American Flyer
Artist: American Flyer

American Flyer deserved better. Eric Kaz had written great love songs for Linda Ronstadt and Bonnie Raitt, and Craig Fuller was coming off his Top 40 hit "Amie" with Pure Prairie League. As it happened, Steve Katz's "Back In '57" turned out to be one of the album's highlights, but "Let Me Down Easy," by Kaz And Fuller, was a minor hit, and there... Read More

Greatest Hits
Artist: Cat Stevens
Community Score: 7.90

Like many of his peers, Cat Stevens made records that were identified by strong, memorable hit singles, but make no mistake: he made albums that were cohesive works onto themselves. For that reason, the very idea of a Cat Stevens greatest-hits collection may be troublesome to some fans, since they will only notice the missing album tracks, but... Read More

Still Crazy After All These Years
Artist: Paul Simon
Community Score: 7.34

The third new studio album of Paul Simon's post-Simon & Garfunkel career was a musical and lyrical change of pace from his first two, Paul Simon and There Goes Rhymin' Simon. Where Simon had taken an eclectic approach before, delving into a variety of musical styles and recording all over the world, Still Crazy found him working for the most... Read More

City to City
Artist: Gerry Rafferty
Community Score: 7.40

Gerry Rafferty is a huge talent, but a reluctant star. Management struggles and sundry other hindrances limited his output, but couldn't avert the Scot from releasing two legendary singles -- the Tarantino-ized "Stuck in the Middle With You" and the unforgettable "Baker Street," the latter included on this record. Just a glimpse of John Patrick... Read More

Shaved Fish
Artist: John Lennon
Community Score: 5.00

At the time of its release, Shaved Fish didn't attract as much attention as any compilation of John Lennon's work would have either a few years before or a few years after. Lennon had just issued the somewhat disappointing genre album, Rock 'n' Roll, and was only a year from Walls and Bridges, not one of his strongest albums, and had also grown... Read More

Greatest Hits, Vols. 1 & 2 (1973-1985)
Artist: Billy Joel
Community Score: 7.72

Although it's missing a few important (not to mention big) hits, Greatest Hits, Vols. 1 & 2 is an excellent retrospective of the first half of Billy Joel's career. Beginning with "Piano Man," the first disc runs through a number of early songs before arriving at the hit-making days of the late '70s; some of these songs, including "Captain Jack"... Read More

The Stranger
Artist: Billy Joel
Community Score: 9.60

Billy Joel teamed with Phil Ramone, a famed engineer who had just scored his first producing hits with Art Garfunkel's Breakaway and Paul Simon's Still Crazy After All These Years for The Stranger, his follow-up to Turnstiles. Joel still favored big, sweeping melodies, but Ramone convinced him to streamline his arrangements and clean up the... Read More

Turnstiles
Artist: Billy Joel
Community Score: 10.00

There's a reason Turnstiles begins with the Spector-esque epic "Say Goodbye to Hollywood." Shortly after Streetlife Serenade, Joel ditched California -- and, by implication, sensitive Californian soft rock from sensitive singer/songwriters -- for his hometown of New York. "Say Goodbye to Hollywood" was a celebration of his move, a repudiation of... Read More

52nd Street
Artist: Billy Joel
Community Score: 7.86

Once The Stranger became a hit, Billy Joel quickly re-entered the studio with producer Phil Ramone to record the follow-up, 52nd Street. Instead of breaking from the sound of The Stranger, Joel chose to expand it, making it more sophisticated and somewhat jazzy. Often, his moves sounded as if they were responses to Steely Dan -- indeed, his... Read More

Luna Sea - BONUS TRACKS
Artist: Firefall

After introducing their mild, country-rock charm with 1976's Firefall, Rick Roberts and the band were right back at it a year later with Luna Sea. Following in the footsteps of their debut release, Luna Sea attached the same type of silky harmonies to light, breezy acoustics which confirmed the band's comfortable residence in their genre.... Read More