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
Ray Charles’ Soulful Country Music: ‘It’s Got to Move Me’
The 1962 album astonished pop consumers with the quality of the chosen songs, the intensity of Charles’ vocals and the amazing arrangements.
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Jim Croce ‘You Don’t Mess Around With Jim’: An Everyman Arrives
With more time, he might have taken his place as an equal of James Taylor, Gordon Lightfoot, Paul Simon, etc.
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Loggins and Messina ‘On Stage’: The Peak of a Formidable Partnership
The album marked a successful coda in terms of a catalog that’s forever inscribed in the annals of radio-ready music and mainstream Americana.
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The Lifesaving Eric Clapton ‘Rainbow Concert’
It’s widely believed that Pete Townshend’s successful efforts to bring the guitarist out of his self-imposed musical exile marked a turning point.
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Ian Hunter ‘You’re Never Alone w/a Schizophrenic’: Dynamic Duo
Teaming with his favored guitar sidekick Mick Ronson, plus members of the E Street Band, the former Mott the Hoople leader created his best solo effort.
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Squeeze and Their Hook-Filled ‘Argybargy’
The album became the British band’s first charting album in the U.S. upon release in 1980 thanks to songs like “Another Nail in My Heart.”
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‘Johnny Rivers at the Whisky à Go Go’ @60: Rockin’ on Stage
If you’ve ever wondered what it was like to dance to live rock and roll at a Los Angeles discotheque in 1964, here is your answer.
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Graham Parker ‘Squeezing Out Sparks’: Simple As a Heartbeat
The 1979 album doesn’t have a weak song or performance, and continues to be cited as the British singer-songwriter’s greatest achievement.
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Bonnie Raitt Rebounds in the ‘Nick of Time’
Just when her career needed a boost, Raitt switched labels and came up with her biggest hit album, which took her all the way to number one
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Kiss’ ‘Destroyer’: Where the Music Finally Equaled the Image
Everyone knew the makeup, the blood and that tongue, but their records weren’t selling. Then came ‘Destroyer’ and a single that almost didn’t make the cut.
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