Light the Sky Podcast

Guns N' Roses is who we've decided to cover for our seventh full studio album discography analysis. Episode 71 covers GNR's 1987 landmark debut album Appetite for Destruction . The album was released to little mainstream attention in 1987. It was not until the following year that it became a massive commercial success, after the band had toured and received airplay with the singles " Welcome to th...

Episode 70 covers a wrap-up retrospective discussion on what we've gathered from listening to the entire Nirvana studio album discography. How does their music age into 2021? Would you truly consider them as one of the best bands of all time OR the best-timed band (came into the world at the perfect time) of all time? What would a fourth Nirvana studio album sound like and would you have wanted th...

Episode 69 covers the third and final Nirvana studio album, 1993's "In Utero." Nirvana intended to depart from the more polished sound of their previous album, Nevermind (1991), with a greater range of sounds and moods. To capture a more abrasive and natural sound, they hired engineer Steve Albini to record In Utero over two weeks in February 1993 at Pachyderm Studio in Cannon Falls, Minnesota . T...

WE'RE NOW STREAMING LIVE ON TWITCH! Care to follow along and chat with us live while we tape our episodes? Head over to https://www.twitch.tv/lightthesky to Follow and make sure to "Turn on Notifications" for whenever we go live to get in on the action. Episode 68 covers Nirvana's second and landmark studio album, 1991's "Nevermind." Produced by Butch Vig , it was Nirvana's first release on the DG...

Beginning our SIXTH band's full studio album discography review, we've decided to head to the Pacific Northwest to cover one of, if not THE, most influential grunge bands of all time... NIRVANA. A band that, prior to recording this episode, seemed to be split fanwise amongst the Light the Sky team (has Mark mentioned that he's not a fan of 90s music yet?) We're looking forward to digesting Nirvana...

Episode 66 covers a special bonus episode topic selected by our co-host Alex. Moving slightly away from the musician/performance/songwriting tip, Alex wanted to get our host's takes on 5 of their most favorite albums from a "production" and/or "sonic quality/audiophile" standpoint. Perhaps giving more of a focus on the recording engineer, the producer, mixing and mastering engineers of the world o...

Episode 65 covers some discussion questions that Kevin brought to the table for a special bonus episode. Wanting to recreate the discussions of when the Light the Sky group meets up in person, Kevin picked some (possibly contentious) questions sure to spark discussion and maybe a few arguments. Mark, Kevin, Alex, and Chris sit with you to discuss the current state of rock music, music in general,...

Episode 64 covers a short wrap-up retrospective discussion we had on The Police after listening to their full discography. Did they deserve to be considered not only one of the biggest bands of the 80s, but ever?! With such a short discography compared to other legendary acts of the time, would you consider The Police more of a "singles" band or an "album" band? Were The Police unique enough to st...

Episode 63 covers The Police's fifth and final studio album, 1983's "Synchronicity." The band's most successful release, the album includes the hit singles " Every Breath You Take ", " King of Pain ", " Wrapped Around Your Finger ", and " Synchronicity II ". The album's title and much of the material for the songs were inspired by Arthur Koestler 's The Roots of Coincidence . At the 1984 Grammy Aw...

Episode 62 covers The Police's fourth studio album, 1981's "Ghost in the Machine." The album was released on 2 October 1981 by A&M Records . The songs were recorded between January and September 1981 during sessions that took place at AIR Studios in Montserrat and Le Studio in Quebec , assisted by record producer Hugh Padgham . Ghost in the Machine topped the UK Albums Chart and peaked at number t...

DISCLAIMER: We are aware of Alex's audio issues/doubling effect on this episode (and the last episode) and fixed it as best as possible. These were technical issues captured on his source file and were unrepairable after the live recording. Apologies for any annoyance but this has been rectified on the upcoming "Ghost in the Machine" episode. We tried out a new recording software for this episode...

APOLOGIES FOR ANY TECHNICAL ISSUES (We tried a new recording software for this episode.) Episode 60 covers the second Police studio album, 1979's "Reggatta de Blanc." It was the band's first release to top the UK Albums Chart and features their first two UK number-one singles: " Message in a Bottle " and " Walking on the Moon ". The music features the Police's distinctive appropriation of reggae a...

Starting our fifth full-band discography analysis with The Police, Episode 59 covers the 1978 debut album Outlandos d'Amour. Although Outlandos d'Amour received mixed reviews upon its release, it has since been regarded as one of the strongest debut albums. Rolling Stone ranked it as the 38th best debut album of all time and the 428th greatest album of all time . Mark, Kevin, Alex, and Chris take...

