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
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.
Read MoreAC/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 MoreWhen 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 MoreWhen 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 MoreThe Doors’ ‘Soft Parade’: Still Rockin’
The album’s pop leanings notwithstanding, the Doors were still very much a rock and roll band at the time of its release.
Read MoreDave Edmunds’ ‘Repeat When Necessary’: Where the New Wave Met the Old
The Welsh rocker’s fifth solo album, made with the great Rockpile, captures him at the pinnacle of his influence as an architect of late ’70s new wave.
Read MoreElvis Costello and the Attractions’ Exceptional ‘Imperial Bedroom’
The 1982 album is generally considered one of his best, with 15 exceptional songs and some of the best work by the Attractions
Read MoreDire Straits’ ‘Brothers in Arms’: Mark Knopfler Completes the Transition to Stadium-Friendly Band
One of the first all-digital albums recorded with the compact disc in mind, it vaulted the British band into the rock stratosphere.
Read MoreFree: ‘Fire and Water’—More Than Just All Right
The album featured one of rock’s all-time classics in “All Right Now,” but there was much more to Free’s ferocious-yet-controlled ethic
Read MoreThe Byrds’ ‘Mr. Tambourine Man’ LP—A Folk Rock Manifesto
With worthwhile covers, solid originals and no filler, the LP sustained a level of quality that invited favorable comparison with their heroes, the Beatles.
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