Love That Album

It’s been a few months since the release of a new LTA podcast…a lot has happened in my life that meant I had to stand back from the show – not for the first time in its (nearly) 15 year existence….yet, I come back because discussing music with fellow music lovers, and putting those discussions into your earholes is something I love doing. With that said……. ...welcome to episode 192 of Love That Album Podcast. Music is supposed to bring us happiness and joy. Sometimes though, it’s created as a form of catharsis for songwriters or performers. In 1998, Mark Everett’s band / collective Eels released their second LP Electro-Shock Blues. Everett had faced truly difficult times with the death of his sister Liz from suicide, and the death of his mother from cancer. His father had died several years earlier. Mark barely knew him as he was absorbed in his work as a quantum physicist. A genius in his field, but reportedly, the opposite as a father. To mentally cope with his awful situation, Everett wrote the songs for Electro Shock Blues that deal with what was in his head and what was in his sister’s head leading up to her death. It’s not a cathartic record in the same way that the Lennon Plastic Ono Band is – there’s no Janov screaming, and Everett’s music is often wistful even if his stories are not. It’s written with nuance and is direct – is that a contradiction in terms? There is catharsis, but not in a tear-down the walls way. Electro-Shock Blues is not a joyful listen, but it’s not ugly either. It’s a series of aural vignettes about a man coming to terms with tragedy. It's musically dark but it's also playful at times. I didn’t feel like making this a conversation with a fellow music lover – this episode is me going through the album’s history, and unpacking what Everett is doing, both lyrically and musically, and trying to determine his mental state at the time. To some, this may seem like a peculiar way for me to re-enter podcasting, but it was a show I felt compelled to do. I hope you get something out of it. The book I sourced for information was Mark Everett’s autobiography “Things The Grandchildren Should Know. The BBC documentary I refer to is called “Parallel Worlds, Parallel Lives”. It lives on Youtube at the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TsqlWaSviTk If you enjoy the show, please consider giving us a favourable review on whatever podcast platform you listen on and let your friends know that our show exists. If you don't enjoy the show, tell your adversaries to tune in. We don't care who listens..... Love That Album is proudly part of the Pantheon Network of music podcasts. Check out all the other wonderful shows at http://pantheonpodcasts.com You can send me feedback at rrrkitchen@yahoo.com.au (written or mp3 voicemail) or join the Facebook group at http://www.facebook.com/groups/lovethatalbum You can download the show by searching for Love That Album on whatever podcast app you favour (except Spotify). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I'm taking a break this month, so my great friend and fellow music obsessive Dave Blom has come to the rescue. He realised that the LTA audience needed their monthly dose of music discussion that thousands of other music podcasts couldn't provide.... Welcometo episode 191 of Love That Album. Dave loves his rawwwwwwwk, so he's decided to record an episode to talk about the debut LP from Sydney band Wolfmother. Coming out in 2005, it tipped its hat at old school hard rock and psychedelia. Dave will give you his personal history with the album, and a breakdown of each of its songs. Thanks immensely for keeping the light on at LTA HQ while I do other stuff, Blommy. Go back into the LTA archives and find previous episodes where he's saved my hide in a similar fashion (LTA112 “Jet”, Episode 92 “Blackfeather” and “Avalanche”, Episode 102 - “The Vines) as well as a few episodes where we went head to head. If you’ve been enjoying the show, please consider giving us a favourable review on whatever podcast platform you listen on and let your friends know that our show exists. If you don't enjoy the show, tell your adversaries to tune in. We don't care who listens..... Love That Album is proudly part of the Pantheon Network of music podcasts. Check out all the other wonderful shows at http://pantheonpodcasts.com You can send me feedback at rrrkitchen@yahoo.com.au (written or mp3 voicemail) or join the Facebook group at http://www.facebook.com/groups/lovethatalbum You can download the show by searching for Love That Album on whatever podcast app you favour (except Spotify). