What the Riff Next Gen

Hair band Skid Row hails from Tom's River, New Jersay.  The band was formed in 1986 by bassist Rachel Boland and guitarist Dave "Snake" Sabo, and rounded out with guitarist Scotti Hill and drummer Rob Affuso.  Lead vocalist Sebastian Bach was recruited after being seen as a wedding singer at the age of 18 well before Adam Sandler would reveal this as a potential career option and path to love and...

Pink Floyd would score another big hit and some mainstream crossover success with their eleventh studio album, The Wall.  Originally conceived by bassist Roger Waters, The Wall explores the self-isolation of a cynical rock star named Pink, and portrays events in his life from the loss of his father, to childhood trauma, to the pressures of rock stardom as bricks forming the wall.  Parts of the sto...

Rolling Stone magazine ranked Paranoid, the second studio album by Black Sabbath, to be the number one of its "100 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time."  Originally known by the name Earth, the band took the name Black Sabbath from a 1963 horror film starring Boris Karloff.  The band members were Bill Ward on percussion, Geezer Butler on bass, Tony Iommi on guitar, and Ozzy Osbourne on vocals.  It w...

Sam Moore and Dave Prater were known as Sam & Dave, a huge soul act from the late 60's.  They were known as The Sultans of Sweat, The Dynamic Duo, and Double Dynamite.  This album is their second studio album out of Stax Records, also called Double Dynamite. Sam & Dave are considered one of the greatest live acts out of the 60's, and a lot of musicians cite their influence on their work, i...

The supergroup U.K. was founded by former King Crimson percussionist Bill Bruford (also a former founder of Yes) and bassist and vocalist John Wetton (also a former member of Uriah Heep, and Roxy Music).  After failing to reform King Crimson, each of the two brought in a musician they thought would work well in the group.  Wetton brought in Eddie Jobson, violinist and keyboardist from Frank Zappa'...

The cult classic film Easy Rider was released this month.  A landmark counter culture movie, the film traces the journey of Wyatt and Billy as they make their way on motorcycles from a successful drug deal in Los Angeles to the Mardi Gras festival in New Orleans.  Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper, and Terry Southern wrote the film, and it stars Fonda, Hopper, and Jack Nicholson.  Dennis Hopper directed...

Canadian singer-songwriter Gordon Lightfoot would see his commercial success zenith with this tenth studio album, Sundown.  Lightfoot got his start in music at an early age, singing in the choir at St. Paul's United Church in Orillia, Ontario as a child. As a young man he lived in California for a short period, studying jazz composition and writing jingles to support himself, but he soon chose to...

Foreigner took  some significant time between their fourth and fifth studio albums.  Agent Provocateur was released in December of 1984 and made it to number 5 on the US charts.  Interestingly it hit number 1 in the UK, the only Foreigner album to do so.  It had a balance of heavier rock songs and lighter ballads, allowing the group to appeal to both male and female fans. At the time, Foreigner co...

The superhero movie “The Crow,” released in 1994, will forever be known for two events.  First, the tragic death of lead actor Brandon Lee, son of Bruce Lee, during production of the film would cast a pall over the movie from then on.  Second, the outstanding music of The Crow:  Original Motion Picture Soundtrack would result in a chart-topping album.  This soundtrack is a veritable who's who of a...

1968 was a year of disappointments for the Monkees.  During this year their television series was cancelled, their first motion picture effort failed at the box office, and band member Peter Tork would leave the group at the end of the year.  Despite all this they would still find success in their fifth studio album, The Birds, The Bees & the Monkees.  This album would chart at number 3 in the...

We at What the Riff!?! hope that y'all have a great Christmas — we hope these songs make your season a little more merry and bright. “Deck the Halls” by Twisted Sister This classic carol was probably not originally envisioned to be quite as rocking as this, but Dee Snyder and Twisted Sister took it up a notch!  This is the sixth and last Twisted Sister studio album they would produce, and we’re su...

Arguably the biggest album of the entire rock era, Pink Floyd's eighth studio album would propel them to superstardom.  The Dark Side of the Moon is one of the most acclaimed records in history, and it is commercially unmatched in its longevity.  It topped the US Billboard Top LP's and Tape chart, and charted for 962 weeks in total! Pink Floyd at this time was David Gilmour on guitar and vocals, R...

