This Day in Music History: Jon Anderson/In the City of Angels (05/17)

In the City of Angels is the fifth solo album by Yes lead singer Jon Anderson, released on this day in 1988.

Unlike most of Anderson's previous solo works, this album contains many additional songwriters. Consequently this is the most straight-ahead commercial pop album in his catalog, and sounds closer to a Toto album than his own earlier works. In fact, Toto performs on several songs. Jon reciprocated the favor by performing on their album The Seventh One (recorded about the same time as In the City of Angels).

A music video for "Hold on to Love" aired on MTV. In the video, the album is titled In The City of Lost Angels. Yes's bass player Chris Squire has a cameo appearance in the video starting at around the 1:28 mark.

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This Day in Music History: King Crimson/In the Wake of Poseidon (05/15)

In the Wake of Poseidon is the second studio album by the progressive rock group King Crimson, released on this day in 1970. The album was recorded during instability in the band, with several personnel changes, but repeats the style of their first album, In the Court of the Crimson King. Also like their first album, the mood of this album often changes from serene to chaotic.

Tracks:
1. "Peace – A Beginning"
2. "Pictures of a City" (including "42nd at Treadmill")
3. "Cadence and Cascade"
4. "In the Wake of Poseidon" (including "Libra's Theme")
5. "Peace – A Theme" (instrumental)
6. "Cat Food"
7. "The Devil's Triangle" (instrumental)
I. "Merday Morn"
II. "Hand of Sceiron"
III. "Garden of Worm"
8. "Peace – An End"

This Day in Music History:Styx/Big Bang Theory (05/10)

Big Bang Theory is the fifteenth studio album by the band Styx, released on this day in 2005. It consists of cover versions of classic rock songs.

This Day in Music History:Yes/Union (04/30)

Union is the thirteenth studio album by British progressive rock band Yes, released on this date in 1991. It was so called because it brought together the previous Yes album's lineup (Jon Anderson, Chris Squire, Trevor Rabin, Alan White, Tony Kaye) and the then ex-Yes members group ABWH.

Front Cover by Roger Dean

This Day in Music History: Foreigner/Foreigner (03/08)

Foreigner is the self-titled debut studio album by British-American rock band Foreigner, released on this day in 1977. The album went 5X Platinum and reached #4 on the Billboard 200 album chart.

It spun off a barrage of hit singles, including "Feels Like the First Time" (#4), "Cold as Ice" (#6) and "Long, Long Way from Home" (#20). It also features album tracks such as "Headknocker" and "Starrider", the latter of which features a rare lead vocal from lead guitarist and co-founder Mick Jones.

My Fave:

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This Day in Music History: Pink Floyd/The Dark Side of the Moon (03/01)

The Dark Side of the Moon is the eighth studio album by the English progressive rock band Pink Floyd, released on this day in 1973. It built on ideas explored in the band's earlier recordings and live shows, but lacks the extended instrumental excursions that characterised their work following the departure in 1968 of founder member, principal composer, and lyricist, Syd Barrett. 

The themes on The Dark Side of the Moon include conflict, greed, the passage of time, and mental illness, the latter partly inspired by Barrett's deteriorating mental state.

The group used some of the most advanced recording techniques of the time, including multitrack recording and tape loops. Analogue synthesizers were given prominence in several tracks, and a series of recorded interviews with the band's road crew and others provided the philosophical quotations used throughout. Engineer Alan Parsons was responsible for some of the album's most notable sonic aspects and the recruitment of non-lexical singer Clare Torry. The album's iconic sleeve, designed by Storm Thorgerson, depicts a prism dispersing light into color and represents the band's stage lighting, the record's lyrical themes, and keyboardist Richard Wright's request for a "simple and bold" design.

The Dark Side of the Moon was an immediate success; it topped the Billboard Top LPs & Tapes chart for one week and remained in the charts for 741(!) weeks from 1973 to 1988. With an estimated 50 million copies sold, it is Pink Floyd's most commercially successful album and one of the best-selling albums worldwide. It produced two singles, "Money" and "Time". The Dark Side of the Moon is Pink Floyd's most popular album among fans and critics, and has been ranked as one of the greatest albums of all time.

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This Day in Music History: Styx/Styx I (03/01)

On this month (since no specific date is given) back in 1972, Styx released their debut album simply called Styx (the 1980 RCA re-issue is called Styx I and given a new cover).

I have previously covered this album more in depth here (Side 1) and here (Side 2).

From Dennis's Facebook page he talks about the album photo and how the band chose its name:

Hey everybody,

I'm back in my hotel room in Quebec City with nothing much to do so caveat emptor.

Here are some explanations to Styx photos that I found online. The first official group photo was our first album cover. We had nothing to do with this concept other than follow instructions from the record company. As I have said before the name Styx was suggested by Bill Trout the president of Wooden Nickel records, the man who signed us to the label.

Styx was the name no one in the group hated so Styx it was. (Other suggestions were Torch, Kelp, Miguelito Loveless, and my contribution, Dime Novel). Dime Novel got voted down for fear of this headline, "Dime Novel ain't worth a plug nickel". Little did we know that we could get Styx Stynx. Thinking back it most likely became Styx because the suggestion did not come from a band member.

For this photo we were asked to buy briefs then have them tea stained to look flesh color.

The idea was for us to look nude without actually being nude. John and Yoko copy catted us years later, hey wait that's wrong they actually were nude. If we had been nude you would have witnessed the real Grand Illusion. It was shot at the photographer's home with the help of his wife Blair. I think his name was Murray but I can't check it from here.

I remember her name because she was in charge of the smoke machine which was used to cover our privates. Here's what we heard throughout the entire shoot, imagine this in a New York accent, "Blairrrr Blairrrr more smoke crotch level". For years to come whenever there was a lull in the conversation one of us blurt out Blairr, Blairrr more smoke crotch level. The green painting we are surrounded by is of Dante's Inferno. And though it's warm there in the winter I give it two thumbs down as a vacation spot. 

Cheers Dennis

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This Day in Music History: Led Zeppelin/Physical Graffiti (02/24)

Physical Graffiti is the sixth studio album by the English rock band Led Zeppelin, released as a double album on this day in 1975. 

The band wrote and recorded eight new songs for the album but they stretched the total time of the record beyond the typical length of a single LP, so the band decided to make Physical Graffiti a double album by including unreleased tracks from earlier recording sessions: one outtake from Led Zeppelin III, three from Led Zeppelin IV, and three from Houses of the Holy, including the unused title track. 

Physical Graffiti was commercially and critically successful; the album went 16x platinum in the US in 2006, signifying shipments of eight million copies, and was a #1 album in both the US and UK.

My fave:

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This Day in Music History: Journey/Frontiers (02/22)

Released on this day in 1983, Frontiers was Journey's follow up to their blockbuster album Escape. It reached #2 on the Billboard 200 album chart.

Even though it spurned out four top 40 singles: "After the Fall" (#23), "Send Her My Love" (#23), "Faithfully" (#12), and "Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)" (#8), this album was a disappointment to me. The effects of "Open Arms" sent the band on direct course to the Love Song Spiral of Doom©, and basically castrated Neal Schon.

To me, here's the best song on the album:

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This Day in Music History: Styx/Kilroy Was Here (02/22)

On this date in 1983, Styx basically destroyed their career with the release of Kilroy Was Here (covered in more detail here: Side One, Side Two) Yeah, you know THAT one. The one that brought us this:

Styx and Yes have always gone back and forth as being my favorite band. It was hard for me to recover from this album though, which had a tour that was a financial disaster. I mean they had reached their pinnacle to me just two years before with Paradise Theater. When I got this album (I still have it in my collection) I was just utterly confused. It just didn't sound like Styx and quite frankly it was embarrassing to me. Side Two is actually decent to me, but the band has never been the same ever since.

No, please. Let it end.

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This Day in Music History: Yes/The Yes Album (02/19)

Today is the 49th (holy crap!) anniversary of The Yes Album, the third studio album released by Yes in 1971. It was the first to feature Steve Howe on guitar, and the last for Tony Kaye on keyboards. This was basically the beginning of the Yes musical chairs.

I have covered this album previously and more in depth here (Side One) and here (Side Two).

Anyway, enjoy this song (hey, I actually heard this one before!)

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This Day in Music History: Styx/Cyclorama (02/18)

Styx released their 14th album Cyclorama on this date back in 2003. It was the first first album since they replaced Dennis DeYoung with Lawrence Gowan. It's been basically Tommy Shaw's band ever since and that might be a good thing. The band just seems to have more fun without DDY. Wonder why...

Side One

This Day in Music History: Yes/Fragile (11/26)

Fragile is the fourth studio album from the English progressive rock band Yes, released in November 1971 on Atlantic Records. It is their first album recorded with keyboardist Rick Wakeman after the departure of Tony Kaye earlier in the year. It consists of nine tracks, four of which are group performances while five are solo features written by each member.

It marked the band's first collaboration with artist Roger Dean, who would design their logo and many of their future covers.

Fragile was the band's greatest commercial and critical success at the time of its release. It peaked at number 4 in the U.S. and number 7 in the UK. "Roundabout" was released as a single in the U.S. and is one of the band's best-known songs. The album is certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America for selling over two million copies.

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This Day in Music History: AC/DC/Highway to Hell (07/27)

Highway to Hell is the fifth international studio album by Australian hard rock band AC/DC, released on this day in 1979. The title reflects the incredibly arduous nature of touring constantly and life on the road. It became AC/DC's first LP to break the US Top 100, eventually reaching #17, and it propelled the band into the top ranks of hard rock acts. Selling over 7 million copies, it is generally considered one of the greatest hard rock albums ever made. 

However, it was also the last album featuring lead singer Bon Scott, who died early the following year from over-consumption of alcohol.

This Day in Music History: ZZ Top/Tres Hombres, and Asia/Alpha (07/26)

Released on this day in 1973, Tres Hombres (their 3rd album) became the commercial breakthrough album for ZZ Top.

The album peaked at #8 on the Billboard pop albums chart. The only single released from the album was "La Grange" which peaked at #41 on the Billboard Hot 100. But on album rock stations "Waitin' for the Bus" (have mercy!) and "Jesus Just Left Chicago" are very popular and played as much as "La Grange", and since those two songs segue into each other, they are usually played together.

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Also released on this day (in 1983) is the follow up to Asia's huge debut album. This one was called Alpha and had yet another Roger Dean cover.

Alpha focused more on mainstream Pop/Rock sounds, and is less characterized by progressive rock elements than its predecessor. The album did go platinum however and reached #6 on the Billboard album chart. It had two singles reach the Billboard Hot 100: "Don't Cry" (#10), and "The Smile Has Left Your Eyes" (#34).

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This Day in Music History: AC/DC/Back in Black (07/25)

By 1979, AC/DC were poised to receive a significant level of success with their sixth studio album, Highway to Hell. Robert John "Mutt" Lange produced the record, making the band's sound more catchy and accessible to international audiences, and it became their first platinum album in the United States. As the new decade approached, the group set off for the UK and France for the final tour dates of their breakthrough release. They planned to begin recording a follow-up shortly after its completion. On February 19th 1980, Scott went on a drinking binge in a London pub that caused him to lose consciousness, so a friend left him rest in the back of his car overnight. The next morning, Scott was found unresponsive and rushed to King's College Hospital where medical personnel pronounced him dead on arrival. The coroner ruled that pulmonary aspiration of vomit was the cause of Scott's death, but the official cause was listed on the death certificate as "acute alcoholic poisoning" and classified as "death by misadventure". The loss devastated the band, who considered breaking up. However, friends and family persuaded them to carry on.

This Day in Music History: Jon Anderson/Olias of Sunhillow (07/24)

When YES was on hiatus in 1975-76 each member of the band (Howe, Squire, White, Moraz) released a solo album. All would fail in comparison to Jon Anderson's Olias of Sunhillow, released on this day in 1976. Actually, in my opinion, this is the best of all of Anderson's solo albums to this day.

Olias of Sunhillow is a progressive rock concept album which tells the story of an alien race and their journey to a new world (the story printed in the LP jacket calls it "the earth", lowercase 'e') due to a volcanic catastrophe. Olias, the title character, is the chosen architect of the glider Moorglade Mover, which will be used to fly his people to their new home. Ranyart is the navigator for the glider, and Qoquaq (pronounced 'ko-quake') is the leader who unites the four tribes of Sunhillow to partake in the exodus.

The album's concept was inspired by the cover art by Roger Dean (!) for the 1971 Yes album Fragile, which depicts a tiny planet breaking apart and a glider escaping into space. Another link to Fragile lies in the fact that both albums have pieces (Fragile's "We Have Heaven") consisting of multiple vocal parts, with Anderson singing all of them. Anderson has stated that works by J.R.R. Tolkien and Vera Stanley Alder were also an influence, underlying the epic scope of the narrative compressed into the album. The album represented 8 months of physical work, but it took two years from conception to release. Anderson used more than a hundred tracks in putting the album together, overdubbing strings, organ, harp and percussion.

Since Anderson produced Olias soon after Vangelis had auditioned to be a part of Yes, there has been widespread speculation that Vangelis contributed to the album, with some fans going so far as to say that Olias represents the kind of sound that Yes would have created if Vangelis had in fact joined the band. However, both Vangelis and Anderson have denied that they collaborated on the album.

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This Day in Music History: Yes/Going for the One (07/22)

On this day in 1977, Yes released their eighth studio album, Going for the One. Produced after each member of the group released a solo record, the album marks the return of keyboardist Rick Wakeman (RW!), who departed in 1974 over musical differences in Tales from Topographic Oceans (1973). The band returned to producing shorter songs, unlike Tales and Relayer where the tracks range from nine to almost 22 minutes.

After their extended break, the band regrouped in Switzerland in late 1976. After constructing epic tracks for the last few years, Yes felt inspired to scale things back a bit and recorded some of their most direct and concise material since Fragile. Wakeman also varied his sound by using the new polyphonic synthesizer out from Moog at the time, and using church pipe organ on "Parallels" and the extended track, "Awaken".

"Parallels" was originally intended for use on Chris Squire's solo album Fish Out of Water, but left out due to a combination of space constraints and a sense that the song didn't quite fit in.

After many successive album covers with Roger Dean, Yes (who also produced the album entirely by themselves) instead commissioned Hipgnosis (known for designing album covers for Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin) to create the artwork for Going for the One. However, Dean's Yes logo was retained. The album cover features the Century Plaza Towers in Los Angeles, also known locally as the Twin Towers. Personally, I think Yes and Roger Dean go together and this was a bad decision.

I have previously covered this album in more depth here: Side One, Side Two.

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This Day in Music History: Guns 'N' Roses/Appetite for Destruction (07/21)

Hello world, meet Axl Rose! On this date in 1987, Guns N' Roses released their kick-ass debut album Appetite for Destruction. It reached #1 on the Billboard album chart and sold over 18 million copies.

The album included such classics as "Welcome to the Jungle", "Sweet Child o' Mine", and my personal favorite "Paradise City".

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This Day in Music History: Yes/Heaven & Earth (07/16)

On this date in 2014, Yes released their 21st studio album entitled Heaven & Earth. It is their first album with singer Jon Davison in the band's line-up, and the final studio album to feature original bassist Chris Squire before his death in 2015.

It was produced by Roy Thomas Baker, who first worked with the band on recording sessions in 1979, and mixed by former member Billy Sherwood. Upon its release, Heaven & Earth peaked at number 20 in the UK, the band's highest chart performance since their 1994 album Talk. It also entered the US chart at number 26.

I have previously covered this album in more depth here: Side One, Side Two.