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Greatest Hits 2.0 (Album of the Day)
The seeds of WAR were planted in the late-1960s when producer/songwriter Jerry Goldstein and singer Eric Burdon hand-picked ace musicians from the clubs of L.A. After three albums from Eric Burdon and WAR, the group spun-off without the former Animal, and its popularity skyrocketed thanks to three consecutive #1 R&B albums. Celebrating the band’s 50th anniversary, the new, career-spanning GREATEST HITS 2.0 expands on WAR’s platinum-certified 1976 best-of album. Available as a 2-CD or 2-LP set, the collection features classic songs recorded between 1970 and 1994 including “Spill The Wine,” “Low Rider,” “Galaxy,” “The Cisco Kid” and “Why Can’t We Be Friends?” WAR’s head-nodding mix of music and message will continue to win over the hearts and hips of fans around the world with GREATEST HITS 2.0.
Pinups (Album of the Day)
On this day in 1973, David Bowie scored his second U.K. No.1 album when PINUPS started a five-week run at the top of the chart. Bowie's popularity at the time is one reason that a covers album was so successful, but the music is strong enough to stand on its own. “These are all bands which I used to go and hear play down the Marquee between 1964 and 1967,” noted the performer. “I've got all these records back at home.” Versions of songs – not necessarily the biggest hits - by bands including The Pretty Things, The Yardbirds, The Who and others were love letters to the glories of the British Invasion, with arrangements largely faithful to the originals. ZIGGY STARDUST producer Ken Scott and guitarist Mick Ronson helped bring these tracks into the glam era, making PINUPS essential for Bowie fans.
Sorry Ma, Forgot to Take Out The Trash (Deluxe) (Album of the Day)
The Replacements’ 1981 Twin/Tone Records debut, SORRY MA, FORGOT TO TAKE OUT THE TRASH, heralded the Minneapolis-based band’s competing tendencies toward indelible genius and reckless abandon. The ’Mats’ lead singer-songwriter and guitarist Paul Westerberg, drummer Chris Mars, and brothers Bob and Tommy Stinson (lead guitar and bass respectively) unleashed a thrilling, dynamic sound on the album with now-classic songs like “Takin’ A Ride,” “Shiftless When Idle,” and “Customer.” Marking the collection's 40th anniversary, a new 4-CD/1-LP set offers a remarkable document of The Replacements’ formative years. Of the 100 tracks on SORRY MA, FORGOT TO TAKE OUT THE TRASH (DELUXE EDITION), 67 have never been released before, including the first demos the band recorded in early 1980, as well as a professionally captured concert from January 1981.
Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends (Album of the Day)
This week in 2008, Coldplay was declared the biggest-selling act of the year at the World Music Awards held in Monaco, thanks to VIVA LA VIDA OR DEATH AND ALL HIS FRIENDS. While the U.K. quartet's first three albums had positioned them for this success, the collection reached double-platinum status by rewriting their usual playbook. Vocalist Chris Martin's distinctive falsetto gets a rest most of the time, and as the French Revolution cover art suggests, lyrical themes are more global than personal. Most significantly, the band tapped Brian Eno to helm the record, and the producer's desire that every song sound different made singles “Violet Hill,” “Lost!,” “Strawberry Swing” and the title track all the more indelible. A Grammy winner for Best Rock Album, VIVA LA VIDA is not just one of Coldplay's most unusual, it's one of the group's best.
Remixed Collection Vol. 1 (1985-2000) (Album of the Day)
While such bands as The Smiths and New Order made Manchester famous for alternative rock in the 1980s, Simply Red gave the city a foothold on the pop charts. Led by singer-songwriter Mick Hucknall (whose auburn hair inspired the band name), the group has sold some 50 million albums worldwide in a career spanning more than three decades. Now available, REMIXED COLLECTION VOL. 1 (1985-2000) revisits their hit singles with vintage remixes and rarities on two CDs. Seven of the 22 tracks here are previously unreleased, including “Something Got Me Started” (David Morales Radio Mix) and “Money’s Too Tight To Mention” (United City Mix). Both longtime fans and newcomers to Simply Red's brand of blue-eyed soul will enjoy REMIXED COLLECTION VOL. 1's fresh take on these favorites.
