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No Secrets (Album of the Day)
Veteran producer Richard Perry brought Carly Simon to London's Trident Studios to record her third studio LP, and the third time proved a charm for the performer – NO SECRETS was her commercial breakthrough. The Elektra release was the #1 album in America this week in 1973, going Gold (and later Platinum) largely on the strength of “You're So Vain,” which topped the singles chart (and later earned two Grammy nominations). But there are several other outstanding originals here, including “The Right Thing To Do” and “We Have No Secrets,” as well as some famous guests like Mick Jagger, Lowell George, Nicky Hopkins and James Taylor, who was proposing marriage to Simon right around this time. One of Carly's best albums, NO SECRETS is truly one of the gems of the singer-songwriter era.
90125 (Deluxe) (Album of the Day)
After an impressive run during the 1970s, most observers gave Yes up for dead when the British group splintered in 1981. But 90125 would prove a remarkable comeback for the progressive rock greats, as singer Jon Anderson and keyboardist Tony Kaye returned to the fold after absences and Trevor Rabin joined on guitar. Recorded in London with producer Trevor Horn, the Atco collection reinvents Yes for the MTV era, adding synth pop and hard rock touches to their sound. The nine outstanding originals include a Best Rock Instrumental Performance Grammy winner in “Cinema” and a certified smash in “Owner Of A Lonely Heart,” which was the #1 song in the U.S. this week in 1984. With more than 3 million copies sold, 90125 is Yes' most successful album in America – as well as one of their all-time best.
Desperado (Album of the Day)
With Eagles' second longplayer, DESPERADO, the band millions around the world would come to know and love begins to emerge more clearly. A concept album inspired by the exploits of the Doolin-Dalton gang, the set's most famous songs - “Tequila Sunrise” and the title track - were collaborations between drummer Don Henley and guitarist/keyboardist Glenn Frey (who passed away on this day in 2016), a partnership that would eventually define the band. Yet with Bernie Leadon's masterful picking prominent throughout, the 1973 collection 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.
Homework (Album of the Day)
Robotic duo Daft Punk released their debut, HOMEWORK, on this day in 1997 in the U.K., and electronic dance music hasn't been the same since. “We made the record at home, very cheaply, very quickly, and spontaneously, trying to do cool stuff,” noted Thomas Bangalter, who with bandmate Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo had been focused on making singles before realizing they had enough strong tracks to fill an album. Among the instant classics here are “Alive,” “Around The World” and “Da Funk” - the latter two both topped Billboard's Hot Dance/Club Play chart. Rolling Stone hailed the collection as the greatest EDM album of all time, and you too will give HOMEWORK an A+.
Rumours (Album of the Day)
Originally part of the mid-‘60s British blues boom, Fleetwood Mac decamped to California in the mid-‘70s to become one of the most successful AOR bands in history. With a hit self-titled album under their belts already, the “classic” lineup of Mick Fleetwood, John & Christine McVie, Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks topped it with their second, RUMOURS. The 1977 collection was recorded while two romantic relationships within the band were disintegrating – a situation that would’ve produced disaster in most cases but produced a masterpiece in this one, as the raw emotions were channeled into songs like “Go Your Own Way,” “Don't Stop” and the band’s first number one smash, “Dreams.” RUMOURS garnered wide critical praise upon release, earning the Grammy for Album of the Year, and has now sold more than 40 million copies worldwide.
First Take (Album of the Day)
Soul music's heyday was near an end, jazz was creeping into the mainstream and singer-songwriters like James Taylor and Joni Mitchell had just launched their careers when Roberta Flack issued her debut. All of those influences can be heard on FIRST TAKE; opener “Compared To What” shows she can belt 'em out like Aretha, and though none of the eight selections are self-penned, choices like Leonard Cohen's “Hey, That's No Way to Say Goodbye” reflect her taste for intimate, confessional material. But the jazz influence may be the strongest, with noted producer Joel Dorn at the helm and master instrumentalists like bassist Ron Carter in the band. And it was jazz buff Clint Eastwood who turned the collection's “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” into a hit by putting it in his film Play Misty For Me. FIRST TAKE remains a potent reminder of Roberta Flack's singular talents as a vocalist and pianist.
Women and Children First (Album of the Day)
After two albums that put Van Halen at the head of the class for party-hearty hard rock, WOMEN AND CHILDREN FIRST showed the quartet to be capable of much more. Their first collection of all-original songs, the 1980 Warner Bros. set moves confidently from classic anthems (“And the Cradle Will Rock...,” “Everybody Wants Some!!”) to rootsy goofs (“Take Your Whiskey Home”) to power balladry (“In a Simple Rhyme”). Producer Ted Templeman and the boys match the fine material with ambitious arrangements including greater use of overdubs and keyboards and a rare guest vocal (from Nicolette Larson). A triple-Platinum, Top 10 hit, WOMEN AND CHILDREN FIRST has been named one of the greatest metal albums of all time by the likes of Kerrang! and Rolling Stone and we'll crank it up in honor of Eddie Van Halen, born on this day in 1955.
"Live" Full House (Album of the Day)
The J. Geils Band hailed from Boston but found Detroit particularly welcoming and cut their first concert album at the Motor City's Cinderella Ballroom in April, 1972. FULL HOUSE shows that the sextet's reputation as one of the greatest live bands of the era was well-deserved. Along with one top-notch original (“Hard Drivin' Man”), the group make blues and R&B favorites like “Serves You Right to Suffer” and “First I Look at the Purse” their own with remarkably energetic workouts. While vocalist Peter Wolf and harp player Magic Dick merit special mention, the entire band is on fire throughout this set. Keyboardist Seth Justman was born on this day in 1951, and we'll kick off the birthday party with the full-tilt rock 'n' roll that is “LIVE” FULL HOUSE.
Live at the Fillmore (Album of the Day)
“We all feel this might be the highpoint of our time together as a group,” exclaimed Tom Petty at the end of a 20-show run in San Francisco in 1997, and LIVE AT THE FILLMORE makes a convincing case for that. While such familiar originals as “American Girl” and “Free Fallin’” are here, the set lists changed every night and the new 4-CD collection also features an eclectic selection of covers, paying tribute to the artists and songs that shaped Petty’s love of music as he was growing up. With such guests as Byrds frontman Roger McGuinn and blues legend John Lee Hooker sitting in, the band is clearly having the time of their lives. Heartbreakers Mike Campbell and Benmont Tench helped put this outstanding album together, and we'll fire up LIVE AT THE FILLMORE (1997) now to wish Campbell a happy birthday.
Bad Luck Streak in Dancing School (Album of the Day)
On the heels of his biggest hit, Warren Zevon delivered BAD LUCK STREAK IN DANCING SCHOOL, an album whose ambition, freewheeling eccentricity and emotional power personify all that was great about the singer-songwriter. In its cover of “A Certain Girl,” the 1980 Elektra collection featured another successful single, but it's the originals here that really draw blood: the mournful “Empty-Handed Heart” (a duet with Linda Ronstadt), the hilarious “Gorilla, You're a Desperado” (with Don Henley and J.D. Souther lurking in the background) and “Jeannie Needs a Shooter” (co-written with Bruce Springsteen) among them. Warren Zevon was born on this day in 1947, and in his honor, we'll give the underrated BAD LUCK STREAK IN DANCING SCHOOL another spin.