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
The ‘Swinging’ Dire Straits Breakthrough Debut Album
“Sultans of Swing” was immediately distinctive in both sound and story. The album proved the band to be one of the most refreshingly creative of its day.
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Electric Light Orchestra’s ‘Out of the Blue’: The Masterpiece from Munich
It’s full of treasures, a sweeping double-LP that Jeff Lynne dubbed “probably the hardest work I have ever done, but the most satisfying.”
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Warren Zevon Copes with Mortality in ‘Bad Luck Streak in Dancing School’
Newly sober after years of alcohol abuse and subsequent bad behavior, the singer and songwriter was forthcoming about his new outlook.
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Electric Light Orchestra: ‘Eldorado’—A Mighty Spark
For their fourth LP, ELO moved past the uncertainties of their early years and took listeners on a journey into the future
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Buddy Guy: ‘Damn Right, I’ve Got the Blues’—A Joyous Noise
The album earned him the first of many Grammy Awards and sold way better than any of his previous recordings.
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The Beatles: ‘Abbey Road’ 50th Review—The Reissue It Deserved
This 2019 anthology offers 3 compelling reasons to buy it
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The Doors’ ‘Strange Days’: We Want the World…
On their second album, Jim Morrison and the band moved into uncharted territory lyrically and instrumentally. When the music’s over, turn out the lights…
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Steely Dan: ‘Aja’—A Dazzling Listen
Previously a collective yet to realize its most effective means of transforming ideas into finished art, Becker and Fagen coalesced on this 1977 classic
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The Band’s 2nd Album: A Rustic Masterpiece
Following up their debut Music From Big Pink, Dylan’s former backup band made a transcendent, self-titled masterpiece in 1969. Here’s the story.
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