Tag: Rock
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Bruce Hornsby and The Range ‘Scenes From The Southside’ (1988)
Unlike many folks who identify New Years Eve as the beginning of the year, for me that process starts during Thanksgiving. It’s a day of identifying the things you’re thankful for certainly, but it’s also a moment for reflecting on the journey you took over the past year and a reminder that another year awaits…
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The Edgar Winter Group ‘They Only Come Out At Night’ (1972)
The Edgar Winter Group’s debut album is a solid slice of classic rock that shows off just how much muscle and melody the band had right from the start. With tracks like “Free Ride” and the instrumental powerhouse “Frankenstein,” they blended big riffs, tight grooves, and a sense of fun into their vintage 70’s sound.…
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Sheryl Crow ‘Tuesday Night Music Club’ (1993)
Tuesday Night Music Club has a lot of simple charms to it. Take the music itself— it’s unpolished and throws a lot of different genres together, like alternative rock, country, pop, and more. This was Crow’s debut album and introduced her knack for blending pop hooks with a laidback country twang and a touch of…
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Bob Seger ‘Stranger In Town’ (1978)
Bob Seger’s Stranger In Town is one of those records that just feels like America on vinyl. You’ve got the highway dust, heartbreak, and pure heartland grit all in spades. Everyone of course knows “Old Time Rock and Roll” and its piano riff that whose iconic scene with Tom Cruise in Risky Business cemented its…
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Three Dog Night ‘Harmony’ (1971)
Three Dog Night rose to prominence in the late 1960s and dominated the charts throughout the early ’70s with a string of polished radio-friendly hits. The band’s had a pretty unique identity in that they had a three-lead-singer format which gave their sound a versatility few groups outside of the Eagles could match. At their…
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Ram Jam ‘Ram Jam’ (1977)
Ram Jam were only a band for two years but in that time they notched themself into history by creating their enduring cover of the 20th Century African American work song “Black Betty”. From the iconic guitar to the shuffle drum beat on the hi-hat, Ram Jam nailed their version and locked themselves into rock…
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Soul Asylum ‘Grave Dancers Union’ (1992)
Soul Asylum released Grave Dancers Union in 1992 and went platinum based off their hit single “Runaway Train”. The ballad quickly became the band’s defining hit and eventually earned them a Grammy for Best Rock Song. But its cultural impact extended far beyond MTV rotation as the music video famously featured images of missing children…
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Town Portal ‘The Occident’ (2015)
I got into Town Portal via Thrice drummer Riley Breckenridge’s running playlist and I gotta say, it’s a vibe. These dudes are from Copenhagen and have long thrived on the fringes of instrumental rock, building a sound that pits Meshuggah-level polymeters against jazz-like playfulness and the noisy melodicism of ’90s post-hardcore. The Occident is a…
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Black Oak Arkansas ‘Black Oak Arkansas’ (1971)
As I mentioned a few weeks back I’ve been reading Bruce Springsteen’s autobiography over the past few weeks during my down time. It’s a great little trip through his early life and career. Every once in awhile he’ll recall a story from one of his early shows, and one that stuck out was a show…
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Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers ‘Self-Titled’ (1976)
I’ve talked about Tom Petty a fair amount over the years on here so it probably makes sense to start off with what I shared about his career and sound during my write-up of his magnum opus Damn The Torpedoes when I wrote about that album in May of 2023: For my money Tom Petty…
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Carnivores ‘Let’s Get Metaphysical’ (2014)
Carnivores’ were a pretty unknown band from Glasgow (74 monthly listeners) that I stumbled on a few weeks ago via a random Spotify playlist. I popped them on and was incredibly impressed in a short matter of time– it’s like garage rock meets post-hardcore in a very fun and frenetic way. Basically if you’re looking…
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George Harrison ‘All Things Must Pass’ (1970)
Forever known as “The Quiet Beatle” George Harrison’s contributions to rock music over the years are stunning in their thoughtfulness. Less gregarious than Ringo Starr, less prolific than Paul McCartney, less iconic than John Lennon, Harrison is oft-forgotten from a commercial perspective. But I’ve always found his solo work post-Beatles to be the best of…
