Area Code 615
Artist: Area Code 615

This is a legendary record recorded by a legendary group of musicians. Area Code 615 was, as the name implies, the location of Cinderella Studios in Nashville (Madison, to be exact). The session players who recorded there are some of the greatest unsung heroes in popular music: Weldon Myrick (pedal steel), Bobby Thompson (banjo), Buddy Spicher... Read More

Jools & Brian
Artist: Julie Driscoll

The debut album from the formation of Julie Driscoll, Brian Auger & The Trinity, this record introduced to America a group that had been making some noise in England for some time already. The album is a bit fragmented, containing a few Julie Driscoll solo tracks, as well as some Auger/Trinity efforts without Driscoll. One of the most amazing... Read More

Live/Dead
Artist: Grateful Dead
Community Score: 10.00

The Grateful Dead's fourth title was likewise their first extended concert recording. Spread over two LPs, Live/Dead (1969) finally was able to relay the intrinsic sonic magnificence of a Dead show in real time. Additionally, it unleashed several key entries into their repertoire, including the sidelong epic and Deadhead anthem"Dark Star" as... Read More

Star Collection
Artist: Buffalo Springfield
Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere
Artist: Neil Young & Crazy Horse
Community Score: 8.04

Neil Young's second solo album, released only four months after his first, was nearly a total rejection of that polished effort. Though a couple of songs, "Round Round (It Won't Be Long)" and "The Losing End (When You're On)," shared that album's country-folk style, they were altogether livelier and more assured. The difference was that, while... Read More

Moby Grape
Artist: Moby Grape
Community Score: 9.90

Moby Grape's career was a long, sad series of minor disasters, in which nearly anything that could have gone wrong did (poor handling by their record company, a variety of legal problems, a truly regrettable deal with their manager, creative and personal differences among the band members, and the tragic breakdown of guitarist and songwriter... Read More

Retrospective: The Best of Buffalo Springfield
Artist: Buffalo Springfield

Retrospective: The Best of Buffalo Springfield may not be definitive, but it's a good, basic overview of the group's career, containing most of the group's biggest hits and signature songs. Yes, several worthy album cuts are missing, but as a sampler, this works quite well, offering a nice introduction to the group. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine,... Read More

Buffalo Springfield Again
Artist: Buffalo Springfield
Community Score: 7.75

Due in part to personnel problems which saw Bruce Palmer and Neil Young in and out of the group, Buffalo Springfield's second album did not have as unified an approach as their debut. Yet it doesn't suffer for that in the least -- indeed, the group continued to make major strides in both their songwriting and arranging, and this record stands as... Read More

Tim Buckley
Artist: Tim Buckley
Community Score: 7.00

Buckley's 1966 debut was the most straightforward and folk-rock-oriented of his albums. The material has a lyrical and melodic sophistication that was astounding for a 19-year-old. The pretty, almost precious songs are complemented by appropriately baroque, psychedelic-tinged production. If there was a record that exemplified the '60s Elektra... Read More

Bradley's Barn
Artist: The Beau Brummels

After taking the Beau Brummels to the pop/folk psychedelic edge, producer Lenny Waronker took the band to Nashville, literally. Possibly influenced by the Byrds Sweetheart experiments, the group (now down to just Sal Valentino on vocals and Ron Elliott on guitars) wedded with Nashville's finest, including guitarist Jerry Reed and drummer Kenneth... Read More

Music from Big Pink
Artist: The Band
Community Score: 8.16

None of the Band's previous work gave much of a clue about how they would sound when they released their first album in July 1968. As it was, Music from Big Pink came as a surprise. At first blush, the group seemed to affect the sound of a loose jam session, alternating emphasis on different instruments, while the lead and harmony vocals passed... Read More

Changes
Artist: Jim & Jean
Community Score: 9.00

The husband-and-wife team of Jim Glover (guitar/vocals) and Jean Ray (vocals) cut three long-players in the mid-'60s, during an era when primarily acoustic-based folk was synthesizing with edgier amplified electric rock. Their second LP, 1966's Changes, noted this juncture as they advanced from the mold established by the likes of Ian & Sylvia... Read More