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Little Creatures (Album of the Day)
Outsider artist Howard Finster's cover design for LITTLE CREATURES suggests eccentric fun, and the music on Talking Heads' sixth studio set really delivers it. With an occasional steel guitar lick, Americana is more prominent than the African rhythms the quartet employed on such albums as REMAIN IN LIGHT, but more importantly this is an album built on accessible songs. Such hook-filled tracks as “And She Was,” “The Lady Don't Mind” and “Road to Nowhere” helped consolidate the group's growing success while retaining the off-kilter lyrics that had long been the Heads' hallmark. Now celebrating its 35th anniversary, LITTLE CREATURES was both a popular and critical triumph, selling more than 2 million copies and topping the annual Village Voice Pazz and Jop poll.
Pain in My Heart (Album of the Day)
Otis Redding's debut, PAIN IN MY HEART, promised great things to come from the Georgia-born performer. The 1964 collection was recorded at Stax in Memphis, with studio co-founder Jim Stewart behind the boards and house band Booker T. & The M.G.'s (augmented by keyboardist Isaac Hayes) behind Redding to provide instrumentation that packed a real punch. About half the album consists of covers, and from “You Send Me” to “Lucille,” Otis proves equally at ease singing simmering ballads and uptempo shouters. Originals including the pulsing “Security” and “These Arms of Mine” (Redding's breakthrough hit) show him to be a gifted songwriter as well, and PAIN IN MY HEART will bring joy to the heart of any '60s R&B fan
King Solomon (Album of the Day)
No less an authority than Atlantic Records' Jerry Wexler described Solomon Burke as "the greatest male soul singer of all time," and the Philadelphia-born performer is in a class with James Brown, Otis Redding and Wilson Pickett in all but chart success. One of Burke's final recordings for Atlantic, 1968's KING SOLOMON, displays not just his peerless vocals but his consummate wisdom when it came to choosing songs; the dozen tracks here were penned by some of the top R&B writers of the 1960s, Don Covay, Bert Berns and the team of Dan Penn and Spooner Oldham among them. Like labelmate Percy Sledge, Burke had a knack for country-flavored material (“It's Been A Change,” “Detroit City”), but he gave everything he sang a down-home seasoning that was irresistible. We're giving this fine album another spin in honor of Black Music Month.
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.