Bridge Over Troubled Water was one of the biggest-selling albums of its decade, and it hasn't fallen too far down on the list in years since. Apart from the gospel-flavored title track, which took some evolution to get to what it finally became, however, much of Bridge Over Troubled Water also constitutes a stepping back from the music that Simon & Garfunkel had made on Bookends -- this was mostly because the creative partnership that had formed the body and the motivation for the duo's four prior albums literally consumed itself in the making of Bridge Over Troubled Water. The overall effect was perhaps the most delicately textured album to close out the 1960s from any major rock act. Bridge Over Troubled Water, at its most ambitious and bold, on its title track, was a quietly reassuring album; at other times, it was personal yet soothing; and at other times, it was just plain fun. The public in 1970 -- a very unsettled time politically, socially, and culturally -- embraced it; and whatever mood they captured, the songs matched the standard of craftsmanship that had been established on the duo's two prior albums. Between the record's overall quality and its four hits, the album held the number one position for two and a half months and spent years on the charts, racking up sales in excess of five million copies. The irony was that for all of the record's and the music's appeal, the duo's partnership ended in the course of creating and completing the album.© Bruce Eder /TiVo

Italy's Måneskin make their bid for global pop domination with their third album, 2023's pulse-pounding Rush! While they sound like a sleazy garage rock band from New York circa the early aughts, they are best known for winning the Eurovision Song Contest 2021 for Italy with the song "Zitti e buoni." Prior to that, they teed up their breakthrough Eurovision run with a second-place finish on Italy's X Factor in 2017. All of which is to say that, while they can really and truly rock (devil horns and all), Måneskin aren't afraid to play in the tasteless, campy machinery of the modern pop landscape. In fact, on Rush! they explicitly frame themselves within a sleazy, globe-trotting world of decadent partying, sexy models, and raw overindulgence -- all delivered with a kohl-eyed wink and a firm tongue in cheek. The band purportedly recorded over 50 songs for Rush!, working with a bevy of studio songwriting and production collaborators like Max Martin, Rami Yacoub, Justin Tranter, and others. At 17 tracks, the album can feel a bit long, like they didn't want to leave anything out. That said, it's also fun and full of enough wild-eyed rock club energy to keep things from ever getting too predictable. Cuts like "Bla Bla Bla," "Gasoline," and "Don't Wanna Sleep" have a giddy, dance-punk quality, as if the Buzzcocks ripped through Maroon 5's "Moves Like Jagger." There's also their ribald collaboration with guitarist Tom Morello that sounds, somewhat improbably and perhaps most fittingly, like Rage Against the Machine in deep punk tango with Ricky Martin. Some of the best moments come late in the album, where Måneskin and longtime producer Fabrizio Ferraguzzo let loose on a handful tracks (several sung in Italian) like the sinewy "La Fine," "Kool Kids," and the deliciously trashy "Mammamia," anthems where singer Damiano David's throaty sneer and the band's buzz-heavy grooves vibrate with an electric sensuality. With Rush!, Måneskin make good on their Eurovision rock promise, delivering an album that's campy, inspired, and thrilling all at the same time. As they sing on "Kool Kids," "I am scum, real scum, but I'm good at this/We're not punk, we're not pop, we're just music freaks."© Matt Collar /TiVo

