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THE VERY BEST OF THE EVERLY BROTHERS (Album of the Day)
Phil and Don Everly had earned a place in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame before the ink had even dried on their Warner Bros. contract; later Top 10 singles like “Cathy's Clown,” “Walk Right Back” and “Crying In The Rain” only added to their legacy. That fact was reflected on 1964's THE VERY BEST OF THE EVERLY BROTHERS collection, whose dozen tracks were split evenly between songs from their earlier Cadence period and their WB hits. While these versions of those Cadence classics (including “Bye Bye Love,” “Wake Up Little Susie” and “All I Have To Do Is Dream”) are re-recordings, they're faithful to the original arrangements, feature some of the original session men and capture the siblings' matchless harmonies with much greater fidelity in true stereo versions only available here. THE VERY BEST OF THE EVERLY BROTHERS features some of the most memorable pop-rock of the pre-Beatles era.
DOUBLE VISION (Album of the Day)
Though half the band was British (hence the name), America embraced Foreigner with open arms in the late 1970s. Founded by journeyman guitarist Mick Jones and powered by Lou Gramm's strong vocals, the group was an immediate smash, its debut going multi-Platinum. Foreigner's follow-up was even more successful; DOUBLE VISION ruled the U.S. Top Ten for half a year thanks to the hit singles “Hot Blooded,” “Blue Morning, Blue Day” and the title track. While similar in ways to its predecessor, the 1978 collection has more of a hard rock feel and includes the group's only instrumental (“Tramontane”); with the departure of bassist Ed Gagliardi, the album would be the last from the original sextet. DOUBLE VISION remains an arena rock classic, and we'll cue it up now to wish original drummer Dennis Elliott a happy birthday.
HEARTBEAT CITY (Album of the Day)
The Cars had four hit albums in the trunk when the group took a short hiatus to accommodate solo projects; they reconvened in London to cut their fifth album, HEARTBEAT CITY, with producer Robert “Mutt” Lange. The time off was just what they needed, and the 1984 collection broadens the quintet's classic rock and new wave hybrid to include moody and atmospheric tracks like “Drive.” Sung by Benjamin Orr, the poignant ballad reached the Top 10 and showed The Cars were still eager to explore new territory. With inventive videos for “You Might Think,” “Magic” and “Hello Again” in heavy rotation on MTV, the collection wound up being The Cars' biggest seller ever (and, along with their debut, the group's most critically acclaimed). HEARTBEAT CITY will quicken the pulse of any listener!
TROUBLE IN PARADISE (Album of the Day)
Randy Newman's seventh studio album may have been titled TROUBLE IN PARADISE but it opens with one of the performer's most upbeat anthems - “I Love L.A.” If that signature song isn't entirely representative of the 11 originals that follow – in which razor-sharp lyrics skewer racists, yuppies and war-mongers – its accessibility is. With Warner Bros. hitmakers Russ Titelman and Lenny Waronker behind the board (and such guests as Paul Simon, Linda Ronstadt and Bob Seger behind mics), the 1983 collection displays the craftsmanship that would make the singer-songwriter one of the most sought-after composers for film and TV. Named one of the 100 Greatest Albums of the 1980s by Rolling Stone, TROUBLE IN PARADISE is among Randy Newman's very best.
ANTENNAS TO HELL (Album of the Day)
With a small army of masked and costumed performers waging sonic war, Slipknot shows have to rank among the most intense in Iowa history and the first Knotfest further rocked the state on this day in 2012. A month before that inaugural festival, Slipknot's first best-of, ANTENNAS TO HELL, arrived in stores and the Roadrunner collection is a perfect summary of the band's music to that point. Featuring standout tracks from each of their four studio albums (including such favorites as “Wait And Bleed,” “Left Behind,” “Duality” and “Psychosocial”) as well as live recordings, the set reached the Top 10 of Billboard's Hard Rock chart. Tune in to some of the darkest, most powerful alternative metal you've ever heard with ANTENNAS TO HELL.
GREEN ONIONS (Album of the Day)
Among the greatest instrumental groups of all time, Booker T & The MG's featured Hammond organ hero 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. (who was born on this day in 1935). 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 group'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 – some 60 years after its original release, GREEN ONIONS remains as tasty as ever.
CORE (Album of the Day)
Thirty years ago, Stone Temple Pilots' raucous debut CORE became a breakout success, earning the quartet an MTV Best New Artist award as well as a performance slot on Saturday Night Live (on this day in 1993). The album peaked at #3 on the Billboard chart, dominated radio waves with hits like “Sex Type Thing” and “Wicked Garden,” and has been certified 8x Platinum by the RIAA. The band also took home the 1994 Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance for their smash single “Plush,” though this collection is much more than the sum of its parts. “We wanted to create a vibe which would run right through the whole album,” noted bassist Robert DeLeo of the Brendan O'Brien-produced set, and CORE remains a touchstone of 1990s alternative rock.
LISTEN (Album of the Day)
When French DJ and music producer David Guetta entered the studio to make LISTEN, he wasn't afraid to mess with the formula that had made him an international star. “Until today I was always starting with the beat and then writing the song on it. This time I was starting with piano, voice and guitar, then producing around the song.” Filled with soul and emotion, the collection was Guetta's most personal (reflecting his recent divorce) and among his most varied – these tracks would sound great whether played by a classical orchestra, a rock group, or a funk band. Featuring such guest stars as John Legend, Sia, Nicki Minaj and Ladysmith Black Mambazo, the set reached the Billboard Top 10. Released on this day in 2014, LISTEN marked a successful reinvention of one of EDM's leading lights.
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.
RUMOURS LIVE (Album of the Day)
Fleetwood Mac was at the top of its game in August 1977 when the band returned to its adopted home in Southern California to play three shows at The Forum in Los Angeles. RUMOURS LIVE captures the energy and excitement of the band’s opening night there; the nearly 90-minute performance includes most of the songs from the then-current RUMOURS and its self-titled predecessor. As engineer Ken Caillat rolled tape in the Record Plant’s mobile recording truck, the band delivered impassioned performances of such classics as “Landslide,” “Never Going Back Again,” “Songbird,” and “The Chain.” RUMOURS LIVE is an essential addition to the Mac catalog - almost all the tracks on the new double-disc set are previously unreleased.