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One of These Nights (Album of the Day)
An Album of the Year Grammy nominee and a quadruple-Platinum smash, ONE OF THESE NIGHTS proved to be Eagles' breakthrough release. The product of more than a year's work by the band and producer Bill Szymczyk, the 1975 Asylum collection includes three Top 10 singles: "Lyin' Eyes,” “Take it to the Limit” and the title track. The increased emphasis on rock heard here would lead to the departure of country-leaning co-founder Bernie Leadon following the supporting tour, leaving singer-songwriters Glenn Frey and Don Henley firmly in the driver's seat. ONE OF THESE NIGHTS was the first Eagles set to top the Billboard chart, and it remains one of the Rock and Roll Hall of Famers' defining albums; we'll give it one more spin now to wish guitarist Don Felder a happy birthday.
ROAD TO RUIN (Album of the Day)
For the Ramones' ROAD TO RUIN, Dee Dee, Joey, and Johnny were joined for the first time by drummer Marky Ramone, as founding member Tommy Ramone moved to the producer's chair alongside Ed Stasium. More accessible than ever without sacrificing the quartet's blitzkrieg power, the 1978 Sire set introduced a nation of pinheads to such outstanding originals as “I Just Want to Have Something to Do,” “Don't Come Close” and the immortal “I Wanna Be Sedated” (as well as a terrific cover of “Needles and Pins”). As Tommy put it, “ROAD TO RUIN reflected not just the Ramones' enduring love for Sixties pop, but a nagging desire to expand beyond the confines of 120 seconds in search of a new vocabulary of harmonic hooks,” and as such it's one of the most consistently enjoyable albums the band ever made.
There Goes the Neighborhood (Album of the Day)
Three years after his previous solo set, Joe Walsh returned to record stores with THERE GOES THE NEIGHBORHOOD. The 1981 Elektra collection arrived on the heels of THE LONG RUN and includes a song written for that album, “Rivers (Of the Hidden Funk),” as well as appearances by Eagles bandmates Don Felder and Timothy B. Schmit. In spite of the famous guest stars (which also include David Lindley), it's Joe's show all the way, with the man contributing keyboards as well as his typically terrific guitar work. Singles including “A Life of Illusion,” “Made Your Mind Up” and “Things” will put a smile on the face of any classic rock fan and THERE GOES THE NEIGHBORHOOD deservedly reached Billboard's Top 20.
Desolation Angels (Album of the Day)
In the late summer of 1978, Bad Company's Paul Rodgers, Mick Ralphs, Simon Kirke and Boz Burrell spent several weeks recording songs for the British supergroup’s fifth studio album at Ridge Farm Studio in Surrey, England. DESOLATION ANGELS – named after Jack Kerouac’s 1965 novel – was released in March 1979, and became a double-Platinum hit, peaking at #3 on the U.S. album charts. The collection introduced fan favorites like “Evil Wind” and “Rhythm Machine” and spawned two singles, “Gone, Gone, Gone” and “Rock ’n’ Roll Fantasy,” the last of which took radio by storm to become the best seller of the band’s career. Frontman Rodgers married Cynthia Kereluk on this day in 2007; we'll wish him a happy anniversary with another spin of DESOLATION ANGELS.
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.