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Lessons In Living [Live At Montreux] (Album of the Day)
Though ever-busy as a live performer, Mose Allison rarely ventured into the recording studio during the late '70s and early '80s, making this fine concert set all the more valuable. LESSONS IN LIVING was cut at the Montreux Jazz Festival with a stellar backing band including Jack Bruce (bass), Billy Cobham (drums), Eric Gale (guitar) and Lou Donaldson (saxophone), all of whom get a chance to shine on these nine tracks. Allison's voice and piano playing are in peak form as well, and the man's understated cool comes through perfectly on a mix of classics (“Your Mind Is On Vacation”), recent songs (“Middle Class White Boy”) and re-imagined standards (“You Are My Sunshine”). LESSONS IN LIVING now celebrates its 35th anniversary, and it still qualifies as a master class in blues-oriented jazz.
Third Eye Blind (20th Anniversary) (Album of the Day)
Third Eye Blind made a huge splash in 1997, scoring a #1 Modern Rock hit with their first single, "Semi-Charmed Life" (later named Modern Rock Track of the Year at the Billboard Music Awards). It paved the way for the San Francisco alt-rockers' eponymous debut album, which boasted several more major hits - "Graduate," "How's It Going To Be," "Losing A Whole Year" and "Jumper" - and has been certified six-times Platinum in the U.S. by the RIAA. The new THIRD EYE BLIND: 20TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION adds a disc of unreleased tracks to the smash original, including demos, the band's cover of the Velvet Underground classic "Heroin," and two new recordings of songs that were written for the THIRD EYE BLIND album, but were never fully realized in the studio until now.
Dusty in Memphis (Album of the Day)
With her group The Springfields and solo, Dusty Springfield recorded a string of pop hits in the 1960s to emerge as one of Britain's finest female vocalists. But she'd always loved R&B, and after signing with Atlantic Records, she decamped to Tennessee with the label's Jerry Wexler, Arif Mardin and Tom Dowd to make a full album in the style. DUSTY IN MEMPHIS features backing vocals by The Sweet Inspirations and instrumentation by the Memphis Cats (both of whom worked with Elvis Presley), and tracks like “Just A Little Lovin',” “The Windmills of Your Mind” and the Top Ten hit “Son of a Preacher Man” simmer and sizzle with soul. Cited by the likes of Rolling Stone, VH1, NME and Mojo as one of the 100 greatest albums of all time, DUSTY IN MEMPHIS has just been reissued on 180-gram vinyl.
Ain't Love Grand (Deluxe) (Album of the Day)
Released 32 years ago this month, AIN'T LOVE GRAND is as sarcastic a title as you're likely to find in the X discography - released just after singer-songwriters Exene and John Doe got divorced, the Elektra collection is filled with emotional turmoil. The set proved transitional in other ways, too, being the final studio album with original guitarist Billy Zoom. And after four albums produced by Ray Manzarek, the quartet brought '80s metal specialist Michael Wagener behind the boards for these sessions. For all the changes, the songwriting remains as brilliant as ever, with highlights including “What's Wrong With Me,” “My Goodness” and minor hit “Burning House Of Love” (which earned the group an appearance on TV's American Bandstand). The Deluxe Edition of AIN'T LOVE GRAND adds four bonus tracks, including demo and extended versions of album cuts and a cover of The Replacements' “I Will Dare.”
Ride The Lightning (Album of the Day)
With their second studio album, lightning struck for Metallica – released on this day in 1984, RIDE THE LIGHTNING would earn the band a label deal with Elektra and set them on the path to heavy metal stardom. Cut in Copenhagen, Denmark with co-producer Flemming Rasmussen, the collection was a major step forward from the quartet's debut; the arrangements display greater harmonic complexity, and James Hetfield's lyrics have broadened in scope to touch upon social issues including the terrors of modern war (“For Whom The Bell Tolls”) and capital punishment (the title track). Metallica's bold sonic experimentation was all the more impressive given that the band's gear had been stolen three weeks before they hit Denmark, and tour commitments gave them less than a month in the studio. Despite these hurdles, RIDE THE LIGHTNING went on to become a thrash metal milestone.
