Bad Company-Dangerous Age (1988)

In 1982, Paul Rodgers decided to leave Bad Company to take a long break and dedicate himself to his family. Following a similar decision, the other members opted to put the band's career on hold. That same year, the album "Rough Diamonds" had been released, but it failed to meet the expectations of both the record label and the band itself, a fact that triggered their decision. Four years later, in 1986, guitarist Mick Ralphs and drummer Simon Kirke, two of the founding members, decided to continue and revive the group's career. To do so, they approached Paul Rodgers, but he declined, as he was uninterested in the project and more committed to other endeavors with Jimmy Page and the band The Firm. They eventually managed to recruit Brian Howe and bassist Steve Price. Howe's contribution would be vital to the band's new sound, steering their music towards melodic rock, a departure from the blues rock of their 70s albums. Later that same year, they released "Fame and Fortune", which garnered positive reviews and public acclaim. Standout tracks from this album included the catchy hard rock songs "Burning Up", "Tell It Like It Is", "Valerie", and "If I'm Sleeping", as well as the melodic tracks "This Love", "Long Walk", "Hold On My Heart", and "When We Made Love". Several years later, they released "Dangerous Age", which helped them regain their lost popularity. On this new album, the compositions were better structured, with improved production and a noticeably higher quality. The addition of keyboardist Terry Thomas played a decisive role in the greater musical cohesion of the melodic style the band brought to this album. Highlights include the melodic tracks "Shake It Up" and "The Way That It Goes", the powerful hard rock anthems "Love Attack", "No Smoke Without a Fire", "Rock of America", and "Dangerous Age", while the AOR influence is evident in "Dirty Boy" and "Bad Man", along with the inevitable ballad, the exquisite "Something About You". With this album, the band made a grand entrance into the AOR genre, achieving considerable notoriety thanks to several songs that reached the top ten of Billboard's rock charts.

Roy Buchanan-Second Album (1973)

Roy Buchanan is one of the greatest white bluesmen in history, and as a famous phrase broadcast on American television in the 1970s stated, "The best unknown guitarist in the world." Born in 1939 in Ozark, Arkansas, this guitarist made his recording debut in 1957 on a Dale Hawkins album. A few years later, he moved to Canada where he joined Ronnie Hawkins' band, among others, until the late 1960s. In 1971, he debuted with the self-produced album "Buch and the Snakestretchers", followed by his solo debut, "Roy Buchanan" (1972). A year later came "Second Album", his second album under the Polydor label, which earned him a gold record. Using a technique called "picking," Buchanan achieves a searing sound, brilliant guitar solos, great melodies, and pyrotechnic sounds of great creativity. Tracks like the country blues “Filty Teddy”, the melancholic blues “After Hours”, “Five String Blues” another great blues, the blues rock “Threat Her Right”, the jazzy “I Won’t Tell You No Lies” or the R&B “Tribute To Elmore James”, make up a great album from one of the undisputed geniuses of the six strings in the blues genre.

Klaus Schulze - Timewind (1975)

In 1975, Klaus Schulze released his fifth album, "Timewind", achieving the sonic perfection he had begun to explore in his work from the previous year, "Blackdance". But to reach this point, Schulze had already traveled a long road with Tangerine Dream, Ash Ra Temple, The Cosmic Jokers, and Stomu Yamashita in the band Go. Therefore, it was no surprise that with such a resume, Schulze had ample experience to create great things with his solo albums.

Conceived as a concept album, Schulze dedicated this work to his admired Richard Wagner, using sequencers for the first time to create walls of sound with hypnotic effects, achieving highly refined cosmic sounds.

As was typical for the musician, Schulze played all the instruments, and the album's duration was an hour, a difficult feat for vinyl formats at the time, divided into two 30-minute tracks. With a magnificent surrealist cover art, reminiscent of Dali, Schulze seamlessly blends electronic music and space rock with superb arrangements. Its opening track, "Bayreuth Return", is a vast epic of musical exploration where the German musician pushes the Moog synthesizer to its limits, while the second side of the vinyl, "Wannfried", maintains a similar tone with a mysterious aura, a touch of grandeur, and rich melodic fragments. 

The album was overwhelmingly well-received by both the public and critics, who went so far as to define it as the definitive work of Kosmiche Muzik in its electronic form.

Lynyrd Skynyrd-Nuthin' Fancy (1975)

With "Nuthin' Fancy", Lynyrd Skynyrd's third album, the band maintained the stylistic allegory they presented in their previous two releases, but with a more compact sound than its predecessor, thanks to the vibrant, overproduced sound that producer Al Kooper brought to the album. This album also features new drummer Artimus Pyle, a musician who proved much more powerful live than in the studio. Furthermore, this would be the last album with guitarist Ed King, who left the band after its release until many years later when he returned for the recording of "Lynyrd Skynyrd 1991". Although none of their classic hits like "Free Bird", "Sweet Home Alabama", or "Workin' for MCA" are found here, it still contains great moments such as "On the Hunt", "Cheatin' Woman", "Saturday Night Special", "Railroad Song", and "Am I Losin'?". The band later expressed significant dissatisfaction with Al Kooper's overly demanding production, which led to the hiring of a new producer for subsequent recordings. Despite this, "Nuthin' Nancy" became the legendary Jacksonville group's first album to achieve platinum status and reached number nine on the Billboard charts.

