1979, THE LONG RUN wound up going 7-times Platinum to bring phase one of the Rock and Roll Hall of Famers' career to a graceful close.
JERSEY BOYS ORIGINAL BROADWAY CAST RECORDING (Album of the Day)
On this day in 2005, JERSEY BOYS opened on Broadway; the Tony-winning jukebox musical tells the rag-doll-to-riches tale of '60s hitmakers Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons. Produced by Four Seasons co-founder and chief songwriter Bob Gaudio, the ORIGINAL BROADWAY CAST RECORDING includes such unforgettable songs as “Sherry,” “Big Girls Don't Cry,” “Walk Like A Man,” “December, 1963 (Oh, What A Night)” and “Working My Way Back To You” (with a little dialogue sprinkled in to give listeners a sense of the show). A worthy tribute to the Rock and Roll Hall of Famers, the JERSEY BOYS cast recording won a Best Musical Show Album Grammy and sold more than a million copies.
RECOLLECTION (Album of the Day)
Born Kathryn Dawn Lang in Edmonton, Alberta, on this day in 1961, k.d. lang was inspired by Patsy Cline to take up singing, and like her idol is a master of torch and twang. Where previous retrospective REINTARNATION emphasized the latter, the performer's RECOLLECTION focuses on her strength as a balladeer. The 2010 greatest hits set includes such favorites as “Constant Craving,” “Miss Chatelaine” and revelatory covers of “Crying” and “Hallelujah” - along with rare tracks that showcase her mezzo-soprano voice to equally fine effect. A double-Platinum hit in her native Canada (that went Top 40 in the U.S.), RECOLLECTION is an ideal introduction to the Grammy winner. Happy birthday, k.d.!
HOLIDAY (Album of the Day)
America formed in London, so it's only fitting that after years of international success, the trio would return to the city to make their fourth studio album, HOLIDAY. Producer George Martin and engineer Geoff Emerick were behind the boards for the sessions, and a Beatle-esque focus on melody and craftsmanship rings through these dozen tracks. “Tin Man” and “Lonely People” were both Top 10 hits stateside (the album as a whole reached #3), but the Warner Bros. collection rarely falters, and “Another Try” or “Old Man Took” are equally strong. America's Dan Peek was born on this day in 1950, and we'll mark the occasion with one of his band's best albums, HOLIDAY.
TOULOUSE STREET (Album of the Day)
The Doobie Brothers were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on this day in 2020, and TOULOUSE STREET was a key stop along the way. The Northern California quintet's second album was produced by Ted Templeman and marked the arrival of bassist Tiran Porter and second drummer Michael Hossack, giving the group new reserves of power. Just as importantly, the songs were top-notch; these 10 tracks feature the first Doobie hits (“Listen to the Music” and “Jesus Is Just Alright”) and several others that were also single-worthy (“Rockin' Down the Highway”). Fine harmony and instrumental work and a wide array of influences including country, folk and R&B make the 1972 collection a showcase for all that the Brothers could do, and the Platinum-selling success of TOULOUSE STREET was well-deserved.
Miss E… So Addictive (Album of the Day)
Missy Elliott strode confidently into the new millennium with MISS E...SO ADDICTIVE, the hip-hop diva's third album. With Timbaland returning as co-producer, it's a given that the collection bursts with brilliant beats and inspired instrumental accents. It's also no surprise that some of rap's biggest names pay tribute to Missy by adding a verse or two - Method Man, Ludacris, Ginuwine, Busta Rhymes, Da Brat and Jay-Z among them. But the spotlight is Elliott's throughout; her performance is riveting whether on slow-burning ballads (“Take Away”) or propulsive dance movers (“Scream a.k.a. Itchin,” “Get Ur Freak On” - both Grammy winners). Elliott received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on this day in 2021, and the Platinum-selling MISS E...SO ADDICTIVE is one of the reasons why.
SUNDOWN (Album of the Day)
If 1974's SUNDOWN was the only album in Gordon Lightfoot's catalog, his place in the singer-songwriter pantheon would still be secure. Its ten masterfully crafted originals include a pair of Top 10 hits: “Carefree Highway” and the chart-topping title track, and the collection as a whole reached the No.1 spot in both the U.S and Canada. Recorded in Toronto with producer Lenny Waronker, the predominantly acoustic set shows Lightfoot at the peak of his folk powers, though the performer also broadens his sound with hints of R&B and rock (in the form of percussion from Derek and the Dominos drummer Jim Gordon, as well as a little Moog accompaniment). Gordon Lightfoot's most successful album, the superb SUNDOWN is now available in beautifully remastered sound on Rhino Quadio.