IV (Album of the Day)
Released 50 years ago today, Led Zeppelin's untitled fourth album (sometimes referred to as IV or ZOSO) stands as the group's masterpiece. Produced by guitarist Jimmy Page, the collection is a seamless combination of blues (a cover of Memphis Minnie's “When the Levee Breaks”), heavy metal (“Black Dog”), folk (the Joni Mitchell-inspired “Going to California”) and mythology (“The Battle of Evermore,” with guest vocals by Fairport Convention's Sandy Denny). The Atlantic set introduced future concert favorites “Rock and Roll” and signature song “Stairway to Heaven” and has gone on to sell more than 37 million copies worldwide. Is this the greatest hard rock album ever made? You can be the judge of that, but we're hard-pressed to think of another that showcases the form's power and possibilities as effectively as LED ZEPPELIN IV.
I Feel For You (Album of the Day)
A hitmaker with Rufus in the 1970s, Chaka Khan branched into her own career gradually - her first four solo albums were all recorded while she was still nominally with Rufus. It was her fifth album, I FEEL FOR YOU, that really sealed the deal; the title track topped the U.K. singles chart and hit #3 in America. That song, a Prince cover featuring Stevie Wonder on harmonica and rapping from Grandmaster Melle Mel, showed Khan to be a powerhouse vocalist with a keen ear for material and willingness to swing for the fences in terms of arrangements. And that description holds throughout the 1984 album; tracks like "Through The Fire" and "This Is My Night" are as appealing as the set's biggest hit. With the platinum-certified I FEEL FOR YOU, Chaka Khan stepped confidently to the forefront of '80s electro-funk.
Rust Never Sleeps (Album of the Day)
The title of RUST NEVER SLEEPS was originally an advertising slogan that Devo's Mark Mothersbaugh had mentioned to Neil Young, but the phrase could just as easily apply to the singer-songwriter, whose creative spirit has always been restless. The bulk of the 1979 Reprise collection was recorded live during Young's tour the previous year (with overdubs added and a studio track or two) and like the concerts, the album's first half is predominantly acoustic and the second an electric one - featuring Crazy Horse at their most powerful. From the Johnny Rotten references of “My My, Hey Hey (Out of the Blue)” to the dramatic showdown in “Powderfinger,” Neil's songs have rarely hit harder, and the set placed near the top of annual critics polls in the Village Voice and Rolling Stone. The platinum-certified RUST NEVER SLEEPS is among Young's greatest albums, and we'll give it another spin now to wish the man a happy birthday.
Atlantic Crossing (Album of the Day)
By the mid-1970s, Rod Stewart's ascent from lead singer of the Faces to solo performer was complete. By the time he'd cut his debut album for Warner Bros., Stewart was a star on both sides of the pond - ATLANTIC CROSSING topped the U.K. chart and peaked at #9 on the Billboard 200 over the first week of November 1975. It's easy to hear why it was so successful; producer Tom Dowd amplified Stewart's soulful side by pairing the singer's distinctive raspy vocals with stellar accompaniment from The Memphis Horns and most of Booker T. and the MG's. Split between a “fast” half and a “slow” one, the set's ten tracks feature rocking Rod originals like “Stone Cold Sober” as well as strong covers of “Sailing” and “I Don't Want To Talk About It.” The gold-certified ATLANTIC CROSSING set the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer's career on a new, exciting course.
The Shape of Jazz To Come (Album of the Day)
THE SHAPE OF JAZZ TO COME may have seemed a bold title for Ornette Coleman's Atlantic Records debut, but the music on the 1959 collection absolutely justified it. With an emphasis on melody and improvisation over chords and harmony (Coleman called his approach “harmolodic”), these six originals introduced the standard “Lonely Woman,” and offered the quartet – which included future stars Don Cherry on cornet and Charlie Haden on bass - plenty of room to strut their instrumental stuff. A cornerstone of the free jazz movement, the album was initially controversial, but its landmark status is now unquestioned, and THE SHAPE OF JAZZ TO COME has been named to both the Grammy Hall of Fame and the Library of Congress' National Recording Registry.