Moby_Dick, Author at Lossless Music Archives

Van Der Graaf Generator – Albums Collection

Van Der Graaf Generator - Albums Collection

An eye-opening trip to San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury during the summer of 1967 inspired British-born drummer Chris Judge Smith to compose a list of possible names for the rock group he wished to form. Upon his return to Manchester University, he began performing with singer/songwriter Peter Hammill and keyboardist Nick Peame; employing one of the names from Judge Smith’s list, the band dubbed itself Van der Graaf Generator (after a machine that creates static electricity), eventually earning an intense cult following as one of the era’s preeminent art rock groups. Continue reading “Van Der Graaf Generator – Albums Collection”

Harry Nilsson – Albums Collection

Harry Nilsson - Albums Collection

Although he synthesized disparate elements of both rock and pop traditions, singer/songwriter Harry Nilsson was at heart a maverick whose allegiance belonged to neither. He’s best-known for his versions of other people’s songs (Fred Neil’s “Everybody’s Talkin’,” Badfinger’s “Without You,” an entire album of Randy Newman songs), but he was a skilled composer and is recognized as a pop craftsman of the first order. Continue reading “Harry Nilsson – Albums Collection”

Olivia Newton-John – Albums Collection

Olivia Newton-John - Albums Collection

Olivia Newton-John skillfully made the transition from popular country-pop singer to popular mainstream soft rock singer, becoming one of the most successful vocalists of the ’70s in the process. The transition itself wasn’t much of a stretch — her early-’70s hits “I Honestly Love You” and “Have You Never Been Mellow” were country only in the loosest sense — yet the extent of her success in both fields was remarkable. Continue reading “Olivia Newton-John – Albums Collection”

Neil Young – Discography (1968-2019)

Neil Young - Discography (1968-2019)

After Neil Young left the California folk-rock band Buffalo Springfield in 1968, he slowly established himself as one of the most influential and idiosyncratic singer/songwriters of his generation. Young’s body of work ranks second only to Bob Dylan in terms of depth, and he was able to sustain his critical reputation, as well as record sales, for a longer period of time than Dylan, partially because of his willfully perverse work ethic. Continue reading “Neil Young – Discography (1968-2019)”

Roxette, Marie Fredriksson & Per Gessle – Discography (1986 – 2016)

Roxette, Marie Fredriksson & Per Gessle - Discography (1986 - 2016)

Roxette were one of the biggest global pop acts of the ’90s, selling over 75 million records around the world and dominating the charts with songs like “The Look,” “Listen to Your Heart,” “Joyride,” and “It Must Have Been Love,” all four of which hit the top of the Billboard Hot 100. Hailing from Halmstad, Sweden, Roxette are a duo featuring vocalist Marie Fredriksson and songwriter, vocalist, and multi-instrumentalist Per Gessle. Fredriksson and Gessle first met in the late ’70s, when she was a member of the pop combo Strul & Ma Mas Barn and he played with Gyllene Tider, one of Sweden’s biggest groups of the late ’70s and early ’80s. In 1981, after Fredriksson’s group broke up, she joined Gyllene Tider as backing vocalist for a concert tour, and later worked with them in the studio in the same capacity. Continue reading “Roxette, Marie Fredriksson & Per Gessle – Discography (1986 – 2016)”

Roger Hodgson – Albums Collection (1984 – 2010)

Roger Hodgson - Albums Collection (1984 - 2010)

Best known for his stint fronting art pop hitmakers Supertramp, Roger Hodgson was born in Portsmouth, England, on March 21, 1950. While growing up in Oxford, Hodgson started playing guitar before he was a teenager, and was soon writing songs while at boarding school. He began recording during the late ’60s, issuing a single in 1969 as part of the session band Argosy with Elton John (then known as Reg Dwight). Continue reading “Roger Hodgson – Albums Collection (1984 – 2010)”

John Coltrane – Albums Collection

John Coltrane - Albums Collection

Despite a relatively brief career (he first came to notice as a sideman at age 29 in 1955, formally launched a solo career at 33 in 1960, and was dead at 40 in 1967), saxophonist John Coltrane was among the most important, and most controversial, figures in jazz. It seems amazing that his period of greatest activity was so short, not only because he recorded prolifically, but also because, taking advantage of his fame, the record companies that recorded him as a sideman in the 1950s frequently reissued those recordings under his name and there has been a wealth of posthumously released material as well. Continue reading “John Coltrane – Albums Collection”

