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 ‘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.
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Graham 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.
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Electric Light Orchestra’s ‘Out of the Blue’: The Masterpiece from Munich
It’s full of treasures, a sweeping double-LP that Jeff Lynne dubbed “probably the hardest work I have ever done, but the most satisfying.”
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Mark Knopfler and Emmylou Harris’ ‘All the Roadrunning’: Two Unique Voices
The album took seven years to complete, due to the duo’s hectic schedules.
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Robert Palmer ‘Sneakin’ Sally Through the Alley’—A Tale of 3 Cities
With help from players like Little Feat’s Lowell George and New Orleans’ Meters, the British singer’s solo career got off to a good start.
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Santana ‘Abraxas’: Post-Woodstock Latin Magic
When it came to recording their second album, the band wanted to expend more effort, and make a better-sounding record, than their somewhat rushed debut.
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Blondie: ‘Parallel Lines’—An International Smash
The LP, which included the smash “Heart of Glass,” would transform the group from boutique act into a worldwide sensation. Our Album Rewind…
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Lowell George’s Sole Solo LP, ‘Thanks I’ll Eat It Here’: Review
“It’s tough to separate myself from [Little Feat], but these sessions were really my own,” he said of the 1979 album.
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The Stills-Young Band One-Off Album: ‘Long May You Run’
The 1976 release is an outlier, a stopgap that is often overlooked. But there are treasures in it.
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