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Shotgun Willie (Album of the Day)
After RCA threw their hands up with him, Willie Nelson headed to Austin, TX, grew his hair out and started to make music far removed from the constraints of the Nashville hitmaking machinery. The album that emerged, 1973's SHOTGUN WILLIE, was one of the opening salvos in the outlaw country movement, broadening the traditions of Hank Williams and Lefty Frizell to include singer-songwriter individuality. Nelson proves an engaging storyteller on originals like the title track, and he makes covers of songs like “Whiskey River” and “Stay All Night (Stay a Little Longer)” definitive with his masterful phrasing. Finding common ground between hillbillies and hippies, SHOTGUN WILLIE is expertly played, touched with humor and filled with inventive stylistic turns. Willie Nelson celebrates a birthday today, and we'll fire off a salute to the legendary performer with this breakthrough album!
Keep On Keeping On: Curtis Mayfield Studio Albums 1970-1974 (Album of the Day)
Born on this day in 1942, Curtis Mayfield recorded a string of hits with The Impressions before leaving the influential soul-gospel group to embark upon a solo career that began 50 years ago and produced some of his greatest work. Known as the "Gentle Genius," Mayfield has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice - first as a member of The Impressions and later as a solo artist. Rhino spotlights the singer-songwriter's early solo career with KEEP ON KEEPING ON: CURTIS MAYFIELD STUDIO ALBUMS 1970-1974. The four-disc collection includes newly remastered versions of Mayfield's first four studio albums: CURTIS (1970), ROOTS (1971), BACK TO THE WORLD (1973) and SWEET EXORCIST (1974) – and exclusively for orders placed via Rhino.com, a limited edition 12x12 print.
Other Sides (Album of the Day)
Building on the recent deluxe editions of his acclaimed solo studio albums, Phil Collins' OTHER SIDES features B-sides from throughout the performer's career that were not previously included in any of those album reissues. Now available, the digital-only compilation features 18 tracks that were released as B-sides between 1981 and 2003, all of which make their digital debut. Throughout his career, Collins frequently released his demo recordings as B-sides and several appear here, including one for signature song “In The Air Tonight” and an early version of the Grammy-winning #1 hit “Another Day In Paradise.” OTHER SIDES also includes: “Big Noise (Instrumental)” from the 1988 single “Groovy Kind Of Love”; “Don't Call Me Ashley” from the 1994 single “Everyday”; and a cover of the Motown classic “Tears Of A Clown” from Collins' 2003 single “Wake Up.”
Behaviour: Further Listening 1990-1991 (Album of the Day)
BEHAVIOUR was Pet Shop Boys' fourth studio album, recorded mostly in Munich, Germany at co-producer Harold Faltermeyer's studio. The album was then completed at London's Sarm West Studios, and was released in October 1990, hitting number 2 on the album chart in the U.K. and eventually earning platinum certification there. The set is seen as one of PSB's most contemplative and moving records, and features the singles “So Hard,” “How Can You Expect To Be Taken Seriously?” and their classic track “Being Boring.” The BEHAVIOUR: FURTHER LISTENING 1990-1991 reissue adds a disc of bonus material including an extended mix of “Where The Streets Have No Name (I Can't Take My Eyes Off You)” and an ambient mix of “Music For Boys” - both previously unreleased on CD – and the collection is the perfect way to celebrate Pride 2019.
Much Les (Album of the Day)
Les McCann was among the most successful artists blending jazz and soul music at the end of the 1960s, and MUCH LES, released 50 years ago this month, captures the singer-pianist in peak form. Cut with bassist Leroy Vinnegar and drummer Donald Dean, these half-dozen tracks include both strong originals (“Benjamin”) and distinctive covers (Cole Porter's “Love For Sale” and a beautiful reading of “With These Hands,” the set's sole vocal number). Atlantic Records' Joel Dorn handles production chores here, utilizing tasteful string arrangements and Latin percussion to accent the core trio's inviting grooves. Allmusic calls MUCH LES “one of Les McCann's greatest albums,” and we're in total agreement.
Dirty Mind (Album of the Day)
Puritanical is an adjective you’ll never see used to describe Prince Rogers Nelson, born on this day in 1958. While sex has been a popular subject since the beginning of rock ‘n’ roll (itself a sexual euphemism), it’s often merely a tease in the hands of artists less talented than Prince, whose 1980 album DIRTY MIND brought the singer widespread critical acclaim. If the lyrics to “Do It All Night,” “Head” and the title track leave little to the imagination, the funk, new wave and rock settings will get your blood pumping just as quickly. RIAA-certified Gold and still frequently cited as among the decade’s best, DIRTY MIND is the first truly great album from one of popular music’s most fertile minds.
Dark Side Of The Spoon (Album of the Day)
On the eve of the new millennium, Ministry shifted gears a bit for DARK SIDE OF THE SPOON. More deliberate and less drug-infused than predecessors (the Pink Floyd-inspired title acknowledges band members' past heroin problems), the industrial rock band's final studio set for Warner Bros. features simple melodies, strong synthesizers and the odd jazz and world music touches. Through distorted vocals, frontman Al Jourgensen's dark, biting wit hits its target on nine originals including “Supermanic Soul,” “Kaif” and Best Metal Performance Grammy nominee “Bad Blood.” And don't turn it off when you hit a long silence as there's a hidden track; it was the 1990s, after all. As the collection celebrates its 20th anniversary, DARK SIDE OF THE SPOON remains a bright spot in the Ministry discography.
Chaka (Album of the Day)
Chaka Khan had already tasted stardom as a member of Rufus when she launched her solo career in 1978 with CHAKA. The Warner Bros. set was produced by Arif Mardin, who marshaled a small army of supporting performers behind the vocalist, including George Benson, David Sanborn and much of the Average White Band. Khan positively soars on these ten tracks, which include radio favorite “Roll Me Through the Rushes” and R&B hits “Life Is a Dance” and “I'm Every Woman,” an Ashford & Simpson-penned classic that has become an anthem of pride transcending gender. You fans of 1970s funk and soul need to give this a listen – CHAKA won't let you down.
His Band and the Street Choir (Expanded Edition) (Album of the Day)
On this day in 2003, Van Morrison was inducted into the Songwriters Hall Of Fame, an honor the singer-songwriter's Warner Bros. years alone would justify. Following MOONDANCE's breakthrough success, HIS BAND AND THE STREET CHOIR arrived in November 1970. While its predecessors contemplated the cosmos and love's rich conundrums, the collection resonates with a purposefully loose ebullience on songs like the Top Ten hit “Domino,” “Blue Money” and “Call Me Up In Dreamland.” If the cover art suggests a dive into the mystic, the music here is simpler and earthier, informed by R&B of the American South (New Orleans, in particular), and Van's matchless vocals brim with Belfast soul. HIS BAND AND THE STREET CHOIR offers further proof that in the early 1970s, Morrison could do no wrong.
Love Man (Album of the Day)
Before his death in a 1967 plane crash, Otis Redding had recorded enough material for several posthumous releases, and LOVE MAN is the third of these. The material here might not have seen release before the 1969 Atco collection, but that doesn't mean it's sub-par; Redding's protean talent (and that of backing band Booker T. and the M.G.'s) beams from every one of these dozen songs. Originals make up the bulk of this set, with “Direct Me” “I'm A Changed Man” and the title track among the highlights, but even the covers (“A Lover's Question”) have an energy and commitment few singers of any era could equal. Released 50 years ago this month, Top Ten R&B album LOVE MAN is another jewel in the crown of the King of Soul.