JOURNEY
LOOK INTO THE FUTURE
Look into the Future is the second studio album by the American rock band Journey. It was released in January 1976 by Columbia Records.
For their second album, the members of Journey toned down the overt progressiveness of their first, self-titled release, in favor of a more focused approach.[3] Despite that, Look into the Future still retains some of the experimental approach and sound of the debut,[3] especially in the title track and “I’m Gonna Leave You”. The album also features a cover version of The Beatles‘ “It’s All Too Much” from the 1968 Yellow Submarine film and 1969 soundtrack. The title track is the longest recorded Journey song.
Rhythm guitarist George Tickner left the band after having co-written two songs for this album, leaving members Gregg Rolie (keyboards/lead vocals), Neal Schon (guitar), Ross Valory (bass) and Aynsley Dunbar (drums).
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BOB DYLAN
DESIRE
Desire is the seventeenth studio album by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released on January 5, 1976, through Columbia Records. It is one of Dylan’s most collaborative efforts, featuring the same caravan of musicians as the acclaimed Rolling Thunder Revue tours the previous year (later documented on The Bootleg Series Vol. 5). Many of the songs also featured backing vocals by Emmylou Harris and Ronee Blakley. Most of the album was co-written by Jacques Levy, and is composed of lengthy story-songs, two of which quickly generated controversy: the 11-minute-long “Joey“, which is seen as glorifying the violent gangster “Crazy Joey” Gallo, and “Hurricane“, the opening track that tells a passionate account of the murder case against boxer Rubin “Hurricane” Carter, whom the song asserts was framed. Carter was released in 1985, after a judge overturned his conviction on appeal.
A well-received follow-up to Blood on the Tracks, Desire reached No. 1 on the Billboard Pop Albums chart[2] for five weeks, becoming one of Dylan’s best-selling studio albums, and was certified double Platinum; the album reached No. 3 in the UK. It claimed the No. 1 slot on NME Album of the Year. Rolling Stone named Desire No. 174 on its list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.[3] It was voted number 761 in the third edition of Colin Larkin‘s All Time Top 1000 Albums (2000).[4]
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JETHRO TULL
M.U. THE BEST OF JETHRO TULL
M.U. – The Best of Jethro Tull, released in 1976, is the first proper greatest hits album by Jethro Tull. It spans the years 1969 to 1975. The earlier Living in the Past (1972) compilation mainly dealt with non-album material, but this album only features one previously unreleased song, “Rainbow Blues”.
“M.U.” in the album title stands for “Musician’s Union”,[4] which is probably a reference to the various musicians from different line-ups of the band appearing throughout the album.
It was later re-released as The Essential in 2003, with exactly the same song order, but a different album cover.
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PETER FRAMPTON
FRAMPTON COMES ALIVE!
Frampton Comes Alive! is a double live album by the English musician and songwriter Peter Frampton, released in 1976 by A&M Records. Following four studio albums with little success and sales, Frampton Comes Alive! was a breakthrough for Frampton and is one of the best-selling live albums ever. “Show Me the Way“, “Baby, I Love Your Way“, and “Do You Feel Like We Do” were released as singles; all three reached the top 15 on the US Billboard Hot 100, and frequently receive airplay on classic rock radio stations.
Released on 15 January 1976, Frampton Comes Alive! debuted on the charts at No. 191. It reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200 the week ending 10 April 1976, spending 10 non-consecutive weeks in the top spot through October. It was the best-selling album of 1976 and has sold over 8,000,000 copies in the United States.[5]
Frampton Comes Alive! was voted “Album of the Year” in a 1976 Rolling Stone readers’ poll. It stayed on the chart for 97 weeks and was still No. 14 on Billboard‘s 1977 year-end album chart. It was ranked No. 41 on Rolling Stone‘s “50 Greatest Live Albums of All Time” list.[6] Readers of Rolling Stone ranked it No. 3 in a 2012 poll of all-time favourite live albums.[7]
In 2020, Frampton Comes Alive! was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.[8]
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DAVID BOWIE
STATION TO STATION
Station to Station is the tenth studio album by the English musician David Bowie, released on 23 January 1976 through RCA Records. Regarded as one of his most significant works, the album was the vehicle for Bowie’s performance persona the Thin White Duke. Co-produced by Bowie and Harry Maslin, Station to Station was mainly recorded at Cherokee Studios in Los Angeles, California, in late 1975, after Bowie completed shooting the film The Man Who Fell to Earth; the cover art featured a still from the film. During the sessions, Bowie was suffering from various drug addictions, most prominently cocaine, and subsequently stated that he recalled almost nothing of the production.