After a slight break in action, we are pleased to announce that we are back with a special bonus episode (topic chose by our Producer Mark) before we begin our next band full-studio album discography next week. Bonus Episode #6 covers the topic of "Songs that Get the Blood Going" according to our hosts. This is not a "definitive" list of the most heart throbbing, adrenaline induced tunes out there...

Episode 57 covers the fifteenth and final Queen studio album, 1995's "Made in Heaven." It was the band's first release after the death of lead singer Freddie Mercury in 1991. Following Mercury's death, guitarist Brian May , drummer Roger Taylor , and bass guitarist John Deacon worked with vocal and piano parts that Mercury recorded before his death, adding new instrumentation to the recordings. Ma...

Episode 56 covers the fourteenth Queen studio album, 1991's "Innuendo." Produced by David Richards and the band, it was the band's last album to be released in lead singer Freddie Mercury ’s lifetime, and their most recent one to be composed of entirely new material. Mark, Kevin, Alex, and Chris take you on a historical journey surrounding the album as well as share our favorites and not-so favori...

Episode 55 covers the thirteenth Queen studio album, 1989's "The Miracle." Considered by some to be one of the two best 80s Queen albums (along with The Game), would you agree? Mark, Kevin, Alex, and Chris take you on a historical journey surrounding the album as well as share our favorites and not-so favorites from the record. We go on a deep dive track-by-track listen of this rock album as well...

Episode 54 covers the twelfth Queen studio album, 1986's "A Kind of Magic." Mark, Kevin, Alex, and Chris take you on a historical journey surrounding the album as well as share our favorites and not-so favorites from the record. We go on a deep dive track-by-track listen of this rock album as well as share personal stories of discovering Queen's twelfth studio album "A Kind of Magic." Tune in next...

Jumping back into the rock after the synth/dance heavy "Hot Space", Episode 53 covers Queen's eleventh studio album, 1984's "The Works." Mark, Kevin, Alex, and Chris take you on a historical journey surrounding the album as well as share our favorites and not-so favorites from the record. We go on a deep dive track-by-track listen of this album as well as share personal stories of discovering Quee...

Taking a slight break from our full Queen studio discography journey, for Bonus Episode #5 we've decided to do something special. It's co-host Chris' turn to come up with the bonus episode topic and he's decided on... "5 Favorite Guitar Solos." Looking for a list of greatest guitar solos that doesn’t include “Stairway to Heaven”, “Comfortably Numb”, or Eric Clapton? Well you’ve come to the right p...

Taking the "Another Bites the Dust" idea and running with it for basically an entire album... Are you a fan of this direction for Queen? Episode 51 covers the tenth Queen studio album, 1982's "Hot Space." Mark, Kevin, Alex, and Chris take you on a historical journey surrounding the album as well as share our favorites and not-so favorites from the record. We go on a deep dive track-by-track listen...

Episode 50 covers the ninth Queen studio album/first soundtrack album for the 1980 space opera film "Flash Gordon." Some rate it as one of the stronger film soundtracks while some may wonder why Queen ever participated in this. For this episode, we've decided to listen to the album live and provide live commentary with you as you listen along. Mark, Kevin, Alex, and Chris take you on a historical...

1980... Queen enters the decade in style incorporating synth, dance, and funk into one of their biggest singles of all time. Are you a fan of this direction for the band, should they have made an entire record in this style, or do you prefer the 70s symphonic rock that made Queen famous? Episode 49 covers the eighth Queen studio album, 1980's "The Game." Mark, Kevin, Alex, and Chris take you on a...

Episode 48 covers the seventh Queen studio album, 1978's "Jazz." Mark, Kevin, Alex, and Chris take you on a historical journey surrounding the album as well as share our favorites and not-so favorites from the record. We go on a deep dive track-by-track listen of this art/hard rock album as well as share personal stories of discovering Queen's seventh studio album "Jazz." Tune in next week for Epi...

Episode 47 covers the sixth Queen studio album, 1977's "News of the World." Opening the album with two of the biggest stadium anthems of all time, is this one of Queen's stronger studio albums, or is that all there is here? Mark, Kevin, Alex, and Chris take you on a historical journey surrounding the album as well as share our favorites and not-so favorites from the record. We go on a deep dive tr...