Content tagged ''
Sweet Baby James (Album of the Day)
The rise of singer-songwriters in the early 1970s produced some of that decade's greatest music, and among the movement's defining albums is James Taylor's SWEET BABY JAMES. The 1970 Warner Bros. collection may not have been the performer's first, but it arrived as a breath of fresh air to listeners eager for something simple, intimate and honest. Except for a take on Stephen Foster's “Oh, Susanna,” all 11 songs are originals, and over the years several have attained classic status including “Sunny Skies,” “Country Road,” the title track and the hit “Fire And Rain,” which reached #3 on the chart (as did the album). Taylor's resonant lyrics are paired with sympathetic backing from the likes of Carole King, guitarist Danny Kortchmar and future Eagle Randy Meisner, ensuring that the Grammy-nominated SWEET BABY JAMES still sounds sweet 50 years after its release.
Live (Album of the Day)
A singer, songwriter, keyboardist and arranger, Donny Hathaway was among the most gifted figures in 1970s R&B, even if he was sometimes overshadowed by Roberta Flack, a fellow Howard University alumnus and frequent duet partner. With one side recorded at L.A.'s Troubadour club and the other at New York's The Bitter End, LIVE is the ideal showcase for Hathaway's many talents. The 1972 Atlantic collection shows him with a top-flight soul-jazz band working the crowds masterfully on original songs (“The Ghetto,” “We're Still Friends”) and revelatory covers (Marvin Gaye's “What's Going On,” John Lennon's “Jealous Guy”). Donny Hathaway was just 33 when he died, but the inviting performances on LIVE are enough to ensure that he'll be remembered for decades to come.
By the Way (Deluxe Edition) (Album of the Day)
“Writing BY THE WAY ... was a whole different experience from CALIFORNICATION. John was back to himself and brimming with confidence,” noted Red Hot Chili Peppers frontman Anthony Kiedis of the band's first album of the new millennium. Guitarist John Frusciante helps take the group in a new direction on the Warner Bros. set, with melodic writing and playing that drew from The Beach Boy, doo wop and ELP, among other influences. And while the Julian Schnabel cover design further underlines the 2002 collection's artistic ambitions, this is still a Chili Peppers album, with Rick Rubin's focused production, Kiedis' candid reflections on love and substance abuse and the bedrock rhythms of bassist Flea and drummer Chad Smith. With such singles as “The Zephyr Song,” “Can't Stop” and the title track, BY THE WAY reached Billboard's Top 10, and the Deluxe Edition of the double-platinum album adds bonus tracks “Runaway” and “Bicycle Song.”
Dixie Fried (Album of the Day)
As a sideman and a producer, Memphis music great James Luther Dickinson left his fingerprints on seminal recordings by the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Big Star, the Replacements and many others. After his group, the Dixie Flyers, replaced the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section as Atlantic Records' backing band of choice, Dickinson got the chance to cut a solo album for the label in 1972. DIXIE FRIED is as eccentric, soulful and masterfully played as you'd expect, distilling a potent brew from rockabilly, blues, country and New Orleans R&B (Dr. John is a prominently featured guest). Covers predominate - Carl Perkin's title track and Bob Dylan's “John Brown” are a couple of the highlights - but these songs have been reimagined from the ground up, and the results are wonderful. This year, try your Thanksgiving DIXIE FRIED.
Do I Speak For the World (Album of the Day)
Son of The O'Jays' Eddie Levert, Gerald Levert was second-generation soul royalty and a hitmaker in his own right with trio LeVert in the 1980s and a solo career that began in 1991. DO I SPEAK FOR THE WORLD came late in that career – it was the final studio album released during the singer's lifetime – but it captured Gerald at the top of his game. A Top 10 R&B hit, the Atlantic collection offers polished production and consistently engaging grooves well beyond the singles “Lay You Down,” “One Million Times” and “So What (If You Got A Baby).” Acclaimed as a strong return to form, DO I SPEAK FOR THE WORLD was released 15 years ago, and through its romantic balladry and socially aware songs, Gerald Levert still speaks passionately to the world.