The commercial success of his previous release, Young Americans (1975), allowed Bowie greater freedom when he began recording his next album. The sessions established the lineup of guitarist Carlos Alomar, bassist George Murray and drummer Dennis Davis that Bowie would use for the rest of the decade, and also featured contributions by guitarist Earl Slick and pianist Roy Bittan. Musically, Station to Station was a transitional album for Bowie, developing the funk and soul of Young Americans while presenting a new direction influenced by the German music genre of krautrock, particularly bands such as Neu! and Kraftwerk. The lyrics reflected Bowie’s preoccupations with Friedrich Nietzsche, Aleister Crowley, mythology and religion.
Preceded by the single “Golden Years“, Station to Station was a commercial success, reaching the top five on the UK and US charts. After scrapping a soundtrack for The Man Who Fell to Earth, Bowie supported the album with the Isolar Tour in early 1976, during which he attracted controversy with statements suggesting support for fascism. At the end of the tour, he moved to Europe to remove himself from L.A.’s drug culture. The styles explored on Station to Station culminated in some of Bowie’s most acclaimed work with the Berlin Trilogy over the next three years. Positively received by music critics on its release, Station to Station has appeared on several lists of the greatest albums of all time. It has been reissued multiple times and was remastered in 2016 as part of the Who Can I Be Now? (1974–1976) box set.
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AC/DC
BACK IN BLACK
Back in Black is the seventh studio album by Australian rock band AC/DC, released on 25 July 1980, by Albert Productions and Atlantic Records. It was the band’s first album to feature Brian Johnson as lead singer, following the death of their previous vocalist Bon Scott. After the commercial breakthrough of their 1979 album Highway to Hell, AC/DC was planning to record a follow-up, but in February 1980, Scott died from alcohol poisoning after a drinking binge. The remaining members of the group considered disbanding, but ultimately chose to continue on and recruited Johnson, who had previously been the vocalist for Geordie.
The album was composed by Johnson and brothers Angus and Malcolm Young, and recorded over seven weeks in the Bahamas from April to May 1980 with producer Robert John “Mutt” Lange, who had also produced Highway to Hell. Following its completion, the group mixed Back in Black at Electric Lady Studios in New York City. The album’s all-black cover was designed as a “sign of mourning” for Scott.
Back in Black was an unprecedented commercial and critical success. It has sold an estimated 50 million copies worldwide,[2][3][4][5] making it the second-best-selling album in music history. AC/DC supported the album with a yearlong world tour that cemented them among the most popular music acts of the early 1980s. It has since been included on numerous “greatest albums” lists. On 21 August 2024, the album was certified 27× Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), making it the third-best-selling album in the United States and the best-selling album that never reached the top spot on the American charts.[6][7]
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BRYAN ADAMS
RECKLESS
Reckless is the fourth studio album by Canadian singer-songwriter Bryan Adams, released by A&M Records on November 5, 1984, to coincide with Adams’ 25th birthday. Like its predecessor Cuts Like a Knife, the album was entirely produced by Adams and Bob Clearmountain.
Reckless was commercially successful, selling over 12 million copies worldwide, making it Adams’ second highest-selling studio album to date – behind his 1991 album Waking Up the Neighbours.[4][5] It was also the first Canadian album to sell over one million copies within Canada, and is certified eleven-times platinum in the country. The album peaked at number one on the US Billboard 200.[6] The album has also received positive reviews from critics, with contemporary reviews praising its songwriting and sonic quality.
Six singles were released from the album: “Run to You“, “Somebody“, “Heaven“, “Summer of ’69“, “One Night Love Affair“, and “It’s Only Love“; all six singles charted within the top-twenty on the US Billboard Hot 100.
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DAVID LEE ROTH
CRAZY FROM THE HEAT
Crazy from the Heat is a 1985 EP by American rock musician David Lee Roth. His debut solo recording, it was released while Roth was still lead singer for Van Halen, though he parted ways with the band several weeks later and launched a solo career. The EP is certified platinum by the RIAA, having sold more than one million copies in the United States.
