Recordings
Best Classic Bands offers smart, informed and unbiased assessments of the latest rock album releases and reissues to offer readers guidance on what sounds they might enjoy.
A Box Set Collects Much of the Roches’ Best Work: Review
Their self-titled debut album was produced by King Crimson’s Robert Fripp, whose involvement is not as crazy as it might seem, as the trio’s music is more than a bit avant-garde.
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Bruce Springsteen’s ‘No Nukes’ Concert: The Boss Proves It All Night
If anyone has doubts that this is one of the greatest live bands in the history of rock, ‘The Legendary 1979 No Nukes Concerts’ should decimate them.
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A Sterling Live Set from Elliott Murphy: Review
The record does a great job of showcasing Murphy’s commanding vocals and literate verse about a wide range of subjects.
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A 1966 Concert Album Showcases Embryonic Grateful Dead: Review
The 2026 release preserves a Fillmore Auditorium show from only about a year after the group (then called the Warlocks) played its first gig at a pizza parlor.
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A 5th Dimension Box Delivers Hits Galore & Hidden Treasures: Review
The group consistently tapped excellent composers, most notably Jimmy Webb and Laura Nyro but also such folks as Harry Nilsson and Burt Bacharach and Hal David.
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Squeeze’s 2026 Album, ‘Trixies,’ is a New/Old Gem—Review
Written by the teenaged Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook, it’s got the hook-filled tunes that the songwriting duo has long been known for.
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A Concert Album from George Harrison’s Pal, Joe Brown: Review
This 30-song album, originally recorded in 2002, includes everything from folk to pop, blues to rock ‘n’ roll.
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Strawberry Alarm Clock’s First LP Since 1969: 2026’s ‘Where’s One?’ Review
The group’s penchant for psychedelia remains obvious throughout, but its sound has become much more complex and sophisticated.
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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 Waterboys’ ‘Atlantic Rain: The Lost Fisherman’s Blues Recordings’ Unearths Gems: Review
The new box delivers two more hours of music from the classic 1988 sessions, including a 20-minute take on the Beatles’ “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.”
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