Winderland 1977 Dead

With 1971's Fragile having left Yes poised quivering on the brink of what friend and foe acknowledged was the peak of the band's achievement, Close to the Edge was never going to be an easy album to make. Drummer Bill Bruford was already shifting restlessly against Jon Anderson's increasingly mystic/mystifying lyricism, while contemporary reports of the recording sessions depicted bandmate Rick Wakeman, too, as little more than an observer to the vast tapestry that Anderson, Steve Howe, and Chris Squire were creating…

Though Andy Gibb's star power would peak with 1978's Shadow Dancing, his Flowing Rivers debut slammed him straight into the limelight and onto the top of the charts – twice – in 1977. A talented musician in his own right, Gibb hit the mainstream under the aegis of producer Robert Stigwood, quite independently of his brothers, $the Bee Gees. Although it's uneven and patchy in places, when this LP is good, it's really good. Both "I Just Want to Be Your Everything" and "(Love Is) Thicker Than Water are perfect pop songs…

Rattus Norvegicus, the Stranglers' first album (and first of two in 1977), was hardly a punk rock classic, but it outsold every other punk album and remains a pretty good chunk of art-punk. On the other hand, No More Heroes, recorded three months later and released in September 1977, is faster, nastier, and better…

On this 1977 album, Nazareth makes a full-blooded return to the hard rock sound they had neglected since their success with Hair of the Dog. The result is a potent, driving slab of hard rock that will please Nazareth fans and devotees of 1970s hard rock alike…