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Chances are if you have ever been asked “Am I Ever Gonna See Your Face Again?” and you answered “No Way. Get F#$*ed. F#$* Off”, it means: (a) You're a fan of The Angels, (b) You're insensitive, or (c) You're both. Welcome to episode 189 of Love That Album podcast. I'm joined by genuine Australian rock music royalty, drummer Graham “Buzz” Bidstrup....but his career extends to so much more than being drummer and songwriter for The Angels (Angel City in North America) and Ganggajang. He's been an audio engineer, producer, film composer, multi instrumentalist, artist manager, and CEO of the hugely important Thumbs Up Foundation dedicated to Indigenous health, literacy, and numeracy instigated by the late Jimmy Little. If you have any Australian rock albums from the 70s onwards in your collection, chances are very strong Buzz has some connection to those records. He's just released a memoir called “No Secrets: An Oz-Rock Memoir of Music and Mayhem”. I found it a great read because it covers more than stories about performance and band politics (although they're definitely in there). Buzz went to places many other musicians didn't...it wasn't always a pleasant ride, but he's here to tell the tale, and his proudest achievement is....well, you'll have to tune in to find out. My thanks to literary agent, Brendan Fredericks for making the introduction. The book should be available at your local bricks and mortar book shop in Australia, or wherever you order books / ebooks online anywhere on the planet. If you want to read about Jimmy Little's Thumbs Up Foundation, then go to https://thumbsup.org.au/ If you’ve been enjoying the show, please consider giving us a favourable review on whatever podcast platform you listen on and let your friends know that our show exists. If you don't enjoy the show, tell your adversaries to tune in. We don't care who listens..... Love That Album is proudly part of the Pantheon Network of music podcasts. Check out all the other wonderful shows at http://pantheonpodcasts.com You can send me feedback at rrrkitchen@yahoo.com.au (written or mp3 voicemail) or join the Facebook group at http://www.facebook.com/groups/lovethatalbum You can download the show by searching for Love That Album on whatever podcast app you favour (except Spotify). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s well known that the 1960s had seen a revival of interest in the US and the UK in folk music – most particularly in its crossover to more contemporary styles. In the UK, traditional folk music preservation, academia and performance had long been part of the culture, but by the 1960s it seems there was conflict between those who wanted to play the music “authentically” (thus ignoring that folk songs had always evolved over the centuries), those who wanted to play those songs in a more contemporary fashion, and (shock horror) those who wanted to compose NEW songs in an accepted folk style. Welcome to episode 187 of Love That Album podcast. While there were many groups in the UK who were a part of the folk-rock scene starting in the 1960s, the three most famous were Fairport Convention, Pentangle and Steeleye Span. It seems that group memberships had something of a revolving door policy with many leaving one to join another when musical ideologies weren’t being met. Ashley Hutchings had become dissatisfied with the direction that Fairport was headed, and formed Steeleye Span. Span themselves went through several lineup and sound changes before arriving at its accepted classic lineup for their sixth LP, Now We Are Six. The focus of this LTA is album number 7, released in 1975, Commoner’s Crown. I am joined once again by the co-host of the superb Only Three Lads podcast, Brett Vargo. He is a man of many musical passions, and one of them is the English folk scene of that 60s / 70s period. I discovered you can’t have a proper discussion on Span (or maybe other folk groups as well) without talking about the Child Ballads. I need to give credit to Nate Wilcox of the wonderful Let It Roll podcast who drew my attention to the existence of the Child Ballads through his show. It’s a shame our recording schedules couldn’t align for him to join us, but hopefully somewhere down the track Nate will be back on LTA. Brett and I discuss some Steeleye Span history, Frances Child’s contribution to the folk and rock repertoire, murder, infidelity, drugs and theft – all folk subject staples. The folk repertoire is so much about story-telling, so we delve into the origins of some of these songs, how the stories changed over the centuries to the point of Steeleye Span recording, and the musicianship and vocal arrangements on Commoner’s Crown…..oh and we discuss about how Hercules Grytpype-Thynne dropped by to play some ukelele. My huge gratitude