Content tagged ''
In Through the Out Door (Album of the Day)
IN THROUGH THE OUT DOOR would be Led Zeppelin's final studio album before the group disbanded in the wake of drummer John Bonham's death (on this day in 1980). The collection shows the legendary band adding Latin and country touches to their powerful blues-based rock, and John Paul Jones' synthesizers are as prominent here as Jimmy Page's riffing guitars. While the group members were exploring new directions, they never abandoned their core strengths – the set brims with classic rock radio anthems including “In The Evening,” “All My Love” and “Fool in the Rain.” If one can't help but to wonder where Led Zeppelin would have gone next, IN THROUGH THE OUT DOOR is nonetheless a highly satisfying swan song for the Rock and Roll Hall of Famers.
X (Album of the Day)
X was INXS' seventh studio album, but for you Roman numeral enthusiasts, the title also represents 10 years since their debut. The decade between had seen the Australian band rise to international superstardom thanks to preceding collection KICK, and the 1990 follow-up delivers similar musical kicks. Back behind the console one more time, producer Chris Thomas brought the sextet to the new Rhinoceros studio in Sydney, where they came up with 11 radio-ready originals including Top 10 hits “Disappear” and “Suicide Blonde” (one of three tracks featuring blues-harp great Charlie Musselwhite). While the performances are uniformly strong across this double-Platinum set, Michael Hutchence's exuberant vocals merit special mention, and X still marks the spot for danceable rock with soul and hooks to burn.
LAW AND ORDER (Album of the Day)
When Fleetwood Mac's TUSK didn't scale the commercial heights of RUMOURS, the band decided to abandon its more experimental, largely home-recorded approach; Lindsey Buckingham took that as a sign. “I realized, 'If I wanna continue to take risks [and] try to define myself as an artist in the long term, I'm gonna have to start making solo albums,'” noted the singer-songwriter, and LAW AND ORDER was the first of these. The 1981 collection was cut in L.A. with co-producer Richard Dashut (and guest appearances from a couple of Mac mates) and brims with the quirky pop hooks and superb guitar playing that have long distinguished the performer's work. Featuring such highlights as “I'll Tell You Now” and Top 10 single “Trouble,” LAW AND ORDER gets another spin now to wish Lindsey Buckingham a happy birthday.
EROTICA (Album of the Day)
Madonna's first album on her Maverick imprint, EROTICA, was released simultaneously with her companion book, SEX. Unfortunately, the explicit imagery in the coffee table tome took much of the attention away from the record – which in hindsight stands as one of the performer's most daring. A concept album about sex and love (in which Madonna adopts a “Mistress Dita” persona), the Maverick/Sire collection was also among the singer-songwriter's most personal, drawing from recent relationships and the loss of friends to AIDS. With Top 10 singles “Deeper and Deeper” and the title track (whose music video debuted on MTV on this day in 1992), EROTICA was a double-Platinum hit, and is an even more rewarding listen now that the surrounding controversies have faded.
Bad Company (Album of the Day)
Led Zeppelin cut some of the greatest records in history, but 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 was the #1 album in America on this day in 1974. Of the eight originals 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 the #5 hit “Can’t Get Enough.” Likely the quartet's finest hour, the 5x Platinum BAD COMPANY remains a milestone of blues-based hard rock
Purple Rain (Album of the Day)
Prince Rogers Nelson emerged at the end of the 1970s to become one of the most potent forces in popular music. Better known simply as Prince, the performer perfected his audacious mix of sexy funk, dance pop and guitar-driven rock on PURPLE RAIN. Recorded with his band the Revolution, the set serves as a soundtrack to the film of the same name but easily stands on its own, with such classic Top Ten singles as “When Doves Cry,” “I Would Die 4 U,” the title track and “Let's Go Crazy” (which was the #1 song in America this week in 1984). The chart-topping PURPLE RAIN earned Prince a pair of Grammys and an Oscar, and has sold more than 25 million copies worldwide.
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, who passed away on this day in 2020.
ZAPP (Album of the Day)
Built around Roger Troutman and three of his brothers, Zapp was among the leading lights of the rich '70s/'80s Dayton, Ohio, funk scene. When they caught the ear of Bootsy Collins, the bassist brought them to Detroit's United Sound Studios to cut an album, which became the band's eponymous debut for Warner Bros. While it bears an unmistakable P-Funk influence, the 1980 collection stands out thanks to Roger's distinctive “talk-box” singing and such irresistible tracks as “Be Alright” and much-sampled signature song “More Bounce to the Ounce.” A Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart-topper, the Gold-certified ZAPP is now part of the Rhino Reds series, reissued on red vinyl with a bonus 7” single.
SMASH (Album of the Day)
“As we start work on a new album, and later this year continue our 'Dreamworld' Greatest Hits Tour,” said Pet Shop Boys' Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe of SMASH, “it seems like a good time to take stock and bring together every single we've released.” The 3-CD set is aptly named, with most of its 55 sides having reached the Top 30 in the duo's native U.K., among them such iconic tracks as “West End Girls,” “Always on My Mind,” “So Hard” and “Go West.” Expanding on the pair's DISCOGRAPHY thirty years on, the new collection shows PSB to be among the most gifted pop songwriting teams on the planet. Lowe was born on this day in 1959, and we'll wish him a happy birthday with SMASH: THE SINGLES 1985-2020.
GIVE ME THE NIGHT (Album of the Day)
GIVE ME THE NIGHT confirmed George Benson's status as a crossover star; the 1980 album reached #3 on the Billboard 200 while also topping the magazine's Soul and Jazz charts. Credit part of the collection's success to its producer, Quincy Jones, who brought in top musical support (including Herbie Hancock, Patti Austin and Lee Ritenour) and songwriting ace Rod Temperton (who was born on this day in 1949). While the Top 10 title track would prove Benson's biggest hit, the set is truly gem-packed, with “Moody's Mood,” “Off Broadway” and “Dinorah, Dinorah” each winning Grammy Awards. Rarely has the performer's voice and guitar playing been put to better use than on the Platinum-certified GIVE ME THE NIGHT, which remains one of George Benson's very best.