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Californication (Album of the Day)
Friday, October 16, 2015
The Red Hot Chili Peppers made a strong return to form with 1999's CALIFORNICATION, an album that marked the return of prodigal son John Frusciante, who had left the band after the triumph of BLOOD SUGAR SEX MAGIK for a solo career – and a dalliance with drugs that nearly killed him. The guitarist isn't the only one who sounds rejuvenated here; vocalist Anthony Kiedis sings better than ever on these 15 originals, and bassist Flea and drummer Chad Smith drive the band forward with grooves worthy of one of rock's greatest rhythm sections. Introspective songs like “Scar Tissue” and the title track show a new maturity to the Chili Peppers' songwriting, though the quartet delivers more raucous material like “Around The World” and “Otherside” just as effectively; producer Rick Rubin keeps these sides of the band in perfect balance throughout the album. This is Flea's birthday, and we'll celebrate it with the multi-platinum CALIFORNICATION.
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Full Circle (Album of the Day)
Thursday, October 15, 2015
With the post-Jim Morrison OTHER VOICES reaching the Top 40 and a successful U.S. tour behind them, surviving Doors John Densmore, Robby Krieger and Ray Manzarek returned to the studio in 1972 to begin recording FULL CIRCLE, which came out that summer. From their earliest days, the band relished the chance to broaden the sound of rock, and that's manifest here in the jazz-influenced arrangements on several songs like "Verdilac" and "The Piano Bird" (both of which feature saxophonist/flutist Charles Lloyd). The group's final charting single, “The Mosquito,” also shows their taste for the unusual – and in its closing jam, the trio's matchless cohesion as instrumentalists. Recently reissued after many years of undeserved obscurity, FULL CIRCLE brings the legendary band's studio career to a graceful close.
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Other Voices (Album of the Day)
Wednesday, October 14, 2015
After The Doors finished recording L.A. WOMAN in 1971, frontman Jim Morrison moved to Paris, France. In the meantime, the three other members - drummer John Densmore, guitarist Robby Krieger, and keyboardist Ray Manzarek - stayed behind in Los Angeles where they worked on music for what would be the group's seventh studio album. When the legendary singer passed away in July, 1971, the trio used those songs as the basis for OTHER VOICES, with Krieger and Manzarek provding the vocals. Given the presence of producer Bruce Botnick as well as the work process behind these eight originals, the classic Doors sound is strongly evident. Tracks like “In the Eye of the Sun,” the epic “Ships w/ Sails” and single “Tightrope Ride” are stirring reminders of the Rock and Roll Hall of Famers' instrumental brilliance. Often overlooked and hard-to-find until its reissue earlier this year, OTHER VOICES is an album no Doors fan should be without.
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OU812 (Album of the Day)
Tuesday, October 13, 2015
If the title “Oh, you ate one too” was a nod to David Lee Roth's EAT 'EM AND SMILE, Van Halen's 1988 album shows the band settling in quite well with frontman Sammy Hagar. The second album with the Red Rocker at the microphone, OU812 scores with a wide variety of originals, Top 10 power ballad “When It's Love,” the acoustic-inflected “Finish What Ya Started,” and party-rock anthem “Cabo Wabo” among them. The set was dedicated to Eddie and Alex Van Halen's late father, and it's clear the boys are playing their hearts out here – this is some of Van Halen's most ambitious instrumental work. Sammy Hagar was born on this day in 1947, and in his honor, we'll dish up some birthday cake and the quadruple-platinum OU812.
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The B-52's (Album of the Day)
Monday, October 12, 2015
When The B-52's self-titled album landed, there was nothing quite like their quirky blend of new wave and '60s kitsch. That 1979 debut, cut with producer (and Island Records founder) Chris Blackwell at his studio in the Bahamas, features such energetic originals as “Planet Claire,” “Dance This Mess Around” and signature song “Rock Lobster,” which became the band's first hit single. The Athens, GA quintet - Fred Schneider, Kate Pierson, Cindy Wilson, Ricky Wilson and Keith Strickland – made music that was as catchy as it is campy, and sales of THE B-52'S rose to platinum status as a result. Ricky Wilson died 30 years ago today, and we'll remember the talented guitarist by giving one of his band's very best albums another spin.
