Content tagged 'aod'

As vibraphonist for the Modern Jazz Quartet, Milt Jackson represented a more traditional approach to jazz than did John Coltrane at the beginning of the 1960s – the latter's “sheets of sound” approach placed the tenor saxophonist closer to the avant-garde. Yet somehow the pair's Atlantic album BAGS & TRANE was a match made in heaven. Recorded 60 years ago today, this outstanding collaboration was produced by Nesuhi Ertegun and engineered by Tom Dowd; its five tracks were supplemented by three bonus cuts in the digital era. MJQ drummer Connie Kay, bassist Paul Chambers and pianist Hank Jones provide remarkably sympathetic support on BAGS & TRANE, and the playing on such tracks as “Stairway To The Stars” is among the most evocative of Coltrane's career.

British indie supergroup Electronic combined the talents of New Order singer Bernard Sumner and Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr, a partnership that produced three albums, of which 1991's self-titled debut is a particular delight. The Warner Bros. collection strikes a neat balance between danceable synth-pop and guitar-driven alternative rock, and the spirit of musical adventure in the air in late-'80s Manchester can be heard throughout this set. Highlights include U.K. Top 10 hit “Get the Message,” “Feel Every Beat” and “Getting Away with It,” one of two tracks featuring Pet Shop Boy Neil Tennant on guest vocals. Much more than just a side project, ELECTRONIC drew rave reviews on both sides of the Atlantic and sold more than a million copies worldwide.

The consistent quality of SOUL '69 offers further evidence that Aretha Franklin could do no wrong in a recording studio as the 1960s drew to a close. Produced by Tom Dowd and Jerry Wexler, the Atlantic collection may be all covers, but Franklin's impassioned vocal and piano work gets inside these 12 songs and makes each of them her own. The eclectic mix of material - from “Gentle on My Mind” and “Elusive Butterfly” to “Tracks of My Tears” and “Today I Sing the Blues” - ranges far beyond standard issue soul, and so do the arrangements, which lean toward jazz thanks to the presence of such top players as Joe Zawinul, David Newman and Kenny Burrell. Released 50 years ago today, SOUL '69 showcases a genius beyond category.

Though they came of age at the height of the glam metal era, Skid Row took a much grittier approach to the music, and that made all the difference. From Sebastian Bach's take-no-prisoners vocals to the dual guitar attack of Scotti Hill and Dave Sabo, the New Jersey quintet's self-titled 1989 debut features plenty of bite while remaining radio-friendly. The Atlantic collection's "Youth Gone Wild" cracked the Top 100, setting the stage for power ballads “18 and Life” and “I Remember You” to reach the Top 10. Because the band had honed its songs on the road for a year before hitting the studio, there are several other great originals here beyond the three MTV Headbanger's Ball favorites, and SKID ROW deservedly went multi-Platinum.

If you think the term “8-track” means a bulky cartridge used in car audio systems in the 1970s, you're only half right; years before it became a consumer product, it was a studio technology. When THE GREAT HITS OF RAY CHARLES RECORDED ON 8-TRACK STEREO was originally released in 1964, that technology was state-of-the-art, and even if digital recording has advanced considerably in the intervening half-century, the Atlantic collection still sounds mighty fine. Among the 13 favorites here are “What'd I Say,” “I'm Movin' On,” “(Night Time Is) The Right Time” and “I Had A Dream.” We'll celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr. Day with the Genius of Soul on THE GREAT HITS OF RAY CHARLES.

With their fourth album, THE SWING, INXS took a further step toward international success. Lead single “Original Sin” was cut in New York with producer Nile Rodgers and guest vocalist Daryl Hall, the first time the sextet had recorded outside their native Australia. That song, “I Send a Message” and “Burn for You” were all Top 10 hits down under, and the collection topped the Aussie album chart. If the 1984 set only made it to #52 in the U.S., the band's mix of new wave, rock and dance had finally gelled. “I think it's still one of my favorite albums because it's very diverse and a lot of the tracks are danceable,” said INXS guitarist Kirk Pengilly years later. The group's frontman, Michael Hutchence, was born on this day in 1960, and we'll mark the occasion by giving THE SWING another spin.

After three albums fronting pop-punk band Something Corporate, Andrew McMahon struck off on his own as Jack's Mannequin. McMahon spent most of the money in his savings account to record EVERYTHING IN TRANSIT - and was vindicated when the set was picked up by Maverick. Helmed by the singer-songwriter and Something Corporate producer Jim Wirt, the 2005 collection ups the energy of that band with a little help from Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee. Structured around the concept of a musician's return home, the ten originals are jam-packed with classic pop hooks; highlights include “Holiday from Real,” “Dark Blue” and “Miss Delaney.” McMahon had been diagnosed with leukemia while finishing the album but got a successful stem cell transplant the day EVERYTHING IN TRANSIT was released, and you can hear that triumph in the music.

Following a summer tour, Gram Parsons dashed off a couple of new songs (“Return Of The Grievous Angel,” “In My Hour Of Darkness”), dusted off a few old ones (including “Hickory Wind” and “$1000 Wedding” from his days with The Byrds and The Flying Burrito Brothers, respectively) and convened his band in the studio to cut his second Reprise album. GRIEVOUS ANGEL was released 45 years ago – four months after Parsons' untimely demise in Joshua Tree, California. The album stands among his best work, with superb playing from the likes of guitarist James Burton, and some beautiful harmonizing from Emmylou Harris (and on the final track, Linda Ronstadt). Gram Parsons called the sound he pioneered “cosmic American music,” and GRIEVOUS ANGEL remains a shining example of the form.

Country hitmaker John Michael Montgomery kicked his career up a notch with his second album, KICKIN' IT UP; the 1994 collection went quadruple-platinum, besting its predecessor by a million sales or so. Its ten tracks include four Country Top 10s: “Be My Baby Tonight,” “Rope the Moon,” “If You've Got Love” and “I Swear,” which became a pop chart-topper by vocal group All-4-One a year later. Balancing heartfelt ballads with more energetic country-rock, the album has something for everyone, and quickly shot to the top of the Billboard 200. KICKIN' IT UP celebrates its 25th anniversary today, and while John Michael Montgomery's domination of the charts wouldn't end with the set, it remains among the Kentucky native's very best.

Aretha Franklin learned to sing in church (her father was Detroit's noted Reverend C. L. Franklin), so it's fitting that AMAZING GRACE is her biggest-selling album. Recorded at Los Angeles' New Temple Missionary Baptist Church on January 13 and 14, 1972, the live album features transcendent performances of such standards as "Precious Memories," "What A Friend We Have In Jesus" and "How I Got Over," and was greeted with rave reviews. The collection would go on to sell more than two million copies in the in U.S. alone and still also holds the record as the best-selling live gospel album of all time. It also earned the singer a Grammy award, her first for Best Soul Gospel Performance. Remastered and expanded in 1999 to include all the recordings from both nights, AMAZING GRACE: THE COMPLETE RECORDINGS has just been released on vinyl for the first time ever, and we'll give it a spin in honor of the Queen of Soul's birthday.

Head to the Rhino Store to grab an exclusive poster with your purchase of the album. While supplies last.