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Hotel California (Album of the Day)
Friday, January 15, 2016
One of the signature releases of the 1970s, HOTEL CALIFORNIA became Eagles' third No.1 album on this day in 1977. Graduating from the peaceful, easy feelings of the singer-songwriter era, the band got some extra rock punch with the addition of former James Gang axeman Joe Walsh, whose guitar duels here with Don Felder still dazzle. The product of eight painstaking months in the studio, the collection's craftsmanship shows in such singles as “Life In The Fast Lane,” “New Kid In Town” and the title track - the latter two both No.1 hits. With lyrical insight to match its professional sheen and success (more than 16 million copies sold in the U.S. alone), HOTEL CALIFORNIA shows Eagles soaring to their greatest heights.
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The Complete Warner Recordings (Album of the Day)
Thursday, January 14, 2016
Born on this day in 1938, Allen Toussaint was a songwriter and producer par excellence, whose name (or “Naomi Neville” pseudonym) can be found in the credits of Crescent City classics by Ernie K-Doe, Lee Dorsey, the Meters, Dr. John and many others. But Toussaint's own releases, if less well known, are just as distinctive and well-crafted, a fact borne out by THE COMPLETE WARNER RECORDINGS. The performer cut three superb solo albums for the label in the 1970s - SOUTHERN NIGHTS, LIFE, LOVE AND FAITH and MOTION, and they're here in their entirety on this double-disc Rhino Handmade set, along with 10 previously unreleased live tracks from the era. As classy as it is funky, THE COMPLETE WARNER RECORDINGS is essential listening for any fan of New Orleans music.
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Live (Album of the Day)
Wednesday, January 13, 2016
A singer, songwriter, keyboardist and arranger, Donny Hathaway was among the most gifted figures in 1970s R&B, even if he was sometimes overshadowed by Roberta Flack, a friend and frequent duet partner. With one side recorded at L.A.'s Troubadour club and the other at New York's The Bitter End, LIVE is the ideal showcase for Hathaway's many talents. The 1972 Atlantic collection shows him with a top-flight soul-jazz band working the crowds masterfully on original songs (“The Ghetto,” “We're Still Friends”) and revelatory covers (Marvin Gaye's “What's Going On,” John Lennon's “Jealous Guy”). Donny Hathaway was just 33 when he died (on this day in 1979), but the inviting performances on LIVE are enough to ensure that he'll be remembered for decades to come.
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Agent Provocateur (Album of the Day)
Monday, January 11, 2016
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Please: Further Listening 1984-1986 (Album of the Day)
Monday, January 11, 2016
Chris Lowe and Neil Tennant met in a London electronics shop in 1981 and have since become the most successful duo in U.K. pop history as the Pet Shop Boys. Following sessions in New York with Hi-NRG producer Bobby Orlando, the pair set to work with Stephen Hague behind the boards for their debut album, PLEASE. All four of the album’s singles – “West End Girls,” “Love Comes Quickly,” “Opportunities (Let’s Make Lots Of Money),” and “Suburbia” – were, to borrow the title of the music magazine Tennant once edited, “smash hits,” and “West End Girls” became the Boys' first U.K. No.1 on this day in 1986. The expanded and remastered PLEASE: FURTHER LISTENING 1984-1986 adds a bonus disc of B-sides, dance mixes and unreleased cuts to the original techno-pop classic.
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A Gift Of Love (Album of the Day)
Friday, January 8, 2016
Since her 1972 debut, Bette Midler has sold more than 30 million albums worldwide and become only the second female singer to score a Top 10 album in five consecutive decades. Throughout her career, Midler has demonstrated a remarkable musical range, but as the new Rhino collection A GIFT OF LOVE bears out, many of her signature songs have focused on matters of the heart. Drawing from the singer's studio albums and soundtracks recorded for Atlantic Records and Warner Bros. between 1976 and 2014, the 18-track set is both poignant and passionate. Of course some of her most famous hits are here: “The Rose” from the 1979 film of the same name, the Top Ten “From A Distance” and the #1 Grammy-winning smash “Wind Beneath My Wings.” But the lesser-known songs are equally affecting, such as her cover of Marshall Crenshaw's “My Favorite Waste Of Time” or “Every Road Leads Back To You” from the FOR THE BOYS soundtrack. With A GIFT OF LOVE, Bette Midler will sing her way into your heart.
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Paranoid (Album of the Day)
Thursday, January 7, 2016
Black Sabbath's emergence from Birmingham, England, at the end of the 1960s made the demise of that decade's utopian outlook deafeningly clear. With their second album, 1970's PARANOID, the quartet tackled such cheery topics as nuclear war (“Electric Funeral”), drug-addicted soldiers (“Hand Of Doom”) and violent skinheads (“Fairies Wear Boots”). The music was as powerful as the lyrics, with Tony Iommi's crunching riffs, Ozzy Osbourne's banshee wail and the driving rhythms of bassist Geezer Butler and drummer Bill Ward truly hitting their stride. Despite minimal airplay, the collection topped the U.K. chart and turned “Iron Man,” “War Pigs” and the title track into signature songs for Sabbath. PARANOID was released in the U.S. 45 years ago today, and it remains one of the all-time great heavy metal albums.
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An Introduction To Syd Barrett (Album of the Day)
Wednesday, January 6, 2016
As the leading creative light of Pink Floyd's original lineup, Syd Barrett helped write the book on British psychedelia in the 1960s. The notoriously unstable singer, songwriter and guitarist left that band after its debut album for a solo career that was also brief, but AN INTRODUCTION TO SYD BARRETT reveals that this crazy diamond once shone brightly. The 2010 collection is the first to combine Pink Floyd songs with tracks from THE MADCAP LAUGHS and BARRETT, connecting the dots between early group singles “Arnold Layne” and “See Emily Play” and solo sides like “Octopus” and “Baby Lemonade.” Pink Floyd's David Gilmour assembled this 18-track set, including vibrant new remixes, and AN INTRODUCTION TO SYD BARRETT serves as a loving tribute to the gifted musical eccentric, who was born 70 years ago today,
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The Immaculate Collection (Album of the Day)
Tuesday, January 5, 2016
Madonna's status as one of the most successful female artists in history becomes immediately understandable with one listen to THE IMMACULATE COLLECTION. Her first greatest hits set, this 17-track compilation is a near-definitive look at the superstar's first flash of fame. The Material Girl dominated the radio with these songs, including such No.1 smashes as “Like A Virgin,” “Crazy For You,” “Papa Don't Preach” and “Justify My Love,” which topped the U.S. chart on this day in 1991. Smart, sexy and undeniably catchy, this endlessly listenable mix of ballads and dance-pop hits sold more than 30 million copies worldwide to become one of the best-selling solo artist compilations ever. THE IMMACULATE COLLECTION is an essential part of any collection of popular music.
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Substance (Album of the Day)
Monday, January 4, 2016
Joy Division's SUBSTANCE served the same purpose as a similarly titled collection did for successor band New Order – to gather the group's single and otherwise non-LP sides together in one convenient package. Given the exacting standards of the Manchester post-punk quartet (and producer Martin Hannett), this “odds & sods” set is as stunning and essential as the band's two official studio albums. Spanning 1977 to 1980, the 17 tracks include the famed “Ideal for Living” EP, as well as such seminal singles as “Atmosphere,” “Transmission,” the 12" version of “She's Lost Control” and the group's swan song, “Love Will Tear Us Apart.” SUBSTANCE shows Joy Division at the peak of its powers, and is the perfect way to celebrate the 60th birthday of the band's guitarist/keyboardist, Bernard Sumner.
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