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ALABAMA
40-HOUR WEEK
40-Hour Week is the ninth studio album from American country music band Alabama. Released in January 1985, the album included three songs that topped the Billboard magazine Hot Country Singles chart and continued the band’s dominance during the 1980s. The album peaked at number one on the Billboard Country Albums chart and number 28 on the Billboard 200.
Two of the No. 1 tracks — “There’s No Way” and the title track — became milestones in Alabama’s recording career during 1985. When it reached the top of the chart on May 4, “There’s No Way” became Alabama’s 16th consecutive No. 1 single (excepting for the 1982 Christmas single “Christmas in Dixie“). The feat allowed Alabama to tie Sonny James‘ 14-year-old record for most No. 1 songs in as many consecutive single releases. Then, on August 3, “40 Hour Week (For a Livin’)” topped the chart, becoming Alabama’s 17th-straight chart topper and allowing them to surpass James’ record.
Among the album tracks, several of them praising the South, 40 Hour Week also features the ballad “I Want To Know You Before We Make Love”, which became a major hit for Conway Twitty in 1987.
This was Alabama’s only album from which all the singles had accompanying music videos.
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THE VELVET UNDERGROUND
VU
VU is an album by the American rock band the Velvet Underground, released in February 1985 by Verve Records and consisting of material recorded in 1968 and 1969.
Sources disagree on whether VU should be classified as a compilation album, archival collection of outtakes, or a long-delayed studio album, though others avoid categorizing the album entirely. VU has been critically acclaimed both in contemporary and retrospective reviews.
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PHIL COLLINS
NO JACKET REQUIRED
No Jacket Required is the third solo album by the English drummer and singer-songwriter Phil Collins. It was released on 18 February 1985 by Virgin Records in the UK and by Atlantic and WEA internationally.
After finishing touring commitments with Genesis and working with Eric Clapton in 1984, Collins resumed his solo career and started work on a new album. He made a conscious decision to write more uptempo and dance-oriented songs, as much of his previous material was influenced by matters surrounding his first divorce. The album features Helen Terry, Peter Gabriel, and Sting as guest backing vocalists. Some songs, like “Don’t Lose My Number” and “Sussudio“, were based around improvisation, and others, like “Long Long Way to Go”, had a political message.
No Jacket Required was received favourably by the majority of critics and was a huge worldwide commercial success, reaching number 1 in the UK for five consecutive weeks and for seven non-consecutive weeks in the US. It was the second-best-selling album of 1985 in the UK, behind Dire Straits‘ Brothers in Arms. “One More Night“, “Sussudio”, “Don’t Lose My Number” and “Take Me Home” were released as singles with corresponding music videos. All four were Top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, with “Sussudio” and “One More Night” reaching number 1. The three singles released in the UK all reached the Top 20. Some tracks were featured on the television shows Miami Vice and Cold Case, and “The Man with the Horn” was re-written and re-recorded for the episode “Phil the Shill”.
In 1991, one the songs of this album, “Who Said I Would“, was released as a live single from his 1990 live album Serious Hits… Live!, it reached the Billboard Hot 100 at number 73.[8]
In 2001, No Jacket Required was certified Diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America for selling 12 million copies in the US and amassed worldwide sales of over 25 million copies, making it one of the best-selling albums of all time. It won three Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year. The No Jacket Required World Tour saw Collins perform 85 concerts which culminated with a performance at both Live Aid shows in London and Philadelphia. Remixes of six songs from the album were released on the compilation 12″ers (1987). In 2010, it was among ten albums nominated for the best British album of the previous 30 years by the Brit Awards.[9] It ranked No. 74 on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame‘s “Definitive 200” list.[10] A remastered deluxe edition with updated artwork and bonus tracks was released in 2016, and a remix by Steven Wilson followed in 2025.
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TEARS FOR FEARS
SONGS FROM THE BIG CHAIR
Songs from the Big Chair is the second studio album by the English pop rock band Tears for Fears, released on 25 February 1985 by Phonogram Records and Mercury Records. The follow-up to the band’s successful debut album, The Hurting (1983), Songs from the Big Chair marked a departure from that album’s dark, introspective style, featuring a more mainstream, glossy sound, with sophisticated production values, increased guitar use, and diverse stylistic influences, while Roland Orzabal and Ian Stanley‘s lyrics reflected socially and politically conscious themes.
