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Feedback (Album of the Day)
Monday, February 15, 2016
Some thirty years and 17 studio albums into their career, Rush paid tribute to a few of the artists who helped inspire their long musical journey with FEEDBACK. The 2004 covers album shows the trio had pretty good taste as young listeners in the 1960s, with Buffalo Springfield, The Yardbirds and The Who each getting a couple of nods. Singer Geddy Lee, guitarist Alex Lifeson and drummer Neil Peart have the chops to do justice to these classic songs, but never settle for familiar arrangements - “Mr. Soul,” “Seven And Seven Is,” “Crossroads” and the rest are reinvented for the 21st Century here. While the songs on the just-reissued FEEDBACK stand apart from the originals, the album also has a unique sound relative to the rest of the Rush catalog, and a spirit of fun sure to put a smile on listeners' faces.
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Balance (Album of the Day)
Friday, February 12, 2016
On this day in 1995, Van Halen's BALANCE topped the U.S. album chart. From the chanting monks of the mystical opener “The Seventh Seal,” it was clear the foursome wanted to broaden their sonic palette, and they succeeded with an appealing balance of poppy singles (“Can't Stop Lovin' You”), bonehead party rock (“Amsterdam,”), instrumental workouts (“Strung Out”) and ballads (“Not Enough”). Well produced by Bruce Fairbairn – Eddie Van Halen's guitar sounds stronger and more distinct than it has in years – BALANCE is also a bit darker in tone. That may reflect tensions within the group; the triple-platinum collection would prove to be the final one with Sammy Hagar at the microphone. Whatever its backstory, the underrated BALANCE brings the second chapter of one of America's greatest hard rock bands to a graceful close.
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Hybrid Theory (Album of the Day)
Thursday, February 11, 2016
Linkin Park had performed as HYBRID THEORY before using the name as the title for their debut, and the phrase is an apt description of the SoCal quintet's bracing mix of rap and metal. Over driving riffs and rhythms, Chester Bennington and Mike Shinoda's tag-team vocals reflected a millennial anxiety that millions identified with, and the album became a huge hit, reaching Diamond sales status on the strength of singles “One Step Closer,” “Papercut,” “Crawling” (a Best Hard Rock Performance Grammy winner) and Top Ten “In the End.” In addition to his rapping and instrumental work, Shinoda helped create the cover art for HYBRID THEORY, and we'll give the set another look and listen in honor of his birthday.
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Chapter Two (Album of the Day)
Wednesday, February 10, 2016
A strong follow-up to her stunning debut, Roberta Flack's CHAPTER TWO made it clear that she was an artist in it for the long haul. Flack takes songs as diverse as fiery opener “Reverend Lee,” Bob Dylan's “Just Like A Woman” and standards like “The Impossible Dream” and makes them her own with distinctive performances that draw deep from jazz, gospel and soul. With producer Joel Dorn back at the helm (and such arrangers as King Curtis and Donny Hathaway lending their talents), the 1970 Atlantic collection frames the performer's magnificent vocal and piano work beautifully. As this is Roberta Flack's birthday, we'll give CHAPTER TWO another spin and wish her many more chapters to come.
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Face Value (Deluxe Edition) (Album of the Day)
Tuesday, February 9, 2016
Phil Collins had already tasted stardom in Genesis, but as a solo artist, he became a superstar. Initially released shortly after the performer's 30th birthday, FACE VALUE was propelled to international multi-Platinum status with the help of the smash hit “In The Air Tonight.” Other notable tracks on the album include the follow-up singles “I Missed Again” and “If Leaving Me Is Easy,” as well as “Behind The Lines,” which was written with the singer’s Genesis colleagues Tony Banks and Mike Rutherford. Collins was going through a divorce as he was making the 1981 collection, and the combination of emotionally raw balladry and upbeat, R&B-tinged pop-rock remains striking. A new 35th anniversary Deluxe Edition of FACE VALUE adds a disc of live and demo recordings compiled by Phil himself.
