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SONG OF THE DAY - “Unwrap You At Christmas” (Album of the Day)
From their original run in the 1960s, The Monkees amassed a dozen Top 40 hits, including a trio of tunes that soared to #1, with 16 million albums and 7.5 million singles sold – which makes it all the more surprising that the group never cut a holiday album before CHRISTMAS PARTY. The new Rhino collection opens with “Unwrap You At Christmas,” penned by Andy Partridge of XTC (one of several songs newly written for the band by a group of talented songwriters). Produced by Adam Schlesinger of Fountains of Wayne, the festive track features Micky Dolenz on lead vocals. With December 25th fast approaching, “Unwrap You At Christmas” is our Song of the Day.
SONG OF THE DAY - "Take it Easy" (Album of the Day)
Jackson Browne was struggling to finish writing “Take It Easy” when his friend Glenn Frey heard a bit of it and offered to help. The result became the lead-off track to the first Eagles album, and the band's first hit, rising to #12 on the U.S. singles chart. On its original release, Rolling Stone raved “The first time through, you could tell it had everything: danceable rhythm, catchy, winding melody, intelligent, affirmative lyrics, a progressively powerful arrangement mixing electric guitar and banjo, and a crisp vocal, with vibrant four-part harmony at just the right moments,” and decades later the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame named it among their top 500 songs. Glenn Frey was born on this day 70 years ago, and to mark the occasion, “Take It Easy” is our Song of the Day. Hear it on the new career-spanning Eagles boxed set, LEGACY, now streaming!
SONG OF THE DAY - "Big Yellow Taxi" (Album of the Day)
Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell was on her first trip to Hawaii when she came up with one of her most famous songs, "Big Yellow Taxi." “I took a taxi to the hotel and when I woke up the next morning, I threw back the curtains and saw these beautiful green mountains in the distance,” recalled the performer. “Then, I looked down and there was a parking lot as far as the eye could see, and it broke my heart.” Though environmental concerns are prominent in the lyrics, the message that “you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone” has a universal appeal that's inspired covers by such artists as Bob Dylan, Amy Grant and Counting Crows. The 1970 original appears on LADIES OF THE CANYON, and we'll make "Big Yellow Taxi" our Song of the Day to wish Joni Mitchell a happy birthday. Hear more Joni on the new LOVE HAS MANY FACES boxed set, now available on vinyl!
To Bonnie From Delaney (Mono) (Album of the Day)
Husband-and-wife team Delaney and Bonnie Bramlett had a decade in the music trenches and a pair of albums under their belts when they signed to Atlantic Records in 1970, Their first studio set for the label, TO BONNIE FROM DELANEY, captures the pair's blend of rock, soul and country at its peak, and became their highest charting album. The collection's dozen tracks include minor hits “Soul Shake” and “Free the People,” though such Delaney originals as “Hard Luck and Troubles” and Bonnie's powerhouse performance of “The Love of My Man” are just as distinctive. The musician friends who accompanied the Bramletts on their early albums and tours are the stuff of legend, and the luminaries heard on this set include Little Richard, Duane Allman, King Curtis, and “Sneaky” Pete Kleinow. Bonnie Bramlett celebrates a birthday today, and we'll wish her a happy one with the superb TO BONNIE FROM DELANEY.
Both Sides (Deluxe) (Album of the Day)
Released 25 years ago this month, Phil Collins' BOTH SIDES recalls the introspective atmosphere of his breakthrough solo debut FACE VALUE. Featuring the Top 10 hit “Both Sides of the Story” as well as further singles “Everyday” and “We Wait And We Wonder,” the Atlantic collection topped charts around the world and was certified platinum by the R.I.A.A. “BOTH SIDES is my favorite album, from a songwriting and creative perspective,” remarked the performer in a recent interview. “It was very much a solo album. I played everything, the songs just streamed out of me, and as a writer that's the kind of thing that you dream of.” Curated and compiled by Collins himself, the 2-CD Deluxe Edition of BOTH SIDES includes a disc of carefully selected b-side, demo and live tracks, six of which are previously unreleased on CD.
