Back in time

JETHRO TULL – Their Prog Rock Classic ‘AQUALUNG’ Is 55 Today

Posted on by JL

19 March 2026

British prog rock icons JETHRO TULL (1967–2012, 2017–present) led on one leg
by charismatic Scottish vocalist/flautist/guitarist Ian Anderson, have released their
4th LP AQUALUNG on 19 March 1971, today 55 years ago

The LP has generally been regarded as a concept album with a central theme of
“the distinction between religion and God“. The album’s “dour musings on faith and religion” have marked it as “one of the most cerebral albums ever to reach millions of rock listeners“. Academic discussions of the nature of concept albums have frequently listed Aqualung amongst their number.

The album’s original cover art by Burton Silverman features a watercolour portrait
of a long-haired, bearded man in shabby clothes. The idea for the cover came from a photograph Anderson‘s wife took of a homeless man.

Anderson later felt it would have been better to have used the photograph rather than commission the painting. Also, he recalled later that he posed for a photograph for the painting.

AllMusic said in retrospect: “In the space of one album, Tull went from relatively unassuming electrified folk-rock to larger-than-life conceptual rock full of sophisticated compositions and complex, intellectual, lyrical constructs. While the leap to full-blown prog rock wouldn’t be taken until a year later on ‘Thick as a Brick’, the degree to which Tull upped the ante here is remarkable.”

KEY SINGLE

ALBUM


.
And their not done yet.

Instagram – Linktree All Albums

HÜSKER DÜ – Guitar Rock Champs Released 5th LP ‘CANDY APPLE GREY’ Today 40 Years Ago

Posted on by JL

Significant longplayers from yesteryear

17 March 2026

HÜSKER DÜ (guitarist/vocalist Bob Mould, bassist Greg Norton, and drummer/vocalist Grant Hart) turned up the decibels between 1979 and 1988 with no less than 6 LPs.

The 5th one, named CANY APPLE GREY, came out on 17 March 1986, today
40 years ago. It was their first major label release, though Warner Bros.

Candy Apple Grey was the first Hüsker Dü album to chart on the Billboard Top 200,
but despite positive reviews, exposure with the singles on radio as well as MTV, it
only went to No. 140.

AllMusic said in retrospect: “Demonstrating that punks can mature without losing
their edge, Mould inverts the rules of conventional confessional singer/songwriter songs
with these two haunting numbers, and in doing so, he illustrates the faults with the relatively staid post-hardcore punk that dominates the remainder of the record.”

SINGLE

ALBUM


.
Short Bio – All Albums

DEPECHE MODE – British Dark-Electro-Pop-Wave Legends Released 5th LP ‘BLACK CELEBRATION’ Today 40 Years Ago

Posted on by JL

Significant longplayers from yesteryear

17 March 2026

British dark-electro-pop-wave titans DEPECHE MODE, active since 1980,
released their 5th album, BLACK CELEBRATION, 40 years ago,
on 17 March 1986.

It topped the UK charts, but only went to #90 in the US.

Martyn Atkins designed the album cover, as he’d done for all of the band’s LP
covers since A Broken Frame from 1982. Originally, he had envisioned a physical
miniature building, draped in black banners and inspired by totalitarian imagery,
to be photographed.

However, the band was not happy with the original design and so the cover
was re-designed to include only a cropped, close-up of the original photograph
and they instead emphasized the logos around the image, which the band paid
to have embossed on initial pressings of the album.

The LP’s title was not a reference to Black mass or rituals of the Occult, it was meant to describe the daily boredom of a dreary life without climaxes or hope for improvement.

Martin Gore: “Our songs from Black Celebration capture the idea: Make
the most of what you have, and find consolation wherever you can.”

David Gahan: “It’s a common thing: at the end of a working day you go
out and drown your sorrows no matter how shitty you feel or how bleak your
future looks.”

NME: “Within their own parameters, Depeche Mode create a resonant, if undemonstrative techno-pop tapestry” with “a rich textured sheen that is not without a certain depth. When the songs address topics other than the composer’s state of mind, Depeche Mode sound like a lot more than just a high tech, low-life melodrama.”

SINGLE

ALBUM


.
Instagram – Linktree – All Albums

THE WHO Released Their 9th LP ‘FACE DANCES’ This Day 45 Years Ago

Posted on by JL

Back in time

15 March 2026

British rock heroes THE WHO released their
9th LP FACE DANCES on 16 March 1981, today
45 years ago.

Despite mixed reviews, the record peaked at #4 on the
US Billboard Charts and #2 on the UK Albums Chart.

The album was originally to be titled simply The Who, but the name Face Dances
replaced it just before release. The phrase was inspired by a friend of Pete Townshend‘s who was rhythmically moving a match between her teeth, an action that Townshend jokingly termed “face dances.”

The album cover features 16 paintings of the band members by 16 British painters,
who were commissioned by Peter Blake, designer of the cover of the Beatles‘ album
Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band in 1967.

SINGLE

ALBUM


.
Instagram
Website
All Albums

R.E.M. Released Their Magnificent Album ‘OUT OF TIME’ Today 35 Years Ago

Posted on by JL

Significant longplayers from yesteryear

12 March 2026

It seems like ages ago since R.E.M. (1980-2011) was one of the greatest bands on
this planet. After 31 years and 15 LPs they went into history as a once in a lifetime
rock and pop sensation.

