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

Johnny Cash’s ‘Unchained’ With Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers: A Dream Come True

For one of his final recordings, Cash teamed with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. “I was with a bunch of people and we had fun,” he said.

Read More

Steely Dan’s ‘Royal Scam’: Rock on a Grand Scale

The 1976 LP proved divisive, augmenting the leaner ensemble core of prior albums with more aggressive ensemble arrangements

Read More

Chicago’s Eclectic Debut Album: With Authority

Chicago’s speedy ascent was fueled by a landmark debut that made an immediate splash with critics and listeners, but it was more than a hit record.

Read More

John Fogerty’s ‘Blue Ridge Rangers’: One-Man Band

With CCR having called it a day, Fogerty entered the studio alone and put together an album’s worth of tributes to his country, gospel and bluegrass heroes.

Read More

J. Geils Band’s ‘Live—Blow Your Face Out’ Revisited

It wasn’t their first live album, but ‘Blow Your Face Out’ took the band’s manic rock ‘n’ soul energy to another level entirely.

Read More

Bill Withers’ ‘Live at Carnegie Hall’: Soul Preachin’

He’d never even planned for a career in music. Before long, he found himself on stage at one of the most prestigious performance venues in the world.

Read More

Roger Daltrey’s Solo Debut @50: Doing A Favor

He wasn’t even planning on recording a solo album. But one thing led to another and soon The Who’s lead singer found himself with 10 songs of his own.

Read More

Dr. John’s ‘Gumbo’: A New Orleans Master’s Thesis

For the sessions, instead of his own new material, he breathed authentic life into lively new versions of hometown classics.

Read More

Loggins and Messina’s ‘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.

Read More

The Doors’ ‘L.A. Woman’: Last Call

The Doors’ sixth and final studio LP re-energized the band through a return to their roots in American blues, and served as a tribute to their hometown.

Read More