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Ten Silver Drops (Album of the Day)
Formed in Dallas by brothers Brandon and Benjamin Curtis, and Josh Garza, indie rockers Secret Machines had a well-received debut under their belts when they released TEN SILVER DROPS in 2006. The self-produced Reprise collection includes eight expansive songs that bridge the gap between space rock and arena rock – it's equal parts atmosphere and anthem on such tracks as “Lightning Blue Eyes,” “I Want to Know if It's Still Possible” (which features Garth Hudson of The Band on accordion) and lead single “Alone, Jealous and Stoned” (a favorite of David Bowie). Ben Curtis would depart after TEN SILVER DROPS to form School of Seven Bells, and this final set from the original trio was hailed by Entertainment Weekly as “a spiritual sibling to such previous great, emotionally raw ruminations on shattered personal lives as Phil Collins’ FACE VALUE and Beck’s SEA CHANGE.”
Stay Free (Album of the Day)
Among R&B's greatest power couples, Nickolas Ashford & Valerie Simpson paid plenty of dues as songwriters in the 1960s, including a string of hits for Motown, before stepping into the spotlight themselves. Landing on Warner Bros. in the early 1970s, the duo finished the decade with STAY FREE, a mix of soul, funk and disco that sounds just as alluring now as on its original release 40 years ago this month. Front-loaded with singles “Found A Cure” (a Top 40 pop hit), “Nobody Knows” and the title track, the collection makes for compulsive listening; Ashford & Simpson were seasoned producers as well as writers, and knew how to get the most out of percussion, string and horn sections. The gold-certified STAY FREE offers musical liberation that's both sophisticated and danceable.
Elevator (Album of the Day)
Canadian quartet Hot Hot Heat made an impressive debut for Sub Pop in 2002 before moving to Sire for follow-up ELEVATOR three years later. Produced by Dave Sardy (Jet, Oasis), the album is a rush of pop-punk energy like its predecessor, with singer-keyboardist Steve Bays clearly having a ball and guitarist Dante DeCaro making his swan song with the band a memorable one before departing for Wolf Parade. Singles “Goodnight, Goodnight” and “Middle of Nowhere” both reached the Modern Rock chart, and “You Owe Me an IOU” and “Running out of Time” are just as compulsively listenable. A Top 40 success, ELEVATOR is sure to lift the mood of any indie rock fan.
Dixie Fried (Album of the Day)
As a sideman and a producer, Memphis music great James Luther Dickinson left his fingerprints on seminal recordings by the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Big Star, the Replacements and many others. After his group, the Dixie Flyers, replaced the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section as Atlantic Records' backing band of choice, Dickinson got the chance to cut a solo album for the label in 1972. DIXIE FRIED is as eccentric, soulful and masterfully played as you'd expect, distilling a potent brew from rockabilly, blues, country and New Orleans R&B (Dr. John is a prominently featured guest). Covers predominate - Carl Perkin's title track and Bob Dylan's “John Brown” are a couple of the highlights - but these songs have been reimagined from the ground up, and the results are wonderful. This year, try your Thanksgiving DIXIE FRIED.
Do I Speak For the World (Album of the Day)
Son of The O'Jays' Eddie Levert, Gerald Levert was second-generation soul royalty and a hitmaker in his own right with trio LeVert in the 1980s and a solo career that began in 1991. DO I SPEAK FOR THE WORLD came late in that career – it was the final studio album released during the singer's lifetime – but it captured Gerald at the top of his game. A Top 10 R&B hit, the Atlantic collection offers polished production and consistently engaging grooves well beyond the singles “Lay You Down,” “One Million Times” and “So What (If You Got A Baby).” Acclaimed as a strong return to form, DO I SPEAK FOR THE WORLD was released 15 years ago, and through its romantic balladry and socially aware songs, Gerald Levert still speaks passionately to the world.
