With its stellar vocal harmonies and instrumental dexterity, the album established Poco for decades to come and drew a blueprint for country-rock’s future
Browsing: 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
Performing for prison inmates was nothing new for the legendary singer, but his record label was nervous about making an album at one. Good thing they did
They only gave us two albums and then they were gone, but that hit-packed second one helped to define an era.
The singer-songwriter’s second LP found him at the cusp of a career that would lead to greater glories, while ensuring his stature on the singles charts.
“I could go anywhere because I was a writer. I was conjuring that place deep in my soul,” said John Fogerty about the songs on the band’s 2nd LP.
The impressive 11 songs that made the final cut of this new wave-era debut comprise a coherent piece of art with nary a dull moment.
The musical language that would define his work is all present on this early gem that solidified Elton’s writing partnership with Bernie Taupin
The band’s third album was a leap forward in songcraft and sonic ambition, a song cycle weaving the personal and political.
The combination of high concept, grandiose execution and ELP’s usual artistic ambition made ‘Brain Salad Surgery’ a mind-blowing effort.
It was actually a strange hybrid, but it proved irresistible to record buyers, including many rock fans who’d never bought a country album before