1001 Album Complaints

Musicians recount the strange and unexpected story behind the making of your favorite albums. G Love came up through the busking scenes of Philadelphia and later Boston to "perfect' his uique style of delat blues meets white guy rap. Allan, Tom, and Phil get together to talk about jazz fusion rhythm sections, throat clearing in the middle of songs, and bending guitar chords unneccesarily,&nbs...

Musicians recount the strange and unexpected story behind the making of your favorite albums.  Iron Butterfly formed in the psychedelic 60s and swapped out several members before landing on their huge-selling, album-side-spanning, signature song. Adam, Rob, and Allan get together to talk about undisciplined bass, scratch solos, and drums that sound like trash cans.  Join the comment...

Musicians recount the strange and unexpected story behind the making of your favorite albums.  Bryan Adams was gigging successfully in the Vancouver scene at age 15 and he eventually became the first Canadian artist to sell 1M copies in his home country. Rob, Tom, and Adam get together to discuss 80s pinch harmonics, hair metal ballad formulas, and the factory approach to songwriting.&nb...

Musicians recount the strange and unexpected story behind the making of your favorite albums.  Laura Nyro wrote songs her own way and eschewed commercial appeal at every turn until eventually it was other artists who took her songs to the charts instead. Adam, Phil, and Rob get together to discuss jazz hands, tempo changes, and 60s hep cat slang Join the comment thread NOW available on o...

Musicians recount the strange and unexpected story behind the making of your favorite albums.  Dexy's Midnight Runners are a British national treasure that Americans think of as the ultimate 1980s One Hit Wonder - they broke every rule of trends, fashion, and instrumentation but landed mulitple hits on the UK charts in the process. Rob, Tom, Marty, and a special guest get together to dis...

Musicians recount the strange and unexpected story behind the making of your favorite albums.  Peter Tosh helped teach Bob Marley to play guitar but once they split he became the torchbearer of a darker, more authentic version of reggae music. Allan, Tom, and Marty welcome a special guest to discuss wah wah pedals, goats, and the original punk of Jamaica Join the comment thread NOW avail...

Musicians recount the strange and unexpected story behind the making of your favorite albums.  The partnership at the heart of Supertramp was just about to hit a breaking point - then came the mega hit Breakfast in America came out. Tom, Rob, and Adam get together to discuss hard hitting wurlitzers, bouncy bass lines, and reponse vocals recorded on completely different tape machines Join...

Musicians recount the strange and unexpected story behind the making of your favorite albums.  Punk is stale - Wire is here to fix it. Art school aesthetics meets revolution against boring punk rock tropes still just starting to form in London in the late 70s, Wire made a big impression on audiences and may have kicked off their own genre: post-punk. Rob, Allan, and Marty welcome special...

Musicians recount the strange and unexpected story behind the making of your favorite albums.  John Mellencamp left his small, changed his name and had a hit in Australia before returning to the American heartland as a conquering hero of working class songcraft. Tom, Rob, and Allan get together to discuss fighting with your fans, treating crew members terribly, and an 80 cigarette a day...

Musicians recount the strange and unexpected story behind the making of your favorite albums.  Stone Temple Pilots burst out of the San Diego scene to become both commercially huge and critically panned. Phil, Tom, Marty, and Rob get together to discuss smoky rooms, slash chords, and killer bass playing.  Join the comment thread NOW available on our free Patreon to continue the conv...

Musicians recount the strange and unexpected story behind the making of your favorite albums.  The Allman Brothers toured relentlessly for years building a fanbase one show at a time but couldn't translate that energy into record sales until...they made a live album. Rob, Tom, Allan and Phil get together in person to discuss swamp rock, guitar-mony, and bass throbs. Join the comment thre...

Musicians recount the strange and unexpected story behind the making of your favorite albums.  Cat Stevens was positioned as a pop star and had some monior success before a near-death experience changed his perspective on everything. Tom, Rob, and Allan get together to discuss pick-noise on yoru acoustic guitar take, creating your own album art, and the encouraging words of older brother...

Musicians recount the strange and unexpected story behind the making of your favorite albums.  Al Green worked the touring circuit for years before developing his signature intimate vocal style and becoming a soul superstar. Then came the hot grits incident. Tom and Rob welcome a special guest to discuss restrained production, a crack rhythm section, and the gospel / soul crossover poten...

