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Anthem of the Sun (Album of the Day)
The Grateful Dead's second studio collection, 1968's ANTHEM OF THE SUN, was an unprecedented hybrid of studio and live recordings. It also marked a departure for the band, as they began to channel their creativity into longer jams on songs like “Alligator” and “Caution (Do Not Stop On Tracks)” – two concert staples of the Dead’s early days. As band archivist David Lemieux notes, “This is one of the most thrilling albums the Grateful Dead ever produced, mixing portions of live recordings from the first six months of Mickey's tenure with the band, along with studio experimentations that would hint at where the Dead would go when they started recording to 16-track tape the following year.” ANTHEM OF THE SUN captures the legendary group at the summit of psychedelic music.
Pretties for You (Album of the Day)
When Phoenix, AZ garage band The Nazz relocated to L.A. and renamed themselves Alice Cooper, opportunity knocked in the person of Frank Zappa, who signed the quintet to his Straight Records label. The band's debut album, PRETTIES FOR YOU, followed in June 1969, and its spontaneity and eccentric arrangements reflect the psychedelic spirit of the time (Syd Barrett-era Pink Floyd, with whom the group hung out, was an influence). Though the big hits were still a couple of years away, you can hear one in embryonic form: “Reflected” would later be rewritten as “Elected.” On this day in 1969, Alice Cooper opened for Led Zeppelin at Hollywood's Whisky A Go Go, and PRETTIES FOR YOU is a snapshot of the band before another move (to Detroit) put their career into high gear.
We are Family (Album of the Day)
Sister Sledge already had a couple of studio sets under their belts when they released WE ARE FAMILY, and it stands as not just the group's finest, but one of the greatest longplayers of the disco era. The title track became a No.2 hit and remains an anthem of pride and solidarity; opener “He's the Greatest Dancer” also reached the Top Ten (the album itself went platinum). Philadelphia siblings Kathy, Debbie, Joni and Kim Sledge harmonize like angels and each gets a chance to sing lead, and the sisters get a huge assist from Chic's Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers, who wrote and produced these 8 tracks. Rogers once declared that “pound for pound, I think WE ARE FAMILY is our best album hands down,” and it's tough to argue with that assessment.
Ronnie Hawkins (Album of the Day)
Though he was born in Arkansas, Ronnie Hawkins is revered as one of the founding fathers of rock 'n' roll in Canada, which the performer has called home since the mid-1960s. Recorded in New York in 1959, his eponymous debut for Roulette Records is an effective mix of pop and rockabilly that includes a pair of minor hit singles in “Forty Days” and “Mary Lou.” While his longtime group The Hawks had at this point only gone through a few permutations, Levon Helm is here on drums several years before Bob Dylan would help turn Ronnie's backing musicians into The Band. “Mr. Dynamo” turns 87 today, and we'll give RONNIE HAWKINS another listen to wish him a happy birthday.
Hunky Dory (Album of the Day)
David Bowie himself recognized HUNKY DORY as a turning point in his career: “I guess it provided me, for the first time in my life, with an actual audience – I mean, people actually coming up to me and saying, 'Good album, good songs.'” Brilliant is more like it - “Changes,” “Oh! You Pretty Things” and “Life On Mars?” remain among Bowie's most enduring recordings. Though Mick Ronson's guitar work is less prominent than the keyboard playing here (by Yes' Rick Wakeman), the collection is nonetheless a milestone of glam rock – flamboyant and anthemic, even if it's not as loud as follow-up ZIGGY STARDUST. To mark the 50th anniversary of the seminal set, a limited-edition picture disc of HUNKY DORY is now available.
