The Art of Rock and Roll We’ve titled this piece ‘10 Album Covers Suitable For Framing‘ because ‘10 Compact Disc Inserts Suitable For Framing‘ does very little to stimulate the imagination and has zero visual appeal. That’s due to the fact that record albums are collectible while compact discs are ‘stackable’. Does anyone put their CD collection out on display? Probably not. And if you choose to […]
The Day The Music Had A Heart Attack
Rumors about the health of Rock N. Roll were rampant and varied, and they traveled fast on the streets and in the homes of America. It was the early eighties, and the musical landscape was in the midst of major shifts and rifts. When you look at the record charts of November 30, 1982, the signals of the impending death of rock and roll are […]
Backtracks: The Alan Parsons Project – Eye in the Sky
The motivation for the sixth album from The Alan Parsons Project is related to belief systems, whether they be religious beliefs, political beliefs or belief in luck (as in gambling). Generally, the premise is linked to the universal idea that there is someone looking down on us all. The album title is the expression that is often used in military and surveillance contexts. That’s straight from […]
Can’t Call Your Stuff A Music Collection Without…
Nearly everyone would agree that Lynyrd Skynyrd is quite a popular band in American music history, but for a moment we’d like to acknowledge the most popular and yet mostly unknown high school gym teacher in American culture. Forby Leonard Skinner was a teacher who passed away seven years ago in Jacksonville, Florida. He is significant since a bunch of ragtag high-school rockers morphed his name into […]
Backtracks: Dave Mason – Let It Flow
Dave Mason got to play in Traffic on his way to this album, a record that should have made him an absolute star. It didn’t quite happen, but lots of people think that it definitely should have. He took the long way to get to his shot at mainstream fame, spending years honing his skills and talents, learning from and playing with some of the finest […]
Can’t Call Your Stuff A Music Collection Without…
In a 1986 poll published by the Los Angeles Times, the Doobie Brothers were the band that readers most wanted to reunite, right behind Led Zeppelin. The following year the band reformed and have remained active ever since. The Brothers in Doobiness got started in 1969 when drummer John Hartman landed in the Bay Area in hopes of meeting up with Moby Grape. Hartman managed to locate co-founder […]
Backtracks: Bad Company – Bad Company
Bad Company Goes Public When he heard his first Beatles song, Paul Rodgers was a teenager playing for The Roadrunners, a local band in Middlesbrough, England. The band members at the time included Micky Moody (Whitesnake) and Bruce Thomas (Elvis Costello and The Attractions). They performed assorted cover songs at halls and clubs in the area. In 1967 they had played out the local music scene so […]
Can’t Call Your Stuff A Music Collection Without…
When the winter holidays roll around it’s likely that you’ll be hearing “Bohemian Rhapsody” much more than usual, especially if your ears are in the U.K. The single, though released on Halloween in 1975, has become a beloved song during the Christmas season, as indicated by this 2015 BBC News graphic from Twitter. Taken from the fourth Queen album, A Night At The Opera, the single became a massive […]
Planes, Trains, and Automobile Rock
During a lifetime of travel, you’ve likely discovered how music makes the journey less stressful. We’ve taken this concept and expounded on it, finding a gang of rock groups that have forms of travel in their names. Join us as we explore a handful of groups that know how to get us moving. Gerry Rafferty grew up in Scotland and learned both Irish and Scottish […]
Backtracks: Alice Cooper – Billion Dollar Babies
Here comes the part where the preacher’s son grows up to become a global phenomenon as a shock-rock singer and musician who dearly wants his rockstar character to be elected to public office. He dreams up and produces one of the first story-line promo videos on MTV. The project is deemed a success and the game of music promotion suddenly has a brand new playing field. […]
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