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Delicate Sound of Thunder (Album of the Day)
Pink Floyd's first proper live album, DELICATE SOUND OF THUNDER was recorded at Long Island's Nassau Coliseum while the band was touring behind A MOMENTARY LAPSE OF REASON. In the wake of Roger Waters' departure, David Gilmour, Nick Mason and Richard Wright pulled out all the stops on these shows, and the double-disc set serves Pink Floyd's music admirably. The group's then-current album figures prominently of course (“Sorrow” and “On the Turning Away” arguably surpass their studio versions), but the band also delivers vibrant performances of such classics as “Money,” “Comfortably Numb” and “Wish You Were Here.” DELICATE SOUND OF THUNDER was released 30 years ago today, and will thrill any fan of the Rock and Roll Hall of Famers.
SONG OF THE DAY - “It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas” (Album of the Day)
Along with composing Broadway hit The Music Man, songwriter Meredith Willson's résumé includes the yuletide classic “It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas.” The 1951 song has been covered by artists including Perry Como, Alvin and the Chipmunks and America, but few as memorably as Canadian hitmaker Michael Bublé. It's the leading track to the singer's 2011 Reprise album CHRISTMAS, a chart-topping, Juno Award-winning collection that's among the most successful seasonal albums of the millennium. With producer David Foster's sure hand behind the boards and Bublé's ever-supple vocals carrying the melody, “It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas” is the perfect kick-off to December, and it's our Song of the Day.
The Chic Organization 1977-1979 (Album of the Day)
Chic helped define the pop and disco genres with unstoppable hits like "Le Freak," "Good Times," "I Want Your Love" and "My Feet Keep Dancing." After Chic's initial success, founders Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards began making music for other artists as The Chic Organization; among their biggest successes was Sister Sledge's WE ARE FAMILY. The new THE CHIC ORGANIZATION 1977-1979 boxed set includes Chic's first three albums (CHIC, C'EST CHIC and RISQUÉ) along with WE ARE FAMILY - all newly remastered from the original Atlantic tapes under Rodgers' supervision. The 5-CD collection also features a disc of 12" mixes and 7" edits of such Chic classics as “Dance, Dance, Dance (Yowsah, Yowsah, Yowsah),” “My Forbidden Lover” and “Everybody Dance.”
Minute By Minute (Album of the Day)
The Doobie Brothers were already established hitmakers when they brought in Michael McDonald from Steely Dan to fill in for ailing singer Tom Johnston. As a writer and a vocalist, McDonald drew the Doobies closer to sophisticated R&B, and the broader range of styles paid huge dividends for the band. With horns and keyboards more prominent in the mix, 1978's MINUTE BY MINUTE established the group as masters of blue-eyed soul and easy-going funk, and the album soared to the top of the chart (it would eventually be certified triple-platinum). Among the many highlights are rocker “Don't Stop To Watch The Wheels” (sung by Johnston), bluegrass-flavored instro “Steamer Lane Breakdown” and No.1 hit (and triple Grammy winner) “What A Fool Believes.” Released 40 years ago this week, MINUTE BY MINUTE is among the most enjoyable 36 minutes you'll ever cue up.
Clutching At Straws: Deluxe Edition (Album of the Day)
Following the multi-platinum success of Marillion's concept album MISPLACED CHILDHOOD, the British quintet returned in 1987 with its fourth studio collection, CLUTCHING AT STRAWS. The set peaked at #2 on the U.K. charts, where it scored Top 40 hits with "Incommunicado," "Sugar Mice" and "Warm Wet Circles." Considered by many to be one of the neo-prog rocker's finest, the album would also turn out to be Marillion's final studio release with original singer Fish. Now available, a 4-CD+Blu-ray CLUTCHING AT STRAWS: DELUXE EDITION includes a newly remixed version of the album, a Marillion concert recorded at Scotland's Edinburgh Playhouse in December 1987, a disc of demo recordings, a band interview and promo films.
