What the Riff Next Gen

If you thought these songs were from Jane's Addiction, it is an understandable mistake.  Porno for Pyros was formed in 1992 after the first break-up of Jane's Addiction by members by lead vocalist Perry Farrell and percussionist Stephen Perkins.  They added Peter DiStefano on guitar and Martyn LeNoble on bass for their eponymously named debut album.  The inspiration for the band's name came from a...

One of the groups that defined the Motown sound was the Detroit Quartet known as The Four Tops.  The group originally called themselves the Four Aims, but changed the name to avoid confusion with the Ames Brothers.  The group was composed of Abdul "Duke" Fakir, Renaldo "Obie" Benson, Lawrence Payton, and lead singer Levi Stubbs, four boys who met at Pershing High School and would remain in the sam...

We may have an obscure album for your listening pleasure today.  Crabby Appleton was a short-lived band that was formed by the combination of musicians from an acid blues band called Stonehenge and singer-songwriter frontman Michael Fennelly.  The band is out of the Laurel Canyon counterculture, which produced many groups like The Mamas & the Papas, Jim Morrison, Carole King, and Jackson Brown...

Ian Moore may have been born in Berkeley, California, but the sound from his eponymously named debut studio album reflects Austin, Texas, the place he called home.  Moore began playing violin at a young age, but switched to guitar as a teen under the influence of artists like Albert King and Stevie Ray Vaughan.  Moore's influence runs well beyond the blues genre, however, from Curtis Mayfield to S...

Synchronicity would be the most commercially successful, fifth, and final studio album from the Police.  The trio of percussionist Stewart Copeland, guitarist Andy Summers, and bassist and front man Sting would be known as “The Biggest Band in the World” after the release of this album but would never produce a studio album again. Like “Ghost in the Machine,” the Police's previous album, Synchroni...

Linda Ronstadt's fifth solo studio album would be her breakout one.  Heart Like a Wheel is a folk/country/rock mixture of covers and originals, and was the last album Ronstadt released on the Capitol Records label after she had moved to Asylum records.  It would reach the top of the Billboard 200, spend 51 weeks on the chart, and fuel Ronstadt's rise to the first "arena class" female rock star. Li...

One of the iconic British new wave bands from the MTV era was the pop duo of Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart, known as the Eurythmics.  Lennox and Stewart began playing together in the punk scene in 1976, first as a part of the band the Catch, and later as the Tourists.  The duo were drawn to electronics and synthesizer music, and became the Eurythmics in 1980.  While their first album, “In the Gard...

What the Riff!?! delves once again into the great (and not so great) Christmas songs to add a little cheer as you rock around the Christmas tree this year. “Carol of the Bells” by Mannheim Steamroller Mannheim Steamroller covers a Ukrainian carol from 1922.  They highlight a 3 against 2 polyrhythm that is present in the original song, and add a major key change that is not present in the original....

A concert was held at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium on October 28th and 29th, 1964 which would be released as a concert film called the T.A.M.I. Show.  Free tickets were provided for local high school students to provide the audience.  T.A.M.I. stands for either “Teenage Awards Music International” or “Teen Age Music International,” as both were used by the show's publicity team.  The show inc...

Phil Collins wrapped up his commitments as front man and percussionist for Genesis and collaborative work with Eric Clapton in 1984, then commenced work on his third album, No Jacket Required.  It was released in February 1985, and had hits on the charts in July.  The name of the album was inspired by an incident where he was not allowed into The Pump Room restaurant in Chicago because he did not...

The Black Crowes got their start as “Mr. Crowe's Garden” when Chris and Rich Robinson formed the band while attending Walton High School in Marietta, Georgia.  The name comes from the children's book “Johnny Crow's Garden” by Leonard Leslie Brooke.  They changed their name after moving to New York City where they met producer George Drakoulias who introduced them to music like The Faces and Humble...

One of the big acts on the 80's glam metal scene was Cinderella.  Singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Tom Keifer and bassist Eric Brittingham formed the band in suburban Philadelphia.  Gene Simmons of Kiss tried to get the band a deal with PolyGram, but was unsuccessful at getting the label to take interest.  Jon Bon Jovi was more successful with getting them a contract with Mercury/Polygr...

The industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails is the creation of singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Trent Reznor.  While living in Cleveland in 1987, Reznor worked as an assistant engineer and janitor at Right Track Studios.  He had free access to the studio between bookings, and took inspiration from Prince to play all instruments himself to produce his material.  The name Nine Inch Nails com...

What The Riff?!? makes another "stab" at Halloween with these theme songs, movie and TV music, and rock songs with a bent towards the macabre.  We hope you enjoy this second "Halloween" special!  Hungry Like the Wolf by Duran Duran  This is the breakthrough song off Duran Duran's Rio album.  It was inspired by the Big Bad Wolf in the Little Red Riding Hood story.  It is also wone of the first time...

While the album Whitesnake may not be the debut album from the band Whitesnake, this self-titled seventh studio album might as well be a debut, as only two members were present from the previous album.  Known in the UK as 1987, and in Japan as Serpens Albus, this album featured returning members John Sykes on guitars and backing vocals, and David Coverdale on lead vocals.  Additionally Neil Murray...

David Bowie would leave the glam rock genre of his previous albums for a more soulful sound with his ninth studio album, Young Americans.  This album features blue eyed soul, or what Bowie would refer to as "plastic soul."  David Bowie moved to the United States in 1974 during a time when tax concerns were driving many artists out of the UK.  He was living in New York City at the time, and startin...

The Rolling Stones released their tenth US studio album (eighth in the UK) entitled Let it Bleed at the end of November, 1969.  The band had worked on the material in the studio off and on through most of the year, with recording beginning in earnest back in February of 1969 (though work on "You Can't Always Get What You Want" began in November of the previous year).  The album would reach number...

Fly By Night is the album where Rush takes its final form.  Original drummer John Rutsey left the group shortly after their eponymously named debut album was released.  Health problems related to diabetes made it difficult for Rutsey on tour.  He was replaced on bassist/vocalist Geddy Lee's 21st birthday by the soon-to-be legendary percussionist, Neil Peart.  Together with guitarist Alex Lifeson,...

Malcolm John Rebennack, Jr.,better known by his stage name, Dr. John, was a singer-songwriter who blended funk, R&B and New Orleans blues into a distinctive sound.   Dr. John was well known for his stage shows which were inspired by an eclectic mix of medicine shows, voodoo ceremonies, and Mardi Gras costumes.  Dr. John got his start as a session musician in the 1950s, and continued doing sess...

The Nightfly is the debut solo album from Donald Fagen.  Fagen and his Steely Dan partner Walter Becker had released the Gaucho album in late 1980, and Becker was having a lot of trouble.  His girlfriend died of a drug overdose in their apartment, and he was sued for several million dollars.  Shortly after that he was hit by a taxi, which shattered his leg.  Steely Dan disbanded in 1981, and Becke...

The British Invasion of the mid-60's is best known for The Beatles, but there were more groups than just the boys from Liverpool.  In fact, just a month after The Beatles played on Ed Sullivan the Dave Clark Five would take that stage, the first of 12 appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show.  The quintet consisted of Dave Clark on drums and backing vocals, Rick Huxley on bass, Mike Smith on vocals and...

While the late 80's were the high water mark for overproduced hair bands, there was an undercurrent flowing below the mainstream popularity which would surface in the 90's as the punk revival.  Los Angeles-based Bad Religion is a group which would not only benefit from that revival, but many consider the band to be a founder of the movement.  The band formed in 1980 and released a couple of albums...

If you are not familiar with The Nails don't feel bad.  They were not a hit on commercial radio, but this punk rock/new wave outfit from Boulder Colorado was much better known on college radio in the mid to late 80's.  Although Mood Swing is their debut album from 1984, the band originally formed in 1976 as a five-piece band.  They moved to New York and built both their musical chops and their fol...

Most people are familiar with the actor, Sean Penn.  His older brother, Michael Penn went in a more musical direction, becoming a singer, songwriter, and producer.  His debut album, March, would achieve both critical and commercial success, peaking on the US album charts at number 31.  This would be his most successful album commercially, though his follow-up albums were received positively by the...

Metallica  was a big deal well before the release of this album.  Singer and guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich had formed the band a decade prior to this fifth studio release, technically called Metallica but most commonly referenced as The Black Album due to its all-black cover.  Hetfield and Ulrich, together with lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Jason Newsted were successfu...