1974’s Lane Changer: Michael Fennelly’s Hidden Pop-Rock Classic

1974’s Lane Changer: Michael Fennelly’s Hidden Pop-Rock Classic

From Vinyl Relics by Farmer John

May 14, 2026 · 1h 23m

About this episode

The episode features an interview with Michael Fennelly discussing his album 'Lane Changer' and its significance in the music industry.

EPYSODE 83: Lane Changer by Michael Fennelly. Guest: Michael Fennelly. Additional commentary by Uncle Herff. This week it's our final stop on our "Fennelly Fest" as we turn our attention to Lane Changer, the underappreciated solo LP from Michael Fennelly. Moving beyond the lush studio experimentation of The Millennium and the punchy pop-rock of Crabby Appleton, Fennelly steps into a more personal, grounded sound blending West Coast sensibilities with the polish of early AOR. With sharp songwriting and a reflective tone, Lane Changer captures an artist navigating both creative evolution and an ever-shifting music industry. Fennelly shares firsthand insight into the making of the record, the influences behind its sound, and why a record this strong slipped quietly out of view. Want an added bonus? Michael allowed us to use one of his unreleased tracks for the epysode! A hidden gem of the mid-’70s, this album is the sound of an artist finding his footing just as the road ahead begins to change. I hope you dig Lane Changer as much as I do. - Farmer John ===CONNECT & SUPPORT=== Transport yourself into the realm of grooviness by supporting us on Patreon for as little as $2/month using…

People in this episode

Host: Farmer John

Guest: Michael Fennelly

Topics covered

  • music history
  • pop-rock
  • artist evolution
  • album review
  • 1970s music

Keywords

  • Michael Fennelly
  • Lane Changer
  • pop-rock classic
  • 1974 music
  • album review
  • Fennelly Fest
  • AOR
  • West Coast sound

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Patreon, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok

Books & works: Lane Changer

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