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
Stray Cats’ Debut Album & the Rockabilly Revival
The Long Island trio had to go to England to find success playing American rockabilly. By the time they returned home, they were stars.
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The Van Halen Debut Album: A Turning Point for Rock
It didn’t sound at first listen like something to change the course of rock music, but they opened doors for any number of rock acts.
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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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“What’s Shakin’”: The LP That Featured Pre-Fame Clapton, Winwood, Butterfield & Spoonful
Little known at the time of its release, the album proved to be a significant repository of rare recordings by acts that were still on the rise.
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Strawbs’ ‘Bursting at the Seams’: Poetry and Pop
The band’s fifth album showed Dave Cousins and company turning firmly toward more complex material.
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Warren Zevon ‘Excitable Boy’ LP: Werewolves and Lawyers, Oh My
With songs like “Werewolves of London,” “Lawyers, Guns and Money” and the title track, it was not only his greatest work but a singer-songwriter classic.
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Steppenwolf, The Debut Album: Heavy Metal Thunder
If it had given us nothing more than “Born to Be Wild,” it would still be a classic. But there was a lot more to the mostly Canadian band’s first LP.
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‘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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