The late 1990s saw the comeback of many rock-n-roll bands that had enjoyed great fame in the 1960s and 1970s, but had fallen into relative obscurity in the 1980s and early 1990s. Bands such as Santana and Aero smith released new albums at the end of the millennium and embarked on worldwide tours to sold-out audiences.

From above, in 1980s and early 1990s it is low and the in late 1990 it regained....that means there is a gap of info regarding late 1990....so concentrate on that req info in the options...

B. These bands were able to blend elements of classic rock with the new sound of the late 1990s to appeal to a wide audience.......justifies that gap

B is the right answer in my view. This is because if it is true that the bands were able to blend elements of classic rock with the new sounds of the late 1990s to appeal to a wide audience, then that would greatly explain their comeback in the late 1990s.

A is incorrect because it contradicts the phenomenon.

C is incorrect because there is no way of connecting rock-n-roll to the peace loving era in the 1960s and 1970s.

D is incorrect. If they got better, then we should see a progressive improvement trend in performance over the years, which is not the case here.

E is also incorrect. A new generation cannot just spring up out of nowhere and discover rock-n-roll if the bands themselves do not repackage their music to appeal to them.

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Answer B
A-The lack of good music (choice A) may help account for older bands making a comeback, but this is not thebest explanation.
B) people who enjoyed their older music and people who enjoy thesounds of contemporary music. This would help explain their renewed popularity, because they still have acore of older fans as well as a large contingent of newer fans (younger listeners who were not necessarilyfamiliar with their older music).
C) incorrect because a nostalgia for the 1960s and 1970s wouldmean the bands' older music would be in demand, not their new music. D) incorrect because this doesn't consider the lapse of relative obscurity.
E) same reason as c

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Let's jot down the points:
R&R bands of 60s and 70s-not hit in 80s and early 90s
R&R major hit in late 90s

Why? We need to find that.
A. Not much good rock-n-roll was produced in the late 1990s.
INCORRECT. This is not of any help. Irrelevant or incomplete information.

B. These bands were able to blend elements of classic rock with the new sound of the late 1990s to appeal to a wide audience.
CORRECT. This can resolve the paradox tge perfect blend of old and new sound attracted their old fans as well as newbies of that decade.

C. The late 1990s saw an increasing nostalgia for the peace-loving era of the 1960s and early 1970s.
INCORRECT. If that's true then their old sound would be a hit and doesn't resolve paradox as to why the R&R bands are in demand and hit now.

D. The bands simply got better with age.
INCORRECT. What does this mean? The band practiced well for a decade or more? Lol no. The passage does mention about relative obscurity in 80s and 90s.

E. A new generation of listeners discovered classic rock.
INCORRECT. If yes, then they would go for old songs and not new. Doesn't resolve the paradox.

Thus, IMO answer is option B

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the paradox is "bands had fallen into relative obscurity in the 1980s and early 1990s".

but "Bands such as Santana and Aero smith sold-out audiences at the end of the millenium."

i'm down to the two options:
B)These bands were able to blend elements of classic rock with the new sound of the late 1990s to appeal to a wide audience.
E. A new generation of listeners discovered classic rock.

B--- explain how those two band stood out from the rest and the reason why they gained huge popularity as they appeals to a wide audience
E----- explains why suddenly there is a rise in the number of listeners however it doesn't explain tickets being sold out as we don't know which genre of rock the two bands belong to

I think B is the correct answer
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Premise ; The late 1990s saw the comeback of many rock-n-roll bands that had enjoyed great fame in the 1960s and 1970s, but had fallen into relative obscurity in the 1980s and early 1990s.
Conclusion ;Bands such as Santana and Aero smith released new albums at the end of the millennium and embarked on worldwide tours to sold-out audiences.

IMO E; A new generation of listeners discovered classic rock. valid assertion and reason for sold out concerts


The late 1990s saw the comeback of many rock-n-roll bands that had enjoyed great fame in the 1960s and 1970s, but had fallen into relative obscurity in the 1980s and early 1990s. Bands such as Santana and Aero smith released new albums at the end of the millennium and embarked on worldwide tours to sold-out audiences.

Which of the following, if true, best explains the phenomenon described in this passage?

A. Not much good rock-n-roll was produced in the late 1990s.
B. These bands were able to blend elements of classic rock with the new sound of the late 1990s to appeal to a wide audience.
C. The late 1990s saw an increasing nostalgia for the peace-loving era of the 1960s and early 1970s.
D. The bands simply got better with age.
E. A new generation of listeners discovered classic rock.

Argument says that many famous 1960s and 1970s bands, which went down in popularity in 1980s and early 1990s, made a comeback in late 1990s. The bands could found life again and released new albums and toured across the world. The tickets of these tours sold out suggesting that people liked these old rock-n-roll bands.

A. Not much good rock-n-roll was produced in the late 1990s. – WRONG. Quality of rock-n-roll is not discussed. It goes the in the opposite direction to that of argument which mentioned worldwide tours were sold-out showing that the bands albums were liked by people.
B. These bands were able to blend elements of classic rock with the new sound of the late 1990s to appeal to a wide audience. – CORRECT. Definitely the bands left a mark in their return in 1990s and since they were 1960s rock-n-roll band blending classic rock of 1960s with new sound of 1990s brought audience together such that their tours were sold out.
C. The late 1990s saw an increasing nostalgia for the peace-loving era of the 1960s and early 1970s. – WRONG. It might be possible that nostalgia is associated with the bands but nothing as such about the eras of 1960s and 1970s is mentioned. Irrelevant.
D. The bands simply got better with age. – WRONG. True it might be but in this argument it can’t be concluded. A relative absence in 1980s of these bands does not support the option.
E. A new generation of listeners discovered classic rock. – WRONG. Similar to option D this is also true in reality by fails to conclude the argument.

Answer (B).
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ARGUMENT
rock bands that enjoyed fame in the 60s and 70s, but had fallen into obscurity in the 80s and EARLY 90s, saw a comeback in the LATE 90s; [premise] they released NEW ALBUMS and embarked on SOLD-OUT world tours; [premise] they released NEW ALBUMS.

EXPLAIN
what brought them back? was it nostalgia? was it new music or blend of genres? what happened that made them go from the bottom to the top?

A. doesn't help; out.
C. "nostalgia for peace-loving era of 60s and 70s" it could be nostalgia for rock, but it could also be for something else: ie. jazz/blues; out.
D. "bands got better with age" but this doesn't explain the obscurity in the 80s and early 90s; out.
E. "new generation discovered CLASSIC rock" so they discovered classic rock, but the new albums could be new rock, or something else; also, DISCOVERED doesn't mean they were now buying tickets to tours or fueling its comeback, they might simply like the old recordings like vinyl classics; out.

Answer (B): "new sound in late 90s to appeal to a wide audience" this explains the new albums and sold-out world tours.

I didn't understand the answer.

Official Explanation

Correct Answer: B

The lack of good music (choice a) may help account for older bands making a comeback, but this is not the best explanation. More convincing is the notion that older bands were able to blend their old sounds with new sounds to appeal to a wide audience people who enjoyed their older music and people who enjoy the sounds of contemporary music. This would help explain their renewed popularity, because they still have a core of older fans as well as a large contingent of newer fans (younger listeners who were not necessarily familiar with their older music). Choice c is incorrect because a nostalgia for the 1960s and 1970s would mean the bands’ older music would be in demand, not their new music. Choice d is incorrect because this does not account for their lapse into "relative obscurity." Choice e is incorrect for the same reason as c if a new generation of listeners discovered classic rock, then they would be more interested in the bands older work.
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