Life of the Record

In celebration of the landmark Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young album Déjà Vu, we take a detailed look at how it was made. Crosby, Stills & Nash formed in 1968 in Los Angeles, California by Stephen Stills, David Crosby and Graham Nash. Each of them had been members of successful rock bands, including Crosby in the Byrds, Stills in Buffalo Springfield and Nash in the Hollies. After an impromptu sing-a-long at a social gathering, they realized they had a unique harmony blend and decided to form a new group. They signed a deal with Atlantic Records and released their self-titled debut album in 1969. The album became a huge hit so they began planning for their live shows and realized they would benefit from bringing in an additional band member. Ahmet Ertegun of Atlantic Records suggested Neil Young, since Young and Stills had been former bandmates in Buffalo Springfield. They started playing live as a four-piece before turning their attention to recording their second album. Déjà Vu was eventually released in 1970. In this episode, Graham Nash describes the night at Joni Mitchell’s house when he encountered Stills and Crosby and stumbled on the harmony blend that became their trademark sound. As Nash was still a member of the Hollies at the time, he talks about his decision to leave the group and move to Los Angeles to see where this new band would take him. Nash recounts the details surrounding the album, including finding his own songwriting voice and the consequential decision to bring in Neil Young as a fourth member. He describes how his breakup with Joni Mitchell, Stills’ breakup with Judy Collins and Crosby mourning the recent death of his girlfriend Christine Hinton gave Déjà Vu a darker tone than their first record. David Browne, music journalist and author of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young: The Wild, Definitive Saga of Rock's Greatest Supergroup, discusses how their personal lives and the political turmoil in the late 1960s contributed to Déjà Vu being such an impactful record for so many people. He describes how Neil Young was not yet a household name but was finding his artistic voice and entering a wildly prolific period. Browne also talks about how Stills was the primary musician and de facto leader of the group but the power balance shifted as Young shook up their dynamic. Even though each of them had found success with their previous groups in the 1960s, Déjà Vu went on to help define them as solo artists and as the preeminent supergroup of the 1970s. From asking Jerry Garcia to play pedal steel on “Teach Your Children,” to CSNY teaching the Grateful Dead how to improve their harmonies, to the powerful rhythm section of Dallas Taylor and Greg Reeves, to performing at Woodstock and Young refusing to be filmed, to the disparate songwriting styles of each member, to a band at the peak of their powers, we’ll hear the stories around how the album came together.

For the 45th anniversary of The Feelies’ classic debut album, Crazy Rhythms, we take a detailed look at how it was made. After the band formed as The Outkids in Haledon, New Jersey in 1976, Glenn Mercer, Bill Million and Dave Weckerman started playing with brothers Keith Clayton and Vinnie DeNunzio. They changed their name to The Feelies as they started playing gigs around New York City. At an audition night at CBGBs, they connected with sound engineer Mark Abel, who introduced them to manager Terry Ork. They began to get booked regularly and receive some press just as DeNunzio decided to leave the band. After placing an ad for a new drummer, they brought in Anton Fier, who had just relocated to New York from Clevenland. Weckerman also left around this time so the band lineup was solidified as a four piece. Rough Trade offered to release their debut single, which came out in 1979. For their debut album, they wanted to find a label that would allow them to produce. After signing with Stiff Records, they began recording at Vanguard Studios with Mark Abel co-producing. Crazy Rhythms was eventually released in 1980. In this episode, Glenn Mercer and Bill Million recall connecting as teenagers in suburban New Jersey over a shared love of the Stooges. Mercer describes arranging their songs around the drums and percussion parts, while bringing a nervous energy and quirkiness to his vocals and lyrics. Million talks about how their early experiences with recording helped them realize the necessity of producing themselves and how they waited for the right record deal that would give them a proper recording budget. They describe their joy of discovery in the studio and their process for coming up with spontaneous parts as they were eager to treat the studio as an instrument. From finding the right clean guitar sound to standing out in the New York punk scene to embracing the suburbs to the 1950s-inspired look of the band to taking inspiration from contemporaries like Jonathan Richman, Brian Eno, Mo Tucker, and Steve Reich to percussion played with random objects to making music on their own terms for nearly 50 years, we’ll hear the stories of how the record came together.