One of their best and most successful longplayers is, undoubtedly, their 7th one,
named OUT OF TIME. It was released today 35 years ago, on 12 March 1991.

It featured their giant hit Losing My Religion (almost 2 billion – !! – streams on Spotify).
It was the group’s first No. 1 full-length in the UK. It also topped the charts in the US
and several European countries and sold over 18 million copies worldwide.

Rolling Stone praised the record for achieving a balance between new mainstream
appeal and the band’s original identity, writing, “R.E.M. have managed to simultaneously branch out and consolidate their strengths.”

STREAM


.
Short Bio – ALL Albums

WEATHER REPORT – Jazz Fusion Legends Released 6th LP ‘BLACK MARKET’ Today 50 Years Ago

Posted on by JL

Significant longplayers from yesteryear

11 March 2026

WEATHER REPORT was a jazz-fusion collective formed in New York City in 1970.

The band started as a free improvising group with avant-garde and experimental electronic leanings, but along their path, with changing line-ups, they increasingly
steered towards a funky, edgy sound incorporating elements of R&B and native
music from around the world.


Archives WR

After 14 LPs, the curtain fell in 1986.

Their 6th album, named BLACK MARKET, came out
on 11 March 1976, today 50 years ago. It got raving
press reviews.

AllMusic in retrospect: “While it goes without saying that most Weather Report
albums are transition albums, this diverse record is even more transient than most,
paving the way for WR’s most popular period while retaining the old sense of
adventure.”

ALBUM


.
Short Bio – All Albums

ALICE COOPER Released Breakthrough LP ‘LOVE IT TO DEATH’ Today 55 Years Ago

Posted on by JL

Significant longplayers from the past

9 March 2026

The now 78-year-old shock rocker ALICE COOPER, and his troops released
their 3rd and breakthrough LP LOVE IT TO DEATH on 9 March 1971, today
55 years ago.

It peaked at #35 in the US and #28 in the UK.

The record consolidated the band’s aggressive hard-rocking sound, instead
of the psychedelic and experimental rock style of their first two albums. It was
the first longplayer on which the members received individual credit for songs.

The album has come to be seen as a foundational influence on hard rock,
punk, and heavy metal; several tracks became live Alice Cooper standards
and got frequently covered.

SINGLE

ALBUM


.
Instagram – All Albums

KURT VILE – Philly Tunesmith Released 4th Album ‘SMOKE RING FOR MY HALO’ Today 15 Years Ago

Posted on by JL

Significant longplayers from yesteryear

8 March 2026

Along with Adam Granduciel Philly based singer-songwriter/guitarist KURT VILE
formed The War On Drugs in 2005. After their 2008 debut LP Wagonwheel Blues
Vile left to pursue his own journey.

He has released his 4th solo album, titled
SMOKE RING FOR MY HALO on 8 March 2011,
today 15 years ago.

Pitchfork said: “Kurt Vile’s fourth full-length may also be his best, as it distills classic
American guitar music into one singular and sublime vision. He’s still cycling between strummers and fingerpicked mazework, but the battery of pedal effects is mostly gone.
Vile has acknowledged limits in length for the sake of depth. It makes for a full-blown
journey.”

The LP got to #8 on the US Independent Albums Charts.

SINGLE

ALBUM


.
Instagram – All Solo Albums

DINOSAUR JR Released Their 4th LP ‘GREEN MIND’ 35 Years Ago Today

Posted on by JL

Significant longplayers from the past

19 February 2026

American slacker rockers DINOSAUR JR. led by commander J Mascis
have released their 4th LP GREEN MIND, today 35 years ago, on
19 February 1991.

It was the band’s first release after their bassist Lou Barlow left to form
his own bands, Sebadoh and The Folk Implosion, as well as the first on
a major label.

The record is close to being a J Mascis solo album. He played most
of the instruments, with founding drummer Murph only featuring
on three tracks.

It peaked at #168 on the Billboard 200. Single The Wagon went to €22.

Rolling Stone: “Green Mind “sounds every bit as energetic and full-blooded
despite much of the record being performed solely by Mascis, whose guitar
playing, will bowl over even confirmed louder-is-better zealots.”

SINGLE

ALBUM


.
Instagram – All Albums

THE KNIFE – Swedish Electro Pop Duo Released Their Dark 3rd Album ‘SILENT SHOUT’ 20 Years Ago

Posted on by JL

Significant longplayers from yesteryear

18 February 2026

Swedish electro pop duo THE KNIFE – siblings Karin
and Olof Dreijer filled dancefloors from 1999 until 2014
with

Their 3rd album, titled SILENT SHOUT, came out 20 years ago, on 17 February 2006.
It topped the Swedish charts, got to #12 on the US Dance Charts, and to #28 on the
UK’s Independent Albums.


Album artwork

Pitchfork wrote: “Ditching the springy Europop of 2004’s Deep Cuts, Sweden’s the Knife here pits dark, ghostly electro backdrops against elastic vocals, which they mash through a wringer of digital manipulation. A far cry from the duo’s friendly first singles, Silent Shout gorily births the Knife’s mutant twin. The result is creepy enough to warrant its own genre: haunted house.

Silent Shout inspires similar imagination and pushing outwards; after all, no matter how heady and interior electronic music allows itself to become, it could never get as scary as the world outside. ”

SINGLE

ALBUM


.
Short Bio – All Albums