File under: Rock Danny Baker's Great Album Showdown


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Transcript


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Good evening, cats and kittens, and thank you for joining me

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and what is a preposterous, scientifically specious,

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but I hope, tremendously enjoyable adventure into sound. Look at this.

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This plastic waffle, this hot biscuit, this platter.

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It's an LP, of course.

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One of the most wonderful creations in the history of art.

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LPs didn't last very long - 30-odd years - and yet, while they were

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with us, they harnessed the noises that shook the world.

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Tonight, we will celebrate the rock incarnation of the LP.

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I will be joined by three equally-foolhardy enthusiasts,

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to kick out the jams and wind up with a selection of albums

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guaranteed to enrich all our lives.

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Again.

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Oh, we're rolling.

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Hey, cats and kittens. Welcome to my world.

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And for viewers under the age of, I don't know, 80,

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these beautiful artefacts are what are known as LPs, the long player.

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Fragile, fantastic discs of vinyl,

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containing a set of songs by a single artist.

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Later usurped by the soulless CD,

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and these days probably only understood by kids

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as a curious landlocked series of MP3 files that can't be shuffled.

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Tonight, in order to distil the essence of the rock LP, I'm joined

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by a writer, critic and all-round hip-waxing worrier, Kate Mossman.

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Kate.

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Over there is the man who produced the Smiths, New Order

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and Blur, Stephen Street.

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-Evening, Stephen.

-Evening.

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And right here, a chap who, despite it all,

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still sees even the best motorcar as merely an elaborate way to

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deliver Deep Purple on the move, Jeremy Clarkson.

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Coming back to Kate, just as an introduction as bona fides,

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what was the first album you bought with your own actual money?

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I'm afraid to say it was a greatest hits.

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-That's OK.

-So, yeah. I'm not snobby about the greatest hits,

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because they're an introduction, even though you associate them

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with the glovebox of the car.

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You seem to be putting off who it was.

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Yeah, it was Paul McCartney, and it was called All The Best.

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Nothing wrong with that.

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It was the nice man from the Frog Chorus,

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so it was all his Wings stuff and all his '80s stuff.

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Nothing wrong with that. Stephen?

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For me, the first album I spent my own pocket money on

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was Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars.

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-Really?

-Yeah, yeah.

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I was absolutely captivated by Bowie,

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with the Starman single, that Top Of The Pops appearance.

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-I think everyone remembers that.

-Absolutely.

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And that was the only single from that album,

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but I went out and spent my pocket money on that album, and I loved it.

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In fact, it's with me today.

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OK. Jeremy, first album you bought with your own money?

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It's here.

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-Come on!

-Who's Next.

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What are you, 25?

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People are going to think that I'm lying, that this wasn't...

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Was it '71 or '73?

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'71.

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'71. I was 11.

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All right.

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But just to prove I'm not just inventing a cool album,

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the first single I bought

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was Tony Christie, I Did What I Did For Maria,

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so that shows that I'm not lying. I'll own up to that.

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This was the very first album

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and I still think it's one of the very best.

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Well, mine was The Pious Bird Of Good Omen, Fleetwood Mac.

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-Wow.

-Because my sister's boyfriend introduced me to all of that.

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Was that Peter Green?

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Of course, Peter Green. There's another Fleetwood Mac, is there?!

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Listen, we're going to ditch the digital tonight,

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and embrace the analogue.

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Later, we'll be celebrating the golden age, by selecting

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a dozen rock albums, of a certain vintage, that enriched our lives,

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and hopefully yours, too,

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and they will be mounted with pride over here, on the Wall of Sound.

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It's OK, Phil Spector's in prison. He can't touch us.

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And we begin our album odyssey with the question,

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"All right, what is rock?"

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MUSIC: "Sweet Child Of Mine" by Guns 'n' Roses

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If ever sound was made for 12 inches of hard-spinning black vinyl,

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it was rock.

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Rock albums are the boldest, the noisiest,

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and the most bizarre in music.

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For over 50 years, the rock LP has been evolving, offending,

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inspiring,

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and, yeah, occasionally embarrassing.

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MUSIC: "Rock Around The Clock" by Bill Haley And The Comets

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The birth of the rock 'n' roll era, the 1950s, was all

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about the single, and most albums merely captured the band's set.

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But by the late 1960s, with the advent of multi-track recording,

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bands began to realise the full potential of studio albums.

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Albums gave artists the chance to write their own songs,

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to experiment, to luxuriate and mature.

