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Low-Life (Album of the Day)
After POWER, CORRUPTION AND LIES and “Blue Monday” propelled New Order to prominence, LOW LIFE took the quartet a step further in terms of accessibility. From the 1-2 punch of opening tracks “Love Vigilantes” and “The Perfect Kiss,” the 1985 collection neatly straddles the urgent rock of the band's Joy Division roots with the synth-driven dance grooves for which they'd become more closely identified. As catchy as the album is, it's also filled with strange beauty (the instrumental “Elegia”) and, thanks to Bernard Sumner's plaintive vocals and Peter Hook's melodic bass work, plenty of soul. Released 35 years ago today, LOW-LIFE encapsulates everything that's great about New Order and remains a high-water mark among fans.
True (Special Edition) (Album of the Day)
Spandau Ballet was originally part of England's New Romantic movement, but it wasn't until the group donned slick suits and reinvented themselves as blue-eyed soul crooners that they really hit their stride. Cut in the Bahamas, the quintet's third album added R&B and jazz influences to their trusty synth-pop and proved a commercial breakthrough. TRUE reached No.1 on the U.K. album chart on this day in 1983, powered by distinctive songs like “Communication,” “Gold” and the classic title track (which topped the U.K. singles chart and went Top 10 in America as well). The set's sleek production and tasteful arrangements practically drip with style, but there's passion here, too: when frontman Tony Hadley croons “this is the sound of my soul,” you believe him. The Special Edition of this '80s touchstone adds 14 bonus tracks, including instrumental, 12” and live versions of TRUE songs.
The Mike and Micky Show Live (Album of the Day)
Formed in Los Angeles for their eponymous television series, The Monkees delivered a singular mix of pop, rock, psychedelia, Broadway and country, selling some 16 million albums and 7.5 million singles during their original 1960s run. The band's appeal has continued to endure, and most recently surviving members Michael Nesmith and Micky Dolenz have toured the country, resulting in their first-ever concert album as a duo, THE MONKEES – THE MIKE & MICKY SHOW LIVE. Out now on CD and vinyl, the collection was recorded live in March 2019 and includes performances of all three of the band’s #1 hits (“Last Train To Clarksville,” “I’m A Believer” and “Daydream Believer”) along with many of Nesmith’s finest compositions and such Dolenz showcases as “Pleasant Valley Sunday.” With a pair of songs from 2016's GOOD TIMES album, THE MIKE & MICKY SHOW LIVE spans 50 years of musical magic.
The Button-Down Mind Strikes Back (Album of the Day)
Bob Newhart is best known as a TV sitcom star, but long before his self-titled series hit the airwaves, Newhart was a recording star. “The most celebrated new comedian since Attila” had scored a No.1 hit with his first comedy album and topped the U.S. chart again with its follow-up, THE BUTTON-DOWN MIND STRIKES BACK. Bob's deadpan takes on such topics as suicidal psychology, cheap airlines, monkeys on typewriters and retirement (which 60 years later he has yet to try) are models of comic timing. Recorded at San Francisco's hungry i club and Freddie's in Minneapolis, THE BUTTON-DOWN MIND STRIKES BACK earned a Best Comedy Performance-Spoken Word Grammy and will provide plenty of laughs for April Fools' Day.
THE BBC SESSIONS 1984 – 1986 (Album of the Day)
Founded in 1982 as “Pogue Mahone” in Kings Cross, London, The Pogues took inspiration from the likes of The Clash and The Sex Pistols as well as the band’s Irish heritage. Recorded relatively early in their career, THE BBC SESSIONS 1984 – 1986 showcases the distinctive Celtic-punk that was beginning to bring The Pogues international success. The collection draws from six separate live sessions including two from The John Peel Show (in April and December of 1984). Among the 23 tracks – 13 of which are previously unreleased apart from their initial airing – are such Shane MacGowan-penned favorites as “Streams of Whiskey,” “A Pair Of Brown Eyes” and “If I Should Fall from Grace with God.” THE BBC SESSIONS captures one of the 1980s' most exciting U.K. groups in all its ragged glory.