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Nickelback ‘All The Right Reasons’ (2005)
Nickelback is often tied to “butt rock”, a perjorative slang for the subgenre of post-grunge and hard rock that is known for it’s mainstream success while lacking artistic merit. Critics slammed them for being formulaic and the name itself became shorthand for rock that plays on stations with “nothing but rock.” Alongside bands like Creed…
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Neil Diamond ‘Brother Love’s Travelling Salvation Show’ (1969)
If you’ve been to a sporting event or wedding in the past 20 years you’re probably pretty familiar with “Sweet Caroline” by Neil Diamond. The song frankly needs no introduction. But what you probably don’t know about that song is that it actually didn’t have a home on the original pressing of Brother Love’s Travelling…
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Prince ‘For You’ (1978)
A year and a half ago we covered Prince’s impact on pop music when we wrote about his masterpiece Purple Rain, one of my favorite albums of all-time that captured the magic of Prince when he was at his creative and commercial peak. Today we throw it back to his debut album that was released…
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Paul McCartney and Wings ‘Band on the Run’ (1973)
Band on the Run was Paul McCartney and Wings’ third album and followed a pretty underwhelming beginning of his solo career that began when The Beatles broke up in the spring of 1970. It marked his final album for Apple Records and followed the two commercial duds that were 1971’s Wild Life and 1973’s Red…
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The Who ‘Tommy’ (1969)
The Who’s groundbreaking rock opera Tommy emerged in 1969 as a visionary project primarily penned by guitarist Pete Townshend, who basically wrote the whole thing by himself. The double album weaves the fictional tale of Tommy Walker, a boy who becomes deaf, dumb, and blind following childhood trauma, only to rise as a spiritual leader…
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Todd Rundgren ‘Something/Anything?’ (1972)
Todd Rundgren’s career was a tightrope walk between pop stardom and cult icon status, a balancing act that began in the late 1960s and reached its zenith with the 1972 magnum opus Something/Anything?. Emerging with the Nazz, a psych-rock band steeped in Beatlesque melodies, Rundgren quickly set his sights on a broader canvas as a…
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Eagles ‘One of These Nights’ (1975)
Eagles’ One of These Nights is a masterclass example of studio alchemy, a pivotal moment that reshaped the band’s trajectory and left an indelible mark on 70s rock. Recorded at Record Plant Studios in Los Angeles, the album emerges from a tumultuous period for the band, who were grappling with internal friction and the pressures…
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Free ‘Tons of Sobs’ (1969)
Born in the late 60’s British blues rock scene that would dominate the music scene in the late 60’s and early 70’s, Free was composed of Paul Rodgers (vocals), Paul Kossoff (guitar), Andy Fraser (bass, piano) and Simon Kirke (drums). They are primarily known today for their mega-smash hit “All Right Now” off their 1970…
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Redbone ‘Wovoka’ (1973)
Redbone’s absolute smash single “Come and Get Your Love” was notable for a variety of reasons– the incredible groove, orchestral hooks, and iconic chorus that sounds like it was sung from the heavens. It also was the first Native American song to crack the Top Five of the Billboard Top 100 (peaking at #5 in…
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The Jimi Hendrix Experience ‘Axis: Bold As Love’ (1967)
Jimi Hendrix’s contributions to the world of guitar players is unparalleled– as perhaps the most celebrated guitarist in the history of rock and roll, he pioneered the use of overdriven high-gain amplifiers, used guitar feedback as a tool (not an undesired element), and altered his tone with fuzz distortion, Uni-Vibe, and wah-wah pedals. These contributions…
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Television ‘Marquee Moon’ (1977)
Television’s Marquee Moon was a landmark album in music history despite receiving little in the way of commercial popularity, similar in that sense to Beach Boys 1966 album Pet Sounds. Its influence on the musical direction that would follow in the 1980’s is vast and wide-ranging– the stripped-down production of the album that gave clear…
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Carmen ‘Fandangos In Space’ (1973)
When you think of flamenco and prog-rock it’s usually not in the same sentence. And yet here we are. And you’ll be happy you came. Carmen’s decidedly out there (and utterly excellent) 1973 album Fandangos In Space is something only the wild early 70’s prog-rock explosion could produce, and the world is absolutely better off…
