Posts

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Led Zeppelin- Presence 45th Anniversary- Jimmy Page

Thus began a five year period when a series of tragedies befell Led Zeppelin even while they continued to record timeless hard rock such as "Achilles' Last Stand","Nobody's Fault but Mine", and "For Your Life" from Presence  which amaze even now almost half a century later. Jimmy Page blesses us with his Presence  and joins me here In the Studio   on the forty-fifth anniversary of "Presence" .
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Doobie Brothers- Best pt 2- Tom Johnston, Pat Simmons

The surprise success from "Black Water" afforded the Doobie Brothers some creative license on their next album, "Stampede",  released in April 1975. But as you will hear from Patrick Simmons, Tom Johnston, and the late Doobie drummer Mike Hossack, the non-stop grind of five years of one-nighters, stopping only long enough to record the next album, was starting to create stress fractures in the foundation of the band which  would sideline Tom Johnston with a bleeding ulcer and, ultimately, alter the sound of the Doobie Brothers for the next decade.

The Band- Stage Fright 50th Anniversary- Robbie Robertson

The Band's sublime third effort,  "Stage Fright" , released in August 1970, went Top 5 and sold over a million copies. Widely viewed along with Bob Dylan, The Byrds, and Gram Parsons as  fathers of  the Americana musical movement, The Band also may have  been one of rock's first alternative groups. In part one of this classic rock interview, main songwriter Robbie Robertson ("The Weight","The Night They Drove Ol'Dixie Down","Up on Cripple Creek","The Shape I'm In") helps me make that case.

Robert Plant- Shaken ‘n’ Stirred 35th Anniversary

"The Principle of Moments",  Robert Plant's second solo album, first convinced us that Plant could sustain a viable solo career outside of the legendary Led Zeppelin, which he fronted for twelve fabled years, but for me personally it was "Shaken 'n' Stirred" in 1985, served pre-release on a Walkman at 40,000 feet over the Atlantic Ocean,  that began my professional relationship with the complicated singer.
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Pete Townshend- Empty Glass 40th Anniversary- Pete Townshend

By April 1980 we in the rock music world were beginning to miss Townshend's new music, which had been a pretty consistent mainstay of rock'n'roll for fifteen years prior but had been understandably MIA since the sudden death of madcap Who drummer Keith Moon in 1978. Townshend filled Empty Glass   with his grief over the loss of his friend, as well as very personal subjects including alcoholism, adult relationships, and his conflicted reaction to Punk Rock in the songs"Rough Boys","A Little is Enough","Gonna Get Ya", and pop spiritual"Let My Love Open the Door", a Top Five US hit.
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Aerosmith- Toys in the Attic 45th Anniversary- Steven Tyler, Brad Whitford

We dust off "Toys in the Attic",  the breakthrough third album for Aerosmith in  April 1975. Contrary to what you might assume, through their first two albums Aerosmith struggled to get noticed. In this classic rock interview, Aerosmith drummer Joey Kramer reminded me that "Dream On" from their debut by then had been released as a single three times  and flopped twice.

Lou Reed

Lou Reed focuses on his second post-Velvet Underground album,"Transformer" containing the Top 20 alterna-hit "Walk on the Wild Side". Rolling Stone magazine writers rank "Transformer"  at #192 on their Top 500 All Time list
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Bryan Adams- Cuts Like a Knife

Bryan Adams interview to explore his breakthrough album "Cuts Like a Knife" from January 1983

Ann Wilson- Hope and Glory

On Ann Wilson's birthday in 2007, here was a present from her : a highly personal solo album of carefully chosen covers, Hope and Glory,  at a time when US wars were raging in two separate countries with no end in sight. And the "A" guest list of performers with whom Ann duets  include no less than Elton John, k.d.lang, Alison Krauss, Wynonna Judd, even sister from Heart, Nancy Wilson.