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Fox Theatre, St. Louis, MO (12/10/71) (Album of the Day)
From the first show the Grateful Dead played in St. Louis in 1968, local fans knew that the Gateway City’s rich musical heritage had a unique way of coaxing the best out of the band. Now available as a 3-CD or 5-LP set, FOX THEATRE, ST. LOUIS, MO (12/10/71) features the original Grateful Dead lineup of Jerry Garcia, Bill Kreutzmann, Phil Lesh, Ron “Pigpen” McKernan and Bob Weir, plus newcomer Keith Godchaux on piano. While the previously unreleased concert includes such Dead classics as “Casey Jones,” “Sugar Magnolia” and “Truckin’” (as well as a Christmastime tip of the hat to native legend Chuck Berry on “Run Rudolph Run”), the jamming is the real treat here, ebbing and flowing like the mighty Mississippi River. FOX THEATRE, ST. LOUIS, MO (12/10/71) shows an inspired band eager to grow and take their fans along for the ride.
Blue Lights in the Basement (Album of the Day)
Always a critical favorite, Roberta Flack had also become a commercial force by the time of her sixth studio album, BLUE LIGHTS IN THE BASEMENT. Accordingly, Atlantic lavished plenty of attention on the 1977 set, recruiting a legion of top instrumentalists (like Hugh McCracken, Ronnie Foster and Steve Gadd) well attuned to the performer's distinctive blend of R&B, jazz and singer-songwriter intimacy. Co-producer Gene McDaniels penned three of the ten tracks, including standouts “Why Don't You Move in with Me” and “25th of Last December,” but it was the Donny Hathaway duet “The Closer I Get to You” that scored on the singles chart, reaching #2. On the album chart, BLUE LIGHTS IN THE BASEMENT made the Top 10, and the richly romantic collection is a great way to warm up a cold evening.
Bad Company (Album of the Day)
While Led Zeppelin cut some of the greatest records in history, the band also helped launch other hitmakers through its label, Swan Song. Among those was U.K. supergroup Bad Company, formed by ex-members of Free, King Crimson and Mott The Hoople. Bad Company's eponymous debut must have had Page and Plant looking over their shoulders as the set soared to No.1 on the chart on its way to platinum sales status. Of the eight tracks on the album, more than half would spend years in rotation on AOR and classic rock radio - “Rock Steady,” “Ready For Love,” “Movin’ On,” the title song and “Can’t Get Enough,” which hit #1 on the Cashbox singles on this day in 1974. Surely the quartet's finest hour, BAD COMPANY remains at the pinnacle of blues-based hard rock.
Long Road Out of Eden (Album of the Day)
To date the final album from one of the most popular bands of the rock era, LONG ROAD OUT OF EDEN is the Eagles doing what they do best. The band's first studio double-length set shows every facet of their sound, from riff-driven rockers (“Frail Grasp on the Big Picture”) to country influenced gems (“How Long”) to peaceful, easy balladry (“I Don't Want to Hear Anymore”), and members Glenn Frey, Don Henley, Joe Walsh and Timothy B. Schmit all get a chance to shine. While the sometimes topical lyrics leave no doubt that this is a contemporary recording, these songs would've been right at home on one of the group's classic albums of the 1970s – particularly when their trademark harmonies kick in. The multi-platinum LONG ROAD OUT OF EDEN peaked at #1 on the Billboard 200 this month in 2007, and it's a career coda worthy of the Rock and Roll Hall of Famers.
Don Juan's Reckless Daughter (Album of the Day)
Nearing the end of her Asylum contract, Joni Mitchell felt the freedom to stretch a bit musically, and the double album DON JUAN'S RECKLESS DAUGHTER was the result. Her love affair with jazz continues on the 1977 collection, which features four members of Weather Report as backing musicians (bassist Jaco Pastorius' playing is simply sublime). But Chaka Khan and Eagle Glenn Frey are also guests – this is a set that's impossible to pigeonhole, particularly when you hit the percussion-driven “The Tenth World” or the side-long “Paprika Plains,” a spoken piece with improvised piano and orchestration. Mitchell's lyrical insight remains strong, and if it's not the usual gateway to the legendary singer-songwriter's work, DON JUAN'S RECKLESS DAUGHTER is a fan favorite for good reason.
