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Life's Too Good (Album of the Day)
There can't have been many people looking to Iceland for music's “next big thing” before the arrival of The Sugarcubes' debut, LIFE'S TOO GOOD, in 1988. While most members were veterans of the country's post-punk scene, the band was kind of a lark until the collection became a surprise success; the album made year-end best-of lists across Europe and America and lead single “Birthday” topped BBC DJ John Peel's Festive Fifty. Additional singles “Coldsweat” and “Deus” also paired playful lyrics to the appealing, occasionally eccentric, vocals of Björk Guðmundsdóttir and Einar Örn Benediktsson (an approach not unlike the B-52s in their prime). Though Björk would soon become a solo star, LIFE'S TOO GOOD is too good to relegate to footnote status in her career – it's gleeful proof that exciting alternative rock knows no international boundaries.
No Trendy Rechauffe (Live Birmingham 95) (Album of the Day)
The second of six strictly limited-edition albums in David Bowie's Brilliant Live Adventures series, NO TRENDY RÉCHAUFFÉ (LIVE BIRMINGHAM 95) was recorded live at the Birmingham NEC on December 13, 1995. The collection captures the final show of the Outside tour and was the first night of a five-night festival promoted as “The Big Twix Mix Show.” Such stalwarts as guitarists Carlos Alomar and Reeves Gabrels accompany David on these 15 tracks, which include rare performances of “Jump They Say” and “Strangers When We Meet,” as well as two versions of “Hallo Spaceboy,” a song intended as the singer-songwriter's next single. Now in stores, NO TRENDY RÉCHAUFFÉ (LIVE BIRMINGHAM 95) shows the incredible stage presence Bowie still had 30 years into his career.
Made In America (Album of the Day)
Forty years ago this month, The Blues Brothers released MADE IN AMERICA, the third and final album by the duo of “Joliet” Jake Blues (John Belushi) and Elwood Blues (Dan Aykroyd). On the heels of their hit movie, The Blues Brothers' popularity was at an all-time high when they cut the concert collection at Los Angeles' Universal Amphitheater in the summer of 1980. Musical director Paul Shaffer leads a top-notch backing band including Booker T. & The M.G.'s guitarist Steve Cropper and bassist Donald "Duck" Dunn – who drive a terrific version of that group's “Green Onions.” Among the other highlights on the Atlantic set are the opening medley of “Soul Finger” and “Funky Broadway,” a sizzling “Riot in Cell Block No. 9” and Top 40 single “Who's Making Love?” If the two frontmen are best known as comedians, the passion and musical chops here are serious, and MADE IN AMERICA is an invigorating salute to American blues and R&B.
Watt (Album of the Day)
Champions of British blues rock, Ten Years After earned a place in music history with an appearance at Woodstock that included an epic version of “I'm Going Home.” One year after that international breakthrough, the quartet delivered the electrifying WATT. The band's sixth album (and final one for their U.K. label Deram) closes with a live cover of “Sweet Little Sixteen” from the Isle of Wight Festival earlier in the year, but the rest of the self-produced set was cut at London's Olympic Sound Studios. Alvin Lee's originals include appealing touches of jazz and rockabilly, and the guitar hero's frenetic licks are dazzling throughout. Released 50 years ago this month and still true to its name, WATT is filled with powerhouse performances.
Big Joe Rides Again (Album of the Day)
The title of a preceding album proclaimed Big Joe Turner to be the boss of the blues; BIG JOE RIDES AGAIN displays Turner's command across several genres. The 1960 Atlantic collection includes jazz greats like tenor saxophonist Coleman Hawkins in the backing band, and if the tempos don't always qualify as rock 'n' roll, the spirit of Big Joe's boisterous delivery does. The 10 tracks here fit the singer like a glove, from jump blues opener “Switchin' In The Kitchen” to the easy-rollin' roar of “Rebecca” and sly “Here Comes Your Iceman” (both Turner originals) to standards like “Pennies From Heaven” (a BOSS OF THE BLUES outtake featuring pianist Pete Johnson). If you have any affinity for '50s R&B, you'll want to climb on board as BIG JOE RIDES AGAIN.
Tres Hombres (Expanded Remaster 2006) (Album of the Day)
After a pair of solid releases, the third time was the charm for the three hombres of ZZ Top. Produced by the estimable Bill Ham, TRES HOMBRES put Frank Beard, Billy Gibbons and Dusty Hill into the Billboard Top Ten, becoming the Texas trio's commercial breakthrough. The success was richly deserved; the 1973 collection features one of ZZ Top's best-ever sets of songs, delivered with sly humor and blues-rock grooves that just won't quit. The Expanded & Remastered edition of TRES HOMBRES restores the album's superior original mix and adds live bonus recordings of three of the set's highlights - “Waitin' For The Bus,” “Jesus Just Left Chicago” and the hit “La Grange” - and we'll give it a spin now to wish Gibbons a happy birthday.
Jimmie & Vella (Album of the Day)
Hardcore fans of '70s soul might recognize the names of Jimmie & Vella Cameron but few others will – and that's a shame. The brother-sister duo didn't make many records, but as this eponymous 1972 Atlantic collection shows, the pair are worthy of rediscovery. Cut at New York's Electric Lady Studios with producer Dave Palmer, these nine self-penned songs range from funky to folky to spiritual and are all expertly played and sung; the 7-minute “Rain” alone is worth the price of admission. While it doesn't include the colorful gatefold artwork of the original, the new digital release of JIMMIE & VELLA is a lot easier to find and just as wonderfully listenable.
The Best of Ray Charles - The Atlantic Years (Album of the Day)
Among America's greatest musical icons, Ray Charles' career stretched far beyond his late-1950s/early-1960s stint on Atlantic Records, but those breakthrough early sides have a magic to them that can't be denied. THE BEST OF RAY CHARLES: THE ATLANTIC YEARS captures the birth of soul on 20 tracks including such R&B chart-toppers as “What'd I Say,” “I've Got a Woman” and “Drown in My Own Tears” along with outstanding deeper cuts like “Swanee River Rock” and “Tell the Truth.” A terrific introduction to Brother Ray's work that longtime fans will also enjoy, THE ATLANTIC YEARS is now available in a special 2-LP edition on white vinyl.
Van Halen II (Album of the Day)
We'll kick off March Metal Madness with VAN HALEN II; released in March 1979, the Warner Bros. collection treads similar ground as the band's debut but with even greater confidence. Producer Ted Templeman is back behind the boards as the SoCal quartet serves up 10 hard rock anthems with deceptive ease, including “Beautiful Girls,” “Somebody Get Me a Doctor” and the irresistible “Dance the Night Away.” Eddie Van Halen's fretwork is dazzling throughout (in particular on acoustic instrumental “Spanish Fly”), and frontman David Lee Roth's humor and energy give the collection appeal far beyond headbangers. A Top 10 hit that eventually went 5x platinum, VAN HALEN II remains a near-perfect party record.
Songs For Drella (Album of the Day)
Lou Reed and John Cale had rarely crossed paths after their Velvet Underground days but teamed up again to make SONGS FOR DRELLA in memory of their mentor, Andy Warhol. A contraction of Dracula and Cinderella, “Drella” was a nickname for the pop art icon, and the 1990 Sire collection paints pictures of his life and milieu from multiple perspectives and in roughly chronological order. With Reed's guitar and Cale's keyboards and viola accompanying their unmistakable voices, songs like “Style It Takes,” “Trouble with Classicists” and “Nobody But You” have an insight and empathy that will resonate with listeners even if they know little of Warhol. Reed was born on this day in 1942, and SONGS FOR DRELLA stands with the very best of his post-VU recordings.