goes to Brett for providing his insight to this music and time to the show. Only Three Lads is an essential podcast listen. Every week, Brett and Uncle Gregg bring in incredible musician guests from the golden age of alternative music to discuss not only their own work, but to help count down a top 5 of whatever the given subject may be. Search for Only Three Lads at your favourite podcast app. If you’ve been enjoying the show, please consider giving us a favourable review on iTunes and let your friends know that our show exists. If you don't enjoy the show, tell your adversaries to tune in. We don't care who listens..... Love That Album is proudly part of the Pantheon Network of music podcasts. Check out all the other wonderful shows at http://pantheonpodcasts.com You can send me feedback at rrrkitchen@yahoo.com.au (written or mp3 voicemail) or join the Facebook group at http://www.facebook.com/groups/lovethatalbum You can download the show by searching for Love That Album on whatever podcast app you favour (except Spotify). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's been said that the mark of a great city is how it promotes the arts. Thinking specifically about busking or street performing, some cities actively encourage musicians to perform in parks, streets, and other outdoor surrounds. THAT is a town devoted to the arts. Welcome to episode 186 of Love that Album. Cary Baker is a native of Chicago who has had a great career in music publicity and has worked with some of the most well known bands in the US during his stint at IRS and Capitol records. However, his passion has always been with those musicians who performed on street corners or at markets. He's written a great new book called Down On The Corner: Adventures in Busking and Street Music. He tells a bit about his own origins with buskers and how that led to much of the work that followed. Many famous artists started out as buskers before gaining popularity in the more conventional spheres of the music loving world. The vast majority of busking musicians, however, continue to perform for years on city streets, with that being the means to an end. Cary's book is American-centric with a little bit of a look “across the pond” as Americans call it, but it's still a fascinating look at the stories behind musicians you know and many you don't. Cary joins me to tell some of the stories from the book as well as his own origins at Maxwell Street Market in Chicago.. We had a great conversation. This could have gone for a couple of hours, but time didn't allow for it, but I really love what's there, and hope you do too. This is the documentary that we discuss in the show: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQJyYJuoVn8 Check out Cary's website at https://www.carybaker.com/ If you’ve been enjoying the show, please consider giving us a favourable review on iTunes and let your friends know that our show exists. If you don't enjoy the show, tell your adversaries to tune in. We don't care who listens..... Love That Album is proudly part of the Pantheon Network of music podcasts. Check out all the other wonderful shows at http://pantheonpodcasts.com You can send me feedback at rrrkitchen@yahoo.com.au (written or mp3 voicemail) or join the Facebook group at http://www.facebook.com/groups/lovethatalbum You can download the show by searching for Love That Album on whatever podcast app you favour (except Spotify). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For those who haven't caught up with episode 183 of LTA, I came up with the idea of speaking with a range of previous guests from the show (musicians, podcasters, TV and radio broadcasters) to talk with me about their earliest recollections of walking into the sacred temple that is a record / CD store. I wanted to know what drew them to the stores they went to, what the guys / gals behind the counter were like, hijinks that went on in the stores, how their musical tastes were influenced by LPs they discovered for the first time in said stores. Welcome to episode 184 of Love That Album. Overall, I had 10 conversations with 11 people (was hoping for a 12th, but.......life happens). Too many for one episode, so I divided the conversations into two parts. For this second part of the recollections of record stores, I speak with the following magnificent bastards: Eric “Reanimator” Peterson – ex-host of Love That Album: The Compilation Edition Ben Eisen and Shannon Hurley – Host and Numbers Girl of All Time Top Ten podcast and partners in the duo Lovers And Poets Mike White – Host of The Projection Booth and a ton of other great shows at Weirding Way Media Michael Pursche – Host of Sitting In a Bar In Adelaide on Lofty 88.9 Radio in