Posts From Sam Sutherland
‘Dixie Chicken’: Little Feat, Secret Southern Sauce
The group drew on Lowell George’s versatile command of blues, country, folk and R&B for its third—and many feel finest—studio album.
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The Poco Country-Rock Legacy: “Deliverin’,” With a Gallop
With its stellar vocal harmonies and instrumental dexterity, the album established Poco for decades to come and drew a blueprint for country-rock’s future.
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Elton John’s ‘Tumbleweed Connection’: Raising the Stakes
The musical language that would define his work is all present on this early gem that solidified Elton’s writing partnership with Bernie Taupin.
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Finding a ‘Pearl’–Janis Joplin’s Last Hurrah
It remains her most fully realized record, fronting the best band she would ever lead on her strongest set of material.
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The Band ‘Rock of Ages’: Their Live Pinnacle?
It belongs on any short list of the best live albums ever, while serving as a coda to the group’s groundbreaking influence.
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‘Running on Empty’: Jackson Browne’s Romance of the Road
The 1977 LP was his most surprising, least typical album, a game-changer that updated his identity from folk-rock troubadour to rock headliner.
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‘Slowhand’: Eric Clapton’s 1977 Platinum Balancing Act
The album offers a lucid balance of technical mastery and artistic modesty. It became his best-selling studio LP to date upon its release.
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Stephen Stills’ A-List Solo Debut Revisited
A balance of DIY proficiency and top-tier talent gave the 1970 release an early head start in the race for most popular solo album by a member of CSN&Y.
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‘The Who By Numbers’: Back to Basics
After an eight-year odyssey of releasing concept albums, the original quartet put together a set of unrelated songs that found favor with their fans.
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Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers’ ‘Damn the Torpedoes’: Full Speed Ahead
The LP was the band’s long-awaited breakthrough, with them now matching the caliber of their front man’s writing with their focused musicianship.
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