Patti Smith-Twelve (2007)

After nearly four decades in the business, in 2007 Patti Smith, the punk rock muse, feminist icon, and staunch human rights advocate, returned to delight us with a new album after several years of silence. This time, Smith boldly opted for a covers album, which, far from overshadowing the original versions, showcases the singer's remarkable flair in choosing an arsenal of iconic songs by artists such as Jefferson Airplane, Bob Dylan, The Beatles, Neil Young, Tears for Fears, The Allman Brothers, The Doors, and Nirvana. With the invaluable collaboration of guitarist Lenny Kaye, drummer Jay Dee Daugherty, and bassist Tony Shanahan, Smith brilliantly unfolds each song, imbuing it with her distinctive vocal style and indomitable spirit. Thus songs like "White Rabbit", "Soul Kitchen", "Smells Like Teen Spirit", "Changing Of The Guards", "Midnight Rider" or "Everybody Wants to Rule The World", offer an excellent different and peculiar musical approach.

Traffic-The Low Spark Of High Heeled Boys (1971)

"The Low Spark of High Healed Boys", Traffic's sixth album, was released a year after the fantastic "John Barleycorn Must Die", and showcased noticeable changes in the band's style and musical direction. Here, they moved away from folk and avant-garde leanings, orienting themselves towards a more jazz-oriented sound. However, Traffic always retained certain jazz undertones, though these were somewhat overshadowed by the psychedelic and folk style brought by their main songwriters, Jim Capaldi, Steve Winwood, and Dave Mason. Another significant aspect is the abundant percussion, thanks to the African percussionist Reebop Kwaku Baah and the two drummers, Jim Capaldi and Jim Gordon. In addition, the band introduced a new member, bassist Ric Grech, who came with an extensive career in bands such as Family, Blind Faith, and Ginger Baker's Air Force. Comprising five tracks, "The Low Spark Of High-Heeds Boys" showcases influences not only from jazz but also from other styles such as funk, rock and roll, soul, and blues, as evidenced by the warm and ambitious "Hidden Treasure", the seductive title track, the funky blues "Light Up or Leave Me Alone", and the understated "Many A Mile To Freedom". With this new release, Traffic demonstrated that despite their significant stylistic shift, they would succeed, crafting an excellent recording and their most acclaimed and commercially successful work, achieving platinum status in the always challenging North American market.

Jean-Michel Jarre-Magnetic Fields (1981)

In “Magnetic Fields”, Jean-Michel Jarre updated his sound to incorporate the latest synthesizers and new recording techniques, yet he adapted it to the overall compositional approach he had begun with “Oxygene” and “Equinoxe” (part 5 of the album, for example, is essentially a slightly more mainstream version of the “easy listening” track he added to the end of the previous album). As such, it forms the end of a trilogy of works (“Oxygene”, “Equinoxe”, and “Magnetic Fields”) that span the final days of the analog synthesizer era and the dawn of the digital synthesizer era; precisely for this reason, it is of interest to anyone with an appreciation for the history of electronic music, and it helps that it is a very enjoyable album to listen to in its own right. In some ways, this album also marks a slight shift in Jean-Michel Jarre’s sound, with music that is more compact, less ethereal and spatial, and more focused on sampling and rhythm. This was one of his first works to feature samples of human voices and "everyday" elements in the music, something Jarre would experiment with extensively on his follow-up album, "Zoolook", released a few years later. The brilliant, nearly 18-minute opening suite (comprising "Parts I and IV") is one of Jarre's signature pieces, constructed as a sequence of two successive main motifs, with a dreamy interlude that provides a kind of cosmic atmosphere. The first main motif is based on a dynamic series of synthesized chord progressions, with many soaring layers and additional harmonies that continue to unfold in a solid and elegant crescendo; The second track has a more orchestral feel, with a progressive architecture (the closest electronic pop can get to progressive), and "Part IV" is the album's most beautiful moment: evocative melodic lines and relaxing layers reminiscent of "Parts IV" and "VII" of "Equinoxe", but with a more serene atmosphere. "Part V", on the other hand, is simply a rumba: Jarre delves deeper into Latin music here, offering an interpretation of this prototype of Latin American Creole sensuality. In short, this third album by the French musician (although it was actually his fifth) proved to be an extraordinary work, as ambitious as its predecessors. While it didn't achieve the same massive sales figures, it did climb to the top of the charts in many countries around the world, with sales far exceeding 4 million copies.