the Adelaide Hills Tim Merrill – My co host at See Hear and all-round wonderful human being. I had a marvellous time finding out a ton of things about their record stores, really a wonderful part of their personal history, and their towns' history. My thanks to all of them for being so willing to hang out with me for these conversations. If you haven't yet checked out episode 183 to here more of these conversations, do that as well.....not at all required to appreciate 184, though, so listen in whatever order you please. You can send me feedback at rrrkitchen@yahoo.com.au (written or mp3 voicemail) or join the Facebook group at http://www.facebook.com/groups/lovethatalbum Love That Album is proudly part of the Pantheon Podcast network. Go to https://pantheonpodcasts.com to check out all their great shows. Download this episode of LTA from your podcast app of choice (not Spotify). or from the website at https://lovethatalbumpodcast.blogspot.com/. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How many podcasts must a listener download before they can hear about Bob Dylan? The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind......actually it's probably anytime you damn well like. Welcome to episode 182 of Love That Album podcast. There are tons of Bob Dylan specialist podcasts out there....why on earth would I feel the need to add to the contemplation and rumination about Bob already being discussed? A fair question....not one I'm sure I have the answer to. How's this? I love his second 1970 album New Morning, and so do my guests, Shane Pacey (maestro guitarist of the Bondi Cigars and Shane Pacey Trio) and Brett Vargo (of the Only Three Lads Podcast). There are people with doctorates earned for determining the religious subtext of Bob Dylan's “Can you Please Crawl Out your Window”.....we're not in that league. We're just three music lovers who have thoughts about Dylan's music, what the apparent meaning of a pineapple on your front lawn is, and, what the connection is between Dylan and Sesame Street Fever is....and we're not afraid to talk to you about it – have at it, Dylanophiles. We had a lot of fun discussing New Morning, an album that while generally liked, is not seen in the league of Highway 61 Revisited or Blood On The Tracks. Should it be? I don't think we answer that, but we give you plenty to pontificate on why the album deserves a place in any music lover's heart, not just Dylan fans. My gratitude to regular guest Shane Pacey....he took his place at the virtual table under difficult circumstances, and I appreciate him all the more for it. He's a regular on this show because he's brilliant with music discussion. You can find out all sort sorts of stuff about him at either https://bondicigars.com/ or https://shanepaceytrio.com.au/ I also express gratitude to first time (really second time, but don't let that confuse you) LTA guest Brett Vargo. Only 3 Lads is also part of the Pantheon Network of music discussion podcasts, and is compulsory listening for me every week (I'm not exaggerating...it really is). On your favourite podcast app or at https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/only-three-lads-classic-alternative-music-podcast/id1499018289 Download this episode of LTA from your podcast app of choice (not Spotify). The wider back catalogue of episodes can also be found at https://lovethatalbumpodcast.blogspot.com Love That Album is proudly part of the Pantheon Podcast network. Go to https://pantheonpodcasts.com to check out all their great shows. You can send me feedback at rrrkitchen@yahoo.com.au (written or mp3 voicemail) or join the Facebook group at http://www.facebook.com/groups/lovethatalbum Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Time to get your surfboards waxed, get into your togs,and head to the beach.....if you're in the Southern Hemisphere. While you're splashing in the southern waves, you might want to soundtrack your time with music from the band most identified with Northern Hemisphere beaches....except we're not discussing any beach songs. Huh? Welcome to episode 180 of Love That Album. It had been a while since I had my beloved team of Shane Pacey and Kerry Fristoe on the show, so I invited them to join and gave Kerry the pick of album to discuss. She selected the 1971 Beach Boys release, Surf's Up. I added their 1970 album – the debut album on the Brother Records label – Sunflower to the mix. I felt that the albums are tied together in some ways (and given the recent box set of these sessions, Feel Flows, so do the Beach Boys). They're also quite different in many ways. We're here to contrast these albums from each other, and what came before it. But wait.....we have another wonderful guest. Joining