Posts

Kinks- Misfits- Ray Davies

Ray Davies of The Kinks In the Studio for their late Seventies rock revitalization which started with “Sleepwalker” and continued into May 1978's "Misfits".
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Lynyrd Skynyrd- Street Survivors- the late Gary Rossington

The tale of Lynyrd Skynyrd and "Street Survivors"  seems to have been hatched in the vivid imagination of Tennessee Williams, Harper Lee, or William Faulkner, but the characters are so colorful, the childhood bonds so strong, the struggles so personal, the victories so inspiring, and the heartbreak so deep that there is simply no need for hyperbole in telling it. The dearly beloved late co-founder Gary Rossington was my guest In the Studio.
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Jackson Browne- Running On Empty

Jackson Browne In the Studio with Redbeard for the backstory to December 1977’s "Running on Empty", his biggest seller.
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Kansas- Point of Know Return- Phil Ehart, Richard Williams, Kerry Livgren

With back-to-back quadruple platinum albums "Leftoverture"  in 1976 and "Point of Know Return"  barely eighteen months later, the band Kansas was assured of permanent statehood in rock history.
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Styx- Grand Illusion- Tommy Shaw, James “JY” Young, Dennis DeYoung, Lawrence Gowan

Styx co-founder Dennis DeYoung, lifer James "JY" Young, and then recently recruited Alabama boy Tommy Shaw all join me here with current Styx keyboardist/vocalist Lawrence Gowan In the Studio for the early days of being the perennial opening act, saddled with the curse "big in the Flyover States", all the while writing and recording "Fooling Yourself","Come Sail Away","Miss America", "Man in the Wilderness", and "Grand Illusion".

Alan Parsons Project- I, Robot

Rare classic rock interview with the namesake British recording engineer/producer of the Alan Parsons Project, whose 1977 second album in collaboration with composer the late Eric Woolfson was once  again based on a famous literary work, this time the Isaac Asimov science fiction classic "I, Robot".
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Steve Miller- Book of Dreams

Steve Miller In the Studio on the multi-million selling bookend from May 1977, "Book of Dreams" .
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Pink Floyd- Animals- Roger Waters, David Gilmour, Nick Mason

How did Pink Floyd evolve from the sublime introspection of "Dark Side of the Moon" in 1973 to the madness and despair of "The Wall" six years later? David Gilmour, Nick Mason, and  Roger Waters explore the dark, ominous, yet vitally important transitional musical missing link, January 1977's "Animals" here in my classic rock interview, an album that was highly anticipated.
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Kansas- Leftoverture- Kerry Livgren, Phil Ehart, Steve Walsh, Richard Williams, the late Robbie Steinhardt

By 1976, it was go big or go home for this intrepid six-man band from Topeka, Kansas. Because of the hit "Carry On Wayward Son" ( submitted by the prolific Kerry Livgren even as the band was packing up to leave rehearsals ) and radio hits "Miracles Out of Nowhere","The Wall", "Cheyenne Anthem", and "What's On My Mind ", Leftoverture   gave Kansas rock statehood to the tune of over four million sold. Livgren is joined by Richard Williams, Phil Ehart, Steve Walsh, & the late original Kansas violinist/singer Robbie Steinhardt here In the Studio.
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Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band- Night Moves

"We did two hundred sixty-five shows that year 1975," says Bob Seger with a mixture of pride and amazement, as explanation on why it was so hard to find the solitary time necessary to write well-crafted songs prior to "Night Moves". The double disc "Live Bullet", recorded in Fall 1975 and released six months later, provided that precious period...by October 1976 with Night Moves containing "Rock and Roll Never Forgets","Main Street","The Fire Down Below","Come to Poppa", and the title song which Bob calls "...a little novelette."