While the album is wholly convincing, it represents the birth of a movement created by young, inexperienced artists with a world of cynicism and a racist industry designed to thwart them at every turn.
Read moreRobert Cray’s ‘Shame + A Sin’ Turns 30 | Album Anniversary
‘Shame + A Sin’ makes a compelling case that while musical fashions come and go, class and substance stand the test of time.
Read moreMuddy Waters’ ‘Electric Mud’ Turns 55 | Album Anniversary
More than a curio or some relic to be pulled off the shelf intermittently, ‘Electric Mud’ is a gateway drug to the unfettered joys and heartbreaks of blues music.
Read moreOutKast’s ‘Speakerboxxx/The Love Below’ Turns 20 | Album Anniversary
On their fifth studio affair comprised of two dynamic parts, OutKast found ways to stretch themselves—Big Boi within the context of hip-hop and André 3000 with journeys into jazz, funk and soul.
Read moreRaphael Saadiq’s ‘The Way I See It’ Turns 15 | Album Anniversary
Steeped in rediscovering the joys of Motown and ‘60s soul, Saadiq’s terrific third long player never veers towards pastiche and remains a thrilling homage to a golden era.
Read moreMarvin Gaye’s ‘Let’s Get It On’ Turns 50 | Album Anniversary
Where ‘What’s Going On’ was a sanctified, state-of-the-world proclamation, ‘Let’s Get It On’ was a smorgasbord of sexual desires that helped Gaye launch new dimensions of soul music.
Read moreMica Paris' Debut Album 'So Good' Turns 35 | Album Anniversary
Paris’ debut affair is driven by her voice which confounds with its maturity and class. It seems impossible for her to have been a teenager and deliver work with such casual aplomb.
Read moreThe Isley Brothers’ ‘3 + 3’ Turns 50 | Album Anniversary
The Isleys’ 1970s output is testament to the genius concoction the family managed to create and ‘3+3’ may just be their greatest work of art.
Read moreMaxwell’s ‘Embrya’ Turns 25 | Album Anniversary
With his sophomore album, Maxwell arguably paved a way for future artists to take his creative template and apply it to their own artistry.
Read moreJamiroquai’s Debut Album ‘Emergency On Planet Earth’ Turns 30 | Album Anniversary
Themes of social injustice and the parlous state of the world crop up regularly throughout the group’s debut. Love sometimes becomes the subject matter, but the alarm call-to-action is dominant.
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