Leslie West-Blue Me (2006)

Considered one of the greatest guitarists in American rock, Leslie West showcased his immense talent and genius for five uninterrupted decades, from his beginnings in the 1960s with the Vagrants, through his time leading the legendary Mountain in the 1970s and the iconic trio West, Bruce and Laing. In addition to all this, he had an extensive solo career, releasing a dozen albums, many of them veritable explosions of the best American blues rock. In 2006, West paid tribute to some of the blues classics with his album "Blue Me", featuring ten contemporary classics such as "Four Day Creep" by Humble Pie, "Hit the Road Jack" by Ray Charles, "Sinner's Prayer" by B.B. King, "Standing Around Crying" by Muddy Waters, and "Green River" by Creedence Clearwater Revival. In all of them, West demonstrates that so many years later he is still in enviable shape, with his peculiar and unique sound that he knew how to get out of his Gibson Les Paul and his tremendous voice that seems to have been born for the blues.

Wishbone Ash-Here To Hear (1989)

In 1989, the original Wishbone Ash lineup reunited to release their fifteenth album, "Here to Hear", more than fifteen years after their last studio album together ("Wishbone Four" in 1973). It's clear that we won't find the sound that made them famous in the seventies here, with the progressive and hypnotic sounds of "Argus", or the exciting and melodic twin-guitar hard rock of albums like "Pilgrimage", "Wishbone Four", "There's the Rub", or "New England". In this reunion, the band, composed of Martin Turner (bass, keyboards, vocals, and production), Ted Turner (guitars and vocals), Andy Powell (guitar), and Steve Upton (drums), opted for a sophisticated rock style, with impeccable compositions, some of them incredibly catchy, and excellent production. The elegant guitar rhythms are present, as is usual in the band, in all the songs, highlighting the initial and pulsating "Cosmic Jazz", the rhythmic "Mental Radio", the attractive "Lost Cause in Paradise" and "Why Don't We", or in the instrumental "Hole In My Heart (Part Two)".

Neil Young-Living With War (2006)

With his twenty-ninth album, Canadian Neil Young continued his politically charged themes, this time focusing, as the title suggests, on the wars waged by the American administration. This time, his target was the foreign policies of George W. Bush and his crusade in the Iraq War. Lyrically, it's very close to the protest folk that reigned during the 1960s, while musically it showcases Young's most furious and raw side. Distorted guitars, powerful rhythms, plenty of spontaneity, and a stark, honest rock sound are what we find here. Great vocal melodies, rhythmic grooves, poignant lyrics, and intense, gritty guitar riffs are present in tracks like "After The Garden", "Living With War", "Shock And Awe", "Families", "Lookin' For A Leader", and "Let's Impeach the President". Without a doubt, this is one of the most narrative and timeless albums from the brilliant Canadian musician.

Graham Bond-Grahame Bond Love Is The Law (1969)

