Love That Album

Are you all seated comfortable, too square on your botty? Then Love That Album can begin.

Welcome to episode 155 of Love That Album podcast.

As the 1960s rolled on, popular music evolved....and yet some of it looked back for inspiration. In the late 60s, the pop songs that had propelled the early British Invasion bands had moved on to make way for heavier sounds of psychedelia and blues based rock. The mod bands that had started out as purely “maximum R&B” were exploring different avenues while still maintaining some connections to their roots.

In 1968, The Small Faces had been through their share of grief with crooked management, contracts that did not favour them, and money woes. (Sadly, Steve Marriott's own future was set for a lot more grief). They wrote and recorded what many believe was their masterpiece, “Ogden's Nut Gone Flake”. Side 1 was a collection of hard rock, psychedelia, and old world British music-hall inspired tunes. Side 2 was a concept piece – a story about Happiness Stan who searches for the “missing” half of the moon. The story is narrated by Professor of Gobbledegook, Stanley Unwin. Oh yes, oh yes.....

I'm joined by songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, Ian Kitney (Overnight Jones, Tim Rogers and the Temperance Union) to contemplate the moon, lavatories, raising one's “oars”, the drumming of Kenny Jones, whether Marriott was mocking the state of contemporary British music, putting holes in one's snare drum, and what happens when George Formby is cleaning “winders”. It was a thrill to have Ian on the show – not only as a musician I've long admired, but also as a wonderful conversation partner about music we love.

I also want to give a shout out to author Alan Pattinson who has written a series of wonderful books about so many musicians and bands from the “classic” rock era. I bought his book on The Small Faces to get a feel for their history, and I'd recommend anything he'd write.

You can get Ian's albums from his Bandcamp site at https://iankitney.bandcamp.com/ including his latest called BGM – a wonderful collection of songs crossing over a number of styles over the history of pop.

You can read Alan's writings at http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.com/ which features links to his multiple e-books about the histories and discographies of many bands you love.

Download this episode of LTA from wherever you prefer getting your podcasts.

Love That Album is proudly part of the Pantheon Podcast network. Go to http://pantheonpodcasts.com to check out all their great shows.

You can send me feedback at [email protected] (written or mp3 voicemail) or join the Facebook group at http://www.facebook.com/groups/lovethatalbum

If you’d consider writing an iTunes review I’d be immensely grateful. However, it’d be even better if you told a friend about the podcast and Pantheon – at a barbecue, over coffee, on social media....whatever way you choose, consider me grateful.

Proudly Pantheon.

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Think of any number of singers of the 20th century to take to a stage: Elvis Presley, Aretha Franklin, Bon Scott, Nina Simone.....”shyness” would not be any sort of adjective you'd use to describe these people.

We're not focusing on any of them this time around.

Welcome to episode 152 of Love That Album Podcast.

To say that Nick Drake suffered from shyness could be the greatest understatement you could make about him. He only performed live a few times in his short life, and from all documented accounts, those performances were memorable for the wrong reasons – not acknowledging his audiences, looking down, walking off stage mid song....the same can be said for his interactions with people off the stage.

However, it would also be fair to say that Drake knew his way around a song – both as composer and musician.

I am joined by fellow Nick-Head, Antony Rotunno. Antony is the host of three excellent podcasts: Life & Life Only, Film Gold, and Glass Onion: On John Lennon. It is the third of these shows that got my attention. On every show he tackles Lennon related subjects (with occasional forays into The Beatles) to work out what made Lennon tick. I am sure that he relished the opportunity to talk about a musician with no Beatles connection whatsoever for a change. The focus of the show is Drake's debut album, Five Leaves Left. However, we speak in detail about all three of his albums as well as events in his life, his string arranger Robert Kirby, similar musicians, and speaking in a posh accent.

In addition, there are two real treats for you this time around. We hear from Antony's friends, Kester Jones and Melanie Lawrence who pre-recorded their take on a beloved Nick Drake tune, and Antony himself armed with his guitar tackles another tune. These performances are wonderful and a great part of the show.

My gratitude to Antony for bringing his time and thoughts to the show. A really exciting development is that going forward, Glass Onion: On John Lennon will be part of the Pantheon Network.

You can find much Antony related shenanigans (blog posts, albums, podcasts) at https://www.antonyrotunno.com/

Kester's music can be heard at https://soundcloud.com/kesterjones

Download this and any other episode of LTA from wherever you prefer getting your podcasts.

Love That Album is proudly part of the Pantheon Podcast network. Go to http://pantheonpodcasts.com to check out all their great shows.