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The Mind Is A Terrible Thing To Taste (Album of the Day)
Friday, October 9, 2015
Ministry's dark and intense fusion of industrial and metal musics reached a peak on THE MIND IS A TERRIBLE THING TO TASTE. The title, cover art and even the samples (from such films as Full Metal Jacket, Prince of Darkness and Hellraiser II) in these nine tracks show a band out for blood, but the 1989 Sire collection is as rewarding as it is challenging. Frontman Al Jourgensen and partner-in-crime Paul Barker have come up with buzzing guitar riffs, piledriver rhythms and menacing vocals to frame sinister songs of political, cultural, environmental and personal collapse. As today is Al Jourgensen's birthday, we'll give you a piece of the Ministry man's mind with the inventive and influential THE MIND IS A TERRIBLE THING TO TASTE.
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Drift And Dream (Album of the Day)
Thursday, October 8, 2015
The Drifters hit the chart more than 30 times between 1956 and 1966, ensuring their place in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with such classics as “There Goes My Baby,” “Save The Last Dance For Me” and “Up On The Roof.” The vocal group's success did much to buoy the fortunes of Atlantic Records, so it's natural that when the label celebrated its 60th anniversary in 2007, one of its commemorative releases would spotlight The Drifters. The 60-track digital compilation DRIFT AND DREAM features all but 5 of the group's many pop-charting singles, with generous selections from their key line-ups including lead singers Clyde McPhatter and Ben E. King. The Drifters' Doc Green was born on this day in 1934, and we'll mark the occasion by cuing up the comprehensive DRIFT AND DREAM.
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Nighthawks At The Diner (Album of the Day)
Wednesday, October 7, 2015
Painter Edward Hopper's “Nighthawks” helped inspire Tom Waits' third release, NIGHTHAWKS AT THE DINER. Like the famous painting, the 1975 Asylum collection is peopled by offbeat characters who've seen their share of ups and downs, and to get up close and personal with them, Waits and producer Bones Howe cut the double album live at Los Angeles' Record Plant studio in front of an invited audience. The gravel-voiced troubadour sounds as though he knows all about "Warm Beer and Cold Women," to quote but one of these songs, and the worldly wise lyrics are elevated by a superb jazz backing band (and leavened by Waits' amusing between-songs patter). NIGHTHAWKS AT THE DINER celebrates its 40th anniversary today, and it remains a great album to spin when solitary rumination keeps you from sleep.
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Tim (Album of the Day)
Tuesday, October 6, 2015
The Replacements' swan song for Twin Tone Records had made the Minneapolis quartet heroes of the American indie scene; graduating to major-label status with 1985's TIM, the band benefited from bigger budgets without surrendering any of their anarchic spirit. Having Tommy Ramone as producer surely helped in this regard, but even more important to the success of the album – named by Rolling Stone as one of the 500 greatest of all time – was Paul Westerberg's continuing growth as a songwriter. “Kiss Me On The Bus,” “Bastards Of Young” and “Here Comes A Regular” evoke romantic abandon, generational anger and late-night loneliness with rare nuance, and the band rises to equal heights with powerful performances. To celebrate bassist Tommy Stinson's birthday, we'll turn the dial to the left and give TIM another listen.
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Jeff Beck, Live + (Album of the Day)
Monday, October 5, 2015
Jeff Beck shows he continues to push the envelope of musical innovation with LIVE +. The latest release from the two-time Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, LIVE + samples concerts from last year's hugely successful double-bill tour with ZZ TOP. Backed by vocalist Jimmy Hall, bassist Rhonda Smith, drummer Jonathan Joseph and guitarist Nicolas Meier. Beck dives deep into his five-decade-strong catalog to come up with 14 spellbinding live performances, including TRUTH's “Morning Dew,” “Superstition” “Hammerhead” and a terrific cover of “A Day In The Life.” The “plus” in the title refers to a pair of aggressive new studio recordings, “Tribal” and “My Tiled White Floor,” which show a stark departure from the sound of the legendary axeman's Grammy®-winning 2010 collection, EMOTION & COMMOTION.
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