When the Wailers began recording their fifth album, they were in the middle of a contract dispute with CBS, the upshot being that Catch a Fire was their first record for Island under the auspices of Chris Blackwell. The band had recorded a batch of classic songs in Jamaica, then brought the tapes to London, where Blackwell proceeded to remix them, adding rock guitars and keyboards to a handful of tracks (with the band's ultimate approval). No matter how convoluted its creation might have been, Catch a Fire is a hands-down classic album that both defines and transcends the reggae genre while bringing it to a wider audience, and it started Bob Marley on his way to becoming a global star. As much as Marley became the hero over time, Fire is a group creation where the band, singers, and songwriters all worked together to create something greater than its individual elements. Yes, Marley wrote most of the songs and sang them with a pleasing blend of warmth and strength, but without the soothing, empowering harmonies of Bunny Wailer and Peter Tosh backing him, and the at once tight and elastic bounce and strut of the band driving him forward, the album wouldn't have been nearly as good. Tosh, too, takes lead on a couple of songs: the deeply soulful, Impressions-inspired "Stop That Train" and the fierce protest song "400 Years," which shovel coals onto the fire that blazes beneath much of the record's laid-back exterior. The album is a good mixture of songs like that -- as well as "Concrete Jungle" and "Slave Driver" -- that make the listener want to shout and fight, and those that are made for times when the lights get a little lower and thoughts turn to romance. "Stir It Up" is one of these, and its echoing guitars, bubbling organ, and shimmering synths pair with Marley's aching lead and the note-perfect backing vocals to create a wonderfully slinky baby-making jam. "Baby We've Got a Date (Rock It Baby)" is a little more insistent, featuring some almost strident female vocals, but the mood is similar. The only hitch is the wandering slide guitar, a slight misstep that could have been avoided if Blackwell had left well enough alone. Another tiny stumble comes on "No More Trouble," which is the kind of vague, sloganeering song Marley became more known for once he jettisoned the other two Wailers and took center stage. It's a pretty good attempt, though, and the funky clavinet gives the song some extra bite. Regardless of these faint faults, the album holds together incredibly well as a listening experience and features the original Wailers at their angriest, toughest, and most romantic peak. Anyone looking to check out reggae at its very best -- or Bob Marley before he became an omnipresent icon -- would do well to give Catch a Fire a spin.© Tim Sendra /TiVo

Forty years after its release on the 30th of November 1982, people still name Thriller as one of Michael Jackson’s greatest albums. To mark the occasion, Sony is rolling out the red carpet for the anniversary edition of this masterpiece, including 25 bonus tracks! For this record, which was released in the same year as the Compact Disc, the 24-year-old star once again teamed up with Quincy Jones. The era was also marked by the rise of MTV—which was only a year old at the time—and Michael dreamed of reaching funk lovers as well as rock and pop fans. However, Thriller became what we know it to be because it was essentially a compilation of strong, perfect songs. As Quincy would later say: 'If an album reaches number one, it’s because the songs are perfect to begin with!'Emphasising the role of sound engineer Bruce Swedien and songwriter Rod Temperton, who’d already been involved in Off the Wall, the producer told Rolling Stone magazine in 2009: 'Michael didn’t create Thriller. It takes a team to make an album. He wrote four songs, and sang his ass off, but he didn’t conceive it. That’s not how an album works.' ‘The Girl Is Mine’, the duet with Paul McCartney, was released as a single on the 18th of October 1982, a good month after the album. By joining forces with the ex-Beatles member again, Michael Jackson showed the way. He broke down racial boundaries even further, building bridges between America and Europe and blurring the lines between musical genres. His label, Epic–like everyone involved–knew that this album was going to be unlike anything else the world had ever seen.To link the album to Off The Wall, Thriller is logically opened by ‘Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'’. With its sample of Manu Dibango’s ‘Soul Makossa’ (the Cameroonian saxophonist would only claim royalties in 2008), it was the perfect way to satisfy Michael’s lifelong fans. However, the lyrics were already less smooth than they had been in the past, revealing that the star had hardened up and freed himself from his child-artist image. Of course, the heart of this colossal album is in its three major songs: ‘Thriller’, ’Beat It’ and ‘Billie Jean’. With creaking doors, werewolf screams, a long instrumental intro (Michael’s voice only appears at the one-minute mark) and a monologue by 50s, 60s and 70s horror star Vincent Price, ‘Thriller’ (and its video) remains a pop culture megalith. With a pyrotechnic guitar solo by Eddie Van Halen (who, according to legend, burned out the studio speakers during the recording), ‘Beat It’ is a relentless, ultra-rhythmic rock song, just what Quincy Jones was hoping for since he’d fantasised about placing a song similar to The Knack’s ‘My Sharona’ (1979) at the heart of the album. However, the stand-out track from Thriller, of course, is the record-shattering hit ‘Billie Jean’. This is an excellent reissue of a true masterpiece.© Marc Zisman/Qobuz