For the 20th anniversary of Stars’ breakthrough third album, Set Yourself on Fire, we take a detailed look at how it was made. After Torquil Campbell and Chris Seligman grew up together in Toronto, they formed Stars when they were living in New York City. Their first album, Nightsongs, was made with the help of their friends in Metric and several guest singers, including Amy Millan. Deciding to relocate to Montreal, they added Amy Millan and Evan Cranley as full-time members. Their second album, Heart, was released in 2003 by Paper Bag Records and the new label Arts & Crafts, which was co-founded by their friend Kevin Drew of Broken Social Scene. For their ambitious third record, they brought in drummer Pat McGee and producer Tom McFall. Set Yourself on Fire was eventually released in 2004. In this episode, Torquil Campbell discusses the early days of the band as an outlier in the New York City rock scene and how they found their people when they moved to Montreal. He describes his vision of having both male and female vocalists and how when Amy Millan joined, they could start telling stories from two different sides. Amy Millan discusses her initial reluctance to join the band, but how she was able to cement her place as co-lead singer and develop her songwriting voice. She also describes the alchemy of the relationships in Stars and how despite some romantic turmoil within the band around the time of this album, they’ve remained deeply connected to one another decades later. Evan Cranley talks about his musical partnership with Chris Seligman and how the two of them were able to collaborate to develop song structures in an orchestral pop style. Chris Seligman describes how his background in classical music, his love of string arrangements and his perfectionist tendencies impacted the music they made together. From the vibrant Montreal music scene of the early 2000s to an encounter with a stranger in a bar that led to a house where the songs were written to connecting with Tom McFall in London to a big fight in North Hatley to a mad dash to finish string arrangements at that last minute to personal lyrics about love, death and the band itself, we’ll hear the stories of how the record came together.

For the 15th anniversary of Manchester Orchestra’s second album, Mean Everything to Nothing, we take a detailed look at how it was made. The band started in 2004 as an outlet for Andy Hull’s songwriting that he was doing as a teenager growing up in Atlanta, Georgia. Hull connected with bassist Jonathan Corley and drummer Jeremiah Edmond and self-released their first EP in 2005. Keyboardist Chris Freeman joined the band and their debut album, I’m Like a Virgin Losing a Child was released in 2006 on their own label. They got the attention of Canvasback Recordings, who signed them to a deal and re-released the album one year later. Guitarist Robert McDowell ended up joining the band and they began working on their second album, with Joe Chiccarelli producing. Mean Everything to Nothing was eventually released in 2009. In this episode, Andy Hull reflects on the pressure he felt suddenly being on a major label and working with a big name producer. Expectations for the band were high and he describes his ambition to rise above the sophomore slump and deliver a great record. Inspired by Weezer’s Pinkerton, he talks about wanting to make an emotionally raw sounding record that reflected his turbulent personal life at this time as he was getting married and wrestling with his faith and his Christian upbringing. The resulting album made for a cathartic experience that provided a deep and long lasting connection with their audience. From shredded vocal chords to writing autobiographically and not overthinking lyrics to panic attacks on tour to reinterpreting the hymn “Come Thou Fount” to a meltdown after losing a hundred dollar bill, we’ll hear the stories around how the record came together.

In celebration of the new Deluxe Edtion of Long After Dark, the fifth studio album by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, we take a detailed look at how it was made. After Tom Petty connected with Mike Campbell and Benmont Tench to form Mudcrutch in Gainesville, Florida in 1970, they ended up relocating to Los Angeles. There they were able to sign a deal with Shelter Records, but Mudcrutch broke up soon after, leaving Petty under contract as a solo artist. Campbell and Tench began playing in a band with fellow Floridians, Ron Blair and Stan Lynch and they reconnected with Petty to form Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Their self-titled debut album was released in 1976 with You’re Gonna Get It following in 1978, and they built up a following in the UK especially. For their third album, they teamed up with producer Jimmy Iovine and spent many months recording what became Damn the Torpedoes. The album ended up being a breakthrough for the band, giving them mainstream success for the first time. They continued working with Iovine for their fourth album, Hard Promises. At this point, Ron Blair left the band so they brought in Howie Epstein on bass. They began working on their fifth album, which was produced by Iovine again. Long After Dark was eventually released in 1982. In this episode, drummer Stan Lynch describes where the band was at in this period when they had achieved their dream of success and were trying to figure out where to go next musically. Lead guitarist Mike Campbell explains his collaboration process with Petty for several songs where he would present a fleshed out demo for Petty to write lyrics to. Adria Petty describes being 8 years old when this record came out and shares her memories of this time when her father was writing from darker and more personal place than before. Producer and archivist Ryan Ulyate talks about the country leaning outtakes from these sessions and how Petty left high quality material off the record as he focused on structuring a cohesive album. With Long After Dark (Deluxe Edition), we get a chance to hear an alternative direction for the album that presages the more acoustic songs that Petty would embrace in his later career. From a dark and edgy sound to the record to Petty viewing songwriting as a job to experimenting musically with drum loops and synthesizers to engineer Shelly Yakus being an unsung hero to the band coming to the end of their work with Jimmy Iovine to welcoming the new format of MTV with the “You Got Lucky” video, we’ll hear the stories of how the record came together. Intro/Outro Music: “When Love Knocks You Down” by The Tisburys Episode produced, edited and mixed by Dan Nordheim Additional mixing and mastering by Jeremy Whitwam