Face Dances is the ninth studio album from the Who, and the first release after the death of drummer Keith Moon three years earlier.  During those three years the Who would release the film Quadrophenia and the concert retrospective film The Kids Are Alright.  Front man Roger Daltry would try out acting, and Pete Townshend would release his second solo studio album.  When the group got back togeth...

Styx released their eighth studio album, Pieces of Eight, after achieving breakthrough success with 1977's “The Grand Illusion.”  This album would also achieve significant critical and commercial success with this album.  Two singles would break into the top 40, and one would land just outside it at number 41.  All of these were written and sung by Tommy Shaw who had joined the group for the Equin...

I Love Rock 'n Roll is the first album by Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, and the second solo album by Joan Jett.  Born as Joan Marie Larkin, Joan Jett got her start in the music industry as a teenager when her family moved to the Los Angeles area and divorced shortly thereafter.  She was a founding member of the all-girl band The Runaways at the age of 16. Jett began her solo career in England i...

Our Christmas Rabbit Hole Episodes rank among the highest. This special episode features classic rock songs and theme songs which feature a spooky theme.  We hope you enjoy this first “Halloween” special from What The Riff?!? Theme from the television series “The Walking Dead”  This post-apocalyptic zombie series ran for 11 seasons, from 2010 until 2022.  It was based on a comic book of the same n...

Bad English is a supergroup composed of members of Journey and The Babys.  From The Babys comes John Waite on lead vocals, Rick Phillips on bass, and Jonathan Cain on keyboards.  From Journey comes Neal Schon in lead guitar, and Jonathan Cain, the common thread between the two groups.  Deen Castronovo is on drums and would later join Journey.  The band was initially formed by Cain, Schon, and Wait...

Machine Head is the sixth and most commercially successful studio album Deep Purple ever produced.  The band was coming off a two-year tour, and wanted to capture a sound closer to their live shows on the next studio effort.  They booked the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio for the recording and booked time at the Montreux Casino.  However, just before their studio time was to begin, a fire was starte...

After the overwhelming success of his “Born to Run” album, Bruce Springsteen's next studio album would take a dramatically different approach.  First, Tunnel of Love would be a solo project, and the E. Street Band was not credited as a contributor, though many members of the E. Street Band would be credited individually. Springsteen plays many of the instruments himself, and made use of drum machi...

RECAST:  ( Episode #45)  Elton John — “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” September, 1973 Elton John's seventh studio release is considered his best by many. The double album Goodbye Yellow Brick Road contains many well known hits including the title track, the Marilyn Monroe-inspired “Candle in the Wind,” and the 11-minute epic “Funeral For a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding.” Elton John initially intended to r...

We've covered a number of underrated bands and albums, but perhaps the most underrated band of the 80's is 38 Special.  Formed in Jacksonville, Florida in 1974 by Donnie Van Zandt and Don Barnes, 38 Special had a string of hits in the late 70's through the 80's including "Hold On Loosely,"  "Rockin' Into the Night," and "If I'd Been the One."  Special Forces is their fifth and most successful stud...

They Might Be Giants is an alternative rock band that formed in 1982 by John Flansburgh and John Linnell.  They are known as an absurdist, surreal alternative band popular on modern rock charts and college radio.  They are also known in the DIY music genre and in children’s music.  Flood is their third studio album and has been certified platinum.  It is their best selling album, and considered th...

The Electric Flag was the brainchild of guitarist Mike Bloomfield, and Long Time Comin' was their debut studio album.  The core of the band was formed by Mike Bloomfield on guitar, Barry Goldberg on keyboards, and Buddy Miles (soon to be with Jimmy Hendrix's Band of Gypsies) on drums.  Additionally, Nick Gravenites would sing lead on several tracks. With "Long Time Comin'" Bloomfield wanted to cre...

Zebra is one of the great underrated bands of the 80's.  Randy Jackson (lead vocals, guitars, synthesizers, piano), Felix Hanemann (bass, keyboards, backing vocals) and Guy Gelso (percussion, backing vocals) formed Zebra in 1975 in New Orleans before moving to Long Island.  They were originally a cover band, playing rock with a prog rock bent from groups like Led Zeppelin, Yes, and Jethro Tull.  T...

For it's fifth studio album, Jethro Tull decided to satirize the concept album which was popular amongst prog rock acts like themselves, Yes, and Emerson, Lake & Palmer.  Thick as a Brick is a single piece of music spread across two album sides, and takes inspiration from Monty Python, poking fun at the critics, the audience, and the band itself.  Ian Anderson wrote much of the album, but the...