Monthly newsletter 2024
#12
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INTRODUCTION
Welcome to The Story of Rock and Roll. This newsletter covers episodes S7E45 to S7E48. These shows are available as podcasts on our website and all major podcast platforms. Quick links to everything TSORR can be found at the end of the newsletter, so please do share it with anyone who might be interested.
If you can’t find us, simply search online for ‘The Story of Rock and Roll Radio Show’ and you’ll discover plenty of podcast options. You can always find us at www.thestoryofrockandroll.com and on Buzzsprout. https://www.buzzsprout.com/273305
A big thank you to all the supporters of the show!
HIGHLIGHTS
The end of Season 7 is nearly upon us, and this is the last newsletter for the 2024. This month, we’ve had some fantastic new releases from Opeth, Storace, Lutharo, and Crossbone Scully. You can check these out in the new release section.
On the South African side, I had the privileged of conducting a fantastic interview with Daniel Louw from The Fallen Prophets as well as with solo artist Sharon Sibert who performs as Sheron. Read and hear all about these in the South African Music section.
Finally, we’ve made an exciting change to the Diabolical Challenge. Moving away from the alphabet, we’ve shifted our focus to record producers. So far, we’ve explored the work of Rick Rubin, Mutt Lange, and Bob Rock. Watch all the videos from some of the greatest albums these legendary producers have worked on in the next section.
THE DIABOLICAL CHALLENGE
Producers are often the ones who make or break an album. The success the top producers have is remarkable when you consider who produced what. Frequently, a change of producer changes a band’s fortunes. From S7E46 onwards, I selected four albums from top record producers. The change was well received, so we’ll continue with it and see how it goes.
S7E45 = ‘T’ – Triumph, Twisted Sister, Tom Waits, and Tom Petty
S7E46 = Rick Rubin – Sheryl Crow, Linkin Park, Audioslave, and System of a Down.
S7E47 = Mutt Lange – ACDC, Def Leppard, The Boomtown Rats, and Bryan Adams
S7E48 = Bob Rock – Metallica, Bon Jovi, Mötley Crüe, and The Cult
T
The tracks played were: ‘The Price’ (Twisted Sister), ‘Allied Forces’ (Triumph), ‘Mr. Siegal’ (Tom Waits), and ‘Rebels’ (Tom Petty). These selections showcased vastly different albums, offering something for everyone. Twisted Sister sold millions of copies of Stay Hungry, in 1984 you couldn’t turn on MTV without seeing Dee Snider in your face declaring that he “wasn’t going to take it” or that he “wanted to rock”.
Triumph, hailing from Canada are an awesome three-piece band and seriously underrated.
While Tom Petty took the popular vote a few of us agreed that Tom Waits’ Heartattack and Vine would be the album to own.
ALBUMS PRODUCED BY – RICK RUBIN
The tracks played were: ‘Given Up’ (Linkin Park), ‘Show Me How To Live’ (Audioslave), ‘There Goes the Neighbourhood’ (Sheryl Crow), and ‘Chop Suey’ (System of a Down).
Rick Rubin is a legendary producer, and no one else seems to have been able to duplicate his style of production. Known for lounging on the couch with sunglasses on and simply listening to the music, his production method involves making the odd suggestion here or there. Rubin never goes near a mixing desk and essentially acts as an advisor to the band, yet he has consistently created genres and transformed the fortunes of artists he’s worked with.
I highly recommend the interview with Rick Beato (see below) to get an idea of Rubin’s methods. Many would argue that Rubin is too humble about his technical abilities – numerous reports suggest that he knows exactly what the machinery does. At the end of the day, the results speak for themselves; these were incredible albums.
ALBUMS PRODUCED BY – MUTT LANGE
The tracks played were: ‘Can’t Stop This Thing We Started’ (Bryan Adams), ‘Highway to Hell’ (ACDC), ‘Photograph’ (Def Leppard), and ‘Wind Chill Factor (Minus Zero)’ (The Boomtown Rats).
There is far more to say about producers than there is about letters of the alphabet. For instance, what makes the top producers as good as they are? Rick Rubin, who we covered last week, has an unparalleled ability to bring the best out of the artists through sheer creative power and innovative ideas. He avoids getting directly involved in the writing or playing part of the process, leaving it to the musicians, but offers suggestions once they have a track.
Mutt Lange, on the other hand, is deeply immersed in the artistic process. He frequently contributes by playing guitar, bass or keyboards, and he can do lead vocals better than many singers. He often sings backing vocals on albums he produces. His name regularly appears in the writing credits. There are many stories of him demonstrating to band members how to improve their playing. One standout feature in the tracks played was the drum sound. On the podcast you’ll hear great examples as soon as the drums kick in, instantly bringing each song to life. Mutt Lange has a gift for separating the instruments, particularly the drums, and his ability to make heavy music commercially appealing sets him apart.
ALBUMS PRODUCED BY – BOB ROCK
The tracks played were: ‘Keep the Faith’ (Bon Jovi), ‘Don’t Go Away Mad (Mötley Crüe), ‘Enter Sandman’ (Metallica), and ‘Edie (Ciao Baby)’ (The Cult). This was an interesting challenge, as these albums are all quite different. Metallica won the popular vote, and I agreed with that. The Cult performed strongly in the Facebook poll, while Mötley Crüe also did well, largely because Dr. Feelgood is widely recognised as their best album, and many people have an emotional attachment to it.
It was fascinating to note that Bob Rock had produced these albums – all massive sellers – within three years while also working on another six albums during that time. As an aside, the video, of ‘Don’t Go Away Mad (Just Go Away)’ is one of my all-time favourites. For capturing the zeitgeist of the late ‘80s, it doesn’t get better than this.