The album peaked at number two in the UK and at number one in the US, becoming a multi-platinum seller in several countries and the band’s most successful studio album to date. The singles “Shout” and “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” both topped the US Billboard Hot 100 and reached the top 5 of the UK Singles Chart, while “Head over Heels“, “Mothers Talk“, and a re-recorded version of “I Believe” were also successful internationally. Receiving positive critical reviews upon release, Songs from the Big Chair has accrued lasting praise and has been named one of the best albums of the 1980s,[7][8][9] and was included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.[10]
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AEROSMITH
TOYS IN THE ATTIC
Toys in the Attic is the third studio album by American rock band Aerosmith, released on April 8, 1975, by Columbia Records.[1] Its first single, “Sweet Emotion“, was released on May 19 and the original version of “Walk This Way” followed on August 28 in the same year.[2] The album is the band’s most commercially successful studio LP in the United States, with nine million copies sold, according to the RIAA.[3] In 2003, the album was ranked No. 228 on Rolling Stone‘s list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.[4] The album’s title track and their 1986 collaboration with Run-DMC on a cover version of “Walk This Way” are included on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame list of the “500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll”.[5]
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BOB DYLAN
BLOOD ON THE TRACKS
Blood on the Tracks is the fifteenth studio album by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released on January 20, 1975,[3][4] by Columbia Records. The album marked Dylan’s return to Columbia after two albums with Asylum Records. Dylan began recording the album at an A & R studio in New York City in September 1974. In December, shortly before Columbia was due to release the album, Dylan abruptly re-recorded much of the material in Sound 80 studio in Minneapolis. The final album contains five tracks recorded in New York and five from Minneapolis. The songs have been linked to tensions in Dylan’s personal life, including his estrangement from his then-wife Sara. One of their children, Jakob Dylan, described the songs as “my parents talking”.[5] Dylan has denied that the songs were autobiographical.[6]
Blood on the Tracks initially received mixed reviews, but has since been acclaimed by critics and fans as one of Dylan’s best albums; various publications have listed it as one of the greatest albums of all time. It was a commercial success, peaking at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and No. 4 on the UK Albums Chart; the single “Tangled Up in Blue” peaked at No. 31 on the Billboard Hot 100. It remains one of Dylan’s best-selling studio releases, with a double-platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for at least two million copies sold in the United States.[7] In 2015, it was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.[8]
Blood on the Tracks was voted number 7 in the third edition of Colin Larkin‘s book All Time Top 1000 Albums (2000).[9] In 2003, the album was ranked number 16 on Rolling Stone‘s list of the “500 Greatest Albums of All Time”, rising to number 9 in the 2020 revision of the list. In 2004, it placed number 5 on Pitchfork‘s list of the “Top 100 Albums of the 1970s”.[10] A high-definition 5.1 surround sound edition of the album was released on SACD by Columbia in 2003.[11]
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LED ZEPPELIN
PHYSICAL GRAFFITI
Physical Graffiti is the sixth studio album by the English rock band Led Zeppelin. Released as a double album on 24 February 1975 in the United States and on 28 February 1975 in the United Kingdom,[1][2] it was the group’s first album to be released under their new label, Swan Song Records. The band wrote and recorded eight new songs for the album in early 1974 at Headley Grange, a country house in Hampshire, which gave them ample time to improvise arrangements and experiment with recording. The total playing time covered just under three sides of an LP, so they decided to expand it into a double album by including seven previously unreleased tracks from the sessions for the band’s earlier albums Led Zeppelin III (1970), Led Zeppelin IV (1971) and Houses of the Holy (1973). The album covered a range of styles including hard rock, progressive rock, rock ‘n’ roll and folk.[3] The album was then mixed over summer 1974 and planned for an end-of-year release; however, its release was delayed because the Peter Corriston-designed die-cut album cover proved difficult to manufacture.
