Posts From Mark Leviton
‘A Christmas Gift for You From Phil Spector’: When Holiday Classics Met the Wall of Sound
Sixty years ago, an album redefined the Christmas song. Few heard it at the time, but today it is considered a true holiday classic.
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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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‘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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Faces ‘A Nod Is As Good As a Wink…’ Album: Party Time
“It was an air of merriment. Under all the camaraderie and joviality, we took the music extremely seriously,” said Rod Stewart.
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Don Henley ‘Building The Perfect Beast’: Don’t Look Back
The 1984 album, recorded with ace musicians, yielded four hit singles, making the Eagles’ drummer/singer even more ubiquitous on the AM and FM radio dials
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Gregg Allman Solo Debut ‘Laid Back’: Trauma and Survival
The LP was intended to go in a different direction than the ABB: softer, more contemplative, acoustic-based, a statement of gratitude in the face of loss.
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Stevie Wonder’s ‘Talking Book’: Passion, Pain & Love
Said the Motown great of the groundbreaking 1972 album, “I wanted to express various things that I felt…the passions, emotion and love.”
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Merle Haggard & Willie Nelson’s ‘Pancho & Lefty’: Masters at Work
Austin met Bakersfield on this meeting of consummate country stars in the early ’80s, produced with Chips Moman, designed to look backward and forward at the same time.
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