Posts From Mark Leviton

Mark Leviton

Mark Leviton began writing about music and pop culture in 1967, with credits in Rolling Stone, Creem, Fusion, Bay Area Musician, LA Weekly, Phonograph Record and many fly-by-night publications. For 25 years he worked for the Warner Music Group and Rhino Records, producing hundreds of compilation albums and historical reissues, placing recordings in films and TV, and generally having a blast. His bi-weekly radio show "Pet Sounds" is heard on KVMR-FM in Nevada City, CA and the website www.petsoundsmusic.com.

Rod Stewart ‘Unplugged…And Seated’: Having a Party

Pushing the “unplugged” concept to its limit, Stewart is backed by a full string section and a dozen other musicians and vocalists.

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Roger Daltrey and His 1973 Solo Debut: Doing A Favor

He wasn’t even planning on recording a solo album. But one thing led to another and soon The Who’s lead singer found himself with 10 songs of his own.

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‘L.A. Woman’: The Doors’ Last Call

Their sixth and final studio LP re-energized the band through a return to their roots in American blues, and served as a tribute to their hometown.

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‘Europe ’72’: On the Bus with the Grateful Dead

What’s most important about the live album and the thing that still makes it shine in the GD catalog, are those songs that never got a studio reading after its release.

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Bob Seger ‘Live Bullet’: Old Time Rock ‘n’ Roll

Although he was a star locally, the Detroit rocker had been struggling for years to break out nationally—until he formed the Silver Bullet Band.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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