Physical Graffiti was commercially and critically successful upon its release and debuted at number one on album charts in the UK and number three in the United States.[4] It was promoted by a successful US tour and a five-night residency at Earl’s Court, London. The album has been reissued on CD several times, including an expansive 40th anniversary edition in 2015. Physical Graffiti was later certified 16× platinum in the United States by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in 2006, signifying shipments of over eight million copies in the US.
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BLUE OYSTER CULT
ON YOUR FEET OR ON YOUR KNEES
On Your Feet or on Your Knees is the first live album by American rock band Blue Öyster Cult, released on Feb. 27, 1975 by Columbia Records. The album features three songs from each of the band’s first three studio albums, two covers (“I Ain’t Got You”, albeit with modified lyrics, and “Born to Be Wild“), and one (“Buck’s Boogie”) original instrumental that remains a staple of the band’s live shows to this day. The 12 songs include performances at the Academy of Music in New York City, the Paramount Theatre in Portland, the Paramount Theatre in Seattle, the Show Palace in Phoenix, the Long Beach Arena, the P.N.E. Coliseum in Vancouver and the Capitol Theatre in New Jersey, although it’s not clear which songs came from which venues and on what dates.
The cover lettering designed by Gerard Huerta, also used on the 2012 boxed set, was one of the first “Heavy Metal” logo designs. The cover art, photographed by John Berg, prominently features St Paul’s Episcopal Chapel in South Salem, New York.[6]
The album reached No. 22 on the Billboard 200,[7] the band’s highest-charting album in the United States.[8]
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ALICE COOPER
WELCOME TO MY NIGHTMARE
Welcome to My Nightmare is the debut solo studio album by American rock musician Alice Cooper, released on March 10, 1975, by Atlantic Records. A concept album, its songs played in sequence form a journey through the nightmares of a child named Steven. The album inspired the Alice Cooper: The Nightmare TV special, a worldwide concert tour, and his Welcome to My Nightmare concert film (1976). The tour was one of the most over-the-top excursions of that era. Most of Lou Reed‘s band joined Cooper for this record. Internationally, Welcome to My Nightmare was released by the ABC subsidiary Anchor Records. It is Cooper’s only album under Atlantic Records and Anchor Records.
The cover artwork was created by Drew Struzan for Pacific Eye & Ear. Rolling Stone would later rank it ninetieth on the list of the “Top 100 Album Covers of All Time”.[6] Famed horror film star Vincent Price provided a monologue in the song “Devil’s Food”, which was used as a segue into the next song, “The Black Widow”. The song “Escape” was a rewrite of a song by the Hollywood Stars from their shelved album Shine Like a Radio – The Great Lost 1974 Album, which was finally released in 2013.[7][8] The ballad “Only Women Bleed“, released as a single, is a song originally composed by guitarist Dick Wagner for his late-1960s band the Frost, with a new title provided by Cooper and revised lyrics written by Wagner and Cooper.[9] The remastered CD version adds three alternate version bonus tracks.
A sequel concept album, Welcome 2 My Nightmare, was released in 2011.
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STEVIE NICKS
BELLA DONNA
Bella Donna is the debut solo studio album by American singer and songwriter Stevie Nicks. Released on July 27, 1981, the album peaked at number one on the US Billboard 200 in September of that year. Bella Donna was awarded platinum status by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on October 7, 1981, less than three months after its release, and in 1990 was certified quadruple-platinum for four million copies shipped.[1] Bella Donna spent nearly three years on the Billboard 200, from July 1981 to June 1984.[2]
The album spawned four hit singles during 1981 and 1982: the Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers-penned duet “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around” (number 3), the Don Henley duet “Leather and Lace” (number 6), along with “Edge of Seventeen” (number 11) and the country-tinged “After the Glitter Fades” (number 32).[3]
Bella Donna would mark the beginning of Nicks’ trend of calling upon her many musician friends and connections to fully realize her sparse demo recordings. Along with friends Tom Petty and Don Henley, Nicks brought in session musician Waddy Wachtel, Bruce Springsteen‘s E-Street Band pianist Roy Bittan and Stax session man Donald “Duck” Dunn of Booker T. & the M.G.’s. The album marked the first recording featuring Nicks’ backing vocalists, Sharon Celani and Lori Perry, who still record and tour with Nicks today.[4][5]
The album was also included in the Greatest of All Time Billboard 200 Albums chart.[6]