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Soul Dressing (Album of the Day)
If “Green Onions” notified the world that Booker T. & the M.G.'s were among the country's greatest R&B players, then SOUL DRESSING sealed the deal. The 1965 album, produced by Stax Studios co-founder Jim Stewart, was largely a collection of single sides from the preceding two years, but it's a testament to the Memphis group's talents that it all sounds so consistently soulful. Barring a cover of Don Covay's “Mercy Mercy,” the dozen songs here are all original, highlighted by such favorites as “Tic-Tac-Toe,” “Plum Nellie” and the title track. It may be all instrumental, but the simmering Hammond organ of Booker T. Jones and the stinging guitar of Steve Cropper are as distinctive as any vocalist. For a funky good time, pour on the SOUL DRESSING.
Rei Momo (Album of the Day)
David Byrne's REI MOMO shares its name with the character who presides over the opening of Brazil's Carnival, and the 1989 collection has the feel of a South American celebration. The worldbeat sounds that had long bubbled under the surface of Talking Heads' music reach full boil on the performer's first real solo outing, which touches on Afro-Cuban, merengue, mambo, cumbia and many other Latin genres. Byrne did the lion's share of the writing here, and if such tracks as “Make Believe Mambo,” “The Dream Police” and “The Call Of The Wild” show how well he's mastered the region's rhythms and styles, his lyrical perspective remains as off-kilter as ever. With guest stars including Willie Colón, Celia Cruz and Kirsty MacColl lending a hand, REI MOMO is inventive and enjoyable from beginning to end, and we'll give it another spin to wish David Byrne a happy birthday.
21st Century Breakdown (Album of the Day)
Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong described 21ST CENTURY BREAKDOWN as a “snapshot of the era in which we live as we question and try to make sense of the selfish manipulation going on around us.” That makes the Reprise collection a sequel of sorts to breakthrough album AMERICAN IDIOT; produced by Butch Vig, the set is a rock opera in three parts following a young couple's struggles in Bush-era America. If the lyrics are among the most personal Armstrong has written, they're woven into some of the trio's catchiest songs - “Know Your Enemy,” “21 Guns” and the title track among them. Released ten years ago today, the chart-topping 21ST CENTURY BREAKDOWN earned a Grammy Award for Best Rock Album, and its passion and ambition continue to inspire listeners.
Blues for the Red Sun (Album of the Day)
If Josh Homme is now best known for leading Queens of the Stone Age, the performer had already earned a place in hard rock history as a founder of Kyuss. Emerging from the California desert at the end of the 1980s, the band released four albums, of which BLUES FOR THE RED SUN may be their masterpiece. Working with producer Chris Goss, the quartet finally captured the power of their live shows in the studio, and such tracks as “Green Machine,” “Thong Song” and “Thumb” thunder through the speakers like a freight train speeding downhill. While not a big seller, the 1992 collection was hugely influential, both for helping pioneer stoner rock and for Homme's distinctive instrumental work – tuned down two steps and played through a bass amp for maximum heaviness. We'll wish the guitarist a happy birthday now by cranking up BLUES FOR THE RED SUN.
Out of the Blue (Album of the Day)
Debbie Gibson's OUT OF THE BLUE was accurately titled; the Brooklyn teenager was playing night clubs when that debut album rocketed her to stardom. The average pop princess may be little more than a pretty face with a savvy manager, but Gibson was never average – she penned and produced her own material. On this day in 1988, her “Foolish Beat” topped the U.S. chart, making 17-year old Debbie the youngest woman ever to write, produce and record a No.1 single. That song was one of four Top Ten hits (along with “Only In My Dreams,” “Shake Your Love” and the title track) on the Atlantic collection. The buoyant dance pop on OUT OF THE BLUE still sounds fresh thanks to Debbie's effervescent vocal performance – and all the other skills the then-high school student contributed to this multi-platinum smash.
Then Play On (Remastered and Expanded) (Album of the Day)
Fleetwood Mac is one of rock’s most storied and successful bands, having endured numerous line-up changes and sold millions of albums worldwide. Originally part of the British blues boom, the Mac was among the most popular groups in that style by the time THEN PLAY ON was released in 1969. The quintet's stellar third studio album was the first with guitarist-songwriter Danny Kirwan and would be the last with founding member Peter Green. The collection’s powerful mix of blues and rock includes standout tracks like “Rattlesnake Shake,” “Searching For Madge” and “Coming Your Way.” Co-founder Mick Fleetwood remains the band's drummer all these years later, and we'll play THEN PLAY ON once again to wish him a happy birthday.
Bad Company (Deluxe) (Album of the Day)
The U.K. band's eponymous debut arrived in stores 45 years ago today, becoming the first release on Led Zeppelin's Swan Song label and soaring to No.1 on the chart on its way to platinum sales status. Of the eight tracks 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.” Surely the quartet's finest hour, BAD COMPANY remains at the pinnacle of blues-based hard rock rock.
Cosmic Thing (30th Anniversary Expanded Edition) (Album of the Day)
Athens, Georgia's resident musical oddballs The B-52s had earned a strong alternative rock following by serving up cultural kitsch with loving winks, but the loss of founding guitarist Ricky Wilson in 1985 was a serious blow. The group came back swinging with COSMIC THING, and the Reprise collection became their most successful ever, soaring into the Billboard Top 10 on its way to quadruple-platinum sales. Produced by Nile Rodgers and Don Was, the set includes such standout tracks as “Channel Z,” “Deadbeat Club” and a pair of Top 10 singles: “Roam” and irresistible signature song “Love Shack.” Released 30 years ago today, COSMIC THING remains a surefire way to get a party into high gear, so if you don't already have a copy, come on and bring your jukebox money!
Goin' 50 (Deluxe Edition) (Album of the Day)
ZZ Top are celebrating 50 years of beards, blues, hot cars and fuzzy guitars this year with a Texas-sized compilation that includes the 50 songs that helped transform “that little ol' band from Texas” into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame standard bearers they have become in the 21st century. Packed with enough hits to fill a roadhouse jukebox, GOIN' 50 spans the band's entire musical career, from its 1969 debut and its multi-platinum zenith during the Eighties to its most recent releases. This new retrospective includes an array from each of the 15 studio albums that guitarist Billy Gibbons, drummer Frank Beard and bassist Dusty Hill have recorded since 1970, plus a single recorded in 1969 by the original incarnation of ZZ Top. Among the irresistible hits on the 3-CD GOIN' 50 are “La Grange,” “Cheap Sunglasses,” “Sharp Dressed Man,” “Legs” and “Velcro Fly.”
Unknown Pleasures (Album of the Day)
From Peter Saville's distinctive radio-waves cover art to the last notes of “I Remember Nothing,” Joy Division's UNKNOWN PLEASURES delivers from start to finish, and is cited by such outlets as Q and NME as one of the greatest British albums of all time. Thanks partly to the work of producer Martin Hannett, the 1979 debut album has a starker, more atmospheric sound than the group's loud and aggressive concerts, and the band brought an outstanding set of songs to the studio. “She's Lost Control” and “Shadowplay” are bleak and claustrophobic but vibrant all the same, touched with a sense of late-‘60s experimentalism and played with an urgency that's timeless. Now available, a limited edition 40th anniversary pressing of UNKNOWN PLEASURES on 180-gram ruby red vinyl allows listeners to experience the pleasures of this post-punk landmark anew.