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Today in rock history: On this date in 1982, Siouxsie and the Banshees released their fifth studio album, A Kiss In The Dreamhouse. The band that was borne out of the original British punk-rock explosion had moved on to become a more adventurous and well-rounded outfit by the time this amazing album arrived, and the rising influence of the band's drummer Budgie found Siouxsie and the Banshees experimenting with world music, off-beat time signatures and a variety of sounds. This is arguably the band's very best and most consistent album, and it features the singles "Melt!" and "Slowdive," the song that served as the influence for the moniker of the popular shoegaze band of the same name.
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Today in rock history: On this date in 1972, The Grateful Dead released its three-LP live set, Europe '72. The record captured live recordings of the popular San Francisco band performing in cities like London, Paris and Amsterdam, and featured the first appearance of Dead staples like "Jack Straw" and "Brown Eyed Women." The album charted and performed well, peaking at No. 24 on Billboard's pop albums chart on the way to becoming one of the very first three-album sets to earn gold sales status certification.
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Today in rock history: On this date in 1984, Bryan Adams released his fourth studio album, the multiplatinum Reckless. One of the best-selling albums of the 1980s, the record featured six singles that all climbed to the Top 15 of Billboard Magazine's Hot 100 singles chart; a feat previously only accomplished by Michael Jackson and Bruce Springsteen. Reckless was also the first album to ever sell one million copies in Adams' native country of Canada and was, at the time, the highest-selling record of his career. Needless to say, this was the breakthrough record that made him a superstar. Coincidentally, on this same date in 1959, Bryan Adams was born in Kingston, Ontario.
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Today in rock history: On this date in 1971, Elton John released his fourth studio album, Madman Across The Water. In the midst of his amazing run of fantastic studio albums, this gem is an excellent snapshot of the gifted young artist in his prime. Featuring the classic singles "Levon" and "Tiny Dancer," this album found Elton and co-writer Bernie Taupin composing some of the best songs of their long history together. The record did much better in the U.S., where Elton had already attracted a massive fanbase, than it did in his native U.K.. It was a Top 10 smash here where it went gold and wound up being one of the best selling albums of 1971, but in England, Madman barely scratched the Top 40. Elton John's three-year, 300-date farewell tour is coming to Tampa at the end of the month.
This article appears in Nov 1-8, 2018.