By the time their debut LP arrived, The Specials had already earned a reputation for being an energetic live act and producer Elvis Costello helped transfer that energy into the studio and the record.
Read morePrince’s Eponymous Second Studio Album ‘Prince’ Turns 45 | Album Anniversary
Prince’s second LP is a reminder of the necessity of patience in artist development, as it’s worth remembering that even a musical behemoth like Prince needed time to marinate and develop.
Read moreHandsome Boy Modeling School’s Debut Album ‘So…How’s Your Girl?’ Turns 25 | Album Anniversary
Bolstered by an eclectic crew of guests including DJ Shadow, Del The Funky Homosapien, J-Live, El-P, Róisín Murphy, Sean Lennon, Grand Puba, and Sadat X, ‘So…How’s Your Girl?’ makes for one intriguing listen.
Read moreJamiroquai’s ‘The Return Of The Space Cowboy’ Turns 30 | Album Anniversary
Although the album’s overall tone is more in line with the chill factor, it doesn’t mean that Jay Kay and his bandmates compromise any of their musical swagger, because they don’t.
Read moreScarface’s ‘The Diary’ Turns 30 | Album Anniversary
Scarface manages to say a lot in a short amount of time with his third studio album, further demonstrating the potency of his words, the power of his ideas, and the outright funkiness of his music.
Read moreThe ‘Murder Was The Case’ Soundtrack Turns 30 | Album Anniversary
‘Murder Was The Case’ works best as a proof of concept for what Dr. Dre and Suge Knight envisioned as the direction of Death Row Records and its evolving artist roster at the time.
Read moreThe Coup’s ‘Genocide & Juice’ Turns 30 | Album Anniversary
While The Coup’s subsequent music wasn’t as gloomy as much of ‘Genocide & Juice,’ it informed their worldview moving forward and shaped Boots Riley’s next steps as an artist.
Read moreDigable Planets’ ‘Blowout Comb’ Turns 30 | Album Anniversary
Based on a handful of factors working in unison, ‘Blowout Comb’ was destined to become the quintessential initially-underappreciated and eventually-celebrated sleeper success.
Read moreO.C.’s Debut Album ‘Word…Life’ Turns 30 | Album Anniversary
With his debut LP, O.C. emerged as a singular talent and began a career that continues to produce quality work, despite the household name status he deserves continuing to elude him.
Read moreMelanie C’s Debut Solo Album ‘Northern Star’ Turns 25 | Album Anniversary
Chisholm’s vocal performances, full of a resonance and feeling, hint that the creation of her debut collection had set off deeply personal changes within her.
Read more