What the Riff Next Gen

By the time the ninth studio album was put out, The Beatles had achieved astounding critical and popular success.  Their only double-album was self-titled.  However it has become known as The White Album because, unlike the color and art of the prior Sargent Peppers album, this one was entirely without color, white, with simply the name "The Beatles" on the cover.  Much of the songs on the album w...

Patricia Mae Giraldo, better known as Pat Benatar, became one of the most prominent female rock stars when she made her debut in 1979.  Her most successful studio album was this second album, Crimes of Passion, which would benefit from play on rock stations around the country and the new music video media spearheaded by MTV. Benatar had actually abandoned early dreams of a singing career, choosing...

When Berry Gordy's Motown Record Corporation began, the first group signed was The Miracles, also known as Smokey Robinson and the Miracles from 1965 to 1972.  The group was also the first of Motown's million-selling recording artists, and the first Motown act to appear on American Bandstand.  The group would have a nineteen-year run on the American music charts, with over fifty hits, sixteen with...

With the release of Moving Pictures, Canadian power trio Rush moved to their highest level of commercial success.  Bassist and lead singer Geddy Lee, guitarist Alex Lifeson, and percussionist extraordinaire Neil Peart were established at the top of the prog rock genre, and this eighth studio album would be their most successful studio release in their career, becoming so when it crossed the quadru...

One of the last British Invasion groups of the 1960s, and one of the few grroups that never disbanded, was Manchester's own The Hollies.  Alan Clarke and Graham Nash founded the group, and after a few iterations joined with Vic Steele (lead guitar), Eric Haydock (bass), and Don Rathbone (drums) in a group known as the Deltas.  They would first be known as The Hollies at a Manchester gig in Decembe...

By the time that R.E.M. put out their eighth studio album, the band had been a major factor in alternative rock for a decade.  Automatic for the People takes a step back from the faster paced music of earlier albums and creates a more pensive, mellow  feel with themes of loss and nostalgia for times gone by. Guitarist Peter Buck, bass and keyboardist Mike Mills, drummer Bill Berry, and front man M...

We've profiled albums from bands which were a mess in real life before, but it would be hard to identify a more "bad boy" oriented group than the Sex Pistols.  We'll also not be profiling any other Sex Pistols studio album…because Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols is their sole studio album.  The Sex Pistols put out a number of singles ahead of the album, so while the full album was...

The Grateful Dead are most famous for their status as a tour band, jam band, and cult band.  They may be the greatest touring rock group of the rock era.  They were originally known as the Warlocks when they formed in 1965 in San Francisco, but had to change the name when they discovered another band already using the title.  Jerry Garcia found the word "Grateful Dead" in a dictionary, meaning "th...

It is hard to think of a time in the rock era when Crosby, Stills & Nash were not already a mainstay of the genre, but every rock legend has an origin, and the self-titled debut album first appeared in May of 1969.  It was a near-instant success and one of the harbingers of a turn from blues-oriented rock to more acoustic, folk-oriented rock that would usher in the decade of the 70's. Crosby,...

In the aftermath of the death of Andrew Wood, lead singer of alternative rock bands Malfunkshun and Mother Love Bone, a supergroup was formed in tribute called Temple of the Dog and they released an album of the same name. Soundgarden's front man Chris Cornell had been Andrew Woods’ roommate previously, and wrote several songs inspired by Wood.  After returning to Seattle from a tour with Soundgar...

All right.  I got something to say...It's better to burn out than fade away! Def Leppard would go from a popular band to the stratosphere of rock music with their third album, Pyromania.  The band lineup for this album would be front man Joe Elliott, Rick Savage on bass, Rick Allen on drums, Steve Clark on Guitar, Pete Willis on rhythm guitar, and newcomer Phil Collen on guitar.   There's an expla...

One of the biggest, longest running, and commercially successful bands of the rock era was founded by Carlos Santana, the only consistent member of the band throughout the years.  That band of course is simply named Santana, and their debut album was also known as Santana. Santana has always been about fusion, and you get that with this debut as well.  There's jazz, Latin, calypso, funk, and soul...