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The Circle Game [Expanded & Remastered] (Album of the Day)
Monday, February 8, 2016
1960s folk boom veteran Tom Rush helped set the stage for the singer-songwriters of the following decade with THE CIRCLE GAME. The credits on the 1968 Elektra collection read like a “who's who” of performers still a couple of years away from stardom - there's a song by Jackson Browne, and two by James Taylor and Joni Mitchell (including the title number). Rush penned a pair himself, of which “No Regrets” would become an oft-covered standard, and he shaped the material into a concept album about the beginning and end of a romance. With such superb musicians as guitarist Bruce Langhorne and drummer Bernard Purdie lending support, this beautiful collection has long been considered a classic, and Rhino's Expanded and Remastered edition adds three bonus tracks to the original. Tom Rush celebrates a birthday today, and we'll wish him a happy one with his folk-rock masterpiece THE CIRCLE GAME.
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Boys Don't Cry (Album of the Day)
Friday, February 5, 2016
Released on this day in 1980, BOYS DON'T CRY underlines The Cure's status as both a singles band and an album-oriented act. The dozen recordings on the group's U.S. debut drew liberally from the THREE IMAGINARY BOYS album, which had been issued in Britain the preceding year, but the song line-up is sweetened by the addition of "Killing An Arab," the title track and others that were non-LP in The Cure's native land. The ability to balance these more accessible sounds with Robert Smith's ever-forlorn subject matter is one of the group's greatest strengths, and while future productions and performances would grow more polished, BOYS DON'T CRY remains quintessential Cure, and an album any U.K. indie fan should own.
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Ramones (Expanded) (Album of the Day)
Thursday, February 4, 2016
The first Ramones album was a shot heard round the musical world, helping ignite punk scenes in both England and the quartet's native New York. Though such simple, fast and fun songs as “Beat On The Brat” would inspire legions of followers, the Queens quartet also paid tribute to the '60s pop-rock that inspired them with a cover of Chris Montez's “Let's Dance” and the Searchers-esque jangle of their own “I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend.” Rhino's Expanded Edition of this classic adds 8 bonus tracks to the original 14, including the single version of “Blitzkrieg Bop” and previously unissued demos of such songs as “Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue” and “I Don't Care.” Recorded at Manhattan's famed Radio City Music Hall, RAMONES is itself an icon, cited by Rolling Stone and Spin as one of the Top 100 alternative albums of all time.
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On The Border (Remastered) (Album of the Day)
Wednesday, February 3, 2016
ON THE BORDER was an appropriate title for Eagles' third studio set; the 1974 collection straddles the mellower music of their earlier discs and the tougher sounds they'd soon explore. After initial sessions with Glyn Johns in London, the band shifted gears, moving to L.A.'s Record Plant and teaming with producer Bill Szymczyk to find a harder rock edge. The band got a boost in that direction from guitarist Don Felder, who plays on two songs here and would become the fifth Eagle. There are still plenty of country influences on the album – Bernie Leadon's “My Man” is a tribute to his old friend Gram Parsons, and No.1 hit “Best Of My Love” features some fine pedal steel work – but the group was looking beyond their rural roots on punchier singles “Already Gone” and “James Dean,” both featuring strong lead vocals by Glenn Frey. Well-rounded and brilliantly performed, ON THE BORDER is the ideal way to remember the late performer.
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Desperado (Remastered) (Album of the Day)
Tuesday, February 2, 2016
With Eagles' second longplayer, DESPERADO, the band millions around the world would come to know and love begins to emerge more clearly. Inspired by the exploits of the Doolin-Dalton gang, this concept album likening the rock and roll life to that of Wild West outlaws has the ambitious reach that would become a hallmark of Eagles releases. The set's most famous songs - “Tequila Sunrise” and the title track - were collaborations between drummer Don Henley and guitarist/keyboardist Glenn Frey, a partnership that would eventually define the band. Yet with Bernie Leadon's masterful picking prominent throughout, the set will appeal to country and folk listeners as much as to fans of Eagles' later arena rock moves. Like the group's first album, DESPERADO was produced by Glyn Johns and was another huge hit, selling more than 2 million copies.
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