Reckoning (Live) (Album of the Day)
The Grateful Dead grew out of Bay Area folk, country and blues groups of the early 1960s, and those roots are apparent on RECKONING. Released 40 years ago this month, the double album draws from the acoustic sets that opened the sextet's fall 1980 shows at San Francisco's Warfield Theater and New York's Radio City Music Hall. The song line-up includes such Dead favorites as “Dire Wolf” and “Ripple” alongside covers from the likes of George Jones and bluesman Jesse Fuller, and the mix of original and traditional material is seamless. The set is all the more powerful for its understated performances; Jerry Garcia's finger picking is particularly deft, and it's clear this is music near to his heart. Much as the band reinvented their studio approach with WORKINGMAN'S DEAD and AMERICAN BEAUTY, this fresh take on live recording makes RECKONING a favorite of many Deadheads.
Shake Some Action (Album of the Day)
After a five year break that saw the departure of frontman Roy Loney, Flamin' Groovies returned to the record racks with SHAKE SOME ACTION. The 1976 collection, the band's first for Sire, marked a shift in direction to power pop informed by the British Invasion; the San Francisco quintet worked with producers Greg Shaw and Dave Edmunds (who shared an affinity for the rock of preceding decades), cutting the bulk of the album in Wales. While powerful covers of W. C. Handy and Chuck Berry songs recall the band's earlier incarnation, it's the chiming originals by Cyril Jordan and Chris Wilson that leave the strongest impression - “You Tore Me Down,” “I Can't Hide” and the title track have drive and melody that linger long in the memory. The Groovies were far ahead of the retro curve here, and SHAKE SOME ACTION rings with the excitement of a band that knew they were onto something good.
Discovery (Album of the Day)
Though French house heroes Daft Punk were hailed for their first album, they decided to take a slightly different direction on follow-up DISCOVERY. The collection's accessible song structures reflect the joy the duo felt discovering music in their late-1970s youth, and as member Thomas Bangalter put it, “HOMEWORK ... was a way to say to the rock kids, like, 'Electronic music is cool.' DISCOVERY was the opposite, of saying to the electronic kids, 'Rock is cool, you know?'” Working with noted producers Todd Edwards and Romanthony, Daft Punk deliver such propulsive tracks as “Digital Love,” “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger” and the irresistible “One More Time.” The 2001 collection also marked the debut of the group's distinctive mechanical personae, and since the robots have recently retired, we'll celebrate 20 years of this club classic with an enhanced DISCOVERY playlist.
Yessongs (Album of the Day)
Yes was firing on all cylinders in the fall of 1972. The prog-rock pioneers’ fifth studio album, CLOSE TO THE EDGE, was a smash success as audiences around the world packed arenas to see the legendary group perform. The band captured the magic of that tour on its first live album, YESSONGS. The classic lineup of vocalist Jon Anderson, bassist Chris Squire, guitarist Steve Howe, keyboardist Rick Wakeman and drummer Alan White (with previous percussionist Bill Bruford on a couple of the earlier cuts) is at the peak of its powers on epic versions of such favorites as “Roundabout,” “Siberian Khatru” and “Yours Is No Disgrace.” Released in 1973, the triple-LP sold over a million copies (and blew minds with Roger Dean’s iconic artwork), and we'll give YESSONGS another spin now to wish Steve Howe a happy birthday.
The Papercut Chronicles (Album of the Day)
Geneva, New York's high school physical education program may not have produced too many champion athletes, but in Gym Class Heroes, it gave us one of the most exciting alternative rap groups in recent memory. After some of their independent recordings caught the ear of Fall Out Boy's Pete Wentz, he signed the band to his label for THE PAPERCUT CHRONICLES. The 2005 collection is as conversant with indie-punk or the classic rock of Pink Floyd and Supertramp as it is with hip-hop, and Travis McCoy's assured vocals get strong instrumental support on such tracks as “Taxi Driver,” “Faces in the Hall” and “Cupid's Chokehold” (which has become very popular on TikTok of late). Gym Class Heroes revisited THE PAPERCUT CHRONICLES with a sequel six years later, but don't sleep on the original!