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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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Eagles (Remastered) (Album of the Day)
Monday, February 1, 2016
Though it was recorded in London's Olympic Studios (with noted producer Glyn Johns behind the boards), the first Eagles album helped define Southern California country-rock. The 1972 Asylum collection may be best known for its laid-back Top 40 singles - “Take it Easy,” “Witchy Woman” and “Peaceful Easy Feeling” - but there's plenty to enjoy beyond the hits, with all four members distinguishing themselves as excellent singers and songwriters. HOTEL CALIFORNIA might have been cited more frequently in remembrances of the late Glenn Frey, but the platinum-selling EAGLES shows that his band's consummate craftsmanship and ear for great songs were there from the very beginning.
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Under The Pink (Deluxe Edition) (Album of the Day)
Friday, January 29, 2016
Tori Amos has sold over 12 million albums, has played over a thousand shows and has had multiple Grammy nominations; the prodigious singer-songwriter touched millions deeply with her arresting melodies, riveting stage presence and heartfelt lyrics. After a striking solo debut in 1992, Amos defied the sophomore slump to release an equally accomplished follow-up, UNDER THE PINK, two years later. The Atlantic collection spotlights piano-led balladry delivered with grunge-rock intensity, and the dozen originals reveal Amos as a master of both memorable singles (“Cornflake Girl,” “God”) and ambitious epics (“Yes, Anastasia”). Named one of the greatest albums of the 1990s by Rolling Stone, UNDER THE PINK is now available in a Deluxe Edition including a bonus disc of B-sides, live tracks and other rarities.
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DAVID LIVE (Album of the Day)
Thursday, January 28, 2016
David Bowie's first concert album, DAVID LIVE, captures a performer legendary for his ch-ch-changes right in the middle of one. Recorded in July 1974 during his support tour for DIAMOND DOGS, the set list is packed with such glam rock anthems as “Suffragette City,” “Rebel Rebel” and “The Jean Genie” (as well as “All The Young Dudes,” which Mott The Hoople had borrowed). But as the cover shot and the venue - Pennsylvania's Tower Theater - suggest, Bowie was on the cusp of a transformation into Philly soul crooner that would soon yield YOUNG AMERICANS. Signs of this new direction can be heard on a version of Eddie Floyd's “Knock On Wood” and in the sultry saxophone work (by David Sanborn and Richard Grando) sprinkled across the double album. The Top Ten, Gold-certified DAVID LIVE illuminates a key transition in the music of rock's greatest chameleon.
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Perfect From Now On (Album of the Day)
Thursday, January 28, 2016
Built To Spill had a couple of indie albums under their belts when they released PERFECT FROM NOW ON on this day in 1997, and the Warner Bros. collection captures the group at a creative peak. Perhaps it was practice that made it perfect: frontman Doug Martsch had originally worked up these eight originals on his own, then rerecorded them with bassist Brett Nelson and drummer Scott Plouf, and then cut the album a third time after the trio's original tapes suffered heatstroke. With their adventurous arrangements and philosophical lyrics, these stretched-out songs border on the psychedelic like the best work of The Flaming Lips, and repeated exposure to such tracks as college radio favorite “I Would Hurt A Fly” will no doubt prove habit-forming. Cited by Pitchfork as one of the 1990s’ best albums, PERFECT FROM NOW ON remains essential listening for alternative rock fans.
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LODGER (Album of the Day)
Wednesday, January 27, 2016
In the late-1970s, David Bowie relocated to Germany (partly for creativity's sake and partly for sobriety's sake), and the three albums he cut in Berlin with Brian Eno are among his most distinctive. LODGER was the last of these, and as one would expect of such an artistic collaboration, it has a strong experimental edge, dabbling with world music, using backwards recordings and employing the players (including guitarists Adrian Belew and Carlos Alomar) in unfamiliar roles. Thematically, the collection offers a global perspective on Western culture, but for all its ambition, the set includes some very accessible songs in “D.J.,” “Look Back In Anger” and “Boys Keep Swinging.” LODGER remains among the most underrated – and rewarding – albums in the Bowie catalog.
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'Hours...' (Album of the Day)
Tuesday, January 26, 2016
For his last album of the 20th century (and last for Virgin Records), David Bowie dialed back the compulsive experimentation to focus on songcraft. Undoubtedly, ‘HOURS…’ broke new ground - it was the first full album by a major artist to debut on the Internet, and one of the tracks incorporated fan-solicited lyrics – but its considerable appeal owes more to the richly emotional territory Bowie explores. Where its predecessor, EARTHLING, raced with nervous energy, this 1999 collection is more relaxed and melodic; from the moving opener “Thursday's Child” to the closing “The Dreamers,” this is a good album to keep a friend serene. Like much of the performer's best work, it features a talented guitarist (Reeves Gabrels) as creative counterweight, but make no mistake: only David Bowie could make maturity sound as cool as it does on ‘HOURS…’
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