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Everything in Transit (Album of the Day)
After three albums fronting pop-punk band Something Corporate, Andrew McMahon struck off on his own as Jack's Mannequin. McMahon spent most of the money in his savings account to record EVERYTHING IN TRANSIT - and was vindicated when the set was picked up by Maverick. Helmed by the singer-songwriter and Something Corporate producer Jim Wirt, the 2005 collection ups the energy of that band with a little help from Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee. Structured around the concept of a musician's return home, the ten originals are jam-packed with classic pop hooks; highlights include “Holiday from Real,” “Dark Blue” and “Miss Delaney.” McMahon had been diagnosed with leukemia while finishing the album but got a successful stem cell transplant the day EVERYTHING IN TRANSIT was released, and you can hear that triumph in the music.
Grievous Angel (Album of the Day)
Following a summer tour, Gram Parsons dashed off a couple of new songs (“Return Of The Grievous Angel,” “In My Hour Of Darkness”), dusted off a few old ones (including “Hickory Wind” and “$1000 Wedding” from his days with The Byrds and The Flying Burrito Brothers, respectively) and convened his band in the studio to cut his second Reprise album. GRIEVOUS ANGEL was released 45 years ago – four months after Parsons' untimely demise in Joshua Tree, California. The album stands among his best work, with superb playing from the likes of guitarist James Burton, and some beautiful harmonizing from Emmylou Harris (and on the final track, Linda Ronstadt). Gram Parsons called the sound he pioneered “cosmic American music,” and GRIEVOUS ANGEL remains a shining example of the form.
Kickin it Up (Album of the Day)
Country hitmaker John Michael Montgomery kicked his career up a notch with his second album, KICKIN' IT UP; the 1994 collection went quadruple-platinum, besting its predecessor by a million sales or so. Its ten tracks include four Country Top 10s: “Be My Baby Tonight,” “Rope the Moon,” “If You've Got Love” and “I Swear,” which became a pop chart-topper by vocal group All-4-One a year later. Balancing heartfelt ballads with more energetic country-rock, the album has something for everyone, and quickly shot to the top of the Billboard 200. KICKIN' IT UP celebrates its 25th anniversary today, and while John Michael Montgomery's domination of the charts wouldn't end with the set, it remains among the Kentucky native's very best.
Amazing Grace: The Complete Recordings (Album of the Day)
Aretha Franklin learned to sing in church (her father was Detroit's noted Reverend C. L. Franklin), so it's fitting that AMAZING GRACE is her biggest-selling album. Recorded at Los Angeles' New Temple Missionary Baptist Church on January 13 and 14, 1972, the live album features transcendent performances of such standards as "Precious Memories," "What A Friend We Have In Jesus" and "How I Got Over," and was greeted with rave reviews. The collection would go on to sell more than two million copies in the in U.S. alone and still also holds the record as the best-selling live gospel album of all time. It also earned the singer a Grammy award, her first for Best Soul Gospel Performance. Remastered and expanded in 1999 to include all the recordings from both nights, AMAZING GRACE: THE COMPLETE RECORDINGS has just been released on vinyl for the first time ever, and we'll give it a spin in honor of the Queen of Soul's birthday.
Head to the Rhino Store to grab an exclusive poster with your purchase of the album. While supplies last.
Forever Young (Super Deluxe) (Album of the Day)
When Alphaville released their first single "Big In Japan" in 1984, the song went to #1 in Germany, Sweden, Switzerland and on the Billboard Dance Chart and dominated the Top 10 in the U.K. and many other countries. After their globally successful first single, Marian Gold, Bernhard Lloyd and Frank Mertens recorded their debut album, FOREVER YOUNG, that enjoys international popularity to this day. Such favorites as “Sounds Like A Melody,” “Fallen Angel” and the much-covered title track remain compulsively listenable, and the classic synth-pop collection hit the Top 20 in six European countries, going triple Gold in the band's native Germany. Now available, the 3-CD/LP/DVD Super Deluxe Edition of FOREVER YOUNG includes the first-ever remastered version of the album, plus single sides, rare demos and alternative versions as well as a 60-minute documentary.
