Posts From Mark Leviton

Joe Walsh ‘The Smoker You Drink…’ Album: Barnstorming

Cut with his new group Barnstorm, his debut solo album became his commercial breakthrough.

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Little Feat ‘Waiting for Columbus’: The End of the Beginning

How they pulled off one of the best live albums of all time is a heartening story of persistence and a sad, cautionary tale.

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Blind Faith: Behind the Doomed Supergroup’s Only Album

Formed from the ashes of Cream and Traffic, the new British quartet had so much promise. But after one stellar LP and a handful of gigs, they were gone.

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Jefferson Airplane ‘Surrealistic Pillow’: The LP That Fed Your Head

The Summer of Love landmark sounds like a sonic experiment, drenched in echo and reverb, with poetic lyrics that often flirt with the totally irrational.

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Creedence Clearwater Revival’s ‘Bayou Country’: Proud & Loud

“I could go anywhere because I was a writer. I was conjuring that place deep in my soul,” said John Fogerty about the songs on the band’s 2nd LP.

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Joe Jackson ‘Look Sharp!’: An Artful Debut

The impressive 11 songs that made the final cut of this new wave-era debut comprise a coherent piece of art with nary a dull moment.

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Waylon Jennings & Willie Nelson ‘Waylon & Willie’: Two of a Kind

It was actually a strange hybrid, but it proved irresistible to record buyers, including many rock fans who’d never bought a country album before.

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Deep Purple ‘Made In Japan’: Onstage Chemistry

The reserved Japanese audience is clearly stunned as the concert ends, and is silent for a moment until exploding into raucous applause.

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Daryl Hall & John Oates: ‘Abandoned Luncheonette’—2nd 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 1987 album was a huge hit.

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