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Extinction Level Event: The Final World Front (Album of the Day)
After debuting with Leaders of the New School, Brooklyn-born Busta Rhymes quickly emerged as one of the most inventive performers in hip-hop. Going solo in the mid-1990s, Busta signed with Elektra for a string of acclaimed albums, of which EXTINCTION LEVEL EVENT: THE FINAL WORLD FRONT was his third. If its themes run toward the apocalyptic (the cover image was reportedly inspired by disaster movie Deep Impact), Rhymes rings in the end of the world with a wild party. And it's a party with a pretty broad guest list; film composer Bernard Herrmann is sampled on “Gimme Some More,” Ozzy Osbourne joins in on “This Means War!!” and Top 10 hit “What's It Gonna Be?!” features Janet Jackson. EXTINCTION LEVEL EVENT was released 30 years ago this week, and Busta delivers some of his fastest, most outrageous rhymes on the platinum-certified, Grammy-nominated collection.
The Best is Yet to Come (Album of the Day)
Born on this day 75 years ago, saxophonist Grover Washington Jr. was a pioneer of smooth jazz whose records remain wonderful listening. Case in point: 1982's THE BEST IS YET TO COME, which reached the R&B Top 10 as well as the No.1 slot on the Jazz chart. As with Washington's earlier WINELIGHT, the collection includes an irresistible single; the title track is driven by one of Patti Labelle's best-ever vocals. While Bobby McFerrin is also among the guest singers (“Things Are Getting Better”), it's the instrumental work by Grover and company – bassist Marcus Miller, keyboardist Richard Tee and percussionist Ralph McDonald are among the players here – that keeps the grooves flowing. Mellow, soulful and featuring a variety of tempos and arrangements that are always light on their feet, THE BEST IS YET TO COME is a terrific display of Washington's talents as songwriter, producer and performer.
The Great Hits Of Ray Charles Recorded On 8-Track Stereo (Album of the Day)
If you think the term “8-track” means a bulky cartridge used in car audio systems in the 1970s, you're only half right; years before it became a consumer product, it was a studio technology. When THE GREAT HITS OF RAY CHARLES RECORDED ON 8-TRACK STEREO was originally released in 1964, that technology was state-of-the-art, and even if digital recording has advanced considerably in the intervening half-century, the Atlantic collection still sounds mighty fine. Among the 13 favorites here are “What'd I Say,” “I'm Movin' On,” “(Night Time Is) The Right Time” and “I Had A Dream.” We'll celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr. Day with the Genius of Soul on THE GREAT HITS OF RAY CHARLES.
The Swing (Album of the Day)
With their fourth album, THE SWING, INXS took a further step toward international success. Lead single “Original Sin” was cut in New York with producer Nile Rodgers and guest vocalist Daryl Hall, the first time the sextet had recorded outside their native Australia. That song, “I Send a Message” and “Burn for You” were all Top 10 hits down under, and the collection topped the Aussie album chart. If the 1984 set only made it to #52 in the U.S., the band's mix of new wave, rock and dance had finally gelled. “I think it's still one of my favorite albums because it's very diverse and a lot of the tracks are danceable,” said INXS guitarist Kirk Pengilly years later. The group's frontman, Michael Hutchence, was born on this day in 1960, and we'll mark the occasion by giving THE SWING another spin.
Everything in Transit (Album of the Day)
After three albums fronting pop-punk band Something Corporate, Andrew McMahon struck off on his own as Jack's Mannequin. McMahon spent most of the money in his savings account to record EVERYTHING IN TRANSIT - and was vindicated when the set was picked up by Maverick. Helmed by the singer-songwriter and Something Corporate producer Jim Wirt, the 2005 collection ups the energy of that band with a little help from Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee. Structured around the concept of a musician's return home, the ten originals are jam-packed with classic pop hooks; highlights include “Holiday from Real,” “Dark Blue” and “Miss Delaney.” McMahon had been diagnosed with leukemia while finishing the album but got a successful stem cell transplant the day EVERYTHING IN TRANSIT was released, and you can hear that triumph in the music.
