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Have Some Fun: Live at Ungano's (Album of the Day)
To celebrate the release of FUN HOUSE in the summer of 1970, The Stooges brought the uncompromising ferocity of their second album to Ungano’s, a hole-in-the-wall club on New York's Upper West Side. A reel-to-reel set up in the audience recorded the manic maelstrom as the band performed the entire album (except “L.A. Blues”). The adrenalin-drenched set heard on HAVE SOME FUN: LIVE AT UNGANO'S features singer Iggy Pop, guitarists Ron Asheton and Bill Cheatham, drummer Scott Asheton, bassist Zeke Zettner and saxophonist Steve Mackay. The band closes the show with a 10-minute-plus psychedelic freak-out jam featuring two unreleased tracks - “Have Some Fun” and “My Dream Is Dead.” We'll wish Iggy a happy birthday now by cranking up LIVE AT UNGANO'S.
Wildest Dreams (Album of the Day)
Released 25 years ago today, WILDEST DREAMS shows Tina Turner enjoying the fruits of her hard-won success. Hitmakers Trevor Horn and Terry Britten lead the production team on the Parlophone collection, and a who's who of music turn out to support the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer – U2's Bono and The Edge penned “GoldenEye” (the theme song to the James Bond movie) and the Pet Shop Boys wrote “Confidential” for her, while Sting (“On Silent Wings”) and Barry White (the title track) duet with the star. For all the high-wattage guests, Turner's powerhouse vocals carry this exuberant and varied set, which sold some 6 million copies worldwide – this is an album pop/rock fans could only imagine in their WILDEST DREAMS.
Music Inspired By Biggie: I Got A Story To Tell (Album of the Day)
Christopher Wallace, aka The Notorious B.I.G., lived up to his stage name, leaving behind a legacy that still looms large over the hip-hop industry decades after his death. The Netflix documentary Biggie: I Got A Story To Tell celebrates his life through rare footage and in-depth interviews with his family and closest friends, and Rhino joins the celebration with a digital collection. With 14 tracks including Grammy-nominated hits like “Big Poppa,” “Hypnotize” and “Mo Money Mo Problems,” MUSIC INSPIRED BY BIGGIE: I GOT A STORY TO TELL spotlights the distinctive flow and lyrical storytelling that helped make the performer a hip-hop icon, Along with key songs from his two studio albums, READY TO DIE and LIFE AFTER DEATH, the new collection also has music not featured in the documentary, including selections from the posthumous albums released after Biggie’s 1997 murder.
'A' (A La Mode) (40th Anniversary Edition) (Album of the Day)
After completing its acclaimed folk-rock trilogy in 1979, Jethro Tull returned a year later with A, an album that introduced a different sound and a new line-up. Originally intended as a solo record by band founder Ian Anderson, the collection also features Tull guitarist Martin Barre as well as Dave Pegg (bass, mandolin) and Mark Craney (drums), along with guest performer Eddie Jobson – a Roxy Music alumnus – on keyboard, synthesizer and electric violin. The album and subsequent tour were well-received by fans around the world, and in honor of the set's 40th anniversary, a new 3-CD/3-DVD version has just been released. ‘A’ (A LA MODE) (THE 40TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION) includes five unreleased tracks from the recording sessions, a full 1980 concert from the LA Sports Arena, the Slipstream video collection and much more.
Cuz I Love You (Super Deluxe) (Album of the Day)
Born Melissa Viviane Jefferson in Detroit on this day in 1988, Lizzo's meteoric rise to stardom – from living out of her car to Time magazine's “Entertainer of the Year” - is nothing short of inspiring. That success was solidified by her major label debut, CUZ I LOVE YOU; the 2019 Atlantic collection spent nearly three months in Billboard's Top 10 and was named one of the year's best by outlets including Entertainment Weekly, GQ and Rolling Stone. This exuberant mix of rap, pop and R&B showcases the singer's charisma and vocal range on 11 originals including “Juice,” “Tempo” (featuring Missy Elliott), “Lingerie” and the title track. Among the extras on the Grammy-nominated Deluxe Edition of CUZ I LOVE YOU is the No.1 hit “Truth Hurts.” Happy Birthday, Lizzo!
