College Countdown, The First CMJ Album Chart, 12

12. Sea Level, On the Edge The Allman Brothers Band was one of those groups that felt like they were fractiously apart more than they were together, practicing a brand of precarious camaraderie befitting their familial nature. When the band experienced their first formal break-up in the mid-nineteeen-seventies, several members were already poised to do their own thing. Sea Level was a clear, supported offshoot of the Allman Brothers Band, opening shows for the southern rock icons in 1975 and 1976. In the latter year, it became the main thing going as the tension between Gregg Allman and his bandmates … Continue reading College Countdown, The First CMJ Album Chart, 12

College Countdown, The First CMJ Album Chart, 20

20. Joe Cocker, Luxury You Can Afford In the late nineteen-seventies, Joe Cocker was going through one of those rocky stretches that were the accepted territory of raspy-voiced rock ‘n’ roll singers. He spent a decent portion of the decade bouncing around different managers and cultivating a reputation as a self-destructive alcoholic with an occasional penchant for vomiting mid-set onstage. In 1978, he was further trying to rebound by some significant commercial disappointment, and he had to prove himself to a new label. Luxury You Can Afford was his first for Asylum Records, after a long stretch with A&M Records. … Continue reading College Countdown, The First CMJ Album Chart, 20