Howlin´Wolf-Rockin´ Chair (1962)

If there's one musician who inspired almost all the great bands of the sixties, it was Howlin' Wolf, a spectacular blues singer, guitarist, and harmonica player, and one of the most admired bluesmen in history. Chester Arthur Burnett (that was his real name), was born in West Point, Mississippi, in 1910. He was a man with a stony gaze, weighing 286 pounds and standing almost six feet six inches tall. The son of cotton farmers, he worked as a farmer until the late 1930s, when he decided to emigrate to Chicago in the 1940s. After serving in the army during World War II, he formed his own blues band and, some time later, even performed regularly on a radio station in West Memphis, Arkansas. In 1962, he released the album "Rockin' Chair", considered one of the bibles of the blues. Wolf was a genuine singer and a tireless creator who, with his raw blues, forged an expression of rage and vitality. Through his harsh and hypnotic voice, Wolf spat out all his anger and fears, everything he experienced as a farm worker in the rural South of the United States. His music was a sincere expression, capable of conveying every emotion, and his blues was a perfect reflection of himself. Hence the immense power and strength of his music, from an indestructible bluesman who has left a mark as profound as it is enduring. His legacy has left its mark on hundreds of bands, from Led Zeppelin to the Rolling Stones, including The Doors, Grateful Dead, Cream, Creedence Clearwater Revival, and many more. In “Rockin’ Chair,” Howlin’ Wolf revisits some of his greatest classics such as “Spoonful”, “Black Door Man”, “The Red Rooster”, “Who’s Been Talking?”, “Wang Dang Doodle”, “Little Baby”, “Going Down Slow”, and “Howlin’ For My Darlin’ ”, all of which he covers.

Petra-Back To The Street (1986)

Petra is one of the biggest and most successful American bands of all time, yet one of the least known outside their country. Formed in the early 1970s, with their catchy melodic hard rock style and Christian lyrics, they released around twenty albums, most of them hugely successful commercially and in the media, selling millions of records across the United States and achieving unprecedented success among their contemporaries in the same genre. Among other accolades, they have won four Grammy Awards, along with a dozen more nominations, and were the first Christian rock band inducted into the prestigious Gospel Music Hall of Fame. Pioneers in their genre, their four-decade career has been marked by numerous lineup changes, with guitarist and vocalist Bob Hartman remaining the only member of the original lineup throughout all those years. With an initial style rooted in American roots rock, they evolved towards the melodic hard rock they played throughout the 1980s, a decade in which they achieved their peak popularity, selling out every major stadium in the United States. Memorable albums such as "Never Say Die", "More Power To Ya", "Not Of This World", "Beat The System", "Captured In Time and Space", "On Fire" and "Back to the Rock" attest to the impressive career of this legendary American band. In 2005, after 30 years, the band called it quits, although they continued to perform sporadically in subsequent years. One of their greatest creative achievements came with their eighth album, "Back to the Street", which reached number four on the Billboard Top Christian Albums chart. Produced by former Kansas vocalist John Elefante, it captured the essence of AOR (Asian Rock and Roll). from other bands of the genre and mixed it with their lyrics inspired by the Psalms of the Bible, embellishing with charming gospel choruses, sharp rock guitars and fabulous and irresistible melodic lines as demonstrated in "Back to The Street", "You Are I Am", "King's Ransom", "Fool's God", "Thankful Heart" or "Run For Cover".

Frank Zappa-Hot Rats (1969)

Frank Zappa's genius is unquestionable, considered one of the most complete artists that have ever existed in rock history, his forays into almost all musical styles give him a level that very few can reach.
"Hot Rats" was his second solo album, with such a fresh and current sound, it was very advanced for his time, where he perfectly blends his experimentation with jazz and progressive rock.
An album that was one of his biggest commercial successes, reaching a ninth place on the UK charts.
Entirely instrumental, it offers an amalgamation of jazz, rock, experimentation and shows a melodic Zappa as he rarely was in his entire career.
In this work Zappa also shows his great technical variety with the guitar, with virtuosic and spectacular solos where the virtues with the six strings are outstanding.

