REVIEWS:

What’s the read on the latest reissue releases and live performances by classic rock artists? What biopics, movies or documentaries are worth seeing in theaters and at home? What books about rock music and the people who make and work with it are worth reading. Our team also takes a fresh look at notable works in our Album Rewind series

‘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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Olivia Newton-John and Her Audience: A Love-Fest

The beloved singer has a big vocal range and signature sound unlike anyone else’s. Her 2017 tour resumed just months after she announced a recurrence of cancer

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Billy Joel ‘Live at Yankee Stadium’ Hits Some Homers

Performing in the city of his birth to more than 50,000 admirers, Joel exudes a sense of triumph and validation—and understandably so.

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The Sex Pistols’ Era-Defining ‘Never Mind the Bollocks’

They only released one album but it sparked a musical revolution. We look back at a punk-rock game-changer 4+ decades after its release

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Bob Dylan’s ‘The Philosophy of Modern Song’ Book: Like a Complete Unknown

Whether he’s on a tangent or not, Dylan is virtually always colorful. He wonders if one song was recorded through a “tomato can telephone.”

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Beach Boys Party! – Fun Time and Lots (and Lots) of Covers

Capitol Records wanted a new LP for the ’65 holiday shopping season. Brian was busy with Pet Sounds. So they recorded plenty of their contemporaries’ songs

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The Beatles’ ‘Revolver’ Box Set: Was It Their Most Ambitious Adventure?

The music sounds noticeably brighter and sharper than before, and the vocals and instruments can be distinguished more clearly.

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The Who Hits Back in Portland, October 2022—Replacing Chaos with Dignity

Pete Townshend’s cascading windmills and Roger Daltrey’s cathartic primal scream are still a thrill more than half a century later.

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Mark Knopfler’s ‘Studio Albums 2009–2018’: Review

The subject matter and musical approaches are all over the place, but the albums feel cohesive and the performances are first-rate.

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Pink Floyd’s ‘Animals’ Deluxe Edition: Review

The LP feels almost like a Waters solo project, but owes a debt to Gilmour’s dynamic guitar work, and to Wright and Mason.

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