With fewer marathon jams than its precursor (1973’s ‘The Payback’), ‘Hell’ possesses a strong sense of cohesion throughout, even as Brown leads the album in many different musical directions.
Read moreBig Mike’s Debut Album ‘Somethin’ Serious’ Turns 30 | Album Anniversary
Big Mike’s debut solo album ‘Somethin’ Serious’ makes for a seriously good listen and remains a key recording in the evolution of Houston-based rap and more broadly, southern hip-hop.
Read moreThe B-52s’ ‘Cosmic Thing’ Turns 35 | Album Anniversary
This album meant so much to so many at the time of its release, an ushering in of a welcome frivolity that had been absent in music for so long.
Read morePrince and The Revolution’s ‘Purple Rain’ Turns 40 | Album Anniversary
Prince’s ascendancy into the stratosphere of pop and funk royalty seemed pre-destined prior to the arrival of ‘Purple Rain,’ but its brilliance solidified what all of us had rightfully expected.
Read morePrince’s ‘Batman’ Turns 35 | Album Anniversary
‘Batman’ is still the oddity in the Prince canon, which is a shame, as so many of its songs should have had a bigger life outside of the confines of the Batcave.
Read moreLimp Bizkit’s ‘Significant Other’ Turns 25 | Album Anniversary
Inquisitively experimental, unapologetically rock, and unflinchingly hip-hop, Limp Bizkit’s second studio affair stands as one of the definitive nu metal albums.
Read moreAnxious Bouts of Nervous: The Mars Volta’s ‘Octahedron’ Turns 15 | Album Anniversary
‘Octahedron’ is a Mars Volta record that yields a more refined enjoyment. Whilst it offers adventurism, it also offers restraint.
Read moreWilco’s ‘A Ghost Is Born’ Turns 20 | Album Anniversary
‘A Ghost Is Born’ is a tremendous outpouring of pain and a reminder that you are never alone. You always have Wilco.
Read moreNatalie Cole’s ‘Snowfall On The Sahara’ Turns 25 | Album Anniversary
Cole used her seventeenth album as an ambitious staging ground for all of her assorted musical interests to unite.
Read moreHelmet’s ‘Betty’ Turns 30 | Album Anniversary
Helmet’s risk did not require a reward. Art does not seek an end; it is a process. The legacy of ‘Betty’ is simple: brand-named music is death.
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