What the Riff Next Gen

Power trios were unusual in the punk and new wave scene of the late 70's, but The Police were a notable exception.    By November 1980 they were putting out their third studio album, Zenyatta Mondatta which would be the second of four albums to hit the number 1 slot in the UK, continuing their meteoric climb to super stardom on both sides of the pond.  The Police only put out five albums, a surpri...

Courtney Love's band Hole released their second album, Live Through This one week after the death of Kurt Cobain, Love's husband and front man for the grunge giant Nirvana.  Hole originated in the punk rock scene, but are often identified with the grunge movement due to Love's relationship with Cobain and their move to Washington to write this album. In addition to frontwoman Love, the band consis...

Today Ozzy Osbourne is a household name, and arguably this debut album is where it all started.  Before Blizzard of Ozz was released, Ozzy had been fired from his position as front man for the heavy metal band Black Sabbath, and he was certain that he would “go back to Birmingham and the Dole” after that.  However, Don Arden, Black Sabbath's manager, had hoped that Ozzy would return to the group,...

There are only a handful of bands who seem to jump fully formed onto the scene from their debut album, and one of these is certainly Lynyrd Skynyrd with their debut studio release (Pronounced 'Lĕh-'nérd 'Skin-'nérd).  Lynyrd Skynyrd is arguably the band that defines Southern rock.  Originally formed as “My Backyard” in 1964, the group would take the name “Lynyrd Skynyrd” in 1969, taking the name o...

Who is the finest rock band to come out of Winnipeg, Canada?  That's right, The Guess Who.  In January 1970 they released their sixth studio album, American Woman, and were riding the wave of one of their most commercially successful albums in March.  This album took a harder rock direction from their formerly psychedelic and pop sound, and would produce their only number 1 hit in the US, making t...

With their third studio album Aerosmith really came into their own.  Toys in the Attic would be their most commercially successful studio album in the United States, and would spawn two enduring rock anthems.   Aerosmith came out of Boston in 1970 with Steve Tyler on lead vocals and harmonica, Tom Hamilton on bass, Joe Perry on guitar, Brad Whitford also on guitar, and Joey Kramer on drums.  Toys...

Introducing Herman’s Hermits is the the debut album for the band Herman’s Hermits.  Front man Peter Noone was an actor on "Coronation Street," a British TV soap opera.  The resemblance between Noone and a character named Sherman (from the Rocky and Bullwinkle cartoon) was noted, and this name was shortened to "Herman."  The group would start using the name "Herman and His Hermits," and this was al...

Although commonly called Chicago II, this album is technically the first Chicago album because their first album was under the name The Chicago Transit Authority.  They changed their name in 1969 under pressure from the municipal governmental body called the Chicago Transit Authority. Chicago II is a double album, full of jams and their trademark horns.  The first four albums would all be double a...

I can tell what you're thinking:  really, What the Riff?  The Go-Go's?  That's not rock, that's pop!  Well we'll agree that their debut album Beauty and the Beat was quite popular, but the group has its roots in the punk movement, not pop music. With Belinda Carlisle on lead vocals, Charlotte Caffey on lead guitar and keyboards, Gina Schock on percussion, Kathy Valentine on bass, and Jane Wiedlin...

The Allman Brothers Band recorded their third album live in March 1971 over two days.  At Fillmore East would become their breakthrough album,  filled with enough blues-rock jams  to make it a double, despite the fact that there were only seven songs in total.  Brothers Duane and Gregg Allman realized that their strength was rooted in their live shows, and determined that the best showcase for the...

In 1977 Leonard Mogel began publishing a dark, illustrated, steampunk, and somewhat erotic science fiction and fantasy magazine called Heavy Metal, and in 1981 an adult animated sci-fi fantasy film by the same name was produced by Mogel and Ivan Reitman.  The film would become a mainstay of the midnight movie circuit (along with “the Rocky Horror Picture Show”) throughout the 1980's, and would als...

We’re headed back down under this week with Australian group Hoodoo Gurus and their third album, Blow Your Cool!  The Gurus formed Sydney in 1981 under songwriter, guitarist, and lead singer Dave Faulkner. The group was fleshed out by Richard Grossman on bass, Mark Kingmill on drums, and Brad Shepherd on guitar, harmonica, and vocals.  Hoodoo Gurus were most popular on college radio, and this albu...