the show for a second time is Lisa Torem. She's about to publish a book in early 2025 called “Beach Boys 1965-1979: (On Track)”. She knows her BB, that's for sure. The conversation goes to interesting places as we discuss the group's relation to ecology, politics, 1950s wistfulness, lust, harmonies (not fraternal....the other kind), musical sincerity, and much more. We look into the merits of each BB as songwriter, and why it seemed their popularity declined in the US before rising slightly with the release of these albums. Shane and I crack bad puns....I get taken over the coals for reading too deeply into something (isn't that what this show is about????) In other words.....it's a typical LTA. There's a specialist podcast about the Beach Boys I recommend called “Sail On”...so check them out (AFTER you listen to us, of course). Check out Lisa's website at https://www.lisatorem.com/ to see what she's up to, and how to get a hold of her books. We discussed Suzanne Vega last year, but she's written about other musicians as well. Turns out Lisa herself is a musician / songwriter as is her daughter Madi Torem. Madi has just released a single called Look Both Ways Before You Cross My Heart written by Lisa. Give a watch of the music video...great song...Madi has a touch of Stevie Nicks to my ears. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Wk2KjbTkso You can look around Shane's work at either https://shanepaceytrio.com.au/ or at https://bondicigars.com/ There's a terrific live gig with the Trio at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1iDpLOMQTw You can read Kerry's terrific film essays at https://prowlerneedsajump.wordpress.com/ and tune into her every month on See Hear podcast. Download this episode of LTA from your podcast app of choice (not Spotify). The wider back catalogue of episodes can also be found at https://lovethatalbumpodcast.blogspot.com Love That Album is proudly part of the Pantheon Podcast network. Go to https://pantheonpodcasts.com to check out all their great shows. You can send me feedback at rrrkitchen@yahoo.com.au (written or mp3 voicemail) or join the Facebook group at http://www.facebook.com/groups/lovethatalbum Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In some previous episodes, rather than speaking about a single album for a long time, myself (and maybe a guest) will speak about 3 albums each for a short time In some previous episodes, rather than having a guest to chat with me about music, I'll carry on by myself. I'm not a fan of this notion, but if it's a choice between no who or a solo show, I'll do the latter. Welcome to episode 178 of Love That Album. This episode is a hybrid of both concepts. I am doing a partial solo show discussing 3 records in short form – two by myself, one with my friend Pat Monaghan. Circumstances dictated the solo segments, but opportunity allowed the collaboration....thanks, Pat. Previous shows where I did the shorter segments were called Mystery Box. I wouldn't reveal what was under discussion until you tuned in.....not doing that here. I'm going to call this Three Random Albums (even though they're not) and reveal here that they are: So Long, Noodle House – Hot Apple Band Ramona – Grace Cummings Back To The Cat – Barry Adamson Three very diverse albums (two from the previous 12 months). Tune in, get some album talk, have fun. Check out the swish new website for Pat's rekkid store, Rocksteady Records (https://www.rocksteadyrecords.com.au/) or go say hello in person if you live in Melbourne town. Download this episode of LTA from your podcast app of choice (not Spotify). The wider back catalogue of episodes can also be found at https://lovethatalbumpodcast.blogspot.com Love That Album is proudly part of the Pantheon Podcast network. Go to https://pantheonpodcasts.com to check out all their great shows. You can send me feedback at rrrkitchen@yahoo.com.au (written or mp3 voicemail) or join the Facebook group at http://www.facebook.com/groups/lovethatalbum Proudly Pantheon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I could write a lengthy blurb for this episode of the show as I normally do, or I could just say, “Ladies and gentlemen, I present my interview with Richard Thompson”......what's that? You need more? Okay. Welcome to episode 176 of Love That Album. If you've listened to early episodes of the show or hung around the Facebook group for the podcast or know me in real life, you'd know that Richard Thompson looms large in my love of popular song. He's always been a triple threat: one of the greatest guitarists (acoustic AND electric) in contemporary music. He has a wonderfully expressive singing voice (a point not acknowledged as much as it deserves). Then.....the