Dido – Discography (1999 – 2019)

Dido - Discography (1999 - 2019)

Electronic pop singer/songwriter Dido burst onto the international mainstream at the close of the ’90s, issuing two of the U.K.’s best-selling albums of all time. Her debut, 1999’s No Angel, topped charts around the globe and sold over 20 million copies. The follow-up, 2003’s Life for Rent, performed just as well, bolstered by her comforting blend of electronic production and pastoral heart, which was heard on singles such as “White Flag,” her highest-charting and best-selling to date. Continue reading “Dido – Discography (1999 – 2019)”

Slayer – Discography (1983 – 2015)

Slayer - Discography (1983 - 2015)

Slayer were one of the most distinctive, influential, and extreme thrash metal bands of the 1980s. Their graphic lyrics dealt with everything from death and dismemberment to war and the horrors of hell. Their full-throttle velocity, wildly chaotic guitar solos, and powerful musical chops painted an effectively chilling sonic background for their obsessive chronicling of the dark side; this correspondence helped Slayer’s music hold up arguably better than the remaining Big Three ’80s thrash outfits Continue reading “Slayer – Discography (1983 – 2015)”

Mick Jagger – Discography (1985-2017)

Mick Jagger - Discography (1985-2017)

As the lead singer for the Rolling Stones, Mick Jagger virtually invented the concept of the rock & roll frontman. Taking his cues from soul singers, bluesmen, and Elvis Presley, Jagger crafted a magnetic, carnal persona that retained its charisma even after it was mimicked and expanded by countless singers who followed in his footsteps. He may have been surrounded by disciples, but Jagger never left the spotlight, touring with the Rolling Stones until he was in his seventies. Continue reading “Mick Jagger – Discography (1985-2017)”

Aerosmith – Discography (1973-2015)

Aerosmith - Discography (1973-2015)

Aerosmith were one of the most popular hard rock bands of the ’70s, setting the style and sound of hard rock and heavy metal for the next two decades with their raunchy, bluesy swagger. The Boston-based quintet found the middle ground between the menace of the Rolling Stones and the campy, sleazy flamboyance of the New York Dolls, developing a lean, dirty riff-oriented boogie that was loose and swinging and as hard as a diamond. Continue reading “Aerosmith – Discography (1973-2015)”

David Coverdale & Whitesnake – Discography (1976 – 2015)

David Coverdale & Whitesnake - Discography (1976 - 2015)

After recording two solo albums, former Deep Purple vocalist David Coverdale formed Whitesnake around 1977. In the glut of hard rock and heavy metal bands of the late ’70s, their first albums got somewhat lost in the shuffle, although they were fairly popular in Europe and Japan. During 1982, Coverdale took some time off so he could take care of his Continue reading “David Coverdale & Whitesnake – Discography (1976 – 2015)”

Johnny Winter – Discography (1969 – 2014)

Johnny Winter - Discography (1969 - 2014)

When Johnny Winter emerged on the national scene in 1969, the hope, particularly in the record business, was that he would become a superstar on the scale of Jimi Hendrix, another blues-based rock guitarist and singer who preceded him by a few years. Continue reading “Johnny Winter – Discography (1969 – 2014)”

Def Leppard – Discography (1980 – 2015)

Def Leppard - Discography (1980 - 2015)

In many ways, Def Leppard were the definitive hard rock band of the ’80s. There were many bands that rocked harder (and were more dangerous) than the Sheffield-based quintet, but few others captured the spirit of the times quite as well. Emerging in the late ’70s as part of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, Def Leppard actually owed more to the glam rock and metal of the early ’70s, as their sound was equal parts T. Rex, Mott the Hoople, Queen, and Led Zeppelin. Continue reading “Def Leppard – Discography (1980 – 2015)”

Manfred Mann’s Earth Band – Discography (1972 – 2014)

Manfred Mann's Earth Band - Discography (1972 - 2014)

An R&B band that only played pop to get on the charts, Manfred Mann and its various permutations ranked among the most adept British Invasion acts in both styles. South African-born keyboardist Manfred Mann was originally an aspiring jazz player, moving toward R&B when more blues-oriented sounds became in vogue in England in the early ’60s. Original Manfred Mann singer Paul Jones was one of the best British Invasion singers, and his resonant vocals were the best feature of their early R&B sides, which had a slightly jazzier and smoother touch than the early work of the Rolling Stones and Animals. Continue reading “Manfred Mann’s Earth Band – Discography (1972 – 2014)”