Bursting Out (Album of the Day)
Cut during the European leg of their HEAVY HORSES tour, BURSTING OUT is the definitive live Jethro Tull album. With deeper cuts peppered in among such favorites as “Aqualung,” “Thick as a Brick” and “Locomotive Breath,” the song selection touches on blues, folk and progressive rock, showcasing every facet of the U.K. group's music. The well-recorded Chrysalis collection was produced by frontman Ian Anderson, whose flute work - and between-song banter - is terrific throughout, as is Martin Barre's guitar playing and the powerful rhythm section of drummer Barriemore Barlow and bassist John Glascock (who died of congenital heart failure on this day in 1979). Anyone curious about what made Jethro Tull one of the most popular arena attractions of the 1970s need look no further than BURSTING OUT.
Head (Album of the Day)
The Monkees were in a rather strange place in 1968. They'd spent two years as pop stars on the order of The Beatles or The Rolling Stones, but – even though the craftsmanship of their hits frequently rose to that level – never got anything resembling the critical respect accorded those bands. Micky, Davy, Mike and Peter were aware of that disconnect, and the movie HEAD, which premiered this month in 1968, reflected it. The wildly creative film poked fun at the group's “manufactured image” while boasting a killer soundtrack. The last Monkees album before Peter Tork left the band, HEAD includes such gems as “The Porpoise Song,” “Circle Sky” and “As We Go Along.” While not a success on original release, both the film and its music went on to become cult favorites; it may have taken a few decades, but The Monkees have finally gotten the respect they deserved.
The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway (Album of the Day)
Called by Rolling Stone “one of rock's more elaborate, beguiling and strangely rewarding concept albums,” Genesis' THE LAMB LIES DOWN ON BROADWAY was the pinnacle of the U.K. band's progressive rock phase. The double LP would be the group's final release with founding frontman Peter Gabriel, who wrote the set's lyrics about a Puerto Rican gang member named Rael and his journey of self-discovery in New York City. The Atco collection showcases both the group's talent for crafting compelling songs (“Counting Out Time,” “The Carpet Crawlers”) and for inspired instrumental interplay. A personal favorite of both Gabriel and drummer Phil Collins, the gold-certified THE LAMB LIES DOWN ON BROADWAY was released on this day in 1974, and belongs on any good list of the greatest progressive rock albums of all time.
When a Man Loves a Woman (Album of the Day)
Percy Sledge was working in a hospital when he teamed with local DJ Quin Ivy to try his luck making records; the pair succeeded beyond their wildest dreams with “When A Man Loves A Woman.” Improvising lyrics at the microphone, Sledge poured his heart out on the song, which soared to the top of the U.S. singles chart and became one of the most iconic R&B singles of all time. Naturally his label, Atlantic Records, capitalized on the hit with an album, but WHEN A MAN LOVES A WOMAN doesn't play like any cash-in. With simmering sides like “You're Pouring Water On A Drowning Man” and “Put A Little Lovin' On Me” among its 11 tracks, the collection ranks with the best deep Southern soul ever to emerge from Alabama's storied Muscle Shoals studio. Sledge was born on this day in 1940, so we'll give WHEN A MAN LOVES A WOMAN another spin in his honor.
Still (Album of the Day)
Joy Division's catalog is as influential as it is brief; the Manchester quartet cut just two studio albums before the suicide of lead singer Ian Curtis. The posthumous Joy Division collection STILL closed the book on the band with rare material from the post-punk greats. The set was originally a double album with the first disc devoted to studio recordings like “Glass” and the previously unreleased “Dead Souls” (plus a great live version of The Velvet Underground's “Sister Ray”), while the second disc featured the band's final gig at England 's Birmingham University in May 1980. Thanks to successor group New Order (and Curtis biopic Control, released on this day in 2007), Joy Division's stature has only risen in the last four decades, and STILL adds significantly to the group's legacy.