Jade Warrior-Released (1971)

Jade Warrior is one of the quintessential cult bands, and is considered one of the most original musical acts in the history of rock music. They imbued their style with a masterful blend of ethnic sounds, jazz, psychedelia, folk, rock, and avant-garde elements. A previous post recounts the biography of this unique band, so we won't delve too deeply into their history and will instead focus on their second album, released in 1971. This album represented a dramatic shift from their self-titled debut, released that same year. In that first release, the sound was centered on elements of jazz-rock fused with African music, resulting in an experimental and avant-garde album. However, this second work is characterized by powerful and driving tracks, very close to hard rock, such as the opening track, "Three-Horned Dragon Kill", with a sound reminiscent of Led Zeppelin, but retaining the distinctive African percussion so characteristic of Jade Warrior. The playful “Eyes On You”, with its infectious rhythm, gives way to the band's more typical sound with the relaxed and atmospheric “Bride Of Summer” and “Water Curtain Cave”, which lead into the lysergic and powerful “Minnamoto’s Dream”, featuring razor-sharp guitars in the purest Jimi Hendrix style. Meanwhile, the rock and roll “(We Have) Reason To Believe” contrasts with the epic “Barazinbar”, which gradually unfolds amidst tribal percussion and flute sounds, culminating in the bucolic and acoustic “Yellow Eyes”. This album received a lukewarm reception from fans, surprised by this radical change, which is why the band would return to their unmistakable style in subsequent releases, much to the delight of their most loyal and devoted progressive rock followers.

Kansas-Masque (1975)

Kansas' third album, and their second release in 1975, came just seven months after "Song For America". This was partly due to pressure from Epic Records, who wanted to capitalize on the commercial success of "Song For America". However, this haste hampered the album's sales, resulting in only mediocre results, at least in the months immediately following its release. For this new album, the band went to Louisiana to In The Country Studios, but kept the same production team led by Jeff Glixman. This time, despite composing an album of very high quality, the band didn't achieve the same level of cohesion and balance as its predecessor. The commercially successful and addictive "It Takes A Woman's Love" was chosen as the promotional single, which in no way overshadowed their previous hit "Song For America". On the other hand, several of their classic tracks already appear here, such as the immortal "Icarus-Borne On Wings Of Steel", a powerful rock song with progressive touches, and the catchy "Two Cents Worth". The melodic "All the World" showcases Kansas's more symphonic side, while the dizzying "Child Of Innocence" and "Mysteries and Mayhem" display the rockier side of the Topeka group. The album concludes with the progressive and expansive "The Pinnacle", thus culminating an album considered a transitional step towards Kansas's later confirmation as one of the greatest American bands of the 1970s.

The Stone Roses-The Stone Roses (1989)

In the late eighties, The Stone Roses presented their debut album, showcasing the cheerful and carefree side of Britpop, with a series of songs that inherited the pop-rock sounds of The Beatles and the psychedelic folk of The Byrds from the 60s. Founded in the city of Manchester a few years earlier by vocalist Ian Brown along with bassist Gary "Mani" Mounfield, drummer Alan John "Reni" Wren and guitarist John Squire, they created a collection of melodic and very simple pieces with a contemporary flavor. This debut is considered one of the fundamental works in the development and evolution of the so-called Manchester movement of the late 80s and early 90s. From the psychedelic frameworks of "Don't Stop", to the chords and attractive vocals of "Waterfall", passing through the outstanding pop rock "I Wanna Be Adored", "Made of Stone" and "Bye Bye Badman", the beautiful "Lizabeth My Dear" or the complex "I Am the Resurrection", together they make up a work that was highly appreciated by critics and a resounding success on the charts in half the world.