Shows / Classic Albums. Hosted by Stevie Nix
Classic Albums. Hosted by Stevie Nix
Not all albums stand the test of time, but plenty do and Australian music critic Stevie Nix will bring one to you each week. He'll cover all eras and most genres and tell you why each record is so revered and, equally, why it deserves to be. And he only uses six songs to do it.
Episodes
Classic Albums. Hosted by Stevie NixLed Zeppelin IV by Led Zeppelin
Album #4 benefits from arriving early enough in Led Zeppelin's career that they still had something to prove, but late enough that they had developed the skill…
Classic Albums. Hosted by Stevie NixCrime Of The Century by Supertramp
What elevates Crime of the Century above a merely well-crafted album is the emotional honesty at its core. Rick Davies and Roger Hodgson were writing from real…
Classic Albums. Hosted by Stevie NixLittle Earthquakes by Tori Amos
What makes Little Earthquakes a classic is not any single quality but the way several qualities converge and hold their tension. Amos was classically trained…
Classic Albums. Hosted by Stevie NixCarrie & Lowell by Sufjan Stevens
Classic albums tend to collapse the distance between the listener and the artist, and Carrie & Lowell does this more completely than almost any record in…
Classic Albums. Hosted by Stevie NixThe Velvet Underground & Nico by The Velvet Underground, Nico
The Velvet Underground & Nico's 1967 debut fundamentally reshaped rock music's DNA. The album created blueprints for glam rock's sexual ambiguity, punk's raw…
Classic Albums. Hosted by Stevie NixRattlesnakes by Lloyd Cole & The Commotions
There are albums that capture a moment and albums that transcend it. Rattlesnakes, released in October 1984, manages to do both simultaneously — and that…
Classic Albums. Hosted by Stevie NixBlackstar by David Bowie
The reason Blackstar has already secured its place in the permanent record of popular music is something no amount of musical daring alone could manufacture…
Classic Albums. Hosted by Stevie NixBack In Black by AC/DC
In the annals of rock history, few albums loom as large as this one. Released in July 1980, just five months after the death of lead singer Bon Scott, it…
Classic Albums. Hosted by Stevie NixHarry's House by Harry Styles
Harry's House is more than just a collection of songs; it's a cultural statement. Styles has consistently used his platform to challenge traditional notions of…
Classic Albums. Hosted by Stevie NixParanoid by Black Sabbath
Paranoid is one of the most transformative albums in rock history. Released in 1970, Paranoid is a bridge between the blues-rock experimentation of the late…
Classic Albums. Hosted by Stevie NixSongs In The Key Of Life by Stevie Wonder
What separates Songs in the Key of Life from even the best records of its era is that it manages to be impossibly grand in its ambitions and deeply, intimately…
Classic Albums. Hosted by Stevie NixDefinitely Maybe by Oasis
The music on Definetely Maybe drew unapologetically from Noel’s canon of influences — the Beatles, the Stones, T. Rex, the Sex Pistols, Slade — and Oasis made…
Classic Albums. Hosted by Stevie NixLittle Creatures by Talking Heads
What Talking Heads achieved on Little Creatures was something critics often undervalue: the making of a great pop album that doesn't feel like a compromise…
Classic Albums. Hosted by Stevie NixCosmo's Factory by Credence Clearwater Revival
Cosmo’s Factory isn’t just about versatility — it’s about consistency under pressure. These songs were born out of a chaotic, relentless period of touring and…
Classic Albums. Hosted by Stevie NixGrace by Jeff Buckley
What made Grace remarkable wasn't just Buckley's voice, though that instrument deserves its reputation. It's the way that voice functioned as a kind of…
Classic Albums. Hosted by Stevie NixBrian Wilson Presents Smile by Brian Wilson
There is a particular kind of greatness that belongs only to things that almost didn't exist. SMiLE, Brian Wilson's long-lost, mythologised, finally-completed…
Classic Albums. Hosted by Stevie NixThe Grey Album by Danger Mouse
Released in 2004, The Grey Album is often regarded as one of the most groundbreaking and transformative albums in the world of hip hop, remix culture, and…
Classic Albums. Hosted by Stevie NixIn The Wee Small Hours by Frank Sinatra
Working closely with Nelson Riddle, Sinatra leaned into something radical for its time: the idea that an album could be more than a collection of songs. This…
Classic Albums. Hosted by Stevie NixThe Joshua Tree by U2
This is an album that feels vast before you even press play. Inspired by the stark landscapes of America’s deserts and the spiritual contradictions within…
Classic Albums. Hosted by Stevie NixOtis Blue by Otis Redding
Otis Blue is undeniably one of the most important soul albums ever made. Released in 1965, it solidified Otis Redding as a monumental voice in music, someone…
Classic Albums. Hosted by Stevie NixPaul's Boutique by Beastie Boys
What the Dust Brothers brought to the table was a vision of sampling not as decoration but as architecture. Where other producers of the era would lift a break…
Classic Albums. Hosted by Stevie NixBand On The Run by Paul McCartney & Wings
The album emerged from difficult circumstances, recorded largely by a stripped-down trio after members of Wings left just before the sessions. What might have…
Classic Albums. Hosted by Stevie NixWorld Without Tears by Lucinda Williams
World Without Tears is a great album not only because it explores universal experiences like love, loss, pain and resilience, but because it does so with a…
Classic Albums. Hosted by Stevie NixWild Wood by Paul Weller
Released in 1993, Wild Wood is the sound of an artist stepping away from the noise and looking inward, trading urgency for atmosphere, and swagger for…
Classic Albums. Hosted by Stevie NixRed by Taylor Swift
What makes Red a classic isn't its commercial success, though it achieved plenty of that. Rather, it's the way the album captures Swift at a pivotal…