Porno for Pyros (Album of the Day)
Following the dissolution of Jane's Addiction, frontman Perry Farrell and drummer Stephen Perkins recruited guitarist Peter DiStefano and bassist Martyn LeNoble to carry on as Porno For Pyros. Expectations were high for the band's self-titled debut, and it doesn't disappoint; while the 1993 Warner Bros. set bears some similarity to Jane's Addiction (a couple of its songs were composed before that group's break-up), it stands proudly on its own. Though still punchy and concise, the album emphasizes progressive textures, covering a lot of stylistic ground in the process. The subject matter is equally diverse – paired tracks “Cursed Female” and “Cursed Male” examine gender roles, Modern Rock chart-topper “Pets” has an extraterrestrial theme, and a couple songs deal with the then-recent L.A. riots. To celebrate Perry Farrell's 60th birthday, we'll give PORNO FOR PYROS another spin.
Me, Myself, an Eye (Album of the Day)
Among jazz's all-time greats, Charles Mingus made seminal contributions to the music as a bassist, bandleader and composer. Released 40 years ago this month, ME MYSELF AN EYE was recorded near the end of Mingus' career, when the ravages of ALS left him unable to play. But his forceful personality was ever-present in the studio, bringing the best out of the big band assembled for these sessions, and his tapes and piano sketches provided the basis for Jack Walrath's arrangements. Opening the set is the side-long “Three Worlds Of Drums,” on which longtime Mingus band member Danny Richmond is joined by fellow drummers Steve Gadd and Joe Chambers. With guitar and electronic instrumentation in places, the Atlantic collection touches on fusion, and axeman Larry Coryell is another luminary heard on the superb ME MYSELF AN EYE.
Feel No Fret (Album of the Day)
A Scottish funk group might have seemed a novelty at the beginning of the 1970s, but by the time of FEEL NO FRET at the end of the decade, the Average White Band were a force to be reckoned with on dance floors. Produced by AWB themselves, the 1979 collection features an outstanding lineup of songs including “When Will You Be Mine,” “Atlantic Avenue” and “Too Late to Cry” (which includes Luther Vandross on backing vocals); joining those originals is a soulful cover of “Walk On By” that was a minor hit in both the U.S and England. With its varied tempos and moods, killer grooves and impassioned performances, the Average White Band's FEEL NO FRET is far above average.
Fool for the City (Remastered) (Album of the Day)
The blues and heavy metal had a baby at the end of the 1960s, and they called it boogie rock. Founded by singer/guitarist Lonesome Dave Peverett and drummer Roger Earl (both of U.K. blues revivalists Savoy Brown), Foghat knew how to boogie, and proved it on FOOL FOR THE CITY. The band's fifth album (and first platinum release) features a solid set of songs including the title track, the outstanding ballad “Take It Or Leave It” and their iconic hit single “Slow Ride” (heard here in its 8-minute full version). The 1975 collection remains among the most enjoyable from the golden age of Album Oriented Rock, and we'll crank up the volume on the remastered FOOL FOR THE CITY in honor of April Fool's Day.
Slide it In (Ultimate Edition) (Album of the Day)
Whitesnake scored its first platinum-selling album in 1984 with SLIDE IT IN, a release that has sold more than six million copies worldwide thanks to hard-rocking songs like "Love Ain't No Stranger," "Slow An' Easy" and the title track. The album turns 35 this year and in honor of the anniversary, a 6-CD/1-DVD version has just been released. The Ultimate Special Edition includes newly remastered versions of both the U.K. and U.S. mixes of the album plus unreleased live and studio recordings, music videos, concert footage and a new interview with Whitesnake founder and frontman David Coverdale. As the singer notes, "SLIDE IT IN was always meant to be a structured, more electric modern take on the classic blues-based hard rock that Whitesnake were famous for, but our new Hook City Hooligan, Mixer Extraordinaire Christopher Collier, has hand-tooled this classic record for the 21st century."