The Rolling Stones-Some Girls (1978)

The end of the 1970s was characterized by the explosion of new musical movements that drew a segment of the public to them, such as disco and new wave. Within this context, The Rolling Stones released one of the most varied albums of their entire career. "Some Girls" was preceded by a series of scandals involving their guitarist Keith Richards, who a year earlier had been accused of drug possession in Canada, and to top it all off, had a subsequent affair with Margaret Trudeau, the wife of Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau. Amidst all these scandals, Mick Jagger was the main songwriter for the new album, which reflects the singer's musical tastes at the time. Released in mid-1978, the album revolves around the super hit "Miss You", a funky, bluesy track that opens the album spectacularly, while still maintaining a quintessential Stones sound. The rest of the album comprises a vibrant and exceptional repertoire of outstanding tracks, such as the rock 'n' roll anthem "When The Whip Comes Down", followed by the incendiary "Lies" and "Respectables", two of the hardest-hitting songs on their entire discography. They also venture into soul with "Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me)", country with "Far Away Eyes", and the then-fashionable punk of "Shattered", concluding with the quintessential Stones ballad "Beast Of Burden". All of this demonstrates that intelligence and creativity remained hallmarks of the best rock and roll band on the planet. "Some Girls" achieved six platinum records in the United States alone and worldwide sales exceeding 8 million copies.

Trace-Birds (1975)

Trace was a Dutch band from the city of Haarlem, founded by keyboardist Rick van der Linden in 1974. For several years, they enjoyed a remarkable career, releasing several albums of excellent progressive rock. From a young age, Rick van der Linden had taken piano lessons, undoubtedly influenced by his father, who was also a pianist. Later, he learned to play the organ and eventually enrolled in the conservatory in his hometown. From there, the young Rick joined various local bands, playing in nightclubs. Even then, his style was based on the influence of keyboardists such as Brian Auger and Keith Emerson. In 1974, he founded Trace with bassist Jaap van Eik and drummer Pierre van der Linden, both of whom had extensive experience playing in bands like Solution, Focus, and Living Blues. With Trace, Rick was able to develop his own ideas, creating a symphonic rock sound dominated by keyboards. That same year, thanks to the Dutch label Philips, they released their first album, "Trace", already showing similarities to early Emerson, Lake & Palmer. Both this debut and its follow-up, "Birds" (1975), offered a sumptuous and exciting symphonic rock sound, driven by Rick's wide range of keyboards (Hammond B3, ARP synthesizers, and Mellotron), with a primarily instrumental style where the aforementioned Mellotron and Hammond sounds are majestic, supported by a powerful rhythm section. A testament to this band's potential is the epic "King-Bird", a track from their second album, a progressive exercise in dazzling keyboard work, rhythmic shifts, electric guitars, and dynamic interplay. "The White Ladies", the third and final album released a year later, showed a lack of ideas. Despite being conceived as a concept album, it was a discreet continuation without the excellence of its predecessors, which would prematurely end the adventure of this formidable Dutch band.

Mike Bloomfield & Al Kooper-The Live Adventures of Mike Bloomfield and Al Kooper (1969)

This is a historic album, one of those magical evenings of wonderful jam sessions featuring two of the greatest icons of American music: Al Kooper and Mike Bloomfield. For three consecutive nights, September 26, 27, and 28, 1968, these two legendary musicians recreated the magic that had been born on the acclaimed album "Supersession" a few months earlier. The venue chosen for these concerts was the already legendary heart of the Californian music scene, the Fillmore West in San Francisco. With only a few days of rehearsal, the two musicians, along with drummer Skip Prokop and bassist John Khan, delivered concerts filled with superb renditions of blues and rock classics, interspersed with their own compositions. During these concerts, one of the most curious moments occurred: Bloomfield decided to take the microphone and debut as a singer. The legendary guitarist had never before assumed that role in his already extensive career. However, on the third night, Bloomfield was unable to perform due to several nights of partying without sleep. Al Kooper had to improvise, replacing the guitarist with two young musicians who were already beginning to make a name for themselves in the music world. These two young men were Carlos Santana and Elvis Bishop (the latter being Bloomfield's bandmate in the Paul Butterfield Blues Band). The result was a powerful testament to the formidable chemistry between these rock legends, beginning with Bob Dylan's classic "Highway 61 Revisited", followed by a wide variety of melodies, including Kooper and Bloomfield's song "Her Holy Modal Highness", and a repertoire of covers such as Paul Simon's "The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)", Elvis Presley's classic "That's All Right", The Band's "The Weight", Booker T. and the MG's "Green Onions", and Albert King's "Don't Throw Love on Me So Strong". These concerts were so acclaimed and important that they had to repeat the performances on an intense tour of different North American cities, concluding the tour at the other iconic venue of the era, the Fillmore East in New York, on December 12th and 13th of the same year. For these last two concerts, they were also joined by Johnny Winter on B.B. King's "It's My Own Fault", which he performed as a duet with Mike Bloomfield. Many years later, the original tapes were rediscovered and released as "The Lost Concert Tapes". From this point on, the careers of both are well known. Al Kooper continued as a producer and collaborator with greats such as The Who, The Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix, Blood, Sweat & Tears, Bob Diddley, The Tubes, Roger McGuinn, and Neil Diamond, among many others, in addition to being responsible for discovering the legendary Lynyrd Skynyrd. For his part, Mike Bloomfield continued with a fruitful career, until his death in 1981, contributing his magic with the six strings on his own and other people's albums, collaborating on records by Janis Joplin or Muddy Waters, or publishing the meritorious "If You Love These Blues, Play 'Em As You Please" (1976) or "Between A Hard Place and the Ground" (1979), leaving his legacy to the legend that has made him one of the great guitarists in the history of rock.