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New Orleans Piano (Album of the Day)
Tuesday, April 19, 2016
Roy Byrd, aka Professor Longhair, was one of New Orleans' greatest pianists, influencing a generation of players including Fats Domino and Dr. John. The 1972 compilation NEW ORLEANS PIANO features Fess' complete recordings for Atlantic Records, and shows the master in his prime with such studio aces as saxophonist Lee Allen and drummer Earl Palmer in support. Cut during sessions in 1949 and 1953, these 16 tracks include such Crescent City classics as “Tipitina,” “Mardi Gras In New Orleans” and “Ball The Wall,” and are guaranteed to get your toes tapping. Cited by Rolling Stone as one of the 500 greatest albums of all time, NEW ORLEANS PIANO is an essential purchase for anyone interested in the roots of rock 'n' roll.
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ZZ Top Fandango [Expanded & Remastered] (Album of the Day)
Monday, April 18, 2016
On this day in 1975, ZZ Top released FANDANGO. With ever-reliable producer Bill Ham at the helm, the group's fourth album builds on the success of TRES HOMBRES with a powerful pairing of live and studio material. Following a side recorded at New Orleans venue The Warehouse ("captured as it came down - hot, spontaneous and presented to you honestly, without the assistance of studio gimmicks"), the Texas trio delivers half a dozen killer originals, including “Heard It On The X” and Top 20 hit “Tush.” Featuring the long-unavailable original mix, Rhino's Expanded & Remastered edition of FANDANGO adds three live bonus tracks to the boogie-and-blues-rock classic.
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Too Tough To Die [Expanded & Remastered] (Album of the Day)
Friday, April 15, 2016
The title of the eighth Ramones album, TOO TOUGH TO DIE, spoke both to the band's steely determination and the 1984 collection's grittier sound, a return to the quartet's punk roots. The presence of producers Tommy Ramone and Ed Stasium, who'd helmed the classic ROAD TO RUIN, worked wonders in this regard, with a live-in-studio approach amplifying the group's full-bore attack. While closer in spirit to hardcore or metal than the pop of the previous couple of Ramones albums, these 13 songs don't skimp on hooks; “Howling At The Moon (Sha-La-La),” “Wart Hog” and the title track are as infernally catchy as ever. Rhino's Expanded & Remastered edition of TOO TOUGH TO DIE adds a dozen bonus tracks, including rare demos, a fiery cover of “Street Fightin' Man” and a song from new drummer Richie Ramone, “Smash You.”
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Pithecanthropus Erectus (Album of the Day)
Thursday, April 14, 2016
One of the true giants of jazz history, Charles Mingus blazed new trails as a bassist, bandleader and composer. With a resume including stints with Duke Ellington's orchestra, Mingus was ideally prepared to lead his own combos by 1956, when his Atlantic Records debut, PITHECANTHROPUS ERECTUS, hit the streets. A milestone in his musical evolution, the album showed Mingus tailoring his compositions to the strengths of his bandmates – in this case, Jackie McLean and J.R. Monterose on alto and tenor sax, pianist Mal Waldron and drummer Willie Jones. That's one reason their performance is so wonderfully cohesive on these four songs, particularly the title track, a ten minute, four-movement epic on man's rise and fall. Charles Mingus was born on this day in 1922, and we'll mark the occasion by excavating the seminal PITHECANTHROPUS ERECTUS.
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Waiting For Columbus [Live Deluxe] (Album of the Day)
Wednesday, April 13, 2016
While Little Feat didn't produce any gold singles during their '70s heyday, among musicians, Lowell George and company were the gold standard for roots-oriented rock. As remarkable as their studio albums were, the consensus was that they were even better live, and one listen to WAITING FOR COLUMBUS makes that easy to believe. The double album was recorded in London and Washington, D.C. over seven nights in August 1977, and features outstanding performances of such Feat faves as “Fat Man In The Bathtub,” “Dixie Chicken” and “Willin',” with stellar support from the Tower Of Power horn section. Rhino's Deluxe Edition of the concert classic adds seven previously unreleased recordings from those 1977 shows plus three more originally included on band best-of HOY HOY. Frontman Lowell George was born on this day in 1945, and in his honor we'll cue up WAITING FOR COLUMBUS.
