Ozzy Osbourne-Blizzard Of Ozz (1980)

When Ozzy Osbourne was kicked out of Black Sabbath in the late 1970s due to his drug addiction and near-total withdrawal from the band's decision-making, many questioned whether the singer could even embark on a respectable solo career. However, after overcoming a severe depression following his father's death and the sad end of his original band, Ozzy partially recovered from his addictions and signed a contract with Jet Records. Determined to launch his own solo career, he formed a band comprised of Uriah Heep drummer Lee Kerslake, former Rainbow bassist Bob Daisley, former Rainbow keyboardist Don Airey, and Quiet Riot guitarist Randy Rhoads. With this formidable lineup, they recorded the spectacular "Blizzard of Ozz", which, unlike his work with Black Sabbath, showcased a more versatile and ingenious style of heavy metal. This album revealed to the world the talent of a sensational guitarist like Randy Rhoads and cemented Ozzy's status as a heavy metal superstar. Singling out just one track from "Blizzard of Ozz" is virtually impossible; its repertoire is simply sensational, featuring a series of songs that are all heavy metal classics, such as "I Don't Know", "Crazy Train", "Suicide Solution", "Mr. Crowley", "No Bone Movies", and "Steal Away". "Blizzard of Ozz" became one of the best-selling albums of the 1980s, with over seven million copies sold worldwide, and is considered an absolute masterpiece of heavy metal.

Van Der Graaf Generator-Present (2005)

After Van Der Graaf Generator disbanded in the late seventies, all the members (Peter Hammill, Hugo Banton, David Jackson, and Guy Evans) remained in regular contact, working together on various projects and performing throughout the 1990s. Finally, in mid-2004, they decided to revive the band and began composing new material. A year later, they released their first album in twenty-five years, "Present", a work that, in some ways, harks back to the days of the legendary "Pawn Hearts", with a more modern and updated sound. Released as a double album, the record opens with ambient music adorned with cymbals and flute, before welcoming Peter Hammill's powerful vocals. The track sounds like it could have been lifted from any of their seventies albums, showcasing the band's classic, high-intensity sound. Despite not reaching the intensity of the previous "Nutter Alert", it follows a similar musical pattern, while the fascinating "Boleas Panic", an amazing instrumental written by David Jackson, the melodic and dark "On The Beach" or the avant-garde "Abandon Ship", are the prelude to a second disc where the challenging improvisations lead us through cathartic and inaccessible paths, with pieces that are truly raw and difficult to digest on a first listen.

Iron Maiden-No Prayer For The Dying (1990)

In 1990, Iron Maiden experienced their first setback with their eighth album, "No Prayer For The Dying", which signaled a certain creative exhaustion on the part of the British band. However, "No Prayer For The Dying" cannot be considered a bad album; the problem lies in the fact that it lacks the usual musical hallmarks of their previous releases, it must be said, considered masterpieces of heavy metal. An important, though not crucial, factor was the change of guitarist. Adrian Smith was no longer with the band, and although he was never one of the main songwriters, his instrumental presence was fundamental to the group's final sound. His replacement was Janick Gers, a very good guitarist, and it would be unfair to blame him for the mediocrity of this new work. Unlike all their previous albums, none of their classic songs appear here, although it does contain some stellar moments such as the complex "Mother Russia" or the concentrated energy of the powerful "Tailgunner". However, the rest suffers from a certain predictability and indolence, as seen in the mediocre hard rock tracks "Holy Smoke", "Bring Your Daughter", and "Hooks In You", the dynamic "No Prayer For The Dying", and the respectable heavy rock "Run Silent Run Deep". The alarming lack of epic scope and the usual grandiloquence would creatively relegate this album to obscurity compared to everything they had done up to that point, although commercially it would once again achieve considerable success, selling over a million copies worldwide still far below their previous releases.

Rod Stewart-A Night On The Town (1976)