You can send me feedback at [email protected] (written or mp3 voicemail) or join the Facebook group at http://www.facebook.com/groups/lovethatalbum

If you’d consider writing an iTunes review I’d be immensely grateful. However, it’d be even better if you told a friend about the podcast and Pantheon – at a barbecue, over coffee, on social media....whatever way you choose, consider me grateful.

Proudly Pantheon

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For episode 33 of Love That Album podcast, Michael Pursche and I are not tackling a single album, but rather, looking at the overall work and career of Sky, the superband comprised of three English and two Australian musicians including classical guitar maestro John Williams (NO, NOT THAT JOHN WILLIAMS). The musicians in Sky were all session musicians or classical musicians (seen the Deer Hunter? You know John Williams. Fan of David Bowie or Lou Reed? You know the bass playing of Herbie Flowers). They’ve been tagged as a prog band, but this is so far from the truth. They used their classical influences and technique to make classical pieces their own or create their own magnificent compositions – all the while with a real sense of fun. Their concerts were as much about people smiling and laughing as well as admiring top notch musicianship. Michael and I discuss what we like about most of their albums, and talk about the backgrounds of all the band, how they changed stylistically between keyboard players and whether disco balls were a nice touch at their shows. Also on the show, I speak with the former drummer for Sky (now percussionist for London Chamber Orcehstra), Tristan Fry. He was a wonderful interview subject, very friendly and more than happy to talk about the days he spent with Sky. You really get the feeling from listening to him that these were days he treasured highly, and his enthusiasm made the interview a memory I will always cherish. For the “An Album I Love” segment, Eric Reanimator discusses Norwegian band, Ulver’s “Wars of the Roses”, a departure from their metal roots. Download the show either from http://lovethatalbum.blogspot.com or search for “lovethatalbum” in the itunes store. Send any feedback to [email protected] – either written or mp3. Start a discussion at the Love That Album facebook group at http://www.facebook.com/groups/lovethatalbum and tell us your favourite instrumental band.

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Episode 96 of Love That Album is available....and like a bridge over troubled water, it will ease your mind. Maurice is joined by Ben Eisen ofthe All Time Top Ten podcast to discuss the final two studio albums from Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel, 1968's "Bookends" and 1970's "Bridge Over Troubled Waters". Their Everly Brothers inspired vocal harmony blend, combined with Simon's songwriting and Garfunkel's fragile vocal style make them a truly unique pairing. Their albums to this point had already yielded classic songs still recalled to this day,but both Bookends and Bridge not only further demonstrate their way with great songs, but also stylistically advance into directions Simon would continue to explore in his solo career. Ben and Maurice talk about their introduction to S & G and what keeps them listening to these albums throughout their lifetimes. The only thing missing is the two of them harmonising......but they chose not to do so, because they wantedtokeep their listeners satisfied........ Eric Reanimator's "Album I Love" segment covers the the Crash Test Dummies. The band is more than just that (admittedly great) hit Mmm,Mmm, Mmm,Mmm. You can download the show by searching for Love That Album in the iTunes store or downloading streaming directly from http://lovethatalbum.blogspot.com. Send the show feedback at [email protected] (written or mp3 voicemail) or join the Facebook group at http://www.facebook.com/groups/lovethatalbum If you enjoy what you hear, please tell a friend or ten to tune in. You can catch episodes All Time Top Ten by searching on iTunes or going to http://alltimetopten.podomatic.com If you want to check out, Ben's own duo Lovers and Poets featuring his wife and very fine songwriter Shannon Hurley (also a previous LTA host),you can do so by going to http://loversandpoets.bandcamp.com/

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This time around Eric goes deep into the well of his musical core, exploring three soundtracks that had a strong and important impact on his life. First, the 1985 soundtrack for the film Return of the Living Dead which mixed punk rock, horror film themes alongside the emerging hard rock, retro fitted new wave and synth sounds of the era. Next is the soundtrack to Eric's beloved Punk Western Dudes with its mix of late 80s Punk, Hard Rock and the grumblings of what would become Alt Rock in the next several years. Finally Eric talks about one of the biggest selling soundtracks of the 90s... Singles (Original Motion PictureSoundtrack) ... and touches on the film, the time, and his recollection of the era.... enjoy. You can download the show from iTunes (search for “Love That Album podcast”) or from the websiteat http://lovethatalbum.blogspot.com Send the show feedback at [email protected] (written or mp3voicemail) or join the Facebook group at http://www.facebook.com/groups/lovethatalbum. If you’d consider writing an iTunes review or recommending the show to a friend, we’d be immensely grateful. If you enjoy what you hear, please tell a friend or ten to tune in.

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