Grievous Angel (Album of the Day)
Following a summer tour, Gram Parsons dashed off a couple of new songs (“Return Of The Grievous Angel,” “In My Hour Of Darkness”), dusted off a few old ones (including “Hickory Wind” and “$1000 Wedding” from his days with The Byrds and The Flying Burrito Brothers, respectively) and convened his band in the studio to cut his second Reprise album. GRIEVOUS ANGEL was released 45 years ago – four months after Parsons' untimely demise in Joshua Tree, California. The album stands among his best work, with superb playing from the likes of guitarist James Burton, and some beautiful harmonizing from Emmylou Harris (and on the final track, Linda Ronstadt). Gram Parsons called the sound he pioneered “cosmic American music,” and GRIEVOUS ANGEL remains a shining example of the form.
Kickin it Up (Album of the Day)
Country hitmaker John Michael Montgomery kicked his career up a notch with his second album, KICKIN' IT UP; the 1994 collection went quadruple-platinum, besting its predecessor by a million sales or so. Its ten tracks include four Country Top 10s: “Be My Baby Tonight,” “Rope the Moon,” “If You've Got Love” and “I Swear,” which became a pop chart-topper by vocal group All-4-One a year later. Balancing heartfelt ballads with more energetic country-rock, the album has something for everyone, and quickly shot to the top of the Billboard 200. KICKIN' IT UP celebrates its 25th anniversary today, and while John Michael Montgomery's domination of the charts wouldn't end with the set, it remains among the Kentucky native's very best.
Amazing Grace: The Complete Recordings (Album of the Day)
Aretha Franklin learned to sing in church (her father was Detroit's noted Reverend C. L. Franklin), so it's fitting that AMAZING GRACE is her biggest-selling album. Recorded at Los Angeles' New Temple Missionary Baptist Church on January 13 and 14, 1972, the live album features transcendent performances of such standards as "Precious Memories," "What A Friend We Have In Jesus" and "How I Got Over," and was greeted with rave reviews. The collection would go on to sell more than two million copies in the in U.S. alone and still also holds the record as the best-selling live gospel album of all time. It also earned the singer a Grammy award, her first for Best Soul Gospel Performance. Remastered and expanded in 1999 to include all the recordings from both nights, AMAZING GRACE: THE COMPLETE RECORDINGS has just been released on vinyl for the first time ever, and we'll give it a spin in honor of the Queen of Soul's birthday.
Head to the Rhino Store to grab an exclusive poster with your purchase of the album. While supplies last.
Forever Young (Super Deluxe) (Album of the Day)
When Alphaville released their first single "Big In Japan" in 1984, the song went to #1 in Germany, Sweden, Switzerland and on the Billboard Dance Chart and dominated the Top 10 in the U.K. and many other countries. After their globally successful first single, Marian Gold, Bernhard Lloyd and Frank Mertens recorded their debut album, FOREVER YOUNG, that enjoys international popularity to this day. Such favorites as “Sounds Like A Melody,” “Fallen Angel” and the much-covered title track remain compulsively listenable, and the classic synth-pop collection hit the Top 20 in six European countries, going triple Gold in the band's native Germany. Now available, the 3-CD/LP/DVD Super Deluxe Edition of FOREVER YOUNG includes the first-ever remastered version of the album, plus single sides, rare demos and alternative versions as well as a 60-minute documentary.
Porno for Pyros (Album of the Day)
Following the dissolution of Jane's Addiction, frontman Perry Farrell and drummer Stephen Perkins recruited guitarist Peter DiStefano and bassist Martyn LeNoble to carry on as Porno For Pyros. Expectations were high for the band's self-titled debut, and it doesn't disappoint; while the 1993 Warner Bros. set bears some similarity to Jane's Addiction (a couple of its songs were composed before that group's break-up), it stands proudly on its own. Though still punchy and concise, the album emphasizes progressive textures, covering a lot of stylistic ground in the process. The subject matter is equally diverse – paired tracks “Cursed Female” and “Cursed Male” examine gender roles, Modern Rock chart-topper “Pets” has an extraterrestrial theme, and a couple songs deal with the then-recent L.A. riots. To celebrate Perry Farrell's 60th birthday, we'll give PORNO FOR PYROS another spin.