Album Rewinds

Given the test of time and the wisdom of hindsight, how do significant albums from the past sound and play today? Our critics take a second look from a fresh perspective

‘The Great Lost Kinks Album’: Revisiting an Overlooked 1973 Delight

Although compiled to satisfy a contractual obligation, the collection of stray tracks is “a corner of the room worth spending some time in.”

Read More

Elvis Costello & The Attractions ‘Trust’: A Dark Masterwork

The album, Costello’s fifth overall, captures the quartet at a potent but troubled peak, its title a loaded, ironic signifier

Read More

Bob Dylan’s Masterful ‘Blood on the Tracks’ @50

After finishing the recording sessions for his new album, the artist decided he didn’t like some of it and went back into the studio. A classic emerged.

Read More

Styx ‘Paradise Theatre’: Where Prog Met Pure Pop

The album was the band’s greatest success but with the members no longer on the same page, it was also the beginning of the end.

Read More

Leo Sayer ‘Just a Boy’ @50: A Big Leap Forward

The singer-songwriter’s second LP found him at the cusp of a career that would lead to greater glories, while ensuring his stature on the singles charts.

Read More

The REO Speedwagon Debut LP: A Hint of Things to Come

Their only album with frontman Terry Luttrell, it paved the way for future success.

Read More

The Sprawling ‘London Calling’ From The Clash

The 2-LP set was one of the best albums of its time, and marked the evolution of the UK quartet from punk heroes to great rock band.

Read More

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.

Read More

Roy Orbison ‘Mystery Girl’: Exit Music

“The Big O” aka “The Caruso of Rock” still thrills whenever the microphone captures his one-of-a-kind voice.

Read More

The Masterful, Underrated Debut Album From Argent: From Z to A

Out of the ashes of the Zombies came their keyboardist’s new band. Their debut LP is one of rock’s most underrated of all time.

Read More