Search 'summer of love'
Summer Breeze (Album of the Day)
Jim Seals and Dash Crofts each had decade-long music careers before teaming to become one of the most successful soft-rock duos of the 1970s. With the title track of their fourth album, SUMMER BREEZE, the pair had their first Top 10 single, and the song remains among their best known. But there's a lot more to love about the 1972 Warner Bros. set, which boasts another radio hit (“Hummingbird”), the lovely “East Of Ginger Trees” and the country-influenced “Fiddle In The Sky” among its ten originals. It's an ambitious collection, with philosophical lyrics reflecting the performers' Baha'i faith and orchestral arrangements by Marty Paich complementing the duo's bright harmony vocals. SUMMER BREEZE just might be Seals & Crofts' best studio album, and we'll give it another spin now to celebrate Jim Seals' birthday.
Love (Album of the Day)
Led by quixotic singer-songwriter Arthur Lee, Love was the first rock act signed to Elektra Records, and helped set the scene for the groovy Sunset Strip sounds of the mid-1960s. The quintet's eponymous debut offers a heady mix of garage and folk-rock; along with a pair of terrific covers (“My Little Red Book,” “Hey Joe”), the 14 tracks include such fiery originals as “Can't Explain” and “My Flash On You” as well as moody ballads like “A Message to Pretty” and “Signed D.C.” LOVE has just been re-released in honor of the 50th anniversary of “the Summer of Love,” and it's the perfect way to remember the great Arthur Lee, who passed away on this day in 2006.
"What's Love Got To Do With It" (Album of the Day)
Songwriters Terry Britten and Graham Lyle had offered “What's Love Got To Do With It” to singers including Cliff Richard, Donna Summer and Phyllis Hyman, but it's impossible to imagine anyone doing half of what Tina Turner did with it. In her hands, it was an anthem of survival and reinvention, embodying Tina's emergence from the shadow of Ike Turner and into the spotlight of MTV as a solo star. Released in May 1984, the track became the 44-year-old performer's first No.1 hit and earned three Grammy Awards, including Record and Song of the Year. Sparking a comeback that included the multi-platinum PRIVATE DANCER album and a Hollywood biopic that drew its name from the iconic single, Tina Turner's “What's Love Got To Do With It” will endure for as long as hearts can be broken.
Forever Changes (Album of the Day)
Recorded during the Summer of Love in Hollywood, FOREVER CHANGES is Love's most fully realized studio effort, featuring Arthur Lee (vocals, guitar), Johnny Echols (lead guitar), Bryan MacLean (rhythm guitar, vocals), Ken Forssi (bass) and Michael Stuart (drums, percussion). The 1967 collection introduced classics like “Andmoreagain,” “Red Telephone,” “A House Is Not A Motel” and “Alone Again Or.” A perennial on critic's lists of the best albums of the era, the psychedelic folk-rock pioneers' masterpiece has been inducted into both the Grammy Hall of Fame and the Library of Congress' National Recording Registry. Forssi was born on this day in 1943, and in his honor we'll cue up FOREVER CHANGES once again.
Forever Changes (50th Anniversary Edition) (Album of the Day)
Love's FOREVER CHANGES is the psychedelic folk-rock pioneers' finest achievement, an indispensable masterpiece inducted into both the Grammy Hall of Fame and the Library of Congress' National Recording Registry. Cut during 1967's “Summer of Love” in Hollywood, the collection features the band's original line-up on 11 tracks, including such classics as “Andmoreagain,” “Red Telephone,” “A House Is Not A Motel” and “Alone Again Or.” To celebrate the acclaimed album's golden anniversary, Rhino has just released an extensive 4-CD/DVD/LP set housed in a beautifully illustrated 12 x 12 hardbound book. Along with the first-ever CD issue of the mono mix and a remastered version made by original co-producer/engineer Bruce Botnick, FOREVER CHANGES: 50th ANNIVERSARY EDITION boasts more than a dozen rarities, including long-unavailable single versions and a pair of never-before-released backing tracks.
Insight Out (Album of the Day)
INSIGHT OUT was the beginning of The Association's stint with Warner Bros. after two longplayers for Valiant, and it was a winning combination of group and label - the album reached the Top Ten and quickly went gold. It was also the sextet's first album with producer Bones Howe (who had helmed hits for The Turtles) and the first to lean on the session aces of The Wrecking Crew. With the band's focus on harmonies and material, The Association came up with a beautifully sung collection of folk-rock and sunshine pop, including such fine originals as “When Love Comes To Me” and the ambitious “Requiem For The Masses.” Of course the most famous tracks here are “Windy” and “Never My Love,” which hit the first and second slots, respectively, on the Billboard singles chart in the summer of 1967. In honor of the 50th anniversary of “the Summer of Love,” INSIGHT OUT has just been reissued on colored vinyl, and it remains among The Association's strongest albums.
Gold (Album of the Day)
In the 1960s, Jefferson Airplane helped the Summer of Love take off and in the 1980s, Starship was building cities on rock and roll; during the decade in-between, Jefferson Starship was going GOLD. The 1979 best-of by that name collects the cream from studio sets DRAGON FLY, RED OCTOPUS, SPITFIRE and EARTH (along with a song that appeared in the Star Wars Holiday Special). “Miracles,” “With Your Love” “Count On Me” and “Runaway” were all Top 40 hits, and the remaining eight tracks also put the talents of Grace Slick, Paul Kantner, Marty Balin and company to fine use. Appropriately enough, GOLD was certified Gold, and the compilation is a terrific survey of Jefferson Starship in peak flight.
Unzipped (Album of the Day)
While it was the hard rocking sound of hits like “Still Of The Night” and “Give Me All Your Love” that brought Whitesnake worldwide, multi-platinum success, founder and frontman David Coverdale has never been a stranger to the occasional ballad. The band revisits some of its best unplugged and acoustic-based performances from the last two decades on the new UNZIPPED. The collection includes rare and unreleased versions of songs like “Summer Rain” and “Forevermore” from the band's recent studio albums GOOD TO BE BAD and FOREVERMORE as well as songs like “Love Is Blind” from Coverdale's 2000 solo album and the previously unreleased “All The Time In The World.” “Some songs ask for a softer touch,” notes the vocalist of UNZIPPED. “These songs are some of the most personal I've been involved with through my almost five decades as a professional musician.”
Insight Out (Album of the Day)
INSIGHT OUT was the beginning of The Association's stint with Warner Bros. after two longplayers for Valiant, and it was a winning combination of group and label - the album reached the Top Ten and quickly went gold. It was also the sextet's first album with producer Bones Howe (who had helmed hits for The Turtles) and the first to lean on the session aces of The Wrecking Crew. With the band's focus on harmonies and material, The Association came up with a beautifully sung collection of folk-rock and sunshine pop, including such fine originals as “When Love Comes To Me” and the ambitious “Requiem for the Masses.” Of course the most famous tracks here are “Windy” and “Never My Love,” which hit the first and second slots, respectively, on the Billboard singles chart in the summer of 1967. Association drummer Ted Bluechell, Jr. was born on this day in 1942, so we'll cue up INSIGHT OUT in his honor.