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
Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers’ ‘Damn the Torpedoes’: Full Speed Ahead
The LP was the band’s long-awaited breakthrough, the Heartbreakers now matching the caliber of their front man’s writing with their focused musicianship
Read More
Dire Straits’ ‘Making Movies’: Mark Knopfler’s Widescreen Ambitions
The album restored the band’s platinum stature with a more expansive style verging on prog rock while retaining retro accents
Read More
Traveling Wilburys’ Debut: Just Your Basic Dylan-Petty-Harrison-Orbison-Lynne Supergroup
Their unexpected union was a landmark combining an array of distinctive voices into something no individual could create alone.
Read More
Pure Prairie League’s ‘Bustin’ Out’: Persistence Pays Off
Left for dead by their record label, and with musicians using the group as a revolving door, Pure Prairie League nearly packed it in. Then they got lucky.
Read More
Paul Simon ‘Still Crazy After All These Years’: A Solo Triumph
His only #1 LP, and an Album of the Year Grammy winner, this 1975 release offered definitive proof that he was not going back to the past.
Read More
Rockpile’s ‘Seconds of Pleasure’: One And Done
By any measure they were a great rock ‘n’ roll band, but their sole album under the group’s name didn’t always show why.
Read More
‘John Prine’: A Debut for the Ages for a Songwriter’s Songwriter
The album is a quiet masterpiece, a portrait of a young singer-songwriter already fully formed and crafting songs for the ages.
Read More
King Crimson’s Debut: Laying the Groundwork for the Prog Revolution
The 1969 debut album set a standard for all prog-rock that followed and raised the bar in terms of expectation and achievement.
Read More
When ELO Delivered Magic With ‘Face the Music’
Other triumphs would follow, but clearly this 1975 best-seller marked a turning point in both their tapestry and trajectory
Read More
Dire Straits’ ‘Swinging’ Breakthrough Debut LP
“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.
Read More