When the Wailers began recording their fifth album, they were in the middle of a contract dispute with CBS, the upshot being that Catch a Fire was their first record for Island under the auspices of Chris Blackwell. The band had recorded a batch of classic songs in Jamaica, then brought the tapes to London, where Blackwell proceeded to remix them, adding rock guitars and keyboards to a handful of tracks (with the band's ultimate approval). No matter how convoluted its creation might have been, Catch a Fire is a hands-down classic album that both defines and transcends the reggae genre while bringing it to a wider audience, and it started Bob Marley on his way to becoming a global star. As much as Marley became the hero over time, Fire is a group creation where the band, singers, and songwriters all worked together to create something greater than its individual elements. Yes, Marley wrote most of the songs and sang them with a pleasing blend of warmth and strength, but without the soothing, empowering harmonies of Bunny Wailer and Peter Tosh backing him, and the at once tight and elastic bounce and strut of the band driving him forward, the album wouldn't have been nearly as good. Tosh, too, takes lead on a couple of songs: the deeply soulful, Impressions-inspired "Stop That Train" and the fierce protest song "400 Years," which shovel coals onto the fire that blazes beneath much of the record's laid-back exterior. The album is a good mixture of songs like that -- as well as "Concrete Jungle" and "Slave Driver" -- that make the listener want to shout and fight, and those that are made for times when the lights get a little lower and thoughts turn to romance. "Stir It Up" is one of these, and its echoing guitars, bubbling organ, and shimmering synths pair with Marley's aching lead and the note-perfect backing vocals to create a wonderfully slinky baby-making jam. "Baby We've Got a Date (Rock It Baby)" is a little more insistent, featuring some almost strident female vocals, but the mood is similar. The only hitch is the wandering slide guitar, a slight misstep that could have been avoided if Blackwell had left well enough alone. Another tiny stumble comes on "No More Trouble," which is the kind of vague, sloganeering song Marley became more known for once he jettisoned the other two Wailers and took center stage. It's a pretty good attempt, though, and the funky clavinet gives the song some extra bite. Regardless of these faint faults, the album holds together incredibly well as a listening experience and features the original Wailers at their angriest, toughest, and most romantic peak. Anyone looking to check out reggae at its very best -- or Bob Marley before he became an omnipresent icon -- would do well to give Catch a Fire a spin.© Tim Sendra /TiVo

With the massive success of their previous album, the experimental Bob Ezrin-produced Destroyer (which contained the surprise ballad hit "Beth"), Kiss could have taken the safe route and continued in that direction -- or return to the raw hard rock of their first four albums. They chose the latter. Hooking back up with Eddie Kramer, the producer of their 1975 breakthrough release Alive! and their very first demo, Kiss rented out the Nanuet Star Theater in upstate New York to record their next album, Rock and Roll Over. With a more direct, in-your-face production, Rock and Roll Over is one of Kiss' most consistent records. Two of the album's best tracks became hit singles -- the sleazy hard rocker "Calling Dr. Love" and an acoustic ballad that was originally intended for Rod Stewart, "Hard Luck Woman" (later covered by country star Garth Brooks). But like all other classic rock albums, the lesser-known material is often just as strong -- "I Want You" and "Makin' Love" became concert staples over the years, while "Mr. Speed" is one of the most underrated songs in Kiss' catalogue. Also included are the fan favorites "Take Me," "Ladies Room," "Love 'Em and Leave 'Em," and the original version of "See You in Your Dreams," which was later re-recorded for Gene Simmons' 1978 solo album.© Greg Prato /TiVo

