Latest articles by Classic Rock Magazine
"Epitomising the blend of prog-rock chops, pop sensibility and Zappa-influenced weirdness that was Max's secret formula": Max Webster's High Class In Borrowed Shoes
High Class In Borrowed Shoes is the second album by extravagantly dressed Canadian rock eccentrics and Rush buddies Max Webster
"One of the last genuine bluesmen out there – he is a legend and should be revered as such": Strong Persuader by Robert Cray - Album Of The Week Club review
Robert Cray's 1986 album Strong Persuader album took blues to the masses and sold more than two million copies in the US
"As many recycled Led Zeppelin riffs as Kingdom Come or '80s Whitesnake with an even stronger whiff of cheese": Emotions In Motion by Billy Squier - Album Of The Week Club review
Buoyed by the success of breakthrough album Don’t Say No, Billy Squier teamed up once again with Queen producer Reinhold Mack to create 10 tracks of state of the art, radio-friendly pop rock
"Bonzo was a dear friend of mine, and I think we might've been listening to a little Led Zeppelin": Deep Purple's track-by-track guide to Burn
David Coverdale, Glenn Hughes and Ian Paice reveal the secrets of Burn, Deep Purple's first album with the Mark III line-up
"Imagine, if you will, a long-lost UFO concept album about a seance gone awry": The Unexpected Guest by Demon - Album Of The Week Club review
The NWOBHM was a broad church, and Demon's second album The Unexpected Guest was more melodic than most
"Like a heavier Styx or a lighter Uriah Heep, but dressed like the Bee Gees": Angel by Angel - Album Of The Week Club review
Discovered by Gene Simmons and sold as a more wholesome alternative to Kiss, Angel's stage show was equally theatrical, but their music was a mix of pomp and prog
"The copycat jibes thrown in Kingdom Come's direction by the music press and Gary Moore were certainly not without merit": Kingdom Come by Kingdom Come
Released at the height of hair metal, Kingdom Come's debut album made waves for its startling resemblance to Led Zeppelin
"There is a compelling argument that with Goodnight L.A. Magnum temporarily lost their identity and became something they were not": Goodnight L.A. by Magnum
Goodnight L.A. was meant to be Magnum’s big chance to break America, but eventually wasn't released there at all
"Bella Donna had the formula for success: a singer from huge band, a top-notch producer, and a who's who of musicians": Bella Donna by Stevie Nicks
Featuring stellar duets with Tom Petty and Don Henley, Bella Donna established Stevie Nicks as a star in her own right, away from the Fleetwood Mac soap opera
"Neither particularly good or particularly bad. It's just bang average": Freedom At Point Zero by Jefferson Starship
Grace Slick and Marty Balin were gone but Jefferson Airplane had Jane, an AOR landmark, and riffs from Craig Chaquico that would guide the band into the gleaming 80s
Jimi Hendrix's London: an interactive map
Hotels, hangouts, crash pads, recording studios, sweaty gigs, swanky nightclubs… and where it all ended in tragedy: Jimi Hendrix was here
"These are hard-livin', whiskey-drinkin', gun-totin' Southerners who eat grits for breakfast, fried beans for lunch, and an entire raw buffalo for their dinner": Flirtin' With Disaster by Molly Hatchet
The double-platinum Flirtin' With Disaster was the second album from the triple-guitar southern rock band from Jacksonville who weren't Lynyrd Skynyrd
"Full of memorable songs, hooks, vocals, instrumentation; a complete package": Harder... Faster by April Wine - Album Of The Week Club review
Harder... Faster was the eighth studio album by Canuck rockers April Wine, and spent the best part of a year on the US album chart
"Undeniably brilliant but unlistenable": Pawn Hearts by Van der Graaf Generator - Album Of The Week Club review
Van der Graaf Generator's fourth album Pawn Hearts sums up all that is glorious and bewildering about the band: unconventional vocals, confrontational music, and the unruly spectre of jazz
A round sleeve for a round record: how The Small Faces' Ogdens' Nut Gone Flake broke the mould and tested the patience of record stores worldwide
A Liverpool tobacco company and plenty of hashish were the inspirations for one of the most iconic album covers of all time
"The cold, hard truth is that, for all the hard luck stories, they simply aren't that great as a band": Metal On Metal by Anvil - Album Of The Week Club review
An object of both affection and derision, Canada's Anvil made the NWOBHM-friendly Metal On Metal in 1982: It gave them an international audience and their most iconic song
"An eye opener for those who think Elton John and Bernie Taupin are a trivial pop act": Tumbleweed Connection by Elton John - Album Of The Week Club review
Released in 1970, Elton John's Tumbleweed Connection was a concept album themed on Wild West Americana with flavours of country and blues
"I've seen them and loved every over-the-top minute of it... but this album just doesn’t cut it": Alive II by Kiss - Album Of The Week Club review
One thing we can all agree on, surely: that inner gatefold is one of the great photographs in rock'n'roll
The 50 best collaborations in rock
Guest spots, duets, team-ups and mashups – we take a look at the weird, wonderful world of the rock’n’roll collaboration…
"I thought it was going to be the usual boring day, then suddenly The Yardbirds knocked on the door": the day rock'n'roll took on the British establishment
When a politician spoke out against rock music in the House of Lords in spring of 1964, The Yardbirds had an idea: to stage an unannounced gig in his garden
"The judicious use of sound effects adds to the occasionally claustrophobic atmosphere": Crime Of The Century by Supertramp - Album Of The Week Club review
With Crime Of The Century, Supertramp defined their signature sound and created a progressive rock masterpiece
"Their music was played at every party, bush bash, and camp fire you would go to": Fully Completely by The Tragically Hip - Album Of The Week Club review
The Tragically Hip's third album Fully Completely was dominated by Canadian themes, propelling the band on their way to becoming 'Canada's Band'
"Passages of beautiful, haunting music, mellow vocals, and lyrics that conjure images of darkness, loss and betrayal": Heritage by Opeth - Album Of The Week Club review
In which Mikael Åkerfeldt ditches his death metal growl and falls under the spell of his collection of rare progressive rock records