Trane: The Atlantic Collection (Remastered) (Album of the Day)
An outside-the-box thinker with extraordinary talent, John Coltrane made boundary-shattering music that continues to impact and influence people around the world. The new anthology TRANE: THE ATLANTIC COLLECTION features recordings the saxophonist made for Atlantic Records between 1959 and 1961, a time when Coltrane was moving away from the life of a sideman and embracing the role of bandleader. These nine tracks include some of his finest work, such as the wise blues of "Equinox," a bright, swinging version of "My Shining Hour," the exuberant "Giant Steps" and the hit single "My Favorite Things." With the release of the recent Chasing Trane documentary, this is an ideal time to discover (or rediscover) John Coltrane, and TRANE: THE ATLANTIC COLLECTION is a superb encapsulation of the revolutionary music of the "heavyweight champion" of jazz.
Groovin' (Mono) (Album of the Day)
Released a half-century ago today, GROOVIN' shows The Young Rascals reaching musical maturity; it would be the final album the New York quartet released before dropping “Young” from their name. The 11 tracks on the Atlantic collection neatly bridge the gap between the garage and blue-eyed soul of their first recordings and the psychedelic and progressive sounds in the air in 1967. As adventurous as it was, the set was still packed with hits, including Top Ten singles “How Can I Be Sure,” “A Girl Like You” and the No.1 smash title track, which radiates feel-good summertime vibes as well as any record ever made. To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Summer of Love, the Gold-certified GROOVIN' has just been reissued on vinyl in its original mono mix.
Amandla (Album of the Day)
Any list of the five greatest figures in jazz history needs to include Miles Davis, and the trumpeter's near half-century career came to a close with a string of albums for Warner Bros. The 1989 collection AMANDLA shows Miles' sense of the pop zeitgeist was as strong as ever; these 8 tracks are informed by hip-hop and world music as well as jazz. Always a magnet for talent, Davis is backed by such great players as saxophonist Kenny Garrett, keyboardist George Duke and multi-instrumentalist Marcus Miller, who also serves as arranger. Highlights include “Big Time,” the title track and “Mr. Pastorius,” a tribute to the legendary bassist that features horn work reminiscent of Davis' Columbia-era classics. Inventive and consistently rewarding, AMANDLA is the sound of a true visionary at work.
In The Nick Of Time (Album of the Day)
After years as one of L.A.'s top session singers, Nicolette Larson scored a Top 10 hit with “Lotta Love,” and built on that success with her second album, IN THE NICK OF TIME. The 1979 Warner Bros. collection is a more polished affair than her debut, and applies Larson's appealing voice to a variety of material including the dancefloor-friendly "Dancin' Jones," the Latin-tinged "Rio De Janeiro Blue," a fine version of Karla Bonoff's "Isn't It Always Love" and a Top 40 duet with Michael McDonald, "Let Me Go, Love.” The Doobie Brother is not the only musical luminary heard in support; producer Ted Templeman also enlisted guest performances by Van Dyke Parks, guitarist Ronnie Montrose and a couple of Little Feat members. Nicolette's many friends paid tribute to the late singer in a star-studded concert 20 years ago today; we'll remember her now with IN THE NICK OF TIME.
Zebra (Album of the Day)
Formed in New Orleans in the mid-1970s, Zebra relocated to Long Island in pursuit of their dreams, and earned a contract with New York-based Atlantic Records. ZEBRA became one of the fastest-selling debuts in the label's history, and one listen shows why – it's first-class hard rock with strong Led Zeppelin influences. Produced by Jack Douglas, the 1983 collection is packed with great songs, all but a version of “Slow Down” penned by frontman Randy Jackson. “Tell Me What You Want” and “Who's Behind the Door?” were both radio hits and “Take Your Fingers From My Hair” would later be covered by Dream Theater. The trio's biggest commercial success, ZEBRA features catchy progressive metal sure to please headbangers of every stripe.