Musicians recount the strange and unexpected story behind the making of your favorite albums.  Counting Crows were a Bay Area band that made a demo tape and started a bidding war overnight. Allan, Phil, Marty, and Rob get together to discuss the whiny 90s, white guys with dreadlocks, and making your hit songs unrecognizable in the live show.  Join the comment thread NOW available on...

Musicians recount the strange and unexpected story behind the making of your favorite albums.  Alice in Chains added some much needed heavy metal to the Seattle grunge scene while singer Layne Staley struggled with addiction for most of his too short life. Adam, Tom, and Rob get together to discuss Black Sabbath style doom, ultra-depressing lyrics, and using 4ths to sound like Gregorian...

Welcome to 1001 Album Complaints: Song Battle - a bonus show where we pick 16 songs on a theme, write mean tweets about each one, tell some backstory, and argue about which song should advance to the next round of our bracket competition. This is episode 1 of 5 - so if you like what you're hearing, head over to: https://www.patreon.com/1001AlbumComplaints All 5 episodes are streaming right now. Th...

Musicians recount the strange and unexpected story behind the making of your favorite albums.  Whitney Houston grew up in a family chock full of singing talent and seemed destined for a musical career. Known forever as "The Voice" she broke records and sold millions upon millions. Tom, Adam, and Rob get together to discuss the pop songwriting game, toxic relationships, and synth marimba....

Musicians recount the strange and unexpected story behind the making of your favorite albums.  Jay-Z had fame, fortune, and a growing portfolio of successful business ventures when he decided to recruit a young Kanye West as producer and make an album that would forever cement his status in the hip hop world. Allan, Tom, and Rob get together to discuss the Nas / Jay-Z feud, sampling from...

Musicians recount the strange and unexpected story behind the making of your favorite albums.  Neil Young was fresh off the success of Deja Vu but still trying to define himself as a solo artist when a back injury and a new love affair combined to help him create an acoustic classic. Rob, Tom, and Marty get together to discuss melodic harmonica, piercingly intimate songwriter, and tellin...

Musicians recount the strange and unexpected story behind the making of your favorite albums.  John Mayer is tall, handsome, and white. What else is there to say? Adam, Tom, Rob, and a special guest get together to discuss blues guitar prowess, spouting off in the press, and the mom demographic. Join the comment thread NOW available on our free Patreon to continue the conversation about...

Musicians recount the strange and unexpected story behind the making of your favorite albums.  George Michael used sheer force of will to make himself a pop star, then tore it all down to re-make himself anew as he kicked off his solo career. Tom, Allan, Marty, and Rob get together to discuss sexy songs with religious overtones, the power of the MTV music video, amd (what else?) hot bass...

Musicians recount the strange and unexpected story behind the making of your favorite albums.  Yo La Tengo are the indie band that just keeps going. With a married couple at its core, a deep love of 60s pop, and an abiding interest in fuzzy guitar, YLT is an electric live act that hit a commercial and critical peak with their 8th full length album. Rob, Adam, and Allan get together to di...

Musicians recount the strange and unexpected story behind the making of your favorite albums.  The Penguin Cafe was born of a fever dream - a place where strangely familiar music wafts down a dusty road. Simon Jeffes dreamed it and then made it a reality. Allan, Tom, Rob and a special guest get together to discuss Nintendo music, avant-pop, and using a garage door as an instrument Join t...

Musicians recount the strange and unexpected story behind the making of your favorite albums.  Marty Robbins lived a frontier life with an outlaw father before discovering his love for making music and specifically writing about the old west. Adam, Rob, and a special guest get together to discuss 1930s slang, the ultra specificity of the storytelling song form, and #1 hits about teens dy...

Musicians recount the strange and unexpected story behind the making of your favorite albums.  Primal Scream started as a jangle pop 60s band, then morphed into a 70s garage rock band, then decided to embrace rave culture and DJ remixes. Rob, Tom, Marty, and a very special guest get together to discuss gospel singing, self-sabotage, and how to smuggle drugs back from Spain. Join the comm...