Classic Albums. Hosted by Stevie NixThere's A Riot Goin' On by Sly & The Family Stone
Released in 1971, There’s a Riot Goin’ On captured the disillusionment and unrest of the early ’70s with a raw, almost haunting intensity. Gone were the…
Classic Albums. Hosted by Stevie NixDummy by Portishead
The album's genius lies in its refusal to comfort. Despite spending decades soundtracking intimate moments and dinner parties, Dummy is fundamentally…
Classic Albums. Hosted by Stevie NixThe Final Cut by Pink Floyd
Released in 1983, The Final Cut arrived in a Britain gripped by the Falklands afterglow, austerity economics, and the cold dread of nuclear escalation. It’s an…
Classic Albums. Hosted by Stevie NixGhosteen by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
The deeper reason Ghosteen qualifies as a classic is its relationship to its audience. Great albums do not merely describe an experience; they create a space…
Classic Albums. Hosted by Stevie NixEither/Or by Elliott Smith
Part of what elevates Either/Or from a very good record to a great one is the songwriting, which operates with a rare kind of intelligence. Smith wrote with…
Classic Albums. Hosted by Stevie NixPlastic Ono Band by John Lennon
There are albums that define a moment and albums that define a person. John Lennon's solo debut, released in December 1970, does something rarer and more…
Classic Albums. Hosted by Stevie NixThe Freewheelin' Bob Dylan by Bob Dylan
The genius of the album lies in how it balances the political and the personal without ever feeling calculated or message-driven. The album moves from the…
Classic Albums. Hosted by Stevie NixTo Pimp A Butterfly by Kendrick Lamar
To Pimp a Butterfly is an album that transcended genre expectations and redefined the boundaries of hip-hop. Building upon the narrative-driven storytelling of…
Classic Albums. Hosted by Stevie NixDarkness On The Edge Of Town by Bruce Springsteen
This is the album where Springsteen stops romanticising his characters and starts standing beside them. The streets, factories and highways are still here, but…
Classic Albums. Hosted by Stevie NixMaking Movies by Dire Straits
Making Movies captures a songwriter coming into full possession of his powers. This is an album that explores romantic disillusionment and urban alienation…
Classic Albums. Hosted by Stevie NixI Never Loved A Man [The Way I Love You] by Aretha Franklin
The album's blend of gospel, R&B, and pop, combined with Franklin's powerful vocals and deeply personal lyrics, set a new standard for artistry in popular…
Classic Albums. Hosted by Stevie NixLet Love Rule by Lenny Kravitz
The genius of Let Love Rule lies not in its novelty but in its authenticity. By drawing from the psychedelic experimentation of the late 1960s, the raw…
Classic Albums. Hosted by Stevie NixTumbleweed Connection by Elton John
The album wanders confidently away from conventional pop structures, unfolding in movements rather than tidy choruses. Country, blues, gospel, and folk all…
Classic Albums. Hosted by Stevie NixBlue Valentine by Tom Waits
Blue Valentine captures Waits before he fully committed to the experimental carnival barker persona that would dominate his later work. There are hints of the…
Classic Albums. Hosted by Stevie NixStories From The City, Stories From The Sea by PJ Harvey
Often cited as her “happy album”, this is a record that finds Harvey drawing energy from big cities, new love, and the rush of being caught up in something…
Classic Albums. Hosted by Stevie NixThe Dream Of The Blue Turtles by Sting
The brilliance of The Dream Of The Blue Turtles lies in how it bridges worlds. Sting wanted to blur the lines between rock and jazz, creating music that…
Classic Albums. Hosted by Stevie NixSongs Of Leonard Cohen by Leonard Cohen
What makes Songs Of Leonard Cohen truly classic is how it introduced a new kind of vulnerability to modern music. Before this album, heart-rending lyricism and…
Classic Albums. Hosted by Stevie NixIn Rainbows by Radiohead
In Rainbows succeeds because Radiohead stopped trying to outrun themselves. Liberated from self-imposed pressure to constantly innovate, they created something…
Classic Albums. Hosted by Stevie NixI Do Not Want What I Haven't Got by Sinead O'Connor
I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got is a statement of commitment to authenticity, to speaking truth regardless of consequence, to transforming imperfection into…
Classic Albums. Hosted by Stevie NixOn The Beach by Neil Young
On The Beach succeeds because it achieves something rare in rock music: it captures depression not as drama but as lived experience. There are no theatrical…
Classic Albums. Hosted by Stevie NixYeezus by Kanye West
Yeezus arrived not as a victory lap from one of hip-hop's biggest stars, but as a deliberate act of provocation — 40 minutes of abrasive industrial noise…
Classic Albums. Hosted by Stevie NixSign O' The Times by Prince
Sign O' The Times is an album that shouldn’t work — too many styles, too many moods, too many voices — yet somehow it becomes the clearest portrait of Prince…
Classic Albums. Hosted by Stevie NixZiggy Stardust & The Spiders From Mars by David Bowie
Ziggy Stardust is not a traditional concept album. Its supposed storyline unravels almost immediately. The genius lies in the illusion of narrative—a loose…
Classic Albums. Hosted by Stevie NixExile On Main St by The Rolling Stones
Unlike the band's catalogue of hit-driven records, Exile succeeded not through radio-friendly singles but through something far more elusive: atmosphere…
Classic Albums. Hosted by Stevie NixVeedon Fleece by Van Morrison
Veedon Fleece stands as a deeply enigmatic and poetic masterpiece, arguably Van Morrison’s most profound work. While his earlier albums like Astral Weeks and…
Classic Albums. Hosted by Stevie NixBlonde On Blonde by Bob Dylan
In the spring of 1966, Bob Dylan released what would become rock music's first double-album masterwork, arriving at a moment when the 24-year-old songwriter…