Posts From Mark Leviton
Joni Mitchell ‘Ladies of the Canyon’: Painting the Canvas
The album sets out clearly the direction Mitchell would take for the rest of her career, leaving behind the constraints of folk music.
Read More
Stevie Wonder: “Fulfillingness’ First Finale” Was Beyond Category
“People categorize because they can’t get used to change,” said Wonder upon the release of his 1974 groundbreaking album.
Read More
Genesis’ ‘A Trick of the Tail’: A New Beginning
The album proved that Genesis was set to achieve commercial and artistic successes beyond what they’d accomplished during the Peter Gabriel years.
Read More
Yes’ ‘The Yes Album’: Brilliance Under Pressure
Their record label was looking for commercial progress in order to justify keeping them under contract. This 1971 classic put the band on the prog map.
Read More
Boz Scaggs’ ‘Silk Degrees’: Game-Changer
Looking back at the recording of the album, Scaggs said that while listening to the playbacks in 1975 he had the sense that something special had happened.
Read More
Andrew Gold’s ‘What’s Wrong with This Picture?’: All In the Family
His singing fit in well with the laid-back L.A. singer-songwriter milieu, but it took him a while to find his first real pop hit.
Read More
Strawbs’ ‘Bursting at the Seams’: Poetry and Pop
The band’s fifth album showed Dave Cousins and company turning firmly toward more complex material.
Read More
Bob Dylan’s ‘Desire’: Story Time
Songs from the best-selling album continued to be heavily featured in the Rolling Thunder Revue live performances.
Read More
Smokey Robinson & the Miracles’ ‘Going to a Go-Go’: Life of the Party
Their 1965 release was their only studio album to make the Billboard top 10 during the ’60s.
Read More
Patti Smith’s ‘Horses’: Poetry In Motion
She said, “Of course I wanted to work in the rock ’n’ roll tradition. I didn’t know any other tradition existed.”
Read More