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The Beatles, naturally, pioneered the rock concept album,

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tracks that added up to more than the sum of their parts.

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The Who pushed the boundaries, with the dubious joys of the rock opera.

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By 1969, so revered was the album that a new band called

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Led Zeppelin actually thought releasing a single was beneath them.

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MUSIC: "Twist And Shout" by The Beatles

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# Well, shake it up baby, now. #

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Consider this. At the beginning of the 1960s,

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the Beatles knocked out ten songs in a day for their debut album.

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By the end of the decade, the druggie,

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psychedelic Fab Four were taking six months to experiment,

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to craft and produce their final Abbey Road recordings.

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Here's Ringo.

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We have a special man who sits here and goes like this.

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And the guitar turns into a piano, or something, you know.

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And then, you may say, "Why don't you use the piano?"

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"Cos the piano sounds like a guitar."

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The rock album had come of age,

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and it was about to enter its golden era.

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In the 1970s, we witnessed the invention of glam rock,

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country rock, soft rock...

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# Strange voice on the telephone... #

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..heavy rock...

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# Fun, fun, fun on the autobahn...

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..krautrock, punk rock...

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# Listen to the silence... #

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..indie rock - all in less than a decade.

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And there's a direct connection to the rock LP.

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MUSIC: "Pretty Vacant" by Sex Pistols

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# We're so pretty, oh, so pretty... #

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Running around 25 minutes on each side,

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it gave us a chance to go deeper than the 3½-minute puppy hits

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that dominated the airwaves,

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to spend quality long-play time together.

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Ladies and gentlemen, let us examine and celebrate the era

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when the LP rocked and ruled the world

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at 33.3 revolutions per minute.

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And continues to do so. But we'll deal with that later.

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When you were buying albums, what were you looking for?

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What did you want from an album, Jeremy?

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Back then, I wasn't very musical,

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so I liked lyrics and I liked melody.

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A good melody was what I looked for, but, actually,

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back when I was buying a lot of albums, it's like...

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Today, kids talk about football teams.

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They all argue about football teams constantly.

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We were exactly the same with bands.

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So, I would buy everything by The Who, because I supported The Who,

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and Led Zep and the Stones - no, no, no!

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-Really?

-No, absolutely. There's no WAY I would have a Led Zep album.

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-That is extraordinary.

-No WAY I would have a Stones album.

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It was all Bowie and Roxy. At school, there'd be people

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in the Roxy camp, "Ferry is much cooler than Bowie."

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"No, no, Bowie's much cooler."

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I never had that. I liked everything.

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The only thing I get with you, once I bought an album by an artist,

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and sometimes they weren't very good. I would not admit that,

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not even to myself. I would think...

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The tell-tale phrase for... "What's the album like?"

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I'd go, "Oh, I've only heard some of it. There are some good tracks on it!"

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You may remember Fanx Ta-Ra by Sad Cafe?

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One of my favourite albums. Really, I'm very fond of it.

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Sad Cafe had a bit of a slithery slope down to My-Oh-My, and so on, but... "Superb! Superb!"

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Once you had nailed your flag to a particular band,

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you HAD to be loyal to them and, for me,

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I wasn't of the generation that listened to music communally -

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we didn't sit around and do that. I was from the tape generation,

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but I bought vinyl in a car-boot sale in Norwich in the mid-'90s,

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and I would listen to it on my dad's player,

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and it felt like this private experience. People would come in,

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"Oh, God, what do they think of what I'm listening to? What if it's terrible?"

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But you were saying, Stephen,

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about the clubbable thing of it,

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and this idea that it was generic and everyone had it. It wasn't.

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It was, kind of, underground, certainly, even by the time Bowie came along.

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People think he was a massive star and on television all the time.

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-It wasn't.

-No, he struggled a long time to get to where he was

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but the good thing that happened, for me,

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when I got into Bowie in '72, when Ziggy Stardust came out,

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was there was this back catalogue that was there to dip into.

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Hunky Dory, which was only out six or nine months previously...

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-It had been deleted, in fact.

-Yeah.

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And suddenly, you had this wealth of material to throw yourself into,

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and it was amazing. Like you said, melody is important.

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I think people sometimes get very snobby about "pop music"

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and, actually, my end of the rock that I love

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is the more pop influence, like Bowie and Bolan and Roxy.

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So, for me as a young teenager, that was something for me to really throw myself into.

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Did you make any missteps? Did Chicory Tip do it for you?

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Well, I did like the Sweet.