When Alexis Korner disbanded his fabulous band, Blues Incorporated, in the mid-sixties, the musicians who had accompanied him Jack Bruce, Dick Heckstall-Smith, Ginger Baker, and Graham Bond were free agents. It was Bond who took the musical reins from Korner and decided to follow in his footsteps and the path laid out by the British musician. Thus, in 1963, the Graham Bond Organisation was born, a year that saw the highest demand for rhythm and blues in history and also marked the beginning of John Mayall's Bluesbreakers and the early days of The Rolling Stones, among many others. The Graham Bond Organisation began performing in the most prestigious clubs in London and soon achieved recognition from both the public and critics of the time. However, massive success would come a little later when they toured England with Chuck Berry. The story of this seminal band can be summarized in three albums corresponding to three pivotal years in their career, beginning with "The Sound of '65", which contained the hit "Long Tall Shorty" in 1964, at the height of the beat craze; "There's a Bond Between Us" and its hit "Tammy" the following year; and their biggest chart success, "You've Gotta Have Love, Babe", in 1967, the Beatles' big year and the year the band would finally break up after a short but intense career. After the split, Graham Bond retired from active music for a time and moved to the United States, creating his own record label, Pulsar Records. Meanwhile, Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker joined the Bluesbreakers, and Dick Heckstall-Smith went on to found the progressive jazz-rock band Colosseum. In 1969, Bond returned with the album "Love Is The Law" (under the pseudonym Grahame Bond), an exquisite work of funk, jazz, rock, and rhythm and blues that revived his old sound. On this new album, Bond enlisted the help of percussionists Hal Blaine and Dave Sheehan and vocalist Diane Stewart, while Bond handled the remaining instruments and vocals. His twisted lyrics about free love, terror, and the occult, along with the blues, jazz, and rock sound that Bond achieves with the organ and mellotron, are what earned the album the recognition it deserved. Brilliant tracks like "Love Is The Law", "The World Will Soon Be Free", and "Our Love Will Come Shining Through" are among the best of his entire career. After several more albums; “Mighty Graheme Bond” (1969), “Solid Bond” (1970), “Holy Magick” (1970) or “We Put Our Magick On You” (1971), and as a consequence of his financial problems and his continuous nervous depressions, he would commit suicide under the wheels of a train at Finsbury Park station in London on May 8, 1974, thus ending the life of one of the greatest British blues musicians and one of those who have most influenced later generations of English bluesmen.

Arena-Songs From The Lion´s Cage (1995)

In the mid-nineties, two of the finest instrumentalists of neo-progressive rock, Clive Nolan, keyboardist for Pendragon, and Mick Pointer, former drummer for Marillion, joined forces to found Arena. In mid-1995, they released their monumental debut album, "Songs From The Lion's Cage", considered one of the gems of the progressive rock genre of the nineties. For this first recording, the two musicians collaborated with Marillion guitarist Steve Rothery, guitarist Keith Moore, bassist Cliff Orsi, and vocalist John Carson. Arena's approach on this first release was based on the progressive sounds of early Marillion, with echoes of the great bands of the 70s like Genesis and Yes. The sounds of Clive Nolan's eloquent and omnipresent keyboards, Mick Pointer's formidable precision on the drums, and the outstanding guitar and bass work combine to create an album as spectacular as it is surprising, featuring the epic and progressive "Valley of the Kings" and "Solomon", the powerful "Out of the Wilderness", the melodic "Jericho", and the atmospheric "Crying for Help IV". From this point on, the band would regularly release a series of high-quality works, such as the subsequent "Pride" (1996), "The Visitor" (1998), and "Contagion" (2003), among others, culminating in "Double Vision" (2018), the latest major contribution from this formidable neo-progressive band.

Jeff Lynne´s ELO-Alone In The Universe (2015)

2015 was the year chosen for Jeff Lynne's return to recording, with the release of "Alone In The Universe", an album that was well-received by nostalgic fans of his original band, Electric Light Orchestra. With this work, Lynne's aim was simply to satisfy the cravings of his millions of fans, while also not seeking to recruit new ones; he merely wanted to release and record a series of songs he had composed in recent years. Lynne's solo career, aside from the aforementioned ELO and his numerous collaborations with other artists, has always been relatively unproductive, and one would have to go back fourteen years to the release of the album "Zoom", a more organic work that, to some extent, returned to his 70s style. This time, despite being credited as Jeff Lynne's ELO, it is actually a personal project, featuring no former members of his previous lineups, with Lynne playing all the instruments himself. Even so, songs like the title track and other cuts such as "When I Was A Boy", "Is It Alright", and "Dirty To The Bone" sound like traditional ELO, mainly due to the keyboard and guitar sounds. Others, like "Ain't It A Drag", leave us with a taste of the Travelling Wilburys, another of Lynne's projects, while the rest retain the exquisite instrumental melodies and addictive vocal harmonies so characteristic of the iconic British musician and producer.