Editorial Product Review: :In the late '60s, the notion that reggae would become more than just a novelty act would have been laughed at. To break into the mainstream, the movement needed a powerful voice of prophetic proportions. This voice emerged from the collective work of three pioneering friends from Jamaica, Peter Tosh, Bunny Wailer, and Robert Nesta Marley, who sought to bring about an ideological revolution through deeply meditative, hypnotic, and spiritual music. Catch a Fire was the Wailers' and ...
Editorial Product Review: :This installment of the Classic Albums series, in which rock stars talk about the creation of their albums, focuses on the making of what may have been Elton John's seminal record, Goodbye, Yellow Brick Road. John, lyricist Bernie Taupin, producer Gus Dudgeon, and the members of John's band discuss the writing and recording process of such hits as 'Benny and the Jets,' 'Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting,' and, of course, 'Candle in the Wind.' The drawback of this ...
Editorial Product Review: :Can an effective episode of Classic Albums be produced when its subject's creator has been dead for more than a quarter century? Perhaps surprisingly, the answer is yes. With Experience members Noel Redding and Mitch Mitchell, additional musicians on the order of Steve Winwood and Dave Mason, manager Chas Chandler, and engineer Eddie Kramer telling much of the story, Jimi Hendrix still stands front and center in this hourlong examination of the making of his most ambitious release, ...
Editorial Product Review:Description:Initially associated with Bob Dylan, with whom they toured and recorded, the Band were soon to be acknowledged as a truly seminal group in their own right, truly The Band. Comprised of Rick Danko, Levon Helm, Garth Hudson, Richard Manuel, and Robbie Robertson, the Band were signed to Capitol Records in 1968 and embarked on a recording career that witnessed eight U.S. Top 40 albums, including three million-sellers. The Band's eponymously titled 1969 album reached No. 9 on ...
Editorial Product Review: :Oh, the heartache. Oh, the drug intake. And oh, the sales records they did break. It's all here in this 70-minute, 1997 chronicle of the making of one of pop music's biggest albums ever, Rumours. All five members of Fleetwood Mac's most successful incarnation are interviewed, and their comments are even more candid than the confessional songs ('Dreams,' 'Go Your Own Way' et al.) on the album itself; descriptions of the torturous process of making a record while ...
Editorial Product Review: :After achieving stardom by taking over the lead vocals of Genesis from Peter Gabriel, Phil Collins released his first solo album, Face Value, in 1980. This installment of the Classic Albums series explores the making of this album in a one-hour documentary film, with Collins himself providing the bulk of the insightful commentary. From his home studio, he discusses how the lyrics to 'In the Air Tonight' wrote themselves after his painful divorce and why a drummer would ...
Editorial Product Review: :The most phenomenal recording in rock & roll history is thoroughly examined in Pink Floyd: The Dark Side of the Moon. The Floyd's 1973 masterpiece remained on bestseller charts for nearly 14 years, and its enduring importance is honored here by all four members of Pink Floyd and key personnel (engineer Alan Parsons, mixing supervisor Chris Thomas, sleeve designer Storm Thorgerson, and others) who played essential roles in the landmark album's creation. Produced for the Classic Albums series ...
Editorial Product Review: :This profile of Steely Dan's elegant 1977 masterpiece, Aja, is a feast for Dan fans, a thoughtful, satisfyingly detailed assessment of the album and its bejeweled fusion of jazz, R&B, rock, and pop. Better yet, the documentary's producers elicit atypically straightforward, revealing interviews from the group's stealthy principals, songwriters Walter Becker and Donald Fagen, who jettison enough of their signature sarcasm to touch on the autobiographical threads, cultural anomie, and serious musical ambition audible in their work. In ...
Editorial Product Review: :This installment of the Classic Albums series follows the making of two Grateful Dead albums, the fiercely experimental Anthem of the Sun and the understated masterwork American Beauty, which spawned melodic gems like 'Sugar Magnolia' and 'Ripple.' Between the archival scenes and contemporary interviews with band members, the DVD shows a band making seismic inroads in pop music--and five young guys coming to terms with artistry, mortality, and, yes, the pursuit of happiness. There is priceless footage of ...
Editorial Product Review: :This installment of the Classic Albums series looks at the making of Lou Reed's seminal glam-rock solo album, Transformer, featuring a relaxed Reed (though decidedly less glam than he was in '72) looking like he's having the time of his life as he reminisces and isolates separate tracks to illustrate how the album came together. Bassist Herbie Flowers demonstrates how he recorded the swingy, impossibly catchy bass riff in 'Walk on the Wild Side,' and coproducer David Bowie ...
