AllMusic

Pilot

Second Flight

1975

Contemporary Pop/Rock

Although best known for their wildly catchy 1974 hit, "Magic," Scottish soft rock combo, Pilot, continued to churn out crafty melodic gems and hit another high water mark on their sophomore LP, Second Flight. It's hard to believe that the pop hooks of "January" and "You're My No. 1" didn't entice the same global audience as "Magic."

- Timothy Monger

Buffy Sainte-Marie

Illuminations

1970

Experimental Rock

Buffy Sainte-Marie is usually remembered as one of the more earnest and activist folkies of the '60s, but that sells her stylistic range seriously short. 1970's Illuminations is a fearlessly eclectic album that makes room for spare acoustic folk ("The Dream Tree"), warm low-key pop ("Guess Who I Saw in Paris"), heavy guitar-fueled rock ("He's a Keeper of the Fire"), and some seriously trippy electronically processed vocal tracks (the opening and closing tracks). Striking and adventurous stuff, and a long, long way from "The Universal Soldier."

- Mark Deming