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It's My Life (Album of the Day)
With their second album, 1984's IT'S MY LIFE, British band Talk Talk continued to grow beyond their synth-pop roots, successfully incorporating live instruments and world music grooves. Following the departure of their original keyboardist, the group was technically a trio, but the arrival of Tim Friese-Greene, who produced the set and co-wrote three of its 9 songs, more than compensates. Highlights include “Dum Dum Girl,” “Such A Shame,” “Does Caroline Know?” and the title track, which would eventually become the group's most successful U.K. single (and would famously be covered by No Doubt years later). Hinting at Talk Talk's future experimentation while remaining accessible, IT'S MY LIFE was a Top Ten hit in much of Europe upon release, and has just been reissued on vinyl here in America.
Shabooh Shoobah (Album of the Day)
As INXS continued its climb to rock stardom, SHABOOH SHOOBAH represents the point where the summit first came into view for the Australian sextet; the 1982 collection was their first to be released worldwide, and reached the upper half of the Billboard 200. INXS was already a powerful live act, and veteran hard rock producer Mark Opitz capitalizes on that energy, giving the group more punch than most of their New Wave contemporaries. The 10 originals show the band members – guitarist Andrew Farriss and singer Michael Hutchence in particular – coming into their own as songwriters, and “The One Thing” and “Don't Change” both charted in America. Hutchence passed away 20 years ago today, and we'll remember the dynamic frontman with SHABOOH SHOOBAH.
Portrait Of Carmen (Album of the Day)
Among the 20th century's most revered jazz vocalists, Carmen McRae recorded nearly 60 albums across four decades, and PORTRAIT OF CARMEN falls near the middle of that illustrious output. Recording sessions for the set, the singer's third for the Atlantic label, began in Los Angeles 50 years ago today, and capture soulful performances informed by the tumultuous changes in the air in 1967. McRae's mastery of phrasing (and occasional subtle irony) is brought to bear on 11 well-chosen tracks ranging from contemporary pop ("Elusive Butterfly"), standards ("Day By Day") and a pair of songs by Gene Di Novi, part of a team of top-flight arrangers and accompanists that also includes such greats as Benny Carter, Buddy Collette and Earl Palmer. On PORTRAIT OF CARMEN, McRae fills a broad musical canvas with passion and sophistication.
Sunshine On Leith (Album of the Day)
The Proclaimers are identical twins Craig and Charlie Reid, and the brothers' hometown in Scotland inspired the name of their second album, SUNSHINE ON LEITH. Sunny vibes pervade most of these stirring 13 songs, whose stripped-down pub rock is enlivened by Scottish folk influences. The track that shines brightest is surely "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" which, some five years after the album's 1988 release, became a No.3 U.S. hit thanks to its inclusion in the Benny & Joon soundtrack. But there's plenty more to enjoy beyond that well-known single, with fine originals like "I'm On My Way," "Oh Jean" and the title track joined by a pair of appealing covers (Steve Earle's "My Old Friend The Blues" and Roger Miller's "King Of The Road"). SUNSHINE ON LEITH was re-released last month on vinyl, and remains invigorating from beginning to end.
Hallowed Ground (Album of the Day)
The average band would've followed up a successful first album with something similar, but Violent Femmes are hardly average, and HALLOWED GROUND is distinct from the trio's classic debut but just as engrossing. Cut at New York's Secret Sound Studio with producer Mark Van Hecke, the 1984 Slash set features cathartic folk-punk tinged with dark Americana, and opener "Country Death Song" sets the tone for the Femmes' approach here. To judge from such harrowing originals as "Never Tell," singer-songwriter Gordon Gano still carries scars from his religious upbringing (his father was a Baptist minister), and the brisk rhythms of bassist Brian Ritchie and drummer Victor DeLorenzo add to the songs' impact. HALLOWED GROUND stands as one of the 1980s' starkest and most powerful alternative rock albums.
