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SWISS MOVEMENT (MONTREUX 30th ANNIVERSARY) (Album of the Day)
That improvisation is the lifeblood of jazz is borne out by SWISS MOVEMENT. Pianist Les McCann and tenor saxophonist Eddie Harris were paired for the first time on this 1969 concert appearance but sound like they’ve been playing together for years. Highlighted by signature song “Compared to What,” this legendary recording sold more than one million copies and helped put Montreux on the international festival map. SWISS MOVEMENT belongs in any serious jazz collection and the painstakingly remastered 30th Anniversary edition features a previously unreleased track ("Kaftan") from the same historic performance.
MAKE IT LAST FOREVER (Album of the Day)
Keith Sweat was singing with a group called Jamilah when he crossed paths with Teddy Riley, keyboard player in another local band, Total Climax. It was a fortuitous meeting; the pair would team to produce Sweat's debut album, MAKE IT LAST FOREVER. The 1987 collection helped inaugurate New Jack Swing with a string of R&B Top 10 hits including the title track, “Something Just Ain't Right” and “I Want Her” (the last of which also reached #5 on the Pop chart). There isn't a dud among the seven originals here, and the cover of The Dramatics' “In The Rain” shows Sweat was a master of romantic slow jams from the get-go. MAKE IT LAST FOREVER is Keith Sweat at his peak, and this triple-Platinum classic is out today on 140-gram Black Ice vinyl in celebration of Black History Month.
SVENGALI (Album of the Day)
Among the most revered arrangers in jazz history, Gil Evans may be best known for his collaborations with Miles Davis but he also released numerous albums of his own. SVENGALI (an anagram of his name) captures the Canadian-born pianist leading an ensemble through half a dozen live performances made in New York City during the summer of 1973. Evans’ broad musical interests and masterful balance of acoustic and electronic instruments are on full display here, from versions of old favorites including “Summertime” and “Blues In Orbit” to a pair of tunes penned by saxophonist Billy Harper (also performing on sax at these dates is a young David Sanborn). SVENGALI is one of Gil Evans’ best releases of the 1970s and is now available on blu-ray audio as part of Rhino’s Quadio series.
HATFUL OF HOLLOW (Album of the Day)
The Smiths' self-titled debut had been in shops for less than a year when this odds-and-ends collection of single sides and radio recordings was released. Yet HATFUL OF HOLLOW is hardly a cash-in or stop-gap release; its 16 tracks underline the remarkable burst of creativity with which the Manchester quartet launched its career. Though not included on the band's proper studio sets, “William, It Was Really Nothing,” “Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now” and “Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want” are nothing short of essential, and the BBC takes of songs like “What Difference Does It Make” or “This Charming Man” equal, if not surpass, the LP versions. HATFUL OF HOLLOW showed The Smiths to be a great singles as well as a great album band, and the 1984 collection has recently been reissued on 180-gram vinyl.
LIVE 1978-1992 (Album of the Day)
Dire Straits’ studio albums set a standard for meticulous craftsmanship, but the U.K. band could also deliver the goods on stage. Out now, the 8-CD LIVE 1978-1992 is the definitive look at the Rock and Roll Hall of Famers in concert. It includes expanded editions of earlier live collections ALCHEMY and ON THE NIGHT (both augmented with unreleased tracks), a clutch of BBC recordings and the 2021 Black Friday EP ENCORES. Best of all is a complete, unreleased December 1979 show from London’s Rainbow, which closes with Thin Lizzy’s Phil Lynott joining Dire Straits on a quartet of rock classics. LIVE 1978-1992 shows that these sultans really could swing.
TRIO (Album of the Day)
Emmylou Harris, Dolly Parton and Linda Ronstadt had each established distinguished singing careers by the mid-1970s when they resolved to record together. The demands of separate careers (and three different record labels) delayed an album release for more than a decade, but TRIO was well worth the wait. Released this month in 1987, the Platinum-selling collection included four Country hits among its 11 tracks (a remake of The Teddy Bears' oldie “To Know Him Is To Love Him” being the most successful), and brought the trio a pair of Grammy Awards. With an outstanding mix of traditional and more recent songs and stellar instrumental support from the likes of Ry Cooder, David Lindley and Little Feat's Bill Payne, TRIO remains one of the most delightful pop/country confections ever created.
THE NAME OF THIS BAND IS TALKING HEADS (Album of the Day)
If you thought the recently re-released concert film Stop Making Sense was impressive, just give a listen to THE NAME OF THIS BAND IS TALKING HEADS. The 1982 live double album shows the Rock and Roll Hall of Famers on their way up with tracks spanning the preceding five years. The first half of this set, drawn from a 1977 radio broadcast and a 1979 Passaic, NJ gig, features the quartet on such early favorites as “Psycho Killer” and “Love Goes to Building on Fire.” The second half was recorded during the 1980 REMAIN IN LIGHT tour and sees the group joined by guest performers including Adrian Belew, Bernie Worrell and Nona Hendryx. THE NAME OF THIS BAND IS TALKING HEADS takes the alternative rock icons’ already exciting studio performances to a whole new level.
LIVE NASSAU COLISEUM ‘76 (Album of the Day)
David Bowie went through several stylistic ch-ch-changes over the course of his legendary career, and he was going through one of his most significant at the time of LIVE NASSAU COLISEUM ‘76. Previously included as part of the WHO CAN I BE NOW boxed set, this March 1976 Uniondale, NY show was recorded as the Thin White Duke was touring in support of STATION TO STATION. Several months later he would move to Berlin for his groundbreaking collaborations with Brian Eno, bringing several musicians heard here (most notably guitarist Carlos Alomar) with him. Along with songs from his latest album, the 2-CD LIVE NASSAU COLISEUM ‘76 includes energetic performances of such glam-era classics as “Life On Mars?,” “Suffragette City” and “Rebel Rebel.”
THE CAPTAIN AND ME (Album of the Day)
The arrival of singer Michael McDonald may have kicked The Doobie Brothers into commercial overdrive, but only a fool would believe that the band was just a blue-eyed soul act. Case in point: THE CAPTAIN AND ME, the NorCal quintet's third album for Warner Bros. Released this month in 1973, the Ted Templeman-produced set reached the Top 10 and eventually went double-Platinum, thanks to such singles as “Long Train Running” and “China Grove.” But the bench is pretty deep on this album; principle songwriters Tom Johnston and Patrick Simmons crafted an engaging mix of biker bar boogie and country-rock harmonizing on all 11 tracks. THE CAPTAIN AND ME stands among the Rock and Roll Hall of Famers’ very best.
GOLDEN HITS (Album of the Day)
Vocal group The Drifters was initially a rougher R&B outfit led by Clyde McPhatter, but when the group broke up in 1958, its manager recruited singer Ben E. King and a new band to take a more mainstream pop approach. Released in 1968, GOLDEN HITS gathers the best of the band's preceding decade with King and successors Rudy Lewis and Johnny Moore. The Drifters had their pick of radio-ready hits penned by top Brill Building songsmiths, including “This Magic Moment,” “Up On The Roof,” “On Broadway” and the No.1 smash “Save The Last Dance For Me” - all of which are included in the Atlantic collection. GOLDEN HITS remains a supremely listenable introduction to the work of the Rock And Roll Hall Of Famers.