Posts From Sam Sutherland
Traffic ‘The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys’: Rock on the Fusion Frontier
What had begun as post-‘Sgt. Pepper’ psychedelia turned toward a darker, more idiosyncratic synthesis of jazz, blues, world music and English folk elements.
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‘Slowhand’: Eric Clapton’s 1977 Platinum Balancing Act
‘Slowhand’ offers a lucid balance of technical mastery and artistic modesty. It became his best-selling studio album 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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‘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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‘Disraeli Gears’: When Cream Rose to the Top
On their second album, the trio honed their virtuosic interplay to a sharper edge and added a more modern sensibility spiked with psychedelia.
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‘Wildflowers’: Tom Petty’s Heartbroken Solo Masterpiece
Petty called it his favorite album. Its generous song list only hinted at the virtual torrent of material he was creating during this period.
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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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When Donald Fagen Lightened Up With ‘The Nightfly’
On his debut solo album, cut during Steely Dan’s ’80s hiatus, Fagen trades cynicism for nostalgia in a song cycle.
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The Byrds’ ‘Younger Than Yesterday’—An Ambitious Studio Flight
Expanding beyond their trademark jingle-jangle folk-rock, the band created their most diverse, experimental recording to date.
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Flying Burrito Bros.’ Seminal Country-Rock Debut, ‘Gilded Palace’
Gram Parsons had envisioned the Burritos as “his” band, but ‘The Gilded Palace of Sin’ underscores the partnership between Parsons and Chris Hillman
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