SONG OF THE DAY - “Unwrap You At Christmas” (Album of the Day)
From their original run in the 1960s, The Monkees amassed a dozen Top 40 hits, including a trio of tunes that soared to #1, with 16 million albums and 7.5 million singles sold – which makes it all the more surprising that the group never cut a holiday album before CHRISTMAS PARTY. The new Rhino collection opens with “Unwrap You At Christmas,” penned by Andy Partridge of XTC (one of several songs newly written for the band by a group of talented songwriters). Produced by Adam Schlesinger of Fountains of Wayne, the festive track features Micky Dolenz on lead vocals. With December 25th fast approaching, “Unwrap You At Christmas” is our Song of the Day.
SONG OF THE DAY - "Take it Easy" (Album of the Day)
Jackson Browne was struggling to finish writing “Take It Easy” when his friend Glenn Frey heard a bit of it and offered to help. The result became the lead-off track to the first Eagles album, and the band's first hit, rising to #12 on the U.S. singles chart. On its original release, Rolling Stone raved “The first time through, you could tell it had everything: danceable rhythm, catchy, winding melody, intelligent, affirmative lyrics, a progressively powerful arrangement mixing electric guitar and banjo, and a crisp vocal, with vibrant four-part harmony at just the right moments,” and decades later the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame named it among their top 500 songs. Glenn Frey was born on this day 70 years ago, and to mark the occasion, “Take It Easy” is our Song of the Day. Hear it on the new career-spanning Eagles boxed set, LEGACY, now streaming!
SONG OF THE DAY - "Big Yellow Taxi" (Album of the Day)
Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell was on her first trip to Hawaii when she came up with one of her most famous songs, "Big Yellow Taxi." “I took a taxi to the hotel and when I woke up the next morning, I threw back the curtains and saw these beautiful green mountains in the distance,” recalled the performer. “Then, I looked down and there was a parking lot as far as the eye could see, and it broke my heart.” Though environmental concerns are prominent in the lyrics, the message that “you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone” has a universal appeal that's inspired covers by such artists as Bob Dylan, Amy Grant and Counting Crows. The 1970 original appears on LADIES OF THE CANYON, and we'll make "Big Yellow Taxi" our Song of the Day to wish Joni Mitchell a happy birthday. Hear more Joni on the new LOVE HAS MANY FACES boxed set, now available on vinyl!
To Bonnie From Delaney (Mono) (Album of the Day)
Husband-and-wife team Delaney and Bonnie Bramlett had a decade in the music trenches and a pair of albums under their belts when they signed to Atlantic Records in 1970, Their first studio set for the label, TO BONNIE FROM DELANEY, captures the pair's blend of rock, soul and country at its peak, and became their highest charting album. The collection's dozen tracks include minor hits “Soul Shake” and “Free the People,” though such Delaney originals as “Hard Luck and Troubles” and Bonnie's powerhouse performance of “The Love of My Man” are just as distinctive. The musician friends who accompanied the Bramletts on their early albums and tours are the stuff of legend, and the luminaries heard on this set include Little Richard, Duane Allman, King Curtis, and “Sneaky” Pete Kleinow. Bonnie Bramlett celebrates a birthday today, and we'll wish her a happy one with the superb TO BONNIE FROM DELANEY.
Both Sides (Deluxe) (Album of the Day)
Released 25 years ago this month, Phil Collins' BOTH SIDES recalls the introspective atmosphere of his breakthrough solo debut FACE VALUE. Featuring the Top 10 hit “Both Sides of the Story” as well as further singles “Everyday” and “We Wait And We Wonder,” the Atlantic collection topped charts around the world and was certified platinum by the R.I.A.A. “BOTH SIDES is my favorite album, from a songwriting and creative perspective,” remarked the performer in a recent interview. “It was very much a solo album. I played everything, the songs just streamed out of me, and as a writer that's the kind of thing that you dream of.” Curated and compiled by Collins himself, the 2-CD Deluxe Edition of BOTH SIDES includes a disc of carefully selected b-side, demo and live tracks, six of which are previously unreleased on CD.