Big Albums from October 1973: Elton John, David Bowie, the Who and More!

LPs released 50 years ago this month. Click the links to order from Amazon.

Elton John - Goodbye Yellow Brick Road

Not just a big album of 1973, but a HUGE one. I was a kid then and it seemed like everyone's older sibling owned a copy. It's the one with  "Bennie and the Jets," "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" and "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting" and, oh yeah, "Candle in the Wind," along with much other good stuff.

Elvis Presley - Raised on Rock / For Ol' Times Sake

The King sort of gets back to his roots at Stax in his homebase of Memphis. Musicians include Donald "Duck" Dunn and Al Jackson, Jr., from the MGs.

Linda Ronstadt - Don't Cry Now

The hit album that marked Ronstadt's successful association with producer Peter Asher. Tunes include Ronstadt's covers of "Love Has No Pride," "Silver Threads and Golden Needles," "Sail Away" and "Desperado."

Lou Reed - Berlin

Fun songs about drugs, depression and doomed relationships! Disparaged at the time, it's not considered one of Lou's best works. I couldn't say. I own copy but have only played it once.

Bryan Ferry - These Foolish Things

Roxy Music's frontman sings Dylan, the Beatles, the Stones, the Beach Boys, Lesley Gore and much more on his high-charting (in the UK) solo debut.

The Band - Moondog Matinee

Bryan Ferry wasn't the only one doing cover albums in 1973. Hear the Band sing Fats Domino, Frogman Henry, Chuck Berry, Sam Cooke and more.

David Bowie - Pinups

The Band wasn't the only one doing cover LPs in 1973. Hear Bowie sing the Who, the Kinks, the Yardbirds and the Pretty Things, among others.

The Who - Quadrophenia

Pete Townshend's mod opera contains some of the Who's most dynamic playing and one of their greatest ballads, "Love Reign Over Me," with Roger Daltrey in top form. Like the band's Tommy, the storyline isn't terribly clear without reading Townshend's explanations or seeing the film, but the theme's of insecurity, identity crisis and finding your way in a crowd come through (sometimes very) loud and clear. The original vinyl came with a nice book of black-and-white photos.