man has a gift with writing stories – not for books or films, but for songs. The thing is he paces his tales like an author or scriptwriter would, and that's what sets him apart from his peers. There are dark songs about lack of hope. There's songs of an unhealthy obsession with Elvis. Songs of self deprecation, survivor's guilt, and refusing to be shackled to society's rules also exist in his songbook. Is that too dark? Okay then, there's also songs of Egyptian mummies, Kenny G, and celebrating a great night out....and yes, there's songs of love including THAT song about two lovers and a motorcycle. In case you get the impression it's all about his lyricism, there's a strong gift of melody abundant in his catalogue. This year, Richard turned 75 and celebrates with his umpteenth new album, the excellent Ship To Shore. We discuss his new rekkid, some past favourite songs of mine (cos why wouldn't I?), his guitars, Margaret Thatcher, his parents' generation that went through World War 2, and character assassination (ummm....via song, not actual assassination). This is a show I've wanted to do for years, so I hope you enjoy listening as much as I enjoyed putting it together. Please tell your friends about this one....then about every other episode. Download this episode of LTA from your podcast app of choice (not Spotify). The wider back catalogue of episodes can also be found at https://lovethatalbumpodcast.blogspot.com Love That Album is proudly part of the Pantheon Podcast network. Go to https://pantheonpodcasts.com to check out all their great shows. You can send me feedback at rrrkitchen@yahoo.com.au (written or mp3 voicemail) or join the Facebook group at http://www.facebook.com/groups/lovethatalbum Proudly Pantheon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When the history of late 70s punk music is discussed, a point often raised is that bands like The Sex Pistols and the Damned and The Saints were reacting to the over complexity of prog bands. Certainly, it makes for a good quote, but Steve Jones is on the record as being a fan of Fleetwood Mac and Queen and other “dinosaur” bands punk was supposed to sweep away. I can’t recall for sure, but I THINK I read somewhere that Yes was some punk guitarist’s favourite band. Really, if so much of that early era of British punk was about great pop songs with buzzsaw guitars, I believe I can make a case that Yes was a band (unlike, say, early Genesis) that also played around with standard pop structure…..just for considerably longer than 2 minutes at a time. There’s the link between punk and prog (at least Yes’ approach to it). Welcome to episode 174 of Love That Album podcast. For the first LTA of 2024, I am joined once again by Bondi Cigars' guitarist Shane Pacey to talk about what is often considered the pinnacle of prog rock, Yes’ 1972 album Close To The Edge. We talk about rock music's progression to....ummm...prog rock, the Bill Bruford vs Alan White debate, and we also bring up Bach, King Crimson, AC/DC and Cossack Funk (you read that right!!!). …..and Shane tells a first hand account of an unexpected musician who was a big fan of Yes (and was Shane's first guitar teacher.....you gotta tune in to find out....) We had a lot of fun with this one You can find Shane's music on line at https://shanepaceytrio.com.au/ or https://bondicigars.com/ or https://shanepacey.bandcamp.com/album/the-gardener. Download this episode of LTA from your podcast app of choice. The wider back catalogue of episodes can also be found at http://lovethatalbumpodcast.blogspot.com Love That Album is proudly part of the Pantheon Podcast network. Go to http://pantheonpodcasts.com to check out all their great shows. You can send me feedback at rrrkitchen@yahoo.com.au (written or mp3 voicemail) or join the Facebook group at http://www.facebook.com/groups/lovethatalbum Proudly Pantheon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to episode 172 of Love That Album. It's December, so once again, it's time for me to reach out to 5 wonderful music media people in Melbourne to discuss with me their favourite music for 2023 – new or old (but recently discovered). As per usual, these magnificent people I admire brought some great “logs to throw on the conversational fire” (to steal from David Hepworth and Mark Ellen). However, to play all 5 people on the one episode would have made this a 4 hour plus episode.....not a sin in my book, but some people prefer shows with a more digestible time frame. To that end, I present this time around 3 of my guests, and some feedback from a couple of listeners all to talk about great music of the year. Episode 173 will feature the remaining 2 guests and more feedback. This time around we will hear