After a string of mediocre albums throughout most of the 1970s, Muddy Waters hooked up with Johnny Winter for 1977's Hard Again, a startling comeback and a gritty demonstration of the master's powers. Fronting a band that includes such luminaries as James Cotton and "Pine Top" Perkins, Waters is not only at the top of his game, but is having the time of his life while he's at it. The bits of studio chatter that close "Mannish Boy" and open "Bus Driver" show him to be relaxed and obviously excited about the proceedings. Part of this has to be because the record sounds so good. Winter has gone for an extremely bare production style, clearly aiming to capture Waters in conversation with a band in what sounds like a single studio room. This means that sometimes the songs threaten to explode in chaos as two or three musicians begin soloing simultaneously. Such messiness is actually perfect in keeping with the raw nature of this music; you simply couldn't have it any other way. There is something so incredibly gratifying about hearing Waters shout out for different soloists, about the band missing hits or messing with the tempos. Hey this isn't pop music, it's the blues, and a little dirt never hurt anybody. The unsung star of this session is drummer Willie "Big Eyes" Smith, whose deep grooves make this record come alive. The five-minute, one-chord "Mannish Boy" wouldn't be nearly as compelling as it is if it weren't for Smith's colossal pocket. Great blues from one of the dominant voices of the genre.© Daniel Gioffre /TiVo

When the Wailers began recording their fifth album, they were in the middle of a contract dispute with CBS, the upshot being that Catch a Fire was their first record for Island under the auspices of Chris Blackwell. The band had recorded a batch of classic songs in Jamaica, then brought the tapes to London, where Blackwell proceeded to remix them, adding rock guitars and keyboards to a handful of tracks (with the band's ultimate approval). No matter how convoluted its creation might have been, Catch a Fire is a hands-down classic album that both defines and transcends the reggae genre while bringing it to a wider audience, and it started Bob Marley on his way to becoming a global star. As much as Marley became the hero over time, Fire is a group creation where the band, singers, and songwriters all worked together to create something greater than its individual elements. Yes, Marley wrote most of the songs and sang them with a pleasing blend of warmth and strength, but without the soothing, empowering harmonies of Bunny Wailer and Peter Tosh backing him, and the at once tight and elastic bounce and strut of the band driving him forward, the album wouldn't have been nearly as good. Tosh, too, takes lead on a couple of songs: the deeply soulful, Impressions-inspired "Stop That Train" and the fierce protest song "400 Years," which shovel coals onto the fire that blazes beneath much of the record's laid-back exterior. The album is a good mixture of songs like that -- as well as "Concrete Jungle" and "Slave Driver" -- that make the listener want to shout and fight, and those that are made for times when the lights get a little lower and thoughts turn to romance. "Stir It Up" is one of these, and its echoing guitars, bubbling organ, and shimmering synths pair with Marley's aching lead and the note-perfect backing vocals to create a wonderfully slinky baby-making jam. "Baby We've Got a Date (Rock It Baby)" is a little more insistent, featuring some almost strident female vocals, but the mood is similar. The only hitch is the wandering slide guitar, a slight misstep that could have been avoided if Blackwell had left well enough alone. Another tiny stumble comes on "No More Trouble," which is the kind of vague, sloganeering song Marley became more known for once he jettisoned the other two Wailers and took center stage. It's a pretty good attempt, though, and the funky clavinet gives the song some extra bite. Regardless of these faint faults, the album holds together incredibly well as a listening experience and features the original Wailers at their angriest, toughest, and most romantic peak. Anyone looking to check out reggae at its very best -- or Bob Marley before he became an omnipresent icon -- would do well to give Catch a Fire a spin.© Tim Sendra /TiVo

The Essential Taj Mahal pulls together the bluesman's Columbia, Warner, Gramavision Private Music, and Hannibal labels' recordings, making it the first truly cross-licensed compilation of his work. Given the depth and breadth of this set (it covers four decades), the listener gets not only a cross-sectional view of the artist, but also his innovative and idiosyncratic journey through the blues: Mahal has not only kept the tradition alive, he's expanded it and deepened it, tracing its roots and developments through the course of American, Caribbean, and African cultures. While there is no unreleased material here, there doesn't need to be. The sheer adventure in these recordings reveals the wealth of the contribution Mahal has made not only to the blues, but to popular culture both present and past. This is a comp to own, to be moved by, and to ultimately enjoy. Columbia issued a three-CD set earlier, but there were things there that needed to be trimmed. This leaner and meaner version is superior.© Thom Jurek /TiVo

