Elvis Costello’s ‘Almost Blue’ Was Rescued by Its Bonus Tracks… for a While
The release history of Elvis Costello’s Almost Blue provides a framework for examining how the delivery of recorded music can relate to our experience of it.
All Things Reconsidered
Skank’s Postmodern ‘Calango’ Keeps Trippin’ at 30
Skank’s Calango mixes Jamaican reggae, Latin percussion, keyboards, and guitars into a blend that sounds very much from Brazil and yet completely alien.
Everything Feels Alright: The Promise Ring’s ‘Very Emergency’
The Promise Ring’s Very Emergency succeeds by subverting expectations but delivering ten nuggets of power pop and a rebuke of the emerging emo tropes.
Neil Young at World’s End: ‘On the Beach’ at 50
Neil Young’s On the Beach lodges not in the heart or brain but in the spleen. Perfect for depressed, alienated teenagers in the soft-rock days before punk.
The Conceptual Depths of Mastodon’s ‘Leviathan’
Mastodon’s Leviathan is a concept LP inspired by American novelist Herman Melville’s Moby Dick. Think of it as sludge metal’s answer to Dark Side of the Moon.
Liza Minnelli and Pet Shop Boys United on the Camp Classic ‘Results’
Results is an incredible union of two seemingly disparate acts, yet the musical marriage of Liza Minnelli and the Pet Shop Boys is brilliant dance pop.
Frank Zappa’s Serious Transformation: ‘The Perfect Stranger’ at 40
A prolific conductor and a sophisticated synthesizer make for an under-appreciated but vastly important album in Frank Zappa’s prodigious catalog.
Oasis’ ‘Definitely Maybe’ Still Sounds Fresh After 30 Years
Definitely Maybe is the definitive statement in the Oasis catalog, an album of its time but also transformative in what was yet to come.
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Jawbox Discuss ‘For Your Own Special Sweetheart’ at 30
Jawbox’s major label debut is their most beloved album, a perfect marriage of songwriting and production that sounds as thrilling today as it did 30 years ago.
Mr. Bungle’s ‘California’ Still Feels Fresh 25 Years Later
Despite not being strictly metal, Mr. Bungle’s unhinged musical adventurousness showed heavy metal could get weird and silly without losing the heaviness.
Leonard Cohen’s ‘New Skin for the Old Ceremony’ Remains Its Divided Self at 50
Leonard Cohen courted the light as much as the dark—a duality at the heart of his existence and his 50-year-old album ‘New Skin for the Old Ceremony’.
Minnie Riperton’s ‘Perfect Angel’ at 50: Imperfectly Angelic
Soul singer Minnie Riperton made full use of her multi-octave voice and songwriting talent on 1974’s Perfect Angel, with her still-beloved hit, “Lovin’ You”.