Rock Of Ages

Originally recorded September 30, 2023. The chances are that if it weren't for the success of this album, Pete Townshend's rock opera about a dead, dumb, and blind boy who becomes the face of a worldwide cult because of his pinball wizardry, the many musicals we have covered or will cover on this podcast would not exist, or exist in a many different way. It's got its flaws, but the the...

Originally recorded September 22, 2023. In this episode me and the theater kids dissect on whether or not this is the most powerful weapon in The Rolling Stones' arsenal, or the "hydrogen bomb of blues rock" to quote a specific rateyourmusic review. Let's dive right into "Sticky Fingers"!

Originally recorded September 16, 2023. We are here at the start of a moment. Our back-to-back Christopher Ashley directed musical arc concludes with a show that was praised unanimously for its portrayal of the human spirit's triumph over adversity. There's not enough words to describe here so let's just say it's "Come From Away"!

Originally recorded September 9, 2023. The day before we recorded our Pet Sounds episode, I was received the shocking and tragic news that singer-songwriter, and beloved part of my childhood, Jimmy Buffett, passed away at 76. For the first 20 years of my life, his music was there to help my love for music grow. And his legacy will not be soon forgotten. To honor his career, I thought it would be f...

Originally recorded September 3, 2023. Nothing much can be said about this album, and the mind behind it, Brian Wilson, that hasn't already been said in the following years since its release. But we don't care so we said some more anyway! The theater kids loved it, I loved it, and you might too, just listen to The Beach Boys' "Pet Sounds"

Originally recorded August 27, 2023. In the words of (probably) Brian Eno, only a thousand people bought this album when it came out. But all thousand of those people started bands. Nowadays, a million people stream this album, and all those million people made podcasts about it. Probably. Let's dig into The Velvet Underground & Nico self-titled debut!

Originally recorded August 20, 2023. Before the days of feuding with Spotify and Joe Rogan, Neil Young was but a man with his guitar pioneering country rock into new territory. Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere blasted him into the scene, After The Gold Rush proved he was also an amazing songwriter, and it was this album that showcased his ability to achieve pop success while keeping elements from t...

Originally recorded August 13, 2023. This album has the spirit of punk without being a truly punk album. It has the melodic sensibilities of pop without being necessarily pop. And it has the edginess of rock without sounding much like any rock album released at the time. The main man ditched his California band for a younger, neurotic sound completely his own. And the theater kids are here for it....

Originally recorded August 6, 2023. Izaiah makes his triumphant return for his birthday episode! And for his birthday album he chose one that marked the end of classic 80s synthpop and the beginning of a more moody, darkwave-inspired sound that was all over 90s synthpop. And the best part is that it can be danced to! In certain places, of course. So let's dive into Depeche Mode's "Vio...

Originally recorded July 29, 2023. My third birthday episode has got to be one of the most off the wall choices for an episode for this podcast to date. And it probably won't be topped! Like can you top an album by an obscure prog rock band from Italy in the 1970s? Not really. And do the theater kids like it? Well let's find out as we dive into Premiata Forneria Marconi's "Per un...

Originally recorded July 22, 2023. This musical may not be Spamalot, but at least it's trying to be thine own self. This quirky show about two showrunners living in the shadow of some guy named William Shakespeare (yeah, me neither) is pretty charming. So let's look at something rotten, "Something Rotten"!

Originally recorded July 11, 2023. Whether Jethro Tull's great 1971 album "Aqualung" is a concept album or not, it still slaps hard. And Ian Anderson does a banger job turning the flute into a rock instrument! So do the theater kids agree? Find out as the say "Hey Aqualung!" to Aqualung from the album "Aqualung"

We recorded this episode exactly two months ago on July 1, 2023. I still have seven more episodes to edit until I'm all caught up, and I'm afraid it'll still take a while. But I'm still just gonna take it easy, for if I work too hard then I'll just burn myself out. In 1993, a Chicago alt band was on such a verge of breaking up that the lead singer Billy Corgan pulled a McCartne...

In 1969, the same year they released their groundbreaking debut, Led Zeppelin released their second album comprised of more hardcore blues rockers recorded quickly on tour of the United States. While lacking in substance, this album delivered with a plethora of classic rock radio hits and guitar riffs that inspired so many. The theater kids check out Led Zeppelin II!

Yeah we kinda lifted that "YEEAAHHH!!" from 1001 Album Club's episode of this album. We greatly apologize. But also, how else can you describe this album other than "YEEAAHHH!!!"? Queen has never rocked this hard before, nor will they rock as hard again. At long last, Freddie Mercury, Brian May, Roger "I'm In Love With My Car" Taylor, & John Deacon, have f...

The only reason we're doing this musical is because it beat out Spring Awakening for best male actor. However, we did find someone who we were very surprised to see played a crucial role in the making of this. So let's take a dive into the final Kander & Ebb musical, "Curtains"!

In 1998, an indie band from Louisiana released their second full length album, expecting it to sell only 8,000 copies. The album was a strange and psychedelic journey into the dreams of frontman Jeff Magnum, no attempts to prettily explain anything, every piece of imagery sang as is. Keep in mind the album was released in '98, at the same time an internet site name 4chan became popular. And wi...

Duncan Sheik & Steven Sater's 2006 rock musical magnum opus is adapted from Frank Wedekind's controversial 1891 novel of the same name. The music, however, is adapted from another time. As is most of the slang use. But hey since it's so popular, we might give it a pass. Let's talk about "Spring Awakening"!

On this podcast I'm all about introducing theater kids to real curveball albums they don't see coming. And I'm pretty sure German electronic proto-synthpop albums aren't what they see coming. Released in 1977, a major part of the 80s electronic/dance scene, along with a big chunk of all electronic dance music music since then owes a huge debt to this concept album about riding on t...

I'm not even sure if I said my final rating in the episode lol, for continuity purposes it's a 7.5! In 1968, Bob Dylan's backing band, aptly named The Band, released their first studio album recorded nearly entirely in the basement of Big Pink, a house in Upstate New York which Dylan & The Band rented while the folk legend recuperated after his 1966 motorcycle crash. The result? A very neat album...

The week before Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon reached #1 in the United States, this album was number one, and it’s hard to imagine these two albums coming into the world at the same time, and yet they did and we’re all the better for it! Theatrical, cinematic and utterly demented, welcome to the nightmarish world of Alice Cooper & his “Billion Dollar Babies”!

The emperors of yacht rock have been called many things: smart, snobby, snarky, soulless, all of which are true to short and long extents. And here in their second album they reach their peak of poking fun at the sleazy underbelly of Los Angeles in true 1973 hipster style fashion. But how well do the theater kids like Steely Dan’s “Countdown to Ecstasy”? Also a thousand apologies that this episode...

This 2015 musical is about high schoolers dealing with interpersonal problems while also getting murdered by one another. So not too far off from musicals like Heathers, Carrie, Mean Girls, etc. But this one does a few things differently. Right? Right?! Well let's find out with "We Are The Tigers"!

APRIL FOOLS MOTHERRUTLERS!!

Based on the latter two parts of a musical trilogy spanning from 1979 to 1990, this musical was nominated for several Tonys in 2017 only to win none of them. Which is a darn shame, because the lyrics, aesops, and especially the music present something different than anything Broadway has seen previously, that might be why it didn't garner any Tonys, but still. Let's look at Falsettos!