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Briefcase Full of Blues (Album of the Day)
As legend would have it, “Joliet” Jake and Elwood Blues grew up in a Rock Island, Illinois orphanage, where they learned R&B music from a janitor. In reality, John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd cooked up The Blues Brothers for a Saturday Night Live sketch and things grew from there, resulting in the 1978 debut BRIEFCASE FULL OF BLUES. The Atlantic collection was recorded live at Los Angeles’ Universal Amphitheatre with a backing band that included SNL’s Paul Shaffer, saxophonist Tom Scott and Booker T. & The M.G.’s mainstays Steve Cropper and Donald “Duck” Dunn. Powered by energetic performances and a pair of Top 40 singles (“Soul Man” and “Rubber Biscuit”), the album topped the Billboard chart and eventually went double-Platinum. To celebrate Aykroyd’s 70th birthday, we’ll open up the BRIEFCASE FULL OF BLUES.
Then Play On (Album of the Day)
Fleetwood Mac is one of rock’s most storied and successful bands, having endured numerous line-up changes and sold millions of albums worldwide. Originally part of the British blues boom, the Mac was among the most popular groups in that style by the time THEN PLAY ON was released in 1969. The collection’s powerful mix of blues and rock features standout tracks like “Rattlesnake Shake,” “Searching For Madge” and “Coming Your Way” (digital versions of the album also include popular single “Oh Well”). The quintet's stellar third studio album was the first with guitarist-songwriter Danny Kirwan and would be the last with founding axeman Peter Green. There are also a couple of notables on piano here – uncredited future Mac member Christine Perfect and co-founder Jeremy Spencer, who was born on this day in 1948.
Superfly (OST) (Album of the Day)
Few people had their finger on the pulse of Black America like Curtis Mayfield, whose soulful voice as co-founder of The Impressions in the 1960s would also illuminate social issues during his solo career in the 1970s. Mayfield's third studio set was actually the soundtrack to the 1972 film SUPERFLY, and if the movie glorifies pushers and hustlers, the nine originals here make the toll they exact on the ghetto devastatingly clear. Bleak as the subject matter sometimes gets, the album includes a pair of Top 10 singles (“Freddie's Dead” and the title track) and was a Gold-certified hit. We'll give the vastly influential SUPERFLY another spin to close out Black Music Month.
Echo and the Bunnymen (Album of the Day)
In the aftermath of their acclaimed OCEAN RAIN, Echo & The Bunnymen spent a year on hiatus before returning with their eponymous 1987 album, and the time off served them well. The collection features leaner arrangements than its string-laden predecessor, and the hooks stand out sharper than ever on such songs as “Bedbugs and Ballyhoo,” “The Game” and the classic “Lips Like Sugar.” A Top 10 hit in the band's native U.K. (and their most successful release in the U.S.), this would prove the final studio album from the core quartet of vocalist Ian McCulloch, guitarist Will Sergeant, bassist Les Pattinson and drummer Pete de Freitas. Released 35 years ago today, ECHO & THE BUNNYMEN is among the most accessible albums from the post-punk greats.
Images and Words (Album of the Day)
Few bands fused prog rock and heavy metal more brilliantly than Dream Theater, and IMAGES AND WORDS may just be their masterpiece. The Boston band's first album for Atco was also their first with James LaBrie at the microphone, and his wide-ranging tenor meshes perfectly with the Berklee-trained instrumentalists playing behind him. From MTV favorite “Pull Me Under” to epics like “Metropolis - Part I: 'The Miracle and the Sleeper'” and “Learning to Live,” these songs are intricate and ambitious but never get bogged down in complexity. Released 30 years ago today, the Gold-certified IMAGES AND WORDS remains Dream Theater's most commercially successful set, and a true progressive metal landmark.
Supa Dupa Fly (Album of the Day)
Childhood friends from Virginia, Melissa Arnette “Missy” Elliott and Timothy “Timbaland” Mosley were a musical team that crafted hits for artists including Aaliyah and Total before collaborating on Elliott's solo debut, SUPA DUPA FLY. Landing at #3 on the Billboard album chart, the Elektra collection frames Missy's singing and occasionally surreal raps with futuristic arrangements that draw as much from electronica as from rap. Propelled by such singles as “Sock It 2 Me” (featuring Da Brat), “Hit Em wit da Hee” (featuring Lil' Kim) and “The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly),” the set went Platinum and earned a pair of Grammy nominations. Named one of Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, SUPA DUPA FLY was released 25 years ago today and its influence on hip-hop and R&B remains strong.
Risque (Album of the Day)
Chic peaked a little late to fully ride the disco wave, though their sophisticated dance music brought them a few Top 10 hits nonetheless. The last of these was “Good Times,” which topped the U.S. singles chart and would go on to become one of the most imitated and sampled tracks in history. It's the most famous song on RISQUE, the band's third album for Atlantic Records, but by no means the set's only highlight; from exuberant floor-fillers like "My Feet Keep Dancing" to heart-breaking ballads like “Will You Cry (When You Hear This Song),” the performances, songwriting and production never falter. The men in charge of the last two departments, Chic guitarist Nile Rodgers and bassist Bernard Edwards, were on a tear at the time (they were also crafting hits for Sister Sledge), and RISQUE may be their finest achievement.
V (Album of the Day)
After four consecutive multi-disc sets, Chicago focused its musical ambition on the group's first single LP and the effort paid off when V became their first Number 1 album. Singer-keyboardist Robert Lamm gets credit for all but a couple of the set's songs, including distinctive opener “A Hit by Varèse,” the two-part “Dialogue” pairing Peter Cetera and Terry Kath's vocals and the immortal “Saturday in the Park,” the band's biggest hit to date. The strong and varied material is matched by outstanding performances, from the horn arrangements to the harmonies to Kath's guitar playing. Now celebrating its 50th anniversary, the double-Platinum CHICAGO V shows the Rock and Roll Hall of Famers hitting their stride as radio-friendly innovators.
Never Mind The Bollocks... (Album of the Day)
An aborted record deal, banned singles, scandalous TV interviews – the Sex Pistols might not have been the first punk band, but they were surely the most notorious. Yet the ever-controversial group's sole album, NEVER MIND THE BOLLOCKS, HERE'S THE SEX PISTOLS, is much more than a Malcolm McLaren publicity stunt. With “God Save The Queen,” “Anarchy In The U.K.” and “Pretty Vacant” among its dozen still-biting songs, the classic set debuted at No.1 on the British chart. In the years since its 1977 release, NEVER MIND THE BOLLOCKS, HERE'S THE SEX PISTOLS has been called one of the 100 greatest albums ever made by the likes of NME, Rolling Stone and Time.
Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers with Thelonious Monk (Album of the Day)
On May 14 and 15, 1957, Thelonious Monk joined Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers at Capitol Studios in New York to cut a one-off album for Atlantic Records. Produced by Nesuhi Ertegun, the collection would be Monk’s lone appearance on the label and his only recording with the Jazz Messengers, an ever-evolving collective led by drummer Art Blakey, who’s joined on the album by Johnny Griffin on tenor saxophone, Bill Hardman on trumpet and bassist Spanky DeBrest. The headliners had recorded together often in the decade leading up to these sessions, making the set a beautiful union of Monk’s melodies with Blakey’s unshakable sense of swing on stellar versions of “In Walked Bud,” “I Mean You,” “Blue Monk” and others. Now available, ART BLAKEY’S JAZZ MESSENGERS WITH THELONIOUS MONK (DELUXE EDITION) pairs a disc of previously unreleased outtakes with a newly remastered version of the original album.