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Time And Again: The Ultimate a-ha (Album of the Day)
Tuesday, April 12, 2016
Capping off a-ha's 30th anniversary, TIME AND AGAIN: THE ULTIMATE A-HA features the band's biggest hits along with a selection of rare and unreleased remixes. The new collection retraces the trio's amazing journey from its early days in Oslo, Norway to global stardom with a fantastic selection of songs from all 10 of the group's studio albums. Highlights include the chart-topping classic "Take On Me," the Top 20 hit "The Sun Always Shines On T.V." and the James Bond theme "The Living Daylights," as well as fan favorites like "Crying In The Rain" and "Manhattan Skyline." Boasting 16 tracks, the collection includes Kygo's recent smash remix of "Take On Me" as well as previously unreleased remixes for five songs: "The Sun Always Shines on TV" (Future Funk Squad's 'Radiant 4K' Remix), "Cry Wolf" (Jellybean Mix), "Touchy!" (House Mix), "You Are The One" (Dub Mix Edit) and "Blood That Moves The Body" (Three-Time Gun Mix). With something for both newcomers and longtime fans, TIME AND AGAIN truly is the ultimate a-ha.
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The Best of The Specials (Album of the Day)
Monday, April 11, 2016
Coventry band The Specials were the undisputed kings of the U.K. ska revival movement, and THE BEST OF THE SPECIALS shows why. The 20-track collection may not be their first hits package, but with definitive versions of all their signature songs hand-picked by founder Jerry Dammers, it's surely the last word on the pioneering band. "Message To You Rudy," "Too Much Too Young," "Stereotypes," "Ghost Town" and "Nelson Mandela" are but a few of the two-tone masterpieces here. Despite – or perhaps because of – its origins in Thatcher-era England, THE BEST OF THE SPECIALS remains both socially relevant, and incredibly danceable. Specials vocalist Neville Staple was born on this day in 1956, and we'll celebrate the birthday with another spin of this superb greatest hits set.
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Fragile (Deluxe) (Album of the Day)
Friday, April 8, 2016
Yes were among the bands that defined progressive rock in the 1970s, and FRAGILE is the album on which the U.K. quintet came of age. The first longplayer with the classic lineup of singer Jon Anderson, guitarist Steve Howe, bassist Chris Squire, keyboardist Rick Wakeman and drummer Bill Bruford (and the first to feature Roger Dean's fantastical cover art), the 1971 Atlantic release serves as a showcase for these virtuoso performers, with each member calling the shots on one track plus four group collaborations. The approach proved remarkably effective; the nine songs include such favorites as “Roundabout” and “Long Distance Runaround,” and the collection quickly rose into the U.S. Top 10 on its way to double-platinum status. Yes' masterpiece shines even brighter in Rhino's Deluxe Edition, which adds the band's cover of “America” and an unreleased early rough mix of “Roundabout” as bonus tracks, and today we'll cue up FRAGILE again in honor of Howe's birthday.
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Minute By Minute (Album of the Day)
Thursday, April 7, 2016
The Doobie Brothers completed their transition from Northern California biker bar band to radio-friendly blue-eyed funk hitmakers with MINUTE BY MINUTE. While it still reflects the band's roots with the rocker “Don't Stop To Watch The Wheels” (sung by original frontman Tom Johnston) and the bluegrass-flavored instro “Steamer Lane Breakdown,” the Warner Bros. album is best remembered as the moment that Michael McDonald took center stage. The singer/keyboardist scores big time with the title track and “What A Fool Believes,” which topped the singles chart and went on to win Grammys for both Song and Record of the Year. The album itself went to No.1 on the chart (on this day in 1979), and the supremely listenable MINUTE BY MINUTE would become the Doobies' all-time top seller.
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Born To Be Blue Original Soundtrack (Album of the Day)
Wednesday, April 6, 2016
Chet Baker's struggle to overcome his demons and stage a comeback in the late '60s are immortalized on the big screen in the new biopic Born To Be Blue, with Ethan Hawke starring as the singer-trumpeter. BORN TO BE BLUE: MUSIC FROM THE MOTION PICTURE highlights a number of standards made famous by Baker, newly recorded and performed by a jazz combo assembled by Canadian pianist/composer David Braid that features Kevin Turcotte on trumpet. Among the classics revisited are “Over The Rainbow,” “A Small Hotel” and “My Funny Valentine,” one of two songs that feature Hawke on vocals along with “I've Never Been In Love Before, heard during the film's emotional climax. Joined by original recordings from Charles Mingus and Odetta, the BORN TO BE BLUE soundtrack paints an evocative picture of a legendary jazz performer.
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