Although not as consistently magnificent as Hurt's 1928 recordings, the performances the artist recorded for Vanguard in the mid 1960's would be the zenith of many blues artist's entire careers. Songs like the opening "Payday" and "Poor Boy, Long Ways From Home" rank with any folk-blues song ever recorded. This fantastic set collects the three albums Vanguard released in Hurt's lifetime and as such is undeniably the package to go for to acquire these later gems.© Thomas Ward /TiVo

Released in October 1984, Them or Us is Frank Zappa's last studio rock album (unless one counts Thing-Fish). It contains a little of everything for everyone, but most of all it has that cold and dry early-'80s feel that made this and other albums like The Man From Utopia and Frank Zappa Meets the Mothers of Prevention sound dated pretty quickly. The record begins and ends with covers. "The Closer You Are" is one of those '50s R&B tunes the man loved so much. As for the Allman Brothers' "Whippin' Post," it answered a request from an audience member in Helsinki back in 1974 (go figure). In between one finds the usual offensive lyrics -- the cliché-ridden "In France," the sexually explicit "Baby, Take Your Teeth Out." Crunchy guitars are found in "Ya Hozna" and "Stevie's Spanking" (named after Steve Vai, playing guitar in it, too), arguably one of Zappa's best straightforward rock songs from that period. "Sinister Footwear II" and "Marqueson's Chicken" represent an '80s update of complex instrumental pieces the likes of "RDNZL." "Planet of My Dreams" salvages a bit from the never-produced stage play Hunchentoot (the scenario of which was incidentally published in a book titled Them or Us released at the same time). Finally, "Be in My Video" mocks David Bowie's hit "Let's Dance" and the MTV generation, still in its infancy stage at the time.© François Couture /TiVo

Today is Mississippi John Hurt's first and finest studio release since his "rediscovery" on his Avalon farm by folklorist Tom Hoskins in 1963. Eclipsed possibly only by his earlier 1928 Sessions, this album shows a more mature Hurt picking his way through standards and originals after the Depression years and Hurt's fall into obscurity before the folk revival of the 1960s. It shows, however, that all that the great bluesman has lost is years; his voice retains its characteristic Buddha-esque warmth and it is still difficult to believe that there is just one man playing on the seemingly effortless guitar work. The music on the album comes from a variety of different influences, from the fun and poppy "Hot Time in Old Town Tonight" and "Coffee Blues," to the bluesy standards "Candy Man" (Hurt's most famous song) and "Spike Driver's Blues" to the soulful spirituals "Louis Collins" and "Beulah Land." Hurt's tranquil guitar work -- mixing country, Scottish folk, and Delta blues -- strings all of the songs along the same simple and elegant thread. Hurt himself never could explain his guitar playing, as he used to say, "I just make it sound like I think it ought to." Regardless, that sound, along with a mellow and heartfelt voice, wizened here by decades, combine to make Today an unforgettable whole. A truly essential album of the folk revival, unrivaled in its beauty and warmth.© David Freedlander /TiVo