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Journey ‘Frontiers’ (1983)
Not to be a contrarian, but Journey’s best song isn’t “Don’t Stop Believin’”. It’s a total banger and an iconic late night closing down the bar song, but the distinct honor of best Journey song undoubtedly goes to “Separate Ways (Worlds Away)” which kicks off their 1983 album Frontiers. It features all the best Journey…
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War ‘Why Can’t We Be Friends?’ (1975)
War mixed R&B, funk, jazz, Latin, psychedelia, and reggae music all together in a melting pot that reflected the background of the musicians that comprised the multi-ethnic band, forging one of the more progressive soul groups of the 70’s in the process. Their 1975 album Why Can’t We Be Friends? is a viable walk down…
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Guns N’ Roses ‘Appetite For Destruction’ (1987)
No album for me better represents all the glorious excess of the hard rock in the 1980’s combined with a heavy dose of top-tier musicianship than Guns N’ Roses 1987 magnum opus Appetite For Destruction. Slash and Axl Rose have become somewhat of a minor punch line in recent years due to a variety of…
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Don Henley ‘The End of The Innocence’ (1989)
When I was young Don Henley’s song “The End of The Innocence” played a pivotal role in establishing my love for music. The thematic subject matter about getting older and losing the carefree life of being at home with your parents spoke to me in a visceral way, serving as sort of a reminder that…
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The Wallflowers ‘Bringing Down The Horse’ (1996)
Any time your father is one of the greatest American songwriters of all-time, expectations are gonna be a little high. It’s an almost impossible scenario to carve your own niche under the looming backdrop of all-time albums like Highway 61 Revisited and Blood on the Tracks, and yet Wallflowers lead singer Jakob Dylan (who if…
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Peter Frampton ‘Frampton Comes Alive!’ (1976)
Frampton Comes Alive! was the album which put Peter Frampton on the map, similar in that way to The Allman Brothers Band’s 1971 live album At Fillmore East which jumpstarted the commercial appeal of a band by capturing the raw, infectious energy of their live show. To this day it remains one of the best-selling…
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The Doors ‘The Doors’ (1967)
Long considered one of the best debut albums of all-time, The Doors self-titled 1967 debut had a nearly immediate impact on the formation of psychedelic music that was beginning to dominate in the late 60’s. The Doors had it all in the grab bag of eclectic rock– drummer John Densmore’s feverish jazz-influenced syncopated rhythms that…
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Matthew. ‘Yesterday & Forever Ago’ (2023)
Today we’ll be covering my debut LP Yesterday & Forever Ago, which was officially released this morning. I previously covered the pretty wild turn of events that came about during the recording of this album in my writeup of the EP I released earlier this year entitled CAMBRIA: The Lost Sessions, so I won’t belabor…
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Warren Zevon ‘Excitable Boy’ (1978)
Warren Zevon was the king of sardonic sharp wit, one of those rare artists who was able to cover the obscene and macabre and yet leave you bobbing along with a smile on your face. The title track from Excitable Boy is a sterling example of this splendid artistry– the song details a young misanthrope…
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Prince ‘Purple Rain’ (1984)
No artist impacted the sound of the pop music in the 80’s more than Prince. His unique blend of virtuoso musicianship (his guitar solo on “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” in 2004 is an absolute masterclass), unrivaled instinct for unique harmonic elements, and prolific writing capabilities that saw him release forty studio albums during his…
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The Who ‘Who’s Next’ (1971)
Born from the rubble of the ambitious Lifehouse project that The Who eventually abandoned (probably because it was so insane– seriously), Who’s Next is the magnum opus of the British rock band known for their over the top stage show and prolific musical output. This was the album that defined rock and roll for a…
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The Beatles ‘Abbey Road’ (1969)
When you think of iconic album covers, Abbey Road is the one that certainly tops the list. The only others I can think of that even come close are The Clash’s London Calling and The Velvet Underground’s The Velvet Underground & Nico. In London thousands of fans re-create this album every single day outside of…
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