GPS-Window To The Soul (2006)

Sponsored by one of rock's most famous managers and executives, John Kalodner, the supergroup GPS was formed in 2006. Led by John Payne (Asia), they released a single album featuring Spock's Beard keyboardist Ryo Okumoto, guitarist Guthrie Govan, and drummer Jay Schellen, both of whom were also occasional members of Asia. Their only released work, ironically titled "Window to the Soul", is a prime example of the best modern progressive hard rock with 70s symphonic elements. Lengthy tracks like the progressive "New Jerusalem", "Heaven Can Wait", "I Believe In Yesterday", and "The Objector" bear the unmistakable mark of Asia, featuring sublime keyboard work from Okumoto, while other tracks such as the melodic "Gold" and "Since You've Been Gone", or the hard-rocking "Taken Dreams", showcase excellent guitar work and Payne's powerful vocals. Shortly after the album's release, an official statement from Asia's press office mentioned that some of the tracks included here were originally composed for a proposed Asia album titled "Architect of Time", which was scrapped months before the release of this album.

Albert Collins, Robert Cray, Johnny Copeland-Showdown! (1985)

"Showdown" is one of the best blues albums of the 1980s, recorded by three of the greatest bluesmen of the late 20th century: Robert Cray, Albert Collins, and Johnny Copeland. This collaboration was made possible by the efforts of the independent blues label Alligator, which for years championed the genre and, since its founding in 1971, has released hundreds of albums by such important artists as Lonnie Mack, Koko Taylor, Charlie Musselwhite, Buddy Guy, Albert Collins, Roy Buchanan, Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown, Elvis Bishop, and Joe Louis Walker, among many others. For this recording, the label brought together three of the most iconic artists in its catalog, each with a distinct style. On one hand, there's the smooth, soulful tone of Robert Cray, with his lyrical and melodic technique on his Fender Stratocaster. In the middle is Johnny Copeland, with his deep, powerful voice and a more rudimentary, raw guitar technique. And finally, there's Albert Collins, with a cool style, heavy, forceful guitar work, and a high-pitched voice that earned him the nickname "Iceman." These three giants deliver a repertoire that offers no respite from the excitement, with each track standing out, such as the lustful country blues "Your Fine Self Home", the elegant blues "The Dream", the playful "The Moon Is Full", and the soulful "She's Into Something". All of these, along with the rest, result in a fantastic blues album, crafted by three unique guitarists, three passionate voices, and three distinct approaches to playing the blues. An album that would unequivocally win the Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues Recording in 1986.

Lucinda Williams-Car Wheels On A Gravel Road (1998)

To speak of Lucinda Williams is to speak of one of the leading figures in modern country rock, a singer who has maintained a career far removed from trends and commercialism, producing some of the greatest works focused on American roots music. A three-time Grammy Award winner, she began her career in the mid-70s performing in venues in Austin and Texas before deciding to release her first album at the end of that decade. Although her early recordings didn't garner much media attention, it was in the late 1980s in Los Angeles that her fortunes began to change with albums like 1992's "Sweet Old World". However, her breakthrough came six years later with "Car Wheels On A Gravel Road", an exquisite work where her folk and country roots merged with other styles such as blues. Surrounded by great musicians of great caliber such as Steve Earle or Emmylou Harris, the singer leaves us with a complete inventory of roots songs such as the rural "Right In Time", the melodic "Lake Charles" or "Greenville", the cheerful "Can't Let Go", the commercial "Metal Firecracker" or the exciting "Drunken Angel".

Commander Cody And His Planet Airmon-Lost In The Ozone (1971)

Commander Cody and His Planet Airmon was a country and folk band with diverse influences, including rock and roll, R&B, boogie, and bluegrass, who released most of their discography during the 1970s. Formed in 1967 by vocalist and keyboardist George Frayne in Michigan, the band underwent numerous lineup changes throughout those years, with Frayne, along with vocalist Billy C. Farlow and guitarist Bill Kirchen, forming the core of the group. Their debut album, "Lost in the Ozone", was released in 1971 and best exemplifies the band's style, ultimately becoming their most acclaimed work. Combining covers with original songs, this is a delightful album of country, folk, and rock 'n' roll, featuring the splendid Eddie Cochran's "20 Flight Rock" and Willie Nelson's "Family Bible", as well as quality tracks written by the band such as the western "Back to Tennessee" and the melodic country "Seeds and Stems Again Blues". However, it would be Charlie Ryan's version of "Hot Rod Lincoln" that became the hit of this album, a song that is a tribute to car racing and had become a tremendously popular success in the early 1960s.