Content tagged ''
Us & Them (Album of the Day)
Jacksonville, FL post-grunge quartet Shinedown followed a successful debut with hundreds of live dates, and the hard work paid off with sophomore set US & THEM. The tight performances on the 2005 Atlantic collection have a classic-rock authority, though the '60s and '70s influences are subtle on these 13 originals. Tracks like “Heroes,” “Save Me” and “I Dare You” (all of which were Billboard Mainstream Rock Top 10 singles) have a wide dynamic range that showcases frontman Brent Smith's vocals to fine effect, and the instrumental work is equally outstanding. Guitarist Jasin Todd and bassist Brad Stewart left the band after the platinum-certified US & THEM, and this final album from the original lineup remains among Shinedown's most memorable.
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.
Ah ... The Name Is Bootsy, Baby (Album of the Day)
By the time AH … THE NAME IS BOOTSY, BABY was issued in 1977, R&B fans needed no introduction to Bootsy Collins; the bass ace from space was a veteran of James Brown's band and Parliament-Funkadelic. The Warner Bros. collection, the second from Bootsy's Rubber Band, was co-produced by George Clinton and features such funk all-stars as keyboardist Bernie Worrell and horn players Fred Wesley and Maceo Parker. Including the classic “The Pinocchio Theory” and favorites like “What's a Telephone Bill?,” the songs are also top-notch, and Collins sings uptempo jams and ballads with equal aplomb. The first P-Funk-related release to top Billboard's R&B/Soul album chart, the set is cited as the performer's best by many fans. If you want the funk, there's one man you can rely on - THE NAME IS BOOTSY, BABY.
Tonight's the Night (Album of the Day)
Though recorded quickly, TONIGHT'S THE NIGHT took almost two years to release, perhaps because its subject matter was so painful – the album is Neil Young's farewell to roadie Bruce Berry and Crazy Horse guitarist Danny Whitten, both of whom died of heroin overdoses. Nils Lofgren and pedal steel player Ben Keith join the Crazy Horse rhythm section behind Neil, and the music is as raw as the emotions on these dozen tracks (which include a live performance from 1970 featuring Whitten). If the playing on songs like “Albuquerque” or “Roll Another Number (For The Road)” is first-take loose, the collection gains a cumulative power as Young witnesses the idealism of the Woodstock generation crashing and burning before him. Released 45 years ago this weekend, TONIGHT'S THE NIGHT is a dark night of the soul that critics still hail as one of the singer-songwriter's greatest achievements.
Hey Jude (Album of the Day)
Soul shouter Wilson Pickett had a good ear for material and was not averse to looking for it on rock radio; HEY JUDE includes a fantastically funky version of the Beatles epic as well as Steppenwolf's “Born To Be Wild.” As an established hitmaker, Pickett also had his pick of songs from such gifted writers as Isaac Hayes, Bobby Womack and George Jackson for the 1969 Atlantic collection, so groovy vibes never overwhelm gritty R&B. Cut at Fame Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, with producers Rick Hall and Tom Dowd, the album also features the talents of Duane Allman, whose taut guitar leads would soon elevate him from session work to headliner status. If ever there was a performer who could take a song and “make it better,” it's Wilson Pickett, and HEY JUDE is the proof of that.
UTOPIA PARKWAY (Album of the Day)
“When we were teenagers, we liked listening to Kinks records because we'd never been to England, and we got a sense of what it was like to live there,” said the late, great Adam Schlesinger of Fountains of Wayne's second album. Named after a Queens, N.Y. thoroughfare, UTOPIA PARKWAY revels in the people, places and music of Schlesinger and fellow singer-songwriter Chris Collingwood's '70s/'80s suburban youth. Such originals as “Troubled Times,” “Red Dragon Tattoo” and “Denise” are filled with memorable melodies and telling lyrical details leavened by a sense of humor. Adding a little muscle to the band, touring guitarist Jody Porter and drummer Brian Young joined the line-up to ensure the 1999 Atlantic collection had just the right ratio of power to pop. Crank this one up and enjoy a virtual ride down UTOPIA PARKWAY.
Storms of Life (Album of the Day)
After most of the major labels in Nashville had turned him down for being “too country,” Randy Travis signed to Warner Bros. and released STORMS OF LIFE. With a rich baritone closer to Lefty Frizzell than the pop crossover sounds then favored in Music City, Travis did stand apart, and that might have been the secret of his success – the 1986 collection went multi-platinum and can now be seen as a watershed moment in country's rise to commercial prominence. Its ten songs include a terrific mix of material including a pair of Travis originals and no less than four Top 10 Country singles: “On the Other Hand,” “1982,” “Diggin' up Bones” and “No Place Like Home.” Randy Travis was born on this day in 1959, and in his honor we'll give the superb STORMS OF LIFE another spin.
Porcupine (Album of the Day)
Emerging from Liverpool at the end of the 1970s, Echo and the Bunnymen colored their distinctive brand of post-punk with the psychedelia of the 1960s. That neo-psych approach is particularly strong on the band's third album, PORCUPINE. Produced by Lighting Seeds leader Ian Broudie (who also helmed the Bunnymen's debut), the 1983 collection features echoey vocals, dense soundscapes and exotic Eastern touches (Indian violinist Shankar provides string accompaniment here). The recording of PORCUPINE was prickly, but for its ten anthemic originals - including the title track, “Back Of Love” and U.K. hit “The Cutter” - many fans cite the album as their favorite. We'll cue up the collection now to wish Bunnymen frontman Ian McCulloch a happy birthday.
Ray Charles in Person (Album of the Day)
On this day in 2002, Ray Charles received an honorary degree from Albany State University in his Georgia hometown, adding to such laurels as Kennedy Center and Grammy Lifetime Achievement awards and induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. These accolades followed decades of groundbreaking R&B music, but what would it have been like to see the Genius of Soul at the beginning of his storied career? RAY CHARLES IN PERSON gives us some idea - the Atlantic album features live recordings of Ray in his late-'50s prime. All but one of the tracks was recorded by a radio dj at a WAOK-sponsored show in Atlanta, GA in May, 1959; “Yes, Indeed” hails from 1958's Newport Jazz Festival. With a hot band (including sax greats Hank Crawford and David Newman) and the Raelets behind him, Brother Ray sizzles on such songs as “What’d I Say,” “Drown In My Own Tears” and “Tell The Truth.” Soul never got more incendiary than RAY CHARLES IN PERSON.
Total Life Forever (Album of the Day)
Oxford indie rock favorites Foals described TOTAL LIFE FOREVER as “like the dream of an eagle dying,” which captures both the collection's broad sonic vistas and occasionally heavy themes. Recorded in Gothenburg, Sweden, the group's second studio set trades in some of the post-punk edges of their debut for atmospheric, emotionally resonant songs like “Blue Blood,” “Spanish Sahara” and the title track. Frontman Yannis Philippakis' interest in future studies crops up in a few places here, but even when you don't feel like parsing the lyrics, there's an ocean of beautiful guitar playing to float on. A Top Ten U.K. hit and shortlisted for the country's prestigious Mercury Prize, TOTAL LIFE FOREVER was released 10 years ago this weekend and remains as ambitious and alluring as its name suggests.