Medium Rare Interviews

Rare classic rock interviews by Redbeard from the vast In the Studio archive

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Cars- Shake It Up 45th anniversary- Greg Hawkes, the late Ric Ocasek

The Cars' "Shake It Up" was their first album to contain a Top Ten Billboard  hit in the title song, so 1981's "Shake It Up", with its peak at #9 on Billboard  album sales chart as well as #34 for the entire year, was seen by many  as a return to high performance by the Boston band. Keyboard player Greg Hawkes joins me In the Studio with archival interview by Cars bandleader the late Ric Ocasek on "Shake It Up" fortieth anniversary.
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Motley Crue 45th Anniversary- Nikki Sixx, Vince Neil

Motley Crue's Nikki Sixx & Vince Neil In the Studio for Motley Crue "Too Fast for Love" 45th anniversary.
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Robert Cray- Strong Persuader 40th Anniversary

the breakout album “Strong Persuader” by my guest In the Studio, Robert Cray.
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Pink Floyd- Meddle 55th- David Gilmour, Nick Mason, Roger Waters

Judging by the sheer outsized volume of well-deserved attention heaped on Pink Floyd's 1973 game changer "Dark Side of the Moon", one could easily assume it was the Cambridge, England quartet's first of any consequence. "Meddle", containing the embryonic epic "Echoes", my guests Pink Floyd's David Gilmour, Nick Mason, and co-founder with Syd Barrett, Roger Waters unanimously maintain that "Meddle"  was their Apollo 8 musical mission which soon after allowed  Pink Floyd's lunar landing on the far side of rock history.
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Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes- Better Days 35th Anniversary

Southside Johnny Lyon visited my Q102/ Dallas radio show in October 1991 to discuss his tenth (!) album "Better Days", as well as the Jukes' 1976 "I Don't Want to Go Home" debut containing the Bruce Springsteen chestnut "The Fever"; 1977's "This Time It's for Real";   the essential 4.5 star "Hearts of Stone" in 1978; the instant classic "It's Been a Long Time" featuring Johnny with producer/ songwriter/ running buddies  Steven Van Zandt and Bruce Springsteen...

John Mellencamp- Whenever We Wanted 35th Anniversary

By the time John Mellencamp released October 1991's "Whenever We Wanted" , containing the hits "Get a Leg Up" and "Again Tonight", his record-making not only made him one of the Eighties' most popular singer/ songwriters, he had already influenced the sound of his peers...twice. John Mellencamp is my guest In the Studio.
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Loverboy- Get Lucky 45th Anniversary- Mike Reno, Paul Dean

Canadian rockers Loverboy were the right band at the right time forty-five years ago. North American rock radio was waiting in anticipation for “Turn Me Loose”, “The Kid is Hot Tonight”, Working for the Weekend", along with "When It's Over", "Jump" co-written by fellow countryman Bryan Adams, "Gangs in the Street", and "Take Me to the Top". Lead singer Mike Reno and guitarist Paul Dean recall how nice guys don't finish last in this  In The Studio  classic rock interview.

Billy Idol- Don’t Stop 45th Anniversary

It's the all-important 1981 "Don't Stop"  EP by Billy Idol. In the last spasms of the London Punk Rock scene circa 1980, Generation X and their front man Billy Broad had the career arc of a bottle rocket, briefly filling English dance floors with the celebratory single "Dancing with Myself"and a cover of "Mony Mony". But Punk Rock's purpose of being a disruptive force to reset all the tumblers of popular music was practically fulfilled by then, and had no second act, so Billy Idol needed a new start. Billy Idol is my guest In the Studio.

Tom Cochrane- Mad Mad World 35th Anniversary

The tumblers all clicked for Tom Cochrane with the September 1991 (2/92 in the US) release of "Mad Mad World" containing the Billboard #6 earworm "Life is a Highway", driving initial sales of over 500,000 copies in the US alone. Tom Cochrane is my guest In the Studio on the thirty-fifth anniversary of "Mad Mad World".

YES- Magnification @25- Jon Anderson, Steve Howe,the late Chris Squire & Alan White

It's the 25th anniversary of YES releasing their 21st century chestnut "Magnification" in September 2001, with Jon Anderson, Trevor Rabin, the late Alan White, Steve Howe, Tony Kaye, and the late Chris Squire ALL In the Studio.

Kansas- The Prelude Implicit 10th- Phil Ehart, Rich Williams, Ronnie Platt, David Ragsdale

In 2016 the first new original studio album in sixteen years, "The Prelude Implicit",  from all-American progressive rockers Kansas, was one of the most pleasant musical surprises in 2016...like discovering the "lost"  album which would have fit naturally between early mid-Seventies efforts "Song for America"  and "Masque". Lifers drummer Phil Ehart and guitarist Richard Williams are joined here In the Studio  by violinist David Ragsdale and impressive veteran lead singer Ronnie Platt.

Dire Straits- On Every Street 35th Anniversary- Mark Knopfler

When the song "Money for Nothing" by Dire Straits became a worldwide hit in Summer 1985, the album Brothers in Arms spent a stunning nine weeks as the #1-seller in the US in 1985, eventually selling a staggering 26,000,000  copies worldwide. This kind of celebrity could not have happened to a more reluctant rock star than Dire Straits leader Mark Knopfler, and trust me, there is absolutely no way to prepare for what comes next.

Triumph- Allied Forces 45th- Rik Emmett, Gil Moore, Mike Levine

If you've ever been in a band, you need to listen to this honest, heartwarming, hysterically funny interview with Triumph ... 1979 breakthrough "Just a Gam"e with the songs "Hold On" and "Lay It on the Line", plus the even bigger seller "Allied Forces" forty years ago with "Magic Power" and "Fight the Good Fight".

Bob Seger- The Fire Inside

August 26, 1991 I had the great honor and pleasure of co-hosting the world premiere radio broadcast  with Bob Seger of "The Fire Inside". His fourteenth (!) studio album, it came a long five years after Seger and the Silver Bullet Band's "Like a Rock", the Detroit rocker's fifth multi-million seller in a row.

Julian Lennon- Help Yourself 35th Anniversary

...prior to "Help Yourself". A peculiar and confounding thing happened with the reception to that fourth Julian Lennon album and its brilliant eco-ballad "Saltwater". The song went to #6 in the UK and straight to #1 in Australia, but failed to even chart in America. Julian Lennon is my guest In the Studio.