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Flamingo Serenade (Album of the Day)
In a musical era of Ravens, Robins and Orioles, The Flamingos might have stood the tallest. This month in 1959, their “I Only Have Eyes For You” peaked at #11 on Billboard's Hot 100 - while it marked the group's best-ever showing, it's safe to say the 10 songs above it all pale next to this masterpiece, named one of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time by Rolling Stone. The track is joined by 11 others on FLAMINGO SERENADE; the End Records collection applies the sextet's matchless harmonies to pop standards including George Gershwin's “Love Walked In” and Cole Porter's “Begin the Beguine.” Capturing the Rock and Roll Hall of Famers at their peak, FLAMINGO SERENADE is a strong contender for the greatest doo wop album ever.
The Remote Part (Album of the Day)
100 BROKEN WINDOWS introduced Idlewild to audiences beyond its native Scotland, and follow-up THE REMOTE PART furthered the Edinburgh quartet's evolution. Literate and introspective, these 11 indie anthems are played and sung with the passion of the group's punky origins though with richer and more diverse arrangements. Buoyed by singles including “You Held the World in Your Arms,” “American English” and “Live in a Hiding Place,” the collection was certified Gold in the U.K. Now celebrating its 20th anniversary, THE REMOTE PART has just been reissued on vinyl.
Kill Em All (Album of the Day)
When Metallica released KILL 'EM ALL, lead guitarist Dave Mustaine had just left to form his own band - hardly the ideal situation to launch a debut album. But replacement Kirk Hammett proved the final ingredient needed for the quartet to conquer the world. Tracks like "Whiplash" and "Seek And Destroy" showed that lead vocalist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich knew how to put songs together, and instro "(Anesthesia) - Pulling Teeth" left little doubt that Cliff Burton was one of the best bassists around. One of the first true thrash metal sets, the collection went on to sell more than 3 million copies, and earned a place on Kerrang!'s list of the 100 Greatest Heavy Metal Albums of All Time. Hetfield celebrates a birthday today and we'll cue up KILL 'EM ALL to wish him a happy one.
Brothers in Arms (Album of the Day)
Dire Straits had long been critical favorites but with BROTHERS IN ARMS the band finally achieved the stardom they had always deserved; their fifth studio album topped the charts in the group's native England and in America, eventually reaching 30 million in sales worldwide. Part of that success was due to timing – the meticulously recorded set was tailor-made for the then-new CD format and the video for “Money For Nothing” was tailor-made for the then-new MTV (it would become the first video aired on MTV Europe on this day in 1987). But most of the credit goes to songs like opener “So Far Away” and the Top 10 “Walk Of Life,” which rank with the most emotionally resonant and pop-friendly in the Dire Straits catalog. Throw in customarily superb performances by singer/guitarist Mark Knopfler and his band, and BROTHERS IN ARMS becomes a record for the ages.
Heaven Up Here (Album of the Day)
The overcast skies on the cover of HEAVEN UP HERE accurately reflect the gloomy post-punk of Echo & The Bunnymen's second album. Co-produced by Hugh Jones, the 1981 Sire set has a disconsolate vibe akin to Joy Division but leavened with what frontman Ian McCulloch termed a “spikey edge.” While such songs as “Over the Wall,” “A Promise” and the title track may be less familiar than later hits, they nonetheless helped make the collection a Top 10 success in the group's native U.K.; the album also reached the Billboard chart in the U.S. - a first for the band. HEAVEN UP HERE was named by both Rolling Stone and NME as one of the 500 greatest albums of all time, and we'll give it another spin in honor of original drummer Pete De Freitas' birthday.
Bricks are Heavy (Album of the Day)
If 1990s grunge brings to mind unshaven guys in thrift-store flannel shirts, L7 will make you think twice; the female foursome rocks as relentlessly as the men on BRICKS ARE HEAVY. The 1992 Slash Records set was the band's third, and though it benefits greatly from the focused production of Butch Vig (then fresh off the success of Nirvana's NEVERMIND), it's the ferocious performances and strong material that make the collection so memorable. Driven by the twin guitar attack of Donita Sparks and Suzi Gardner, L7 rages against the machine (“Wargasm”), displays a wicked sense of humor (“Diet Pill”) and flirts with mainstream accessibility (Modern Rock hit “Pretend We're Dead”) across these 11 originals. BRICKS ARE HEAVY is likely L7's best album, and we'll crank it up again to wish bassist Jennifer Finch a happy birthday.
Fun House (Album of the Day)
Proto-punkers The Stooges were one of the groups that made Detroit a hotbed of go-for-the-throat rock – though their signature album was recorded in Los Angeles with a Pacific Northwest veteran, ex Kingsmen Don Gallucci, behind the boards. But FUNHOUSE seems to exist in a land that time forgot – a primordial setting that infuses the group with volcanic power. The quartet (plus saxophonist Steve Mackay) worked up a song a day more or less live-in-studio, creating seven originals (including “1970,” “Loose” and “T.V. Eye”) that threaten to fall into chaos, with only the relentless drive of Iggy Pop and his bandmates to keep them from going over the edge. Jack White once said of FUNHOUSE that it was “by proxy the definitive rock album of America,” and we'd be hard-pressed to argue with him.
Ready to Die (Album of the Day)
The debut album from The Notorious B.I.G. (and the inaugural release release on Bad Boy Records), READY TO DIE is a landmark of East Coast gangsta rap. Biggie and producer Sean "Puffy" Combs had begun work on such songs as “Gimme the Loot,” “Things Done Changed” and the title track the preceding year for another label; by the time they returned to the studio to cut these versions, the rapper's confidence and flow had improved immeasurably. A look at the allure and danger of the thug life, the album tells its frequently grim tales with the cinematic detail and emotional perspective that could only come from a veteran of the streets. READY TO DIE has been cited by the likes of The Source, Rolling Stone and Time as one of the greatest albums of the 1990s.
Body Count (Album of the Day)
“If you took a kid and you put him in jail with a microphone and asked him how he feels, you'd get BODY COUNT,” noted Ice-T of his thrash metal group's self-titled debut. The Sire set became a magnet for controversy thanks to the inclusion of “Cop Killer” on initial pressings, but the raw anger of that song seethes throughout these tracks, co-written and co-produced by guitarist Ernie C (like much of the band, a classmate of Ice-T's from Crenshaw High School). Along with police abuse, this collection targets racism (“There Goes the Neighborhood”), drug addiction (“The Winner Loses”) and other social ills with hard-hitting performances and a touch of humor. A rap metal landmark, BODY COUNT was certified Gold 30 years ago today.
Feel Like Makin' Love (Album of the Day)
With a foot in both the '70s soul and singer-songwriter camps, Roberta Flack was among the decade's most popular and distinctive artists, and on this day in 1974, “Feel Like Makin' Love” became the performer's third No.1 hit in as many years. A Record of the Year Grammy nominee, the Atlantic single became the title track of Roberta's fifth solo album, which was produced by Flack (under the pseudonym Rubina Flake), her first without veteran Joel Dorn at the helm. Though the sessions took longer than usual, the result was worth the wait, with additional songs from “Makin' Love” writer Gene McDaniels, an epic version of Stevie Wonder's “I Can See the Sun in Late December” and strong studio support from the likes of guitarist Hugh McCracken, keyboardist Richard Tee and vocalist Patti Austin. FEEL LIKE MAKIN' LOVE captures Roberta Flack's signature blend of pop, R&B and jazz at its best.