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
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s ‘Will the Circle Be Unbroken’: Closing the Gaps
As the 1972 triple album broke all the rules it revitalized the country-rock scene and made some very old music cool again
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‘A Christmas Gift for You From Phil Spector’: When Holiday Classics Met the Wall of Sound
Sixty years ago, an album redefined the Christmas song. Few heard it at the time, but today it is considered a true holiday classic.
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Quincy Jones’ ‘Back on the Block’: A Movie for the Ears
Recognized as one of the most unusual and kaleidoscopic albums ever produced, the 7x Grammy-winner featured an all-star cast.
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Steely Dan ‘Can’t Buy a Thrill’: All Systems Go
Their debut is tuneful and literate, and the musicianship can be exuberantly loose or scarily precise, perched midway between jazz, rock, and rhythm and blues.
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Linda Ronstadt’s ‘Heart Like a Wheel’ Breakthrough
After her first four albums, followers of country-rock knew there was something special about her. On her fifth, they found out what it was
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‘Buffalo Springfield Again’: An Embattled Creation
A volatile mix of talent and dysfunction percolates beneath the surface of the California band’s second and best album, cobbled together amidst rivalries
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Genesis ‘The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway’: Peter Gabriel’s Theatrical Exit
For their 1974 prog opus, Gabriel and the band came up with a complicated and somewhat opaque ‘urban odyssey’ tale set in New York City.
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Carly Simon ‘No Secrets’: Sexy and Smart
When she reached the top of the charts with the smash “You’re So Vain,” she became not only a pop phenomenon, but a gender role model.
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Jackson Browne ‘The Pretender’: Dreams and Nightmares
The 1976 album, arriving at a difficult time in his life, projects a more sinister and less forgiving world than Browne’s earlier works.
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The Blues Project’s Determined ‘Projections’
Their second album marked them as a formidable and creative force, incorporating elements of other genres ranging from folk to jazz and tossing it all into a psychedelic blender.
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