The band’s fifth studio album is kind of a mess…in the best possible way. Full of unexpected transitions, it’s unique in their repertoire because it has no overarching aesthetic sensibility.
Read moreBeck’s ‘Odelay’ Turns 30 | Album Anniversary
The kaleidoscopic ‘Odelay’ forced listeners and the music industry at large to look beyond the ubiquity of “Loser” and recognize Beck as a true musical visionary.
Read more3rd Bass’ Second & Final Studio Album ‘Derelicts of Dialect’ Turns 35 | Album Anniversary
While their debut LP ‘The Cactus Album’ (1989) was a solid introduction, 3rd Bass recorded ‘Derelicts of Dialect’ with a notably heightened sense of purpose and focus.
Read moreBon Iver’s Eponymous Second Album ‘Bon Iver’ Turns 15 | Album Anniversary
Bon Iver’s second studio affair is a record about stillness, regardless of what the lyrics say. Musically, the band paints this vivid of a picture.
Read moreThe Smiths’ ‘The Queen Is Dead’ Turns 40 | Album Anniversary
Terry Nelson revisits The Smiths’ watershed album and examines why, relative to other long players of the same era, it still resonates so profoundly today.
Read moreHeather B.’s Debut Album ‘Takin’ Mine’ Turns 30 | Album Anniversary
The gifted emcee’s debut LP captures the rough and rugged zeitgeist of mid-1990s East Coast hip-hop as well as any full-length of the era.
Read moreRandom Axe’s Eponymous Debut Album ‘Random Axe’ Turns 15 | Album Anniversary
Though perfectly imperfect, the album brought three superstars—Black Milk, Guilty Simpson and Sean Price—together to record a project solely focused on giving their audience raw hip-hop.
Read moreChaka Khan’s ‘Destiny’ Turns 40 | Album Anniversary
‘Destiny’ is full of saturated colors, big brawny beats, exaggerated flourishes, skyscraper-tall pop-rock, and Khan’s voice dwarfs them all.
Read morePhyllis Hyman’s ‘Prime of My Life’ Turns 35 | Album Anniversary
Hyman’s final studio LP before her tragic death remains a bright portrait of her masterful use of pathos to create beauty from chaos.
Read moreAlicia Keys’ Debut Album ‘Songs in A Minor’ Turns 25 | Album Anniversary
Keys’ inaugural effort is a masterfully executed hybrid of classic and contemporary soul, replete with an acute streetwise sensibility to balance its creator’s musical intelligence and passion.
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