Posts From Sam Sutherland
‘John Prine’: A Debut for the Ages for a Songwriter’s Songwriter
The album is a quiet masterpiece, a portrait of a young singer-songwriter already fully formed and crafting songs for the ages.
Read MoreThe ‘Swinging’ Dire Straits Breakthrough Debut Album
“Sultans of Swing” was immediately distinctive in both sound and story. The album proved the band to be one of the most refreshingly creative of its day.
Read MoreGraham Parker & the Rumour’s ‘Heat Treatment’: When Pub-Rock Met New Wave
When the Village Voice unveiled its 1976 Pazz & Jop Poll winners, an unknown English musician commanded two of the top five entries from the influential poll’s panel of music critics.
Read MoreThe Byrds’ ‘Sweetheart of the Rodeo’: Cornerstone of Country-Rock
Their most consequential stylistic stroke since their pioneering folk-rock debut three years earlier, it ushered in country-rock and Americana.
Read More‘Graceland’—The World Music Reset From Paul Simon
The album that would become Simon’s grandest statement came into view when he was gifted with a tape of South African music.
Read MoreDave Edmunds’ ‘Repeat When Necessary’: Where the New Wave Met the Old
The Welsh rocker’s fifth solo album, made with the great Rockpile, captures him at the pinnacle of his influence as an architect of late ’70s new wave.
Read MoreThe Souther Hillman Furay Band’s Debut LP: Less Than the Sum of its Parts
The SHF Band accomplished its commercial mission and displayed the stylistic DNA of the Byrds, Poco and, yes, the Eagles.
Read MoreSteely Dan ‘The Royal Scam’: Rock on a Grand Scale
The 1976 LP proved divisive, augmenting the leaner ensemble core of prior albums with more aggressive ensemble arrangements.
Read More‘Desperado’—Eagles’ Sagebrush Country-Rock Opera
With its sophomore effort, the band tethered its polished country-rock to a concept album driven by a Wild West narrative.
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