A Sailor's Guide to Earth (Album of the Day)
Kentucky-born singer-songwriter Sturgill Simpson redefined outlaw country with his major label debut, A SAILOR'S GUIDE TO EARTH. The 2016 Atlantic collection was cut in Nashville but casts the Music City rulebook to the winds, incorporating progressive flourishes (check out the fantastical cover art), soul (The Dap-Kings make a guest appearance) and a Nirvana cover (“In Bloom”) among other things. It's a concept album written as an open letter to Simpson's newborn son, and such heartfelt songs as “Brace for Impact (Live a Little)” and “Keep It Between the Lines” will resonate with fans of every stripe. For all its ambition, the self-produced set isn't shy about showing its traditional roots, helping A SAILOR'S GUIDE TO EARTH earn the Grammy for Best Country Album.
Fair Warning (Album of the Day)
Van Halen's 4th studio album for Warner Bros., FAIR WARNING, displays a darker side of the legendary hard rock quartet. While it's produced by old hand Ted Templeman and includes the usual radio-friendly singles (“Unchained,” “So This Is Love?”), the collection sees Eddie Van Halen's guitar work becoming more complex and involved, and frontman David Lee Roth's lyrics becoming tougher and grittier (as titles like "Mean Street" and "Dirty Movies" suggest). It was a focused attack that said “the party's over,” though even with its serious tone, it still made the Top 10 and sold more than 2 million copies. Released 40 years ago today, FAIR WARNING is well worth revisiting for fans whose taste for pop-metal leans toward the metal side - as Allmusic puts it, the set “showcases the coiled power of Van Halen better than any other album.”
Discovery (Live in Rio) (Album of the Day)
Previously only available on VHS, Pet Shop Boys' DISCOVERY: LIVE IN RIO 1994 captures the synth-pop duo towards the end of their Discovery tour of Singapore, Australia and Latin America as a wildly enthusiastic audience cheered on PSB’s first visit to Brazil. Out today, the DVD and 2-CD release documents a show very different in feel to the ground-breaking tours of 1989 and 1991. The two-hour concert focused on uplifting songs that set a party vibe, with four dancers, backing singer Katie Kissoon and two Latin percussionists. DISCOVERY: LIVE IN RIO 1994 includes such classic hits as “West End Girls,” “Suburbia,” “Being Boring,” “Go West,” “Rent” and “Always On My Mind,” as well as surprising juxtapositions of PSB songs and contemporary hits.
Somewhere in the Stratosphere (Album of the Day)
Since their start in Jacksonville, Florida, shortly after the turn of the millennium, Shinedown has become a platinum seller largely through relentless touring, so it's little surprise that the group supported their SOUND OF MADNESS album with two rounds of concerts. An electric set from a Washington state show on their “Carnival of Madness” tour and a Kansas City stop on their acoustic “Anything and Everything” trek are paired on SOMEWHERE IN THE STRATOSPHERE, and the 2-CD/2-DVD Atlantic collection is Shinedown at its best. While there's some overlapping material – including Billboard Mainstream Rock chart-toppers “Save Me,” “Devour” and “Second Chance” - the performances are strikingly different, and the acoustic show includes frontman Brent Smith's stories behind the songs. Released 10 years ago today, SOMEWHERE IN THE STRATOSPHERE is an apt description of Shinedown's place in the alternative metal universe.
The Essentials: Ruth Brown (Album of the Day)
A decade before there was a Queen of Soul, there was a Queen of R&B, and that crown belonged to Ruth Brown. Though the Virginia-born singer grew up on pop and jazz, Atlantic Records' Ahmet Ertegun convinced her to try rhythm and blues, and her recordings were among the fledgling label's most popular (to the point that Atlantic was sometimes called “the house that Ruth built”). Every one of the dozen tracks on THE ESSENTIALS: RUTH BROWN was a Top 10 Billboard R&B hit, and such classic as “(Mama) He Treats Your Daughter Mean,” “Teardrops from My Eyes” and the Leiber/Stoller-penned “Lucky Lips” helped pave the way for rock 'n' roll. Ruth Brown was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993, and this vibrant collection shows why she is one of THE ESSENTIALS.