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I thought that Ballroom Blitz was a fantastic single,

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-and I loved all the glam rock - Glitter, the Sweet...

-It was hard, though.

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Bowie was the only... and Roxy...but the albums...

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-Very few albums sprang out of glam, other than what you mentioned.

-Exactly.

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And obviously, Bowie was very prolific at that time,

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so he was, for me, on a pedestal up there somewhere.

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Isn't it extraordinary being able to read biographies where you find out

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these people didn't know what they were doing?

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I thought everybody knew what they were doing.

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Didn't know what single to put out, had to be told by somebody else.

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Bowie also had a good lieutenant. Mick Ronson was an incredible guitar player.

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What's your favourite Bowie album?

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Well, to be honest with you,

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Hunky Dory most probably is my favourite Bowie album.

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That, actually, I think, along with Who's Next,

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is the only album ever recorded where I like every single track.

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There was always the turkey.

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We are going to try and focus and celebrate and be unapologetic about

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what we're calling a golden era, because it just might've been.

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Nobody looks back to Charlie Parker and says, "That silly, old-fashioned stuff."

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-There may have been, certainly in rock music, a golden era...

-'73.

-'71.

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You'd be surprised. If you look at what '71 released...

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But let's not go there for a second.

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But the idea that you were loyal to these things,

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what you wanted out of them, and yet, Bowie, if you went back,

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it comes as a great shock to me, The Laughing Gnome and all of that.

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The same with Elton John. You listen back to Elton's earliest albums, they're wonderful,

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but they don't necessarily stand the test of time.

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They sound quite dated, but you love the fact that he was doing those romances about America...

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-They're my favourite albums.

-Yeah.

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But Elton, of course... I used to work in the same record shop as him, just after it,

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and he used to ask for the afternoons off to go and record those cover version albums.

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And there was a great version of Elton John singing Young, Gifted And Black. Young? Yes, you are.

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-Gifted? Yes, you are. I don't know about the black thing.

-Was that in Wandsworth?

-Yes.

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That's interesting, white guys singing,

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because, really, that's what rock is. It's white people - not exclusively -

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but white people trying to play black R&B, kind of, soul music.

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I wouldn't have that. I don't hear that.

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Well, the Who, the Stones...

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-What they did, though...

-May I draw your attention to this? Supertramp.

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Would you stop giving your albums out?

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Again, unapologetically, and of course, we'll be dealing with other genres,

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but I think rock music may be purely a muscular white thing. I know it's a broad church,

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and we'll deal with that, but Deep Purple haven't got a black bone in their body.

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-But hang on a minute, did it not start...?

-It's their take on a bluesy riff.

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It was the blues started it, then white guys were singing black music

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and selling it back to the Americans, is how it began,

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but it developed and by the mid-'70s, it had become entirely white.

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If you listen to Genesis or ELP, there isn't a black thing in there.

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Here's my first selection, and it's this.

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We're Only In It For The Money by the Mothers of Invention.

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Zappa's a hard sell sometimes, but this is not a hard sell.

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This is, literally, a work of genius.

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It was him biting the hand that fed him.

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It's anti-hippie, anti-authority, pro-Frank Zappa.

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It was one of the most inventive things you'll ever hear

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and leaves any mixed tape or remix mash-up in the dirt.

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One of the great works of art, from all of rock.

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We're Only In It For The Money.

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Now, ideally, the album was all about quality rather than quantity

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because on an album, there'd be, what, ten tracks or so? Sometimes just one long one,

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unless you were impatient old Napalm Death. Then, there'd be about 40,

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but how did this concept unfold? As usual, we look to the Quo.

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A lot of fun, that. In fact, you can buy that in the shops.

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-Actually, it's Status Quo.

-Pipe down, Bruno.

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Your chart fun is for the kids.

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Us REAL music lovers knew that, to truly know a band,

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to get intimate with Joan Jett,

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to feel Morrissey's existential pain,

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to bathe in Beefheart's demented genius,

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then you had to let them lead you onto the sonic journey of the album.

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So, how do rock acts orchestrate an album?

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Was track one ALWAYS a fanfare to kick things off? How did they sequence all those songs?

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Firstly, solid old analogue had two sides.

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Springsteen famously began each side of Born To Run

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with an uplifting, optimistic song of escape

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and ended each side with a downbeat sad ode to defeat.

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So important was the pause to flick the album that some artists couldn't let it go.

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Halfway through early CD versions of his album, Full Moon Fever,

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Tom Petty actually makes this point