Before Rod Stewart fully embraced disco sounds and ventured into musical territories far removed from his carefree rock style, he released one of his best works, which rivaled major albums such as his 1969 debut, "Gasoline Alley" (1970), "Every Picture Tells a Story" (1971), and "Atlantic Crossing", the latter released a year before "A Night on the Town". But by this point, Stewart's career had been nothing short of thrilling, alternating between highly acclaimed solo albums that showcased his enormous talent, his raspy voice, and his spontaneous sex symbol image, and other side projects, such as his participation in the Jeff Beck Group, where he recorded the legendary "Truth" (1968), and his membership in another legendary band, The Faces, producing high-quality work, some of which are considered masterpieces of rock music, like "Long Player" (1971) and "A Nod's As Good As A Wink" (1971). This Scotsman, passionate about football, women, and a heavy drinker, had enjoyed a career full of success on both sides of the Atlantic, and by 1976 he was at his peak as one of the most respected artists in rock music. This would be his second album under the Warner Bros. label, the record company he had signed with after his contract with Mercury Records ended, and also his second release after moving to the United States. “A Night On The Town” was recorded at Cherokee Studios in Los Angeles during the last months of 1975 and the first months of 1976. For the recording, Rod Stewart enlisted the help of some of the most renowned musicians in the California area, including guitarists Steve Cropper, Joe Walsh, and David Lindley; bassists Laland Sklar and Willie Weeks; keyboardists David Foster and John Jarvis; drummers Al Jackson and Andy Newmark; and the horn section Tower of Power, among others. If Stewart's previous album, "Atlantic Crossing", already hinted at the sounds of Californian rock, steeped in rock and roll, soul, and bluesy influences, "A Night On The Town" confirms this trend, giving the songs more vigor and a stronger rock edge, all wrapped in his signature sound, as demonstrated in tracks like "Tonight's The Night (Gonna Be Alright)", "Fool For You", "The Killing Of Georgie", and his covers of other artists' songs, such as Cat Stevens' "The First Cut Is The Deepest" and Manfred Mann's "Pretty Flamingo", not to mention gems like "Big Bayou" and "The Wild Side Of Life". The reception following this second American adventure earned him several platinum records and numerous number one hits worldwide, a resounding success that he hadn't surpassed since his album "Every Picture Tells a Story".

Wishbone Ash-Bona Fide (2002)

Wishbone Ash's career is marked by iconic works such as "Argus" (1972), a legendary album that cemented their place in rock history. However, for over four decades, this legendary band, formed in the late sixties, produced other significant works. Albums like "Wishbone Ash" (1970), "Pilgrimage" (1971), "There's The Rub" (1974), and their epic live album "Live Dates" (1973) are among the finest recordings in rock. By 2002, they had released twenty studio albums and just as many live albums, establishing themselves as one of the most respected bands in rock history. In 2002, with a revamped lineup (one of the many they've had throughout their history), they released a new album titled "Bona Fide", where they successfully captured the vintage sound of the 70s thanks to a series of brilliant tracks like "Faith, Hope and Love", "Almighty Blues", "Ancient Remedy", and "Come Rain, Come Shine". In all of them, the explosive riffs and duet solos featuring the signature twin guitars played by Andy Powell and Ben Granfelt evoke a glorious past. Other tracks, such as the instrumentals "Bona Fide" and "Peace", showcase the perfect synchronization between the two guitarists and the remarkable rhythm section comprised of Bob Skeat (bass) and Ray Weston (drums).

Pink Floyd-Obscured By Clouds (1972)

Pink Floyd's fifth album is one of their most underrated and unknown records to the general public. Despite being recorded in early 1971 at the famous Château de Hérouville, it wasn't released until a year later. This was partly because it was actually the soundtrack for the French film "La Vallée", directed by Barbet Schroeder, thus coinciding with the film's release, and partly to avoid overlapping with the release of PF's fourth album, "Meddle", which, although recorded later, wouldn't be released until almost the end of 1971. Despite being considered another of PF's transitional albums, "Obscured by Clouds" is an excellent work that exudes unmistakable melodies with the band's characteristic sound, highlighting magnificent instrumentation and an interesting narrative. However, it departs somewhat from their usual sound, with a musical structure that moves away to some extent from the conceptual progressive rock of their earlier and later works. Here, Pink Floyd explore musical freedom through improvisation, while also incorporating less atmospheric and more conventional passages with a certain psychedelic tone. The album opens with the atmospheric instrumental title track, followed by the vibrant and equally instrumental rock song "When You're In", the relaxed "Burning Bridges", and the dense "The Gold It's In The..." which, along with "Childhood's End", represents the closest to Pink Floyd's usual sound. The rest of the album is more focused on the imagery of the aforementioned film, such as the strange "Absolutely Curtains", or the relaxed "Stay" and "Wot's...Uh The Deal", while the energetic "Free Four" adds a psychedelic touch. Unlike Pink Floyd's previous soundtrack, "More" from 1969, this one strangely opted for a more conventional and less dense and atmospheric song format, which represented a major departure from the band's more progressive and creative approach at that time, when they were experimenting and in the midst of a process of musical identification, something that was hinted at in the aforementioned "Meddle", or in the one before it, "Atom Heart Mother", and which would definitively explode in the following and monumental "The Dark Side Of The Moon".