For the 30th anniversary of Superchunk’s fourth album, FOOLISH, we take a detailed look at how it was made. After Superchunk got their start in Chapel Hill, North Carolina in 1989, they were becoming known for their catchy punk anthems and busy touring schedule. Mac McCaughan and Laura Ballance had been a couple and formed Merge Records initially as a way to release their early singles, while releasing their full-length albums on Matador Records. Around the time of their third album, ON THE MOUTH, McCaughan and Ballance ended their romantic relationship, causing tension and uncertainty about the future of the band, as well as Merge. The inner-band turmoil impacted the songs they were writing, as McCaughan wrote lyrics from a vulnerable place while they also worked to expand their sound, incorporating more dynamics, new guitar textures and slower tempos. They booked studio time at Pachyderm Studios in Cannon Falls, Minnesota with Brian Paulson, who they had wanted to work with after hearing records he made with Slint and Unrest. Their breakneck three-day session resulted in FOOLISH, eventually released in 1994. In this episode, Mac McCaughan describes his intention to do something different musically with this record and how he was incorporating more clean guitar tones and space than ever before. Laura Ballance talks about hearing McCaughan’s lyrics for the first time in the studio and how she felt attacked as she interpreted them as being about her or about their relationship. Jim Wilbur gives his perspective on this tumultuous time in the band’s history, but how they were able to remain collaborative as a unit and write many songs quickly. From treating the band like a job to losing a day in the studio to writing on acoustic guitars to an ambitious and tense video shoot to the story behind the album cover to a breakup record with some of Superchunk’s most enduring songs, we’ll hear the stories of how the album came together.

For the 30th anniversary of Sunny Day Real Estate’s iconic debut album, DIARY, we take a detailed look at how it was made. After Dan Hoerner and Nate Mendel began playing music together in Seattle in 1992, they asked William Goldsmith to join on drums, despite the fact that he was already playing in three other bands at the time. When Mendel went on tour with another band, they asked Goldsmith’s high school friend Jeremy Enigk to jam with them. Enigk took over lead vocal duties from Hoerner and when Mendel returned, they decided to continue as a four-piece. In 1993, they played what was only their second show as Sunny Day Real Estate when Jonathan Poneman saw them and immediately signed them to a deal with Sub Pop. Embarking on their first cross country tour, they landed in Chicago at Idful Studios to record with producer Brad Wood. Their debut album, DIARY, was eventually released in 1994. In this episode, Jeremy Enigk, Dan Hoerner and William Goldsmith describe the circumstances of how they first came together and the unique sound they stumbled upon. Goldsmith talks about initially being courted by Hoerner and Mendel after they saw him playing in punk bands around town, and how he learned to adapt his hardcore-influenced drumming style to suit the music they were creating. Hoerner describes taking an experimental approach early on, focusing on drones, feedback and open spaces, contrasting with heavy riffs that were more common in the grunge scene in Seattle at the time. Enigk talks about bringing more of a pop element into the group and how his early acoustic work as a solo artist informed the dynamic music he wanted to create with Sunny Day Real Estate. From the unlikely marriage of a punk band recording with Brad Wood to a grueling tour that led to Enigk’s shredded vocals to taking inspiration from Fugazi, Treepeople, R.E.M., U2 and The Beatles to inserting triumphant hugeness into emotionally heavy songs to a high school relationship that informed the heartbroken lyrics, we’ll hear the stories of how the record came together.