Gold - Best of (Album of the Day)
U.K. quintet Spandau Ballet made their live debut 40 years ago, and soon thereafter were standard bearers for the New Romantic movement with a Chrysalis Records contract to their name. Though successful from the outset in England, the band really took off when it added blue-eyed soul to its sound on such hits as “True,” which topped the British singles chart. GOLD: THE BEST OF includes all the group's U.K. charting singles for Chrysalis (plus a couple for their next label, Epic), among them “Communication,” “Only When You Leave” and the title song. As the 17-track collection covers the evolution of Spandau Ballet, you get so much more than Tony Hadley's achingly romantic croon – GOLD is the definitive look at the band's early- to mid-1980s heyday.
You're In My Heart (Album of the Day)
Legendary singer-songwriter Rod Stewart is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, with more than 250 million records sold worldwide during a stellar career that includes nine #1 albums in the U.K. and 17 Top 10 albums in the US. In honor of his 50th anniversary as a solo artist, the new YOU’RE IN MY HEART: ROD STEWART WITH THE ROYAL PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA pairs classic vocal tracks from the performer's most popular songs with stirring orchestral arrangements. Produced by Trevor Horn, the collection is packed with Rod's best-known hits including “Sailing,” “The First Cut Is The Deepest,” “Maggie May,” “Reason To Believe” and “Tonight’s The Night (Gonna Be Alright).” YOU’RE IN MY HEART also features a new version of the favorite “It Takes Two” featuring Robbie Williams and a brand-new Stewart original, “Stop Loving Her Today.”
Toulouse Street (Album of the Day)
The Doobie Brothers' second album, TOULOUSE STREET, was the one that truly put the Northern California quintet on the map. Produced by the estimable Ted Templeman, the 1972 Warner Bros. collection 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 this set a showcase for all that the Brothers could do, and its platinum-selling success was well-deserved. If you only know this band from its later Michael McDonald-led records, pay TOULOUSE STREET a visit!
Technical Ecstasy (Album of the Day)
With punk on the rise and managerial problems dogging them, the members of Black Sabbath had their backs against the wall in 1976, and TECHNICAL ECSTASY was their response. Recorded at Miami's Criteria Studios (where the Eagles had to put HOTEL CALIFORNIA on hold several times when Sabbath got too loud), the collection is among the quartet's most diverse as they tried to broaden their sound. There's a Beatle-esque ballad sung by drummer Bill Ward, a funky groove to “All Moving Parts (Stand Still),” and Gerald Woodroffe joined the foursome to provide keyboards. But like earlier albums, Tony Iommi's guitar riffs remain immense, and there are some powerful rockers here (“Dirty Women,” “Back Street Kids”). TECHNICAL ECSTASY was the next-to-last from Black Sabbath's original incarnation; we'll give the set another spin to wish singer Ozzy Osbourne a happy birthday.
All the Things We Are (Album of the Day)
With a career that stretched back to the early 1950s and included the iconic TIME OUT for Columbia, Dave Brubeck may have seemed an elder statesman of jazz when ALL THE THINGS WE ARE was released, but the 1976 Atlantic album showed the pianist had an adventurous streak that went beyond innovative time signatures. Cut over two sessions a couple of years earlier, the set pairs Brubeck's trio with alto saxophonists Lee Konitz and Anthony Braxton; the latter in particular adds an avant-garde edge to the proceedings. Along with Dave's original “In Your Own Sweet Way,” the track list dives deep into the great American songbook, and an outstanding 20-minute Jimmy Van Heusen medley is one of the highlights. Dave Brubeck was born on this day in 1920, and we'll give the underrated ALL THE THINGS WE ARE another spin in honor of the Grammy Lifetime Achievement winner.