THE IMMORTALS
First up on S7E45 we listened to George Thorogood and the Destroyers and their classic track ‘One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer’. This iconic song has become an anthem for beer drinkers and hell raisers the world over. Delaware’s George Thorogood and the Destroyers hit the jackpot when their track ‘Bad to the Bone’ which featured prominently on MTV and in films such as Terminator 2: Judgement Day and Christine, a movie based on a Stephen King best seller. This track showcases Thorogood’s incredible slide guitar skills and boasts a memorable lyric. It’s guaranteed to get your feet tapping.
Next, we got bluesy with Derek and the Domino’s, a band formed by Eric Clapton after he left the super group Cream. Their album called Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs, featured several top musicians of the era, particularly Duane Allman on slide guitar. The track we listened to was ‘Key to the Highway’, a fantastic example of Clapton’s lengthy blues solos. It offers a glimpse into the roots of his legendary reputation.
In S7E47, we got heavy with Mastodon and their track ‘Jaguar God’ from the Emperor of Sand album. This track is an absolute cracker! I mentioned on air that if we ever compile the “Best of the Immortals”, ‘Jaguar God’ would probably make the top 10. I’m still toying with the idea of holding a vote on the 52 tracks featured as Immortals in Season 7 and running a knockout competition to determine the year’s top ten. Mastodon are a truly amazing band, showcasing incredible musicianship and the rare ability to feature three lead singers.
We wrapped up this cycle with Joe Bonamassa, marking his second Immortal track appearance. This time we played ‘If Heartaches Were Nickels’ a cover from his New Day Yesterday album. I consider this one of Joe’s rock albums alongside So, It’s Like That. These were the first albums I heard from him before he shifted fully into blues rock, and they remain my favourites to this day. The track was written by Warren Haynes of Gov’t Mule.
Before moving on I must highlight another version of this song by the South African band, Pebbleman. Formed by Cape Town guitar maestro Richard Pryor, the band features Jesse Jordan on vocals. I my opinion Richard’s version is the best, but don’t take my word for it – check out the clip and judge for yourself.
SOUTH AFRICAN SCENE
I had the opportunity to interview Daniel Louw, lead guitarist of The Fallen Prophets, a death metal band from Cape Town. They are making serious waves, and breaking through into the international metal scene seems inevitable, in my view. We discussed the latest EP, Primordial Instinct, and chatted about metal and guitars. It was one of my favorite interviews – we had a great conversation and agreed to have a longer one in 2025.
I also had an excellent chat to Sheron. We listened to his brand-new track ‘Glow’ and discussed his career as a solo artist and his work with Amersham, Watershed and Ralph Martin.
Roan Ash is a musician I first met at the Dan Patlansky Guitar Weekend in about 2014. At the time, he was working as a barman at The Cockpit Brewhouse in Cullinan, but his talent and the golden voice were obvious to everyone who heard him. Now fully professional, his Whisky to My Soul album has done really well. He currently lives and works in Nashville, where he is writing songs and performing. We listened to one of his new tracks, ‘Monday’, which I was fortunate to hear him perform live when he visited SA earlier this year.
We also heard from Cindy Louise, the Springbok Nude Girls, and The Uninvited.
NEW RELEASES & NEW DISCOVERIES & SAD GOODBYES
We had a new release from Opeth titled The Last Will and Testament. This album is outstanding sees Mikael Akerfeldt returning to death metal vocals – a defining feature of Opeth’s sound when the band first emerged in the late ‘90s. The song titles on the album are structured using symbols found in legal wills, with clauses, 1 through 7, culminating in a final track called ‘A Story Never Told’.
Interestingly, Ian Anderson from Jethro Tull makes an appearance on the album, contributing spoken word parts and flute solos on about three tracks. While this collaboration might seem unusual at first, it makes perfect sense. Jethro Tull has been a significant influence on progressive rock musicians, and since Opeth is widely regarded as a prog-rock band, Anderson’s involvement adds a layer of authenticity and connection to the genre’s roots. At the age of 77, Anderson showcases his enduring talent and relevance perfectly.
Tommy Hendrickson from Alice Cooper band has been on the scene for many years as a producer and a guitarist. He’s had a solo project called Crossbones Scully and released a track in 2023.
There’s now a full album out, titled, Evil World Machine, featuring guests such as Def Leppard’s Phil Colen and Mötley Crüe’s Nikki Sixx. It’s pretty cool.
Another fantastic new release was Crossfire by Storace. Marc Storace, of Krokus fame, released a solo album coincidentally produced by the aforementioned Tommy Hendrickson. It’s great to hear Marc Storace again – it’s been a while. It’s a well-produced album and reminiscent of ACDC, as Krokus always was, and, for my money, it’s one of the best albums of the year.
Finally, a band called Lutharo out of Canada caught my attention thanks to the First Lady of Rock who loaded onto the TSORR Central WhatsApp group. Their album, Chasing Euphoria is top-class melodic death metal. Krista Shipperbottom’s voice is incredible; like Arch Enemy’s Alissa White-Gluz and Jinjer’s Tatiana Shmayluk, she handles both clean and dirty vocals with ease. Victor Bucur’s guitar work is fantastic. I highly recommend it to all metalheads.
CHEERS @#$%’s
The shows discussed in this month’s newsletter can be heard as podcasts S7E45 – S7E48. Feel free to drop me a message on The Story of Rock and Roll Facebook page or via email at thestoryofrockandroll1@gmail.com. If you want to be added to TSORR Central WhatsApp Group, send me your number on this email address and I will send you an invite link.
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