Gold - Best of (Album of the Day)
U.K. quintet Spandau Ballet made their live debut 40 years ago, and soon thereafter were standard bearers for the New Romantic movement with a Chrysalis Records contract to their name. Though successful from the outset in England, the band really took off when it added blue-eyed soul to its sound on such hits as “True,” which topped the British singles chart. GOLD: THE BEST OF includes all the group's U.K. charting singles for Chrysalis (plus a couple for their next label, Epic), among them “Communication,” “Only When You Leave” and the title song. As the 17-track collection covers the evolution of Spandau Ballet, you get so much more than Tony Hadley's achingly romantic croon – GOLD is the definitive look at the band's early- to mid-1980s heyday.
You're In My Heart (Album of the Day)
Legendary singer-songwriter Rod Stewart is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, with more than 250 million records sold worldwide during a stellar career that includes nine #1 albums in the U.K. and 17 Top 10 albums in the US. In honor of his 50th anniversary as a solo artist, the new YOU’RE IN MY HEART: ROD STEWART WITH THE ROYAL PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA pairs classic vocal tracks from the performer's most popular songs with stirring orchestral arrangements. Produced by Trevor Horn, the collection is packed with Rod's best-known hits including “Sailing,” “The First Cut Is The Deepest,” “Maggie May,” “Reason To Believe” and “Tonight’s The Night (Gonna Be Alright).” YOU’RE IN MY HEART also features a new version of the favorite “It Takes Two” featuring Robbie Williams and a brand-new Stewart original, “Stop Loving Her Today.”
Toulouse Street (Album of the Day)
The Doobie Brothers' second album, TOULOUSE STREET, was the one that truly put the Northern California quintet on the map. Produced by the estimable Ted Templeman, the 1972 Warner Bros. collection marked the arrival of bassist Tiran Porter and second drummer Michael Hossack, giving the group new reserves of power. Just as importantly, the songs were top-notch; these 10 tracks feature the first Doobie hits (“Listen to the Music” and “Jesus Is Just Alright”) and several others that were also single-worthy (“Rockin' Down the Highway”). Fine harmony and instrumental work and a wide array of influences including country, folk and R&B make this set a showcase for all that the Brothers could do, and its platinum-selling success was well-deserved. If you only know this band from its later Michael McDonald-led records, pay TOULOUSE STREET a visit!
Technical Ecstasy (Album of the Day)
With punk on the rise and managerial problems dogging them, the members of Black Sabbath had their backs against the wall in 1976, and TECHNICAL ECSTASY was their response. Recorded at Miami's Criteria Studios (where the Eagles had to put HOTEL CALIFORNIA on hold several times when Sabbath got too loud), the collection is among the quartet's most diverse as they tried to broaden their sound. There's a Beatle-esque ballad sung by drummer Bill Ward, a funky groove to “All Moving Parts (Stand Still),” and Gerald Woodroffe joined the foursome to provide keyboards. But like earlier albums, Tony Iommi's guitar riffs remain immense, and there are some powerful rockers here (“Dirty Women,” “Back Street Kids”). TECHNICAL ECSTASY was the next-to-last from Black Sabbath's original incarnation; we'll give the set another spin to wish singer Ozzy Osbourne a happy birthday.
All the Things We Are (Album of the Day)
With a career that stretched back to the early 1950s and included the iconic TIME OUT for Columbia, Dave Brubeck may have seemed an elder statesman of jazz when ALL THE THINGS WE ARE was released, but the 1976 Atlantic album showed the pianist had an adventurous streak that went beyond innovative time signatures. Cut over two sessions a couple of years earlier, the set pairs Brubeck's trio with alto saxophonists Lee Konitz and Anthony Braxton; the latter in particular adds an avant-garde edge to the proceedings. Along with Dave's original “In Your Own Sweet Way,” the track list dives deep into the great American songbook, and an outstanding 20-minute Jimmy Van Heusen medley is one of the highlights. Dave Brubeck was born on this day in 1920, and we'll give the underrated ALL THE THINGS WE ARE another spin in honor of the Grammy Lifetime Achievement winner.