SteelyDanGlazer

It never fails to astound me how the second heavy metal album ever made is the best one. Everything good about Sabbath's debut is here on steroids, most notably Tony Iommi's unforgettable guitar sound, which scarcely a rock or metal album before or since has ever matched. When hard rock & metal bands stand upon the shoulders of giants, Paranoid is underneath their feet.

Cape-wearing keyboard wizard Rick Wakeman comes into the fold for one of progressive rock's most iconic and enduring albums. Although there is a tad bit of admittedly enjoyable yet still superfluous filler on this album (looking at you, Cans and Brahms) Yes more than make up for it with the exhilarating romps and genre-defining epics which make up the other 39 minutes. It is a real shame that America didn't make onto this album, because if it did this would quite easily be Yes' ... read more

It is said of many great albums that they "sound like no other" but never has that been so true as with In A Silent Way. No one, not even anyone who played on this album, has made anything which sounds remotely similar before or since. Compared to Miles Davis' later jazz fusion efforts, In A Silent Way is remarkably subtle, creating a singular, immensely evocative sound, the emotion of which is captured perfectly by the album cover. A truly original recording.

An all-time Japanese jazz-fusion classic. Casiopea exemplify the best of the genre on this album, with red hot playing from all instruments tempered by Issei Noro's finely crafted melodies and song structures, creating a package accessible enough for the layman but with requisite complexity, proficiency and depth to please the scrutinising ear time after time. This album is nothing short of fantastic.