So, here they are, our Top 10 Vintage Rock Studio Albums, in no particular order because each stands out on their own. There were a lot of stellar releases in 2024, so we’d also like to acknowledge excellent new albums from Judas Priest, Blue Öyster Cult, Joe Deninzon, and Little Feat. This is their honorable mention.
One other thing we wish to acknowledge is the absence of any female artists on our list. This was not intentional. We can’t exactly pinpoint why, though we can’t recall anyone coming across our radar. Little doubt that if we’d taken a deep enough dive, we would have struck gold.
Maybe it’s more about the fact that female artists now more than ever before dominate the charts, rules the airwaves, sell the most records, win the top awards, and get millions upon billions of views, streams, and accolades. To call them ‘vintage’ isn’t belittling — it just doesn’t seem fitting. It’s their time, and they deserve all the props they get without us getting in the way.
In the meantime, for better or worse, we’re sticking with the tried and true. Such is the beauty of music.
Luck And Strange
David Gilmour
If you look at David Gilmour’s first two post-Pink Floyd solo efforts — 2006’s On An Island and 2016’s Rattle That Lock — there is this sense that the singer and guitarist was trying to create something a little outside of the box — perhaps more contemporary with less static, a bit softer around the edges, totally age-suitable. Of course, there were surges of Floydian familiarity whenever he sang or played one of his epic guitar solos. He’ll never be able to shake that off. So, nearly a decade after his last album, how does one fairly assess a new David Gilmour album in 2024? On first impression, Luck And Strange plays like a welcomed reprieve with a tighter knit of tapestry — from someone who has little left to prove and lots to live up to.
Happiness Bastards
The Black Crowes
The Black Crowes are back with Happiness Bastards, their collection of all-new, original music for the first time in 15 years. The album features the founders Chris Robinson on vocals and his brother Rich on guitar, along with longtime bassist Sven Pipien. Together with a suitable cache of backing musicians, they serve up 10 piping-hot tracks faithful to that classic Black Crowes vibe and sound. Producer Jay Joyce worked closely with the band to capture their unique brand of spitfire, spirit, and vigor, and it most certainly paid off.
=1
Deep Purple
For Deep Purple, The Long Goodbye has changed to We’re Not Going Anywhere. Indeed, it appeared the group was winding down when they announced their fabled Long Goodbye tour in 2017. In recent years, they’d taken an admirable step up with two tremendous albums produced by Bob Ezrin — 2013’s Now What?! and 2017’s inFinite. Then they went into overtime with a third Ezrin-produced release for 2020 called Whoosh! followed a year later by the cheeky covers album, Turning To Crime. For 2024, they came back with =1, their 23rd studio effort and fifth produced by Ezrin, and it’s a whole new coat of paint, with a few nods here and there to the past.
True
Jon Anderson & The Band Geeks
Since parting ways with Yes in 2008, Jon Anderson has continued to record new music and play live alone or in collaboration with others. No matter how he tries to spin it, be it on his own, or with Vangelis, Roine Stolt, Jean-Luc Ponty, or Rick Wakeman and Trevor Rabin, you can’t help but think how much Yes is Anderson and Anderson is Yes. Every other singer in Yes has had to use his voice as the blueprint. So it’s no wonder True with The Band Geeks has a Yes vibe to it. With Jon Anderson out front, it’s unavoidable.
A Few Good Moments
Burton Cummings
Surely sitting at the top of the list of Canadian vintage rock royalty sits Burton Cummings, best known as the lead singer and songwriter of The Guess Who. Cummings’ 2024 solo release, A Few Good Moments, is his first new music collection in over a decade. The record finds the musician sounding as good as he did back when he sailed his killer vocals over classics hits “These Eyes,” “No Time,” and “American Woman.”
Stained Glass
Venice
For their 2024 studio release, Stained Glass, Southern California band Venice have, to paraphrase one of their old song titles, gone “back to the well” to give their fans a heavenly slice of their enriching, harmony-filled sound. If you are a fan of well-crafted songs featuring supreme vocals in the vein of the Eagles, Crosby, Stills and Nash, and others known for their Southern California sound of the early to mid 1970s, along with listener-friendly instrumentation, then this is the band for you. They have released quite a few records since the late 1980s and they seem to get better and more likeable with every release.
V
Black Country Communion
From the outset, Black Country Communion seemed like a one-off supergroup. The group’s four members were all involved in other projects and would return to those after their 2011 self-titled debut album. Afterall, guitarist and vocalist Joe Bonamassa had (and still has) a thriving solo career, while bassist and vocalist Glenn Hughes, drummer Jason Bonham, and keyboardist Derek Sherinian were each embedded in any number of other musical hijinks. Then they delivered a second album in 2011 and played a handful of shows. After a third release in 2012, it seemed that was it…except five years later, a fourth one dropped. Now in 2024, Black Country Communion apparently still has legs. And their fifth release, called appropriately enough V, delivers big on that verdict.
Closer To My Home
Mark Farner
The Grand Funk Railroad saga is one of unparalleled highs and lows. In the 1970s, they became one of the biggest bands on the planet. Unfortunately, a short-lived, end-of-the-century reunion between the three principles — Mark Farner, Don Brewer and Mel Schacher — lead to an acrimonious split that has yet to heal. To this day, Brewer and Schacher carry the Grand Funk banner with shows at casinos, county fairs, and the occasional bar mitzvah. And what of Mark Farner, the group’s original lead singer, guitarist, keyboardist, and primary songwriter? While continually playing out on his own, he finally made the commitment to step into the studio to record an album he calls Closer To My Home.
Evolve
Phish
Anyone who follows Phish with any regularity knows that they tour year-round and make studio albums sporadically. With concert commitments and a smattering of side projects, writing new songs and getting together in the studio to record them isn’t a top priority for Phish. Even so, Evolve — their 16th offering and first studio effort since 2000’s Sigma Oasis — showcases the band’s gift for songwriting and arrangements — all without the unpredictability of extended jams and makeshift nuance.
The Circus And The Nightwhale
Steve Hackett
When he isn’t thrilling audiences the world over, revisiting Genesis classics, Steve Hackett churns out wildly ambitious solo albums — 30 to be exact. For 2024, he made it a little more personal on the conceptual The Circus And The Nightwhale. Over the course of 13 tracks, Hackett and his magnificent band and guests cover the gamut, creating an adventurous, swashbuckling elixir of sophisticated arrangements marinating in a stew of progressive rock theater.