When the Wailers began recording their fifth album, they were in the middle of a contract dispute with CBS, the upshot being that Catch a Fire was their first record for Island under the auspices of Chris Blackwell. The band had recorded a batch of classic songs in Jamaica, then brought the tapes to London, where Blackwell proceeded to remix them, adding rock guitars and keyboards to a handful of tracks (with the band's ultimate approval). No matter how convoluted its creation might have been, Catch a Fire is a hands-down classic album that both defines and transcends the reggae genre while bringing it to a wider audience, and it started Bob Marley on his way to becoming a global star. As much as Marley became the hero over time, Fire is a group creation where the band, singers, and songwriters all worked together to create something greater than its individual elements. Yes, Marley wrote most of the songs and sang them with a pleasing blend of warmth and strength, but without the soothing, empowering harmonies of Bunny Wailer and Peter Tosh backing him, and the at once tight and elastic bounce and strut of the band driving him forward, the album wouldn't have been nearly as good. Tosh, too, takes lead on a couple of songs: the deeply soulful, Impressions-inspired "Stop That Train" and the fierce protest song "400 Years," which shovel coals onto the fire that blazes beneath much of the record's laid-back exterior. The album is a good mixture of songs like that -- as well as "Concrete Jungle" and "Slave Driver" -- that make the listener want to shout and fight, and those that are made for times when the lights get a little lower and thoughts turn to romance. "Stir It Up" is one of these, and its echoing guitars, bubbling organ, and shimmering synths pair with Marley's aching lead and the note-perfect backing vocals to create a wonderfully slinky baby-making jam. "Baby We've Got a Date (Rock It Baby)" is a little more insistent, featuring some almost strident female vocals, but the mood is similar. The only hitch is the wandering slide guitar, a slight misstep that could have been avoided if Blackwell had left well enough alone. Another tiny stumble comes on "No More Trouble," which is the kind of vague, sloganeering song Marley became more known for once he jettisoned the other two Wailers and took center stage. It's a pretty good attempt, though, and the funky clavinet gives the song some extra bite. Regardless of these faint faults, the album holds together incredibly well as a listening experience and features the original Wailers at their angriest, toughest, and most romantic peak. Anyone looking to check out reggae at its very best -- or Bob Marley before he became an omnipresent icon -- would do well to give Catch a Fire a spin.© Tim Sendra /TiVo

When the Wailers began recording their fifth album, they were in the middle of a contract dispute with CBS, the upshot being that Catch a Fire was their first record for Island under the auspices of Chris Blackwell. The band had recorded a batch of classic songs in Jamaica, then brought the tapes to London, where Blackwell proceeded to remix them, adding rock guitars and keyboards to a handful of tracks (with the band's ultimate approval). No matter how convoluted its creation might have been, Catch a Fire is a hands-down classic album that both defines and transcends the reggae genre while bringing it to a wider audience, and it started Bob Marley on his way to becoming a global star. As much as Marley became the hero over time, Fire is a group creation where the band, singers, and songwriters all worked together to create something greater than its individual elements. Yes, Marley wrote most of the songs and sang them with a pleasing blend of warmth and strength, but without the soothing, empowering harmonies of Bunny Wailer and Peter Tosh backing him, and the at once tight and elastic bounce and strut of the band driving him forward, the album wouldn't have been nearly as good. Tosh, too, takes lead on a couple of songs: the deeply soulful, Impressions-inspired "Stop That Train" and the fierce protest song "400 Years," which shovel coals onto the fire that blazes beneath much of the record's laid-back exterior. The album is a good mixture of songs like that -- as well as "Concrete Jungle" and "Slave Driver" -- that make the listener want to shout and fight, and those that are made for times when the lights get a little lower and thoughts turn to romance. "Stir It Up" is one of these, and its echoing guitars, bubbling organ, and shimmering synths pair with Marley's aching lead and the note-perfect backing vocals to create a wonderfully slinky baby-making jam. "Baby We've Got a Date (Rock It Baby)" is a little more insistent, featuring some almost strident female vocals, but the mood is similar. The only hitch is the wandering slide guitar, a slight misstep that could have been avoided if Blackwell had left well enough alone. Another tiny stumble comes on "No More Trouble," which is the kind of vague, sloganeering song Marley became more known for once he jettisoned the other two Wailers and took center stage. It's a pretty good attempt, though, and the funky clavinet gives the song some extra bite. Regardless of these faint faults, the album holds together incredibly well as a listening experience and features the original Wailers at their angriest, toughest, and most romantic peak. Anyone looking to check out reggae at its very best -- or Bob Marley before he became an omnipresent icon -- would do well to give Catch a Fire a spin.© Tim Sendra /TiVo