SONG OF THE DAY - "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?" (Album of the Day)
When Rod Stewart posed the musical question “Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?” millions replied in the affirmative; the single was a Top 10 hit in nearly 20 countries, topping the U.S. chart for four weeks. The song was co-written by Stewart, drummer Carmine Appice and Duane Hitchings, who described it as “a spoof on guys from the 'cocaine lounge lizards' of the Saturday Night Fever days … Rod, in his brilliance, decided to do a spoof on disco.” A highlight of the BLONDES HAVE MORE FUN album, the track may have had some fun with dance music, but it raised serious money for UNICEF, to which the performer donated royalties. The double-platinum “Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?” was named one of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time by Rolling Stone, and to celebrate the 40th anniversary of its release, it's our Song of the Day.
Unzipped (Album of the Day)
While it was the hard rocking sound of hits like “Still Of The Night” and “Give Me All Your Love” that brought Whitesnake worldwide, multi-platinum success, founder and frontman David Coverdale has never been a stranger to the occasional ballad. The band revisits some of its best unplugged and acoustic-based performances from the last two decades on the new UNZIPPED. The collection includes rare and unreleased versions of songs like “Summer Rain” and “Forevermore” from the band's recent studio albums GOOD TO BE BAD and FOREVERMORE as well as songs like “Love Is Blind” from Coverdale's 2000 solo album and the previously unreleased “All The Time In The World.” “Some songs ask for a softer touch,” notes the vocalist of UNZIPPED. “These songs are some of the most personal I've been involved with through my almost five decades as a professional musician.”
Shakedown Street (Album of the Day)
The final Grateful Dead album of the 1970s, SHAKEDOWN STREET, paired the group with another acclaimed California rocker: Little Feat's Lowell George, who co-produced the Arista collection. This would also be the final Dead album to feature the Godchaux husband-and-wife team, and Donna Jean made the most of it, singing beautifully on “France” and her own “From the Heart of Me.” From the Garcia-Hunter title track (which flirted with disco) to such future concert staples as “Fire on the Mountain” and “I Need a Miracle,” these 10 songs cover plenty of stylistic ground. Released 40 years ago today, SHAKEDOWN STREET shows a great band still eager to shake things up.
Where I'm Bound (Album of the Day)
Born on this day in 1931, Bob Gibson was a 10-year veteran on the folk scene when he released WHERE I'M BOUND in 1964, and he brings all that experience to bear on this fine set. Most of the 14 tracks on the Elektra collection feature simple acoustic guitar and vocal arrangements, but Gibson is a stirring singer and his 12-string playing was never better. In contrast to earlier releases, most of the material here is original, including such highlights as “The Town Crier's Song” (penned with frequent collaborator Hamilton Camp), “Fog Horn” and “The New 'Frankie and Johnnie' Song,” one of several co-written with author/cartoonist Shel Silverstein. Gibson's final album of the 1960s and one of his very best, WHERE I'M BOUND shows why such stars as Roger McGuinn, Judy Collins and Simon & Garfunkel were fans of the performer.
Summertime Dream (Album of the Day)
Still going strong after more than half a century in the business, Gordon Lightfoot is among Canada's greatest musical exports – he was inducted into the nation's Songwriter Hall of Fame on this day in 2003. SUMMERTIME DREAM captures the singer-songwriter at the peak of his popularity; the 1976 Reprise collection reached #12 on the U.S. album chart, and its success is easy to understand. There are plenty of outstanding originals here, such as “Race Among the Ruins,” “I'm Not Supposed to Care” and “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald,” a Top 10 hit whose timeless feel belies the fact that the real-life maritime disaster it's based on happened mere months earlier. Just as important as the top-notch material are the performances, and Lightfoot is in great voice throughout SUMMERTIME DREAM with a backing band (including gifted electric guitarist Terry Clements and pedal steel ace Pee Wee Charles) that sounds equally inspired.