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
Journey ‘Escape’: When the Fans Really Started Believin’
This is a curious chapter in rock history, as one of a few select albums that defines listener taste, consumer spending and chart success.
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Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble’s ‘Texas Flood’: Out of the Gate
Recorded as a demo over a long holiday weekend, the album launched the career of the legendary bluesman and gave the genre itself a huge boost.
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‘Blow by Blow’: A Jeff Beck Master Class in Guitar
The 1975 all-instrumental album, produced by George Martin, was a guitarist’s master class
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The Rolling Stones’ ‘Some Girls’: The Grooves of Now
With punk rock nipping at their aging heels, the Stones revved things up with classic tracks like “Shattered,” “Miss You” and “Beast of Burden.”
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‘Another Side of Bob Dylan’: Younger Than That Now
The album contained songs that were later cut by everyone from the Byrds to Johnny Cash to Cher.
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Nick Lowe: ‘Labour of Lust’—The Basher Blossoms
The highly regarded British singer/songwriter/producer and his pals from Rockpile cut this classic album at the height of the new wave era.
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The Black Sabbath Debut LP: Where Metal Began
Every defining characteristic of the British band’s self-titled debut would become a hallmark of the oft-maligned heavy metal genre.
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The Laura Nyro and Labelle Collaboration: ‘Gonna Take a Miracle’
The album is Nyro’s tribute to the vocal groups and songwriters who continued to thrill and inspire her.
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George Harrison’s ‘Living in the Material World’: Is It Underrated?
Harrison said at the time, “I wouldn’t really care if no one ever heard of me again. I just want to play and make records.”
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Rod Stewart ‘Every Picture Tells a Story’: Ha!
The man who one said, “I’m a rock star because I couldn’t be a soccer star,” broke through with his solo third album, which included the smash “Maggie May”
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