Seattle based Alice in Chains may have been associated with the grunge music for which Seattle was famous at the time, but they departed from the standard grunge scene in many ways. Jar of Flies was actually an EP rather than a standard album, and so was shorter than the extended length albums that many groups were producing during the CD era.  While Alice in Chains had more of a heavy metal sound...

While you may think of Motown when you first hear Wilson Pickett, this sound is neither from Detroit or its counterpart from Philadelphia.  This is from the deep south with the deep soul of the 2 M's - Memphis and Muscle Shoals.  The Exciting Wilson Pickett was Pickett's third studio album and firmly established his credentials as one of the leading lights of Soul music.     Pickett grew up in Ala...

By the time they released their seventh studio album, Out of the Blue,  British rock band E.L.O., also known as the Electric Light Orchestra was a successful machine for rock hits with a “Beatleseque Pop” sound.  The Beatles connection was not random, as guitarist and founding member Roy Wood wanted to introduce strings, violins, cellos, basses, horns and woodwinds to Rock music, and “pick up wher...

This tenth studio album by The J. Geils Band would be a departure from their blues rock and mainstream pieces for which they were known in the 70's, and would be their most commercially successful.  Freeze Frame took The J. Geils Band from a regional band to international stardom.  The band consisted of John (J.) Geils on guitar, Seth Justman on keyboards, Stephen Bladd on drums, Danny Klein on ba...

English supergroup Bad Company continued their successful streak with their third studio album, Run with the Pack.  Frontman/guitarist/panist Paul Rodgers and drummer Simon Kirke came out of the band Free, guitarist/keyboardist Mick Ralph came out of Mott the Hoople, and bassist Boz Burrell was originally with King Crimson.  Paul Rodgers' voice is quite distinctive, and you can tell a “Bad Co.” so...

Originally named The Farriss Brothers when they formed in 1977, brothers Andrew Farriss (keyboards and Founder), Jon Farriss (drums), and Tim Farriss (guitar) joined with bassist Garry Gary Beers, saxophonist/guitarist Kirk Pengilly, and front man Michael Hutchense not long after high school.  They took the name INXS at the suggestion of members of the band Midnight Oil, whom they were supporting...

There are debates galore about who is the best singer, guitarist, drummer, etc., in the Rock genre, but perhaps we can all agree that the greatest Rock flautist would be Ian Anderson.  The trio of Anderson (vocals, guitar, flute), Jeffrey Hammond (bass) and John Evan (keyboards, initially drums) began playing together in the 60's, and while only Anderson would be present from that original trio wh...

Back in 1976 Boston took the rock world by storm with their debut, and largely self-produced, album.  This highly anticipated second album made its appearance two years later, a span of time which would in retrospect be considered quite fast - no other Boston album would appear for eight years.  Don't Look Back was originally entitled "Arrival," until the band discovered that ABBA had already rele...

This is the album that turned Fleetwood Mac into a household name.  Originally formed as a blues band in 1967, Fleetwood Mac had taken a turn to more pop-oriented music with their 10th and self-titled album in 1975.  This precursor to Rumors also saw the addition of Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks to the band after the departure of guitarist Bob Welch.  The band toured and promoted that album...

If you want to see some grainy footage, this 100th Episode is also available on YouTube.  It’s a recorded Zoom call, with a few graphics and photos from the studio.  Wayne discusses the genesis of the idea When and how did the idea for the podcast come up? Wayne's radio background and connections with guests for the show How do we choose who to bring on the show? How do we handle social media and...

The debut studio album by Australian band Men at Work was released in April of 1982, but Business as Usual would steadily climb the charts through the year before peaking at the number 1 spot in November.  We thought September would be a good month in which to feature it. Founding member Colin Hay on lead vocals and guitar, was joined by Greg Ham on flute, keyboards, saxophone, and some vocals, Ro...

While they were a moderate regional success as a band with three studio albums, Kiss was most notable for their live performances.  They would not be vaulted into super-stardom until this breakthrough live album Alive! was released in September of 1975.  It peaked on the Billboard 200 album charts at number 9 in December of that year, and that's why we're featuring this album in this month. Kiss i...

The Eagles had been broken up for almost a decade, and it would be another 5 years before their reunion, but Don Henley was still a huge name in the music world.  The End of the Innocence, Henley's third solo studio album, would be a more reflective and less synthesizer-heavy album, and would be Henley's best selling album. After the break-up of the Eagles, Henley put out “I Can't Stand Still” in...