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.

Expanded Reissues of Little Feat’s ‘Sailin’ Shoes’ and ‘Dixie Chicken’: Review

Amazingly, neither of these now-beloved albums made the charts when released. Now, both are available with a slew of bonus tracks.

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‘Rough and Rowdy Ways’ LP Delivered Classic Dylan

It seemed reasonable to suspect that we’d seen the last of his greatest albums. Well, here was a superb collection to prove you wrong

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Lindsey Buckingham Christine McVie Album: Mac-To-The-Basics

What you’ve got here is Mac-to-the basics. It’s at once familiar and sparkly-new. You’re going to want to come back to it often, for a long time.

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Bob Dylan’s Sensational ‘Shadow Kingdom’: Review

If you’re a fan, don’t think twice about checking out this new collection—this performance is not just all right, it’s fantastic.

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Paul Simon Confronts Mortality on ‘Seven Psalms’: Review

The album, “an argument I’m having with myself about belief,” is gentle, sweet and worth hearing. Just leave your dancing shoes at the door.

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Stephen Stills’ ‘Live at Berkeley 1971’:  An Artistic Peak

Having established himself as a major force with Buffalo Springfield and CSNY, Stills performed this dazzling solo show in California.

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‘What the Hell Happened to Blood, Sweat & Tears?’: Soundtrack Review

The horn-based ’60s band was coming off a chart-topping album when it agreed to tour Eastern Europe. Everything went wrong, except the music.

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‘The British Psychedelic Sounds of 1967’ Serves Up Little-Known Gems: Review

If you need a reminder of just how adventurous rock artists were back in ’67, this three-disc set will deliver.

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U2 Reimagine Some of Their Best Work on ‘Songs of Surrender’

The lion’s share of these recordings sound relatively enervated compared with the frequently anthemic well-known versions.

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The Kinks Chronicle Their ‘Journey’: Review

Timed to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the band’s arrival, the new set is a scaled-back affair sporting 36 tracks, many of them obscure.

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