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
Eric Burdon & the Animals: New Box Set is Hit & Miss
Even when the music falls short on this collection of latter-day Animals, it’s worth hearing Burdon, one of the most noteworthy vocalists of 1960s rock.
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‘Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow’: Their Rockin’ Post-Purple Debut
Unhappy with the direction Deep Purple was taking, the guitarist recruited another band and made a debut album that would lead to a long solo career.
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Gregg Allman’s 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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Jethro Tull’s ‘Thick As a Brick’: Concept LP or Parody of One?
Equal parts ambitious and meticulous, the band’s 1972 best-seller is a smartly produced collage whose appeals remain undimmed.
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David Bowie’s ‘Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars’: Glam-Rock Goes Global
‘Ziggy’ didn’t only elevate Bowie’s career. It also influenced artists like Def Leppard and Marilyn Manson and kickstarted the entire punk movement.
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The ‘Truth’ According to Jeff Beck: A Genre-Busting Masterpiece
The former Yardbirds guitarist’s 1968 solo debut signaled a half-dozen highways for the future of rock. Every track on ‘Truth’ is astonishing.
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Neil Young’s ‘Harvest’: Keep Me Searching
Partnering with a new band he called the Stray Gators, Young recorded one of his most popular albums of all-time, and it gave him his only #1 single.
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Eric Clapton’s Solo Debut LP: A Long Way From Home
With help from a some of rock’s greatest songwriters and musicians, the former Cream/Blind Faith guitarist launched his solo career with a gem of an LP.
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‘Smiley Smile’: The Beach Boys Album That Wasn’t Supposed to Be
Their followup to ‘Pet Sounds’ was a quick replacement for an abandoned masterpiece-to-be. Some fans didn’t love it, but in time its reputation has grown.
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The Kinks’ ‘Sleepwalker’: The Comeback
The album kept selling to teenagers who barely remembered the Kinks of the previous decade, or thought they were a new band.
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