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 Who’s ‘Odds & Sods’: Beat the Boots
Fed up with the volume of unauthorized Who LPs on the market, the band put together this mixed bag of leftover tracks.
Read More
Electric Light Orchestra’s ‘Out of the Blue’: The Masterpiece from Munich
‘Out of the Blue’ is full of treasures, a sweeping double-LP that Jeff Lynne dubbed “probably the hardest work I have ever done, but the most satisfying.”
Read More
When Donald Fagen Lightened Up With ‘The Nightfly’
On his debut solo album, cut during Steely Dan’s ’80s hiatus, Fagen trades cynicism for nostalgia in a song cycle.
Read More
The Byrds’ ‘Younger Than Yesterday’—An Ambitious Studio Flight
Expanding beyond their trademark jingle-jangle folk-rock, the band created their most diverse, experimental recording to date.
Read More
Billy Joel’s ‘The Stranger’: The Breakthrough
The album could be considered a greatest hits, given the fact that several of the songs are still considered essential Joel standards.
Read More
Electric Light Orchestra – ‘Eldorado’: A Mighty Spark
For their fourth LP, ELO moved past the uncertainties of their early years and took listeners on a journey into the future
Read More
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.
Read More
Steely Dan’s ‘Aja’: A Dazzling Listen
Previously a collective yet to realize its most effective means of transforming ideas into finished art, Becker and Fagen coalesced on this 1977 classic
Read More
Blondie’s ‘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…
Read More