Low (Album of the Day)
The fast life in Los Angeles was taking a serious toll on David Bowie by the mid-1970s; fortunately the singer-songwriter saw the danger signs and opted for a new career in a new town, moving to Europe. Recorded in France and Berlin, LOW reflects the influence of krautrock and ambient music, with Brian Eno a key collaborator along with producer Tony Visconti (whose use of an Eventide H910 Harmonizer created the set's distinctive drum sound). The 1977 collection is split between a side of shorter art-rock songs (the classic “Sound and Vision”) and a side of atmospheric, predominantly instrumental tracks (“Warszawa”), a combination that label executives initially balked at releasing. Yet the album reached the Top 10 in England and just missed it in America, and outlets such as Pitchfork, Q and Paste now cite it as one of the decade's greatest. David Bowie was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on this day in 1996, and the radical self-reinvention of LOW is one of the reasons why.
Green Onions (Album of the Day)
While the years between the heyday of Elvis Presley and the arrival of The Beatles are often thought of as a fallow period, there was still a lot of wonderful music being made, much of it by girl or instrumental groups. One of the finest of the latter was Booker T & The MG's, with Hammond organ great Booker T. Jones fronting a band whose name was both a play on the popular car and their status as a “Memphis Group”: guitarist Steve Cropper, bassist Donald “Duck” Dunn and drummer Al Jackson, Jr. The quartet went on to back such '60s soul royalty as Otis Redding and Sam & Dave as well as scoring a number of hits on their own – none greater than “Green Onions,” an instro that reached #3 on the pop chart and opens the quartet's first album. While that song's simmering keyboard work and lean guitar riff may be the set's most recognizable music, the other 11 tracks on the debut are equally impressive – nearly 60 years after its original release, GREEN ONIONS remains as tasty as ever.
Tadpoles (Album of the Day)
Masters of satire and pastiche, musical mischief makers The Bonzo Dog Band reside somewhere near the intersection of The Beatles and Monty Python. In fact, if you watch Magical Mystery Tour closely, you'll see the Bonzos performing, and Paul McCartney returned the favor by producing (under the pseudonym Apollo C. Vermouth) “I'm the Urban Spaceman,” the most famous track on TADPOLES. Future Elton John producer Gus Dudgeon handles most of the rest on the 1969 collection, a mix of Neil Innes and Viv Stanshall originals, pre-WWII oldies, and songs from the group's appearances on the British TV show Do Not Adjust Your Set. Bonzos drummer “Legs” Larry Smith was born on this day in 1944, and in lieu of a 21-gun salute, we'll turn up the volume on TADPOLES.
The Last DJ (Album of the Day)
After three years away, THE LAST DJ finds Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers in a fighting mood – the title single and such tracks as “Money Becomes King” take direct aim at corporate greed run rampant in the music industry. While that's the most unmistakable message here, the newly minted Rock and Roll Hall of Famers had other things on their minds as well on the 2002 collection, as beautifully crafted songs including “Dreamville,” “Like a Diamond” and “You and Me” make clear. Lindsey Buckingham and Jon Brion lend their talents to the Warner Bros. set, and the Heartbreakers (with original bassist Ron Blair returning) provide their customary instrumental brilliance. Guitarist Mike Campbell co-produced THE LAST DJ, and we'll cue the album up now to wish him a happy birthday.
Livin' On the Fault Line (Album of the Day)
One of the great crossover promotions in TV history occurred on this day in 1978, when the Doobie Brothers appeared on the sitcom “What’s Happening.” Benefiting from the exposure was the band's seventh album, LIVIN ON THE FAULT LINE, which reached the Billboard Top 10. Though co-founder Tom Johnston participated in the recording sessions, at this point he's surrendered the reins to Patrick Simmons and Michael McDonald, who rise to the occasion with such originals as the title track, “Echoes of Love” and “You Belong To Me” (co-written with Carly Simon). Jazz and R&B - including an outstanding Motown cover - are prominent throughout the 1977 Warner Bros. collection, which was produced by the estimable Ted Templeman. If you think of the Doobies as just a singles band, LIVIN ON THE FAULT LINE will shake up that preconception.