While Supertramp had been on the rock scene for many years at this point (we already featured "Crime of the Century" on an earlier podcast), this sixth studio album would be the one that would make them superstars.   Breakfast in America was originally going to be entitled "Hello Stranger" and explore the conflicts between founders Rick Davies and Roger Hodgson, but decided to take a lighter tone...

A little alternative rock, a little electronica, the UK's Jesus Jones had a hit on their hands with their second studio album, Doubt.   It was recorded in 1990 and released in January 1991. The band got their name when founders Mike Edwards (vocals, keyboards, guitar), Jerry DeBorg (guitar), and Ian Baker (keyboards) decided to form the band while vacationing in Spain.  They realized while sitting...

Believe it or not, we've made it to the Christmas season 2020 - and for some of us, its about time!  We hope your Christmas is a good one, and hope you get a chance to listen to some of these Christmas Songs that Rock on this Rabbit Hole episode! “Step Into Christmas” by Elton John This original song by John and Taupin has become a standard since it was originally released in 1973 as a single, and...

The tight, well produced sound of Play Deep would make you think that this is the third or fourth album from The Outfield, but this was their debut studio album, and it went triple platinum in the United States.  Percussionist Alan Jackman, guitarist/keyboardist (and songwriter) John Spinks, and bassist/lead vocalist Tony Lewis had worked together since the late 70's, and were in a band called The...

Did the artists make MTV, or did MTV make the artists?  There is no doubt about the complementary relationship between the then-new music video channel and rocker Billy Idol.  He had exploded on the scene with his debut solo album featuring hits such as "White Wedding" and "Dancing With Myself."  His popularity would continue with his second studio album, Rebel Yell.   Born as William Michael Albe...

This second studio album is the one that would put Billy Squier at the top of the arena rock world in 1981.  Don't Say No would produce Squier's first breakthrough single, “The Stroke,” a critique of the music industry, and the album would continue to contribute singles and AOR hits as it remained on the Billboard album charts for over 2 years. Billy Squier got his start in the Boston music scene...

Born to Run  was Bruce Springsteen's third studio album, and the first unarguably successful commercial album.  While he had previously achieved critical success with many industry insiders comparing him with Bob Dylan, his two prior albums had been more of a regional hit.  With Born to Run, Springsteen had both time and money to make the album, and went for a “wall of sound” approach.  Wikipedia...

The Association released their debut (and most successful) album, And Then...Along Comes The Association in June 1966.  They had received some success with non-album releases prior to this, but the album itself would become one of the best selling albums of the year.   The Association was known as sunshine pop, which incorporated elements of both folk rock and psychedelic music.  The group was for...

Blondie had already established mainstream success by the time they released Eat to the Beat, their fourth studio album.  Their previous album featured the hit singles “One Way or Another” and “Heart of Glass.”  While not duplicating the commercial success of its predecessor, Eat to the Beat would nevertheless showcase Blondie's diversity while continuing to draw a mainstream audience led by the h...

Fresh off their success with Highway to Hell, Australian band AC/DC was planning a follow-up when tragedy struck.  Front man Bon Scott was found “dead by misadventure” after a drinking binge.  The group would have to audition a replacement for their seventh studio album, and Brian Johnson was brought in on lead for Back In Black. The new album was recorded in Nassau in the midst of a batch of trop...

Join What the Riff as we take a moment to reflect on the music and impact that Eddie Van Halen had on our lives as teenagers in the late 70s and early 80s. Eddie lost his long battle with cancer on October 6, 2020. He will be missed, but his mastery of the guitar will undoubtedly continue to inspire artists through eternity. We only feature 4 tracks in this bonus episode: “Eruption” from Van Halen...

Sometimes called "the American Beatle," Harry Nilsson was cited by the Beatles as their favorite American group during a 1968 press conference.  Nilsson Schmilsson was Harry Nilsson's (known professionally as Nilsson) seventh and most commercially successful album. Nilsson grew up without a father and was poor.  He began working early in life, and worked on computers in a bank by night, pursuing s...

While Cracked Rear View is the debut studio album for the band, Hootie and the Blowfish had been a fixture of the Columbia, South Carolina college scene since the mid 80's.  Guitarist Mark Bryan was attending the University of South Carolina, and heard Darius Rucker singing in the dorm room showers.  They started a band called the Wolf Brothers, playing cover songs.  Bassist Dean Felber went to hi...