Content tagged ''
PopArt: The Hits (Album of the Day)
Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe are among pop’s greatest hit-makers. From the storied UK duo’s very first single, 1984’s instantly classic and iconic “West End Girls” (which eventually hit #1 in both the US and the UK), the Pet Shop Boys have consistently released innovative and thrilling pop music for nearly 40 years. It was November 2003 when the Pet Shop Boys’ top 20 singles(along with a pair of new tracks) were collected on the double-CD compilation PopArt: The Hits. Divided into “Pop” hits on one disc, and “Art” hits on the other, the “Pop” side featured “Always on My Mind,” PSB’s 1987 take on Elvis Presley’s 1972 hit. The group performed their version on Love Me Tender, a 1987 TV special on the ITV network in the UK commemorating the tenth anniversary of Presley's death. The performance was so well received that on December 19, 1987, “Always on My Mind” hit #1 on the UK singles chart, where it stayed for four weeks straight.
Kylie Christmas (Album of the Day)
Australia's reigning pop princess, Kylie Minogue has sold more than 80 million records worldwide, and though it took her a while to get to a holiday album – KYLIE CHRISTMAS was her 13th studio set – the results were worth the wait. Co-produced by her longtime musical director Steve Anderson, the 2015 collection offers a little something for everyone, from time-honored classics (“It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” and “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” bookend the album) to more recent yuletide songs by The Waitresses, Pretenders and Coldplay to such originals as “Christmas Isn't Christmas 'Til You Get Here.” The arrangements are varied as well, and guest stars include Iggy Pop, James Corden and Frank Sinatra (via a vintage recording of “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town”). Have a Merry KYLIE CHRISTMAS this year!
The Most Wonderful Time of the Year (Album of the Day)
Aren't the best presents under the Christmas tree always a surprise? No one would've guessed that Scott Weiland, Grammy-winning lead singer of alt-rock hitmakers Stone Temple Pilots, had a holiday album in him. THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR shows the performer's a soft spot for pop vocalists of decades past with versions of “White Christmas” and “The Christmas Song” that would have made Crosby and Cole nod in admiration. But the 10 tracks here also include a few less-traditional takes on seasonal standards; “O Holy Night” gets some reggae flavor and “Silent Night” a bossa nova beat. A labor of love for the Christmas music he grew up on, Scott Weiland's THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR is pretty wonderful, indeed.
Fandango! (Album of the Day)
With ever-reliable producer Bill Ham at the helm, ZZ Top's fourth album, FANDANGO, builds on the success of TRES HOMBRES with a powerful pairing of live and studio material. Side One was recorded at New Orleans venue The Warehouse, and from the breakneck boogie of “Thunderbird” onward, the Texas trio's manic energy is “captured as it came down - hot, spontaneous and presented to you honestly, without the assistance of studio gimmicks.” The flip side delivers half a dozen killer originals, including two tracks that helped take ZZ Top to the next level: “Heard It on the X” and the immortal “Tush.” Guitarist Billy Gibbons was born on this day in 1949 and we'll wish him a happy birthday with another spin of FANDANGO.
When Christmas Comes Around (Album of the Day)
The original American Idol, a multi-million selling Grammy winner and a popular TV personality, Kelly Clarkson is among contemporary pop's most successful artists, and her WHEN CHRISTMAS COMES AROUND continued the winning streak. The performer's second yuletide collection topped the Billboard Holiday Album chart and strikes the perfect balance between fresh spins on old favorites (“Santa Baby,” “Jingle Bell Rock”) and such originals as lead single “Christmas Isn't Canceled (Just You).” Ariana Grande and Chris Stapleton are among the guest stars on the Atlantic set, though the headliner's strong and versatile voice holds the spotlight throughout. If you're looking for some outstanding seasonal songs, Kelly Clarkson is the one to call WHEN CHRISTMAS COMES AROUND.
Agent Provacateur (Album of the Day)
Three years after Foreigner had conquered the charts with 4, the quartet returned with another smash in AGENT PROVOCATEUR. The 1984 collection sold millions of copies worldwide thanks largely to the strength of hit “I Want To Know What Love Is,” which topped the singles chart on both sides of the Atlantic. While that soaring ballad (pairing Lou Gramm's powerful vocals with the New Jersey Mass Choir) remains impressive, there are several other fine cuts among the album's 10 originals, including “Down On Love,” “Growing Up The Hard Way” and Top 40 single “That Was Yesterday.” Writer-guitarist Mick Jones brought his customary craftsmanship to the production of AGENT PROVOCATEUR, and to celebrate the man's birthday we'll cue up the album again now.
America (Album of the Day)
Gerry Beckley, Dewey Bunnell and Dan Peek met as teenagers in London, where their fathers were stationed with the military. Though one of them was English, the trio christened themselves America, and their sound owes much to the soft rock then becoming popular on the U.S west coast. The band's self-titled debut for Warner Bros., produced by Ian Samwell and Jeff Dexter, features rich harmonies and inventive acoustic guitar work on a fine set of originals including “Sandman” “Three Roses” and “I Need You.” The collection was originally released this month in 1971, but after the group's “Horse With No Name” topped the U.S. singles chart, that track was added to AMERICA, which itself rose to No. 1 and went Platinum.
The Very Best of Curtis Mayfield (Album of the Day)
Curtis Mayfield recorded a string of hits with The Impressions before leaving the influential R&B group at the end of the 1960s for a solo career that produced some of his greatest work. Known as the "Gentle Genius," the singer-songwriter-producer has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice and THE VERY BEST OF CURTIS MAYFIELD focuses on the solo recordings that helped put him there. Allmusic called the collection “the best bet for anyone wanting a concise sampler of Mayfield's groundbreaking funk-soul,” and rightly so – its 16 tracks include such classics as “(Don't Worry) If There's a Hell Below, We're All Going to Go,” “Future Shock” and seminal sides from his SUPERFLY soundtrack.
Under The Blade (1985 Remix) (Album of the Day)
Though comprised of street-toughened New Yorkers, Twisted Sister went to England in 1982 to record their debut album, UNDER THE BLADE. With UFO's Pete Way co-producing, the quintet fit perfectly into the New Wave of British Heavy Metal scene, and the collection rocks ferociously from beginning to end. Drawing on material honed through years of club gigs, frontman Dee Snider delivers a bracing set of originals including “What You Don't Know (Sure Can Hurt You),” “Destroyer” and the title track, and the band tears into them with focused fury. On the heels of Twisted Sister's commercial breakthrough, Atlantic Records issued a remixed version of UNDER THE BLADE in 1985 with extra track “I'll Never Grow Up, Now,” and we'll give the set a spin to wish guitarist Jay Jay French a happy birthday.
Ladykiller (Album of the Day)
Thomas DeCarlo Callaway, aka CeeLo Green, may have caught the public's ear as half of Gnarls Barkley, but the Atlanta-born singer-songwriter's own work is just as irresistible. THE LADY KILLER was CeeLo's first solo set following worldwide smash “Crazy,” and the scores of songs he worked through over a three-year period underline the care that went into the 2010 Elektra collection. Lead single “Fuck You” was another international phenomenon, just missing the top of the Billboard chart and earning a Best Urban/Alternative Performance Grammy; follow-ups included double Grammy winner “Fool for You,” “Bright Lights Bigger City” and “I Want You (Hold Onto Love)." Boasting a conceptual structure like a film score, THE LADY KILLER is much more than the sum of its parts, and remains one of the decade's most compulsively listenable albums.