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
Kansas’ ‘Leftoverture’: A Prog/Arena Rock Magnum Opus
Their fourth album made Kansas one of the top U.S. mainstream rock bands and helped pave the way for the style now known as “arena rock.”
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Rockpile’s ‘Seconds of Pleasure’: One And Done
By any measure they were a great rock ‘n’ roll band, but their sole album under the group’s name didn’t always show why.
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Billy Joel: ‘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.
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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.
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Blondie: ‘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…
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Flying Burrito Bros.’ Seminal Country-Rock Debut, ‘Gilded Palace’
Gram Parsons had envisioned the Burritos as “his” band, but ‘The Gilded Palace of Sin’ underscores the partnership between Parsons and Chris Hillman
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‘Smiley Smile’: The Beach Boys Album That Wasn’t Supposed to Be
Their followup to ‘Pet Sounds’ was a quick replacement for an abandoned masterpiece-to-be. Some fans didn’t love it, but in time its reputation has grown.
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Cheap Trick ‘In Color’: The LP That Put Them on the Map
Cheap Trick broke musical and lyrical boundaries, even defying the look of a rock band with a couple of rock stars and a couple of nerds.
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Mott the Hoople ‘All the Young Dudes’ Generated Some Hoopla
The album, with its Bowie-written title track, emphasized the band’s bravado, and helped lay the foundation for the ’70s glam movement.
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R.E.M.’s ‘Document’: Not the End of the World, But the End of an Era
The Georgia band’s fifth studio album was the mark of a group spreading its wings, but also leaving something behind.
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