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
Vanilla Fudge’s 1967 Debut: Maximum Psychedelia
It was rock music pushed to its limits, with a radical use of soft-loud-soft dynamics and the emotional drama of rhythm and blues and soul
Read More
Maria Muldaur: Debut Solo Album—Smart, Sassy and Seductive
The album, which included the top 10 hit “Midnight at the Oasis,” is a potent blend of country, blues, folk and pop, and it still sounds fresh
Read More
John Mellencamp’s ‘Scarecrow’: The Turning Point
The album marked a turning point, and served as an overture for how he would bring his music into the world from that point forward.
Read More
Pat Benatar and ‘Crimes of Passion’: Her Best Shot
She has remained the thing she set out to be, an artist who made her own seat at the table and turned it into a remarkable rock music legacy.
Read More
The Ritchie Blackmore ‘Rainbow’ Debut: Rockin’ Post-Purple
Unhappy with the direction Deep Purple was taking, the guitarist recruited another band and made a debut album that would lead to a long solo career.
Read More
Stevie Wonder and ‘Innervisions’: Reaching Higher Ground
On his 16th album in a decade Wonder needed a strong album. He nailed it. Like its predecessor, this one earned a wide audience and generated 3 hit singles
Read More
Emmylou Harris’ ‘Luxury Liner’: Outside The Lines
Influenced by Gram Parsons and using some of the best musicians and songwriters in the business, the singer created a country-rock smash with the 1976 album.
Read More
AC/DC’s ‘Highway to Hell’: You Want Blood?
The 1979 release by the Australian mega-band is not an album you come to for variety; it’s a monument to single-minded rock.
Read More
When the Moody Blues Found Their ‘Lost Chord’
If you’ve been listening to this music on a scratchy vinyl LP for the last 50 years, you’re bound to find the surround-sound version to be a real trip.
Read More
When John Mayall’s ‘Blues Breakers with Eric Clapton’ Broke Down Boundaries
The 1966 album featuring a 21-year-old Clapton helped establish a blues-rock template that would linger long after in the popular music firmament
Read More