REVIEWS:
What’s the read on the latest reissue releases and live performances by classic rock artists? What biopics, movies or documentaries are worth seeing in theaters and at home? What books about rock music and the people who make and work with it are worth reading. Our team also takes a fresh look at notable works in our Album Rewind series
‘Let It Bleed’: The Rolling Stones’ Turbulent Masterpiece
The album captures the band at its creative apogee through a dark masterpiece that mirrors the violent ’60s milieu in which it was created.
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Band on the Run: The LP That ‘Saved’ McCartney
The recording sessions were plagued with problems, but Paul McCartney and Wings made the best of it. The result: one of his most beloved LPs.
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A 50th-Anniversary Edition of Frank Zappa ‘Over-nite Sensation’: Review
Zappa’s first gold record now packs in 47 bonus tracks, including live material, and a Blu-ray featuring several new mixes.
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Daryl Hall & John Oates ‘Abandoned Luncheonette’: Second Chances
The soul-influenced duo was still finding their way when they recorded their second album. Superstardom would soon find them.
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George Harrison ‘Cloud Nine’: Back at the Top
With friends Jeff Lynne and Eric Clapton aboard, and songs like “When We Was Fab” and “Got My Mind Set on You,” the album was a huge hit.
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The Van Morrison Masterpiece: ‘Astral Weeks’
A “feverish poetic intensity persists” throughout the cycle of songs that comprise his 1968 work, even as those songs shift in pace and tone
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The Feelies Cover the Velvet Underground: Review
The Velvets’ original recordings are definitive, but this CD manages to be the next best thing: a new live album from the original band.
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‘Sheer Heart Attack’: Queen Breaks Through
Wildly theatrical, straddling the worlds of hard rock, pop, prog and Broadway, the album was an eclectic triumph. Now, Queen sounded like a true band.
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Randy Newman ‘Sail Away’: The Big One
The 1972 album proved a breakthrough for his career both in terms of quality and box-office appeal as singers of many genres competed to record its tunes
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Rolling Stones Ya-Ya’s Still Unrivaled
The late Lester Bangs had “no doubt that it’s the best rock concert ever put on record.” Decades later, our writer feels that’s still true
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