Posts From Mark Leviton

1974’s Bad Company Debut Album: When Rock Fans Couldn’t Get Enough

Arising from the ashes of Free, Bad Company pursued a more stripped-down hard-rock vision. By the end of 1974, they had a #1 LP and were headlining arenas.

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Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble’s ‘Texas Flood’: Out of the Gate

Recorded as a demo over a long holiday weekend, the album launched the career of the legendary bluesman and gave the genre itself a huge boost.

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‘Blow by Blow’: A Jeff Beck Master Class in Guitar

The 1975 all-instrumental album, produced by George Martin, was a guitarist’s master class

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The Rolling Stones’ ‘Some Girls’: The Grooves of Now

With punk rock nipping at their aging heels, the Stones revved things up with classic tracks like “Shattered,” “Miss You” and “Beast of Burden.”

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‘Another Side of Bob Dylan’: Younger Than That Now

The album contained songs that were later cut by everyone from the Byrds to Johnny Cash to Cher.

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Nick Lowe: ‘Labour of Lust’—The Basher Blossoms

The highly regarded British singer/songwriter/producer and his pals from Rockpile cut this classic album at the height of the new wave era.

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The Laura Nyro and Labelle Collaboration: ‘Gonna Take a Miracle’

The album is Nyro’s tribute to the vocal groups and songwriters who continued to thrill and inspire her.

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Patti Smith’s ‘Horses’: Poetry In Motion

Smith said, “Of course I wanted to work in the rock ’n’ roll tradition. I didn’t know any other tradition existed.”

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Elton John ‘Honky Chateau’: New Heights

“I find it hard to comprehend just how prolific Bernie and I were during the early days,” Elton has said. “The songs just poured out of us.”

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Paul Simon ‘There Goes Rhymin’ Simon’: American Tunes

With classic songs such as “American Tune,” “Kodachrome” and “Loves Me Like a Rock,” his third solo album sealed his reputation as a major solo artist.

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