San Siro 2007 (Album of the Day)
Among the most successfully pop vocalists in Italy, Laura Pausini was cutting records before she got her high school diploma, and has so far sold more than 70 million albums worldwide, singing in Italian and Spanish. On June 2, 2007, Pausini became the first female artist to sell out the San Siro soccer stadium in Milan, a performance released on CD and DVD as SAN SIRO 2007. The singer–songwriter's second live collection features songs from her two most recent albums along with medleys of hits, offering an excellent distillation of her career to that point. The mezzo-soprano is in superb form, the 70,000-strong crowd appreciative and the sound pristine throughout – despite a rainstorm during the concert. SAN SIRO 2007 was released 10 years ago today, and if you're curious about the global phenomenon that is Laura Pausini, it's a good place to start.
THE WARNER BROS. ALBUMS [1974-1983] (Album of the Day)
Recently named the greatest stand-up comic of all time by Rolling Stone, Richard Pryor blazed a trail that was profane, profound and hilarious. Though perhaps most famous for his film and television work, Pryor’s recordings are an even richer legacy, and THE WARNER BROS. ALBUMS (1974-1983) capture him at his peak. The six albums he cut for the label – THAT NIGGER’S CRAZY, …IS IT SOMETHING I SAID, BICENTENNIAL NIGGER, WANTED: LIVE IN CONCERT, LIVE ON THE SUNSET STRIP and HERE AND NOW – brim with razor-sharp observations on race relations and Pryor’s personal life, introduced such characters as Mudbone and earned 4 Grammy Awards. Richard Pryor was born on this day in 1940, and we'll remember the comedy great with another spin of THE WARNER BROS. ALBUMS (1974-1983).
Alive 2007 (Album of the Day)
Daft Punk are among the greatest showmen in electronic music, a fact underlined by ALIVE 2007. The French duo’s second live album was drawn from their concert at the Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy in France on June 14, 2007, and features the robot rockers manipulating and reworking such studio favorites as “Da Funk,” “Around The World” and “One More Time.” The double-length collection earned Grammy Awards for Best Electronic Album and Best Electronic Single (“Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger”) and acclaim from such outlets as Pitchfork, which called it “the ultimate Daft Punk mixtape.” Released in the U.S. ten years ago today, ALIVE 2007 puts you in a front-row seat at one of the most exciting techno performances of recent memory.
Jade To The Max (Album of the Day)
Having grown up on jazz, Motown and gospel, vocalists Tonya Kelly, Joi Marshall and Di Reed – known collectively as Jade - could make just about anything sound good. On JADE TO THE MAX, the R&B trio’s 1992 debut album for Giant, the ladies also have top-notch production and material to work with. Hitmaker/mentor Vassal Benford penned nearly half of the 11 songs here with co-producer Ron Spearman, including three Top 40 singles: "I Wanna Love You," "One Woman" and the supremely catchy “Don’t Walk Away.” If new jack swing is your thing, the platinum-selling JADE TO THE MAX remains among the gems of the era.
Running On Empty (Album of the Day)
Rock & Roll Hall Of Famer Jackson Browne drew upon years of experience onstage and off for his 1977 Asylum release RUNNING ON EMPTY. If the cover art (a drum kit on a road heading to the horizon) isn't already a tip-off, this is a concept album about touring – and one of the best and most unusual live albums ever made. None of these ten songs had appeared on any of Jackson's previous albums, and in addition to concert performances, the collection includes impromptu recordings made backstage, on buses and in hotel rooms during one of the singer-songwriter's cross-country treks. With such old hands as guitarist David Lindley, bassist Leland Sklar and drummer Russ Kunkel in the band, the proceedings have a loose, easy feel to them, even when the material touches on the darker side of life on the road. Released 40 years ago today, RUNNING ON EMPTY brought Browne a pair of Grammy nominations (including Album of the Year) as well as commercial success; the title anthem and “The Load Out/Stay” were both hit singles, while the album reached #3 on the chart.