from Rockwiz and Friday Revue host Brian Nankervis, music journalist and author Jeff Jenkins, and owner of Melbourne's Rocksteady Records Pat Monaghan. I am thrilled that these fellow music fans and knowledgeable gents would give of their time to this little podcast. Get out your pen and paper and prepare to make a list of your next favourite albums. Part 173 with Ian McFarlane and Billy Pinnell will be out within the next week or so. Thanks so much to anyone who listened to the show, was a guest on the show, contributed conversation to the LTA Facebook group, or reached out to me directly directly over the year. More coming in 2024 (you're welcome / sorry). Also huge gratitude to my brothers and sisters over at Pantheon Podcasts....some great shows and people over there who have corresponded with me over the year – there will be some crossover shows next year. Many thanks to Christian Swain and Peter Ferioli for allowing me to swim in the Pantheon pool. Download this episode of LTA from your podcast app of choice (except Spotify). The wider back catalogue of episodes can also be found at http://lovethatalbumpodcast.blogspot.com Love That Album is proudly part of the Pantheon Podcast network. Go to http://pantheonpodcasts.com to check out all their great shows. You can send me feedback at rrrkitchen@yahoo.com.au (written or mp3 voicemail) or join the Facebook group at http://www.facebook.com/groups/lovethatalbum. I'm also on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/lovethatalbumpodcast/ Proudly Pantheon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There are some artists who make a career of changing their musical styles between albums. They took risks to remain artistically relevant or just because they don’t want to repeat themselves. David Bowie, Bob Dylan, Wilco, The Beatles, John Cale, XTC are all examples…..a ton of others could be nominated. Let’s talk about Suzanne Vega. Welcome to episode 170 of Love That Album podcast. From the mid-80s, Suzanne Vega had recorded some great records featuring songs that sounded like a mix of old school folk and polished pop. She wrote songs of domestic abuse, changes in her personal life, love lost, and her favourite coffee shop in NYC. Then after the unexpected success of a couple of producers remixing her “coffee shop” song, “Tom’s Diner”, she wanted to explore other options to how her recorded music would sound. She chose the exciting producer of the moment, Mitchell Froom, to help her record something that would sound different to previous albums, and the result was “99.9F” released in 1992. Her personal style of songwriting hadn’t altered, but it’s the arrangements and the production that make this album sound a world away from the debut eponymous album released just a few years earlier. I’m joined by two new guests to discuss this album and a bunch of peripheral subjects. First up is Eric Senich, host of the terrific Booked On Rock podcast – dedicated to the discussion of music books with authors. I’m also joined by the wonderful author, Lisa Torem, who has released 3 books in the On Track series of books – the latest one being on the discography of Suzanne Vega. Together, we look through the themes of 99.9F, how it changed from the sound of her earlier records, determining if the art is in the songwriting or the recording, and whether one temperature scale is more erotic than another. My gratitude to Lisa and Eric for being such wonderful guests, and look forward to having them on the show again. You can go through Eric’s podcast back catalogue at https://www.bookedonrock.com/ or you can subscribe on all the usual podcast platforms – perfect for deciding what your next music book should be. You can pick up a copy of any of Lisa’s On Track books in which she analyses the songcraft of the discography of Billy Joel, Tori Amos, and Suzanne Vega from either Amazon or at https://burningshed.com/index.php?route=product/search&filter_name=lisa%20torem&filter_sub_category=true She’s working on a website which is not quite active yet, but keep checking at lisatorem.com Download this episode of LTA from your podcast app of choice. The wider back catalogue of episodes can also be found at http://lovethatalbumpodcast.blogspot.com Love That Album is proudly part of the Pantheon Podcast network. Go to http://pantheonpodcasts.com to check out all their great shows. You can send me feedback at rrrkitchen@yahoo.com.au (written or mp3 voicemail) or join the Facebook group at http://www.facebook.com/groups/lovethatalbum I'm also on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/lovethatalbumpodcast/ Proudly Pantheon. You can download episode 170 from here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices