Throwback Thursday - What a Day!

Normally on Throwback Thursday, I’ll focus on one event or album release, but after doing some Googling, turns out October 5th is a pretty great day for music.

- Let’s begin in 1970 when Led Zeppelin released their third album, simply entitled Led Zeppelin III. While the critics were mixed on it, this album served as a transition from the straightforward blues-rock sound towards folk and acoustic.

After touring in support of Led Zeppelin II, the band retreated to a countryside cottage in Wales where there was no electricity or running water. That, along with influence from folk guitar players on Jimmy Page, changed the focus of the band differently on the composition of the songs. Highlights include “Immigrant Song”, “Tangerine” and “Since I’ve Been Loving You”.

- Fast forward three years when Elton John released the amazing Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. Regarded as Elton’s magnum opus, the double LP is a smooth combo of rock, pop and ballads and includes some of his greatest hits along with some fantastic deep cuts.

You’ve got the original version of “Candle in the Wind”, “Bennie and the Jets” along with the rockin’ “Saturday Night’s Alright (For Fighting)”. But don’t skip cuts like “This Song Has No Title” and “All The Girls Love Alice”.

Other Elton John albums might be better as a whole, but the grandness of Goodbye Yellow Brick Road is timeless.

- We head to 1979 when The Police released their second album, Reggatta de Blanc, a cool continuation from their debut with a mix of pop/rock and reggae. The band didn’t have a ton of new material right away, it was recorded quickly (four weeks) and with a small budget, yet the results were really strong.

They kicked off the release with arguably their most popular song, “Message In A Bottle” (what a great way to start) a jazzy/reggae sound mixed with their pop/punk roots. I have always been impressed by their musicianship and complicated arrangements for just a trio.

Other favorites include “Bring On The Night”, “Walking On The Moon” and my favorite, “Contact”. Reggatta de Blanc was the early moment when The Police came into their own, blending all the influences to create a signature sound.

- The same year, Joe Jackson released his second album, I’m The Man. It was a continuation of his debut - brash, angry-young man new wave/post-punk music. I’d argue that I like this one more than his debut Look Sharp!.

“On Your Radio” kicks things off with a fantastic bop that helped define late 1970s/early 1980s new wave music. “Kinda Kute” has a cool funkiness to it while “It’s Different For Girls” flips the gender roles about relationships. The title track is my favorite, a driving punk rock classic.

The album fit into the whole working class attitude that was coming out of England at the time and remains an essential listen.

- In 1981, Depeche Mode released their debut album, Speak & Spell. The only album they released with Vince Clark (who would leave shortly after to form Yazoo and Erasure). Unlike the darker vision and sound that came with later releases, Depeche Mode focused on a more simplistic, melodic sound.

The most well known song is “Just Can’t Get Enough” written by Clark (as were most of the songs) with its catchy synth-pop beat. “Puppets” is a fantastic track, I just wish Gore’s voice was a bit stronger. The album was clearly influenced by Kraftwerk, but for a more modern youth’s voice.

Other favorites are “New Life” and the paranoid sounding “Photographic”. Speak & Spell broke some new ground and while it’ll never be considered their best, it did introduce us to a band that has become one of the biggest ever.

- Ten years later in 1991, one of my favorite unknown albums was released, Everclear by American Music Club.

There are songs of love, heartbreak and alcohol, mixed with rock/folk/country and punk to create a canvas full of gorgeous art. The opener, “Why Won’t You Stay” is a boozy, sad, lonely song that breaks my heart every time I hear it. That’s quickly followed by “Rise” which is more optimistic.

Mark Eitzel, lead singer and songwriter, was named songwriter of the year for 1991 by Rolling Stone Magazine.

Other favorites are “Ex-Girlfriend” (as depressing as you can get in a three minute song), “Crabwalk” a drunk pub sing-a-long which contains some of my favorite of their lyrics: “he reels around the nightclub/Like the hubcaps off of a car/That just crashed into a sign that said/This way to the nightclub.”

I could listen to this album over and over again.

- One of my favorite R.E.M. albums ever came out on this day in 1992. With the release of Automatic for the People, R.E.M. combined the best of their early work and sound with the more pop sensibility of their previous album, Out of Time.

Dealing with loss and mourning, the album is rich with multi-instrumentation and fantastic lyrics and vocals from Michael Stipe. Favorites include “Nightswimming”, “Find the River”, “Try Not to Breathe” and “Sweetness Follows”.

There is so much to love here and while they put out some fantastic music after Automatic, this may have been their finest hour.

- The Afghan Whigs album Gentleman was released on this day in 1993. It’s their finest album. It’s a bleak and unforgiving look at love, lust and addiction. Greg Dulli’s vocal range is on display here, from a whisper to a raw scream.

There’s a real soulfulness to the album and unfortunately the band got caught up in the post-Nirvana years of Geffen Records and for a band from Cincinnati that created complicated, deep songs, their record company didn’t know what to do with them.

“Debonair” is my favorite here - a funky torturous track about sin and lost love in a deep way. “Tonight I go to Hell/For what I’ve done to you”. Other favorites are “Fountain & Fairfax”, “Be Sweet” and “Now You Know”.

- Also in 1993, Uncle Tupelo released their final album Anodyne. The album serves as a final goodbye to a great band and the beginning of something great with the creation of Son Volt and Wilco. The in-fighting between Jeff Tweedy and Jay Farrar extended beyond the recording, well into their final tour. But the songs here are incredible.

A true classic alt-country album, you can hear the difference in styles between the two songwriters. Shades of their soon-to-be bands are heard throughout. Relistening to the album makes me appreciate both artists and what they eventually created in their new bands. You don’t have to fall onto either side of the break-up.

Favorites include “We’ve Been Had”, “Steal the Crumbs” and “New Madrid”. This was a band that could have/should have been bigger, but will always be remembered as the pioneers they were.

- 1993 was pretty great, right? It also gave us Mazzy Star’s second album So Tonight That I Might See, which contained their biggest and best song ever, “Fade Into You”.

It’s a gorgeous album, full of dream pop, shoegazing classics all wrapped around Hope Sandoval’s gentle and perfect voice. The album was such a shake-up of the heavy rock alternative music scene.

The influence from bands like Sonic Youth and Velvet Underground is so apparent on the album, just check out the deeper tracks like the title track, “Unreflected” (which might be my favorite on the album) and “She’s My Baby”.

The album is nonchalant and the slow burn of the music goes from start to finish.

- I love De La Soul and their 2004 album, The Grind Date, released on this day, is maybe their most underrated album. They were done with their long contract with Tommy Boy Records and created an album that everyone should listen to.

Working with some fantastic producers and artists, the band produced a pretty compact, accessible album with less schtick and more substance.

Favorites of mine include “Verbal Clap”, “He Comes” and the tremendous track with MF Doom, “Rock Co.Kane Flow”.

Not bad, right? There you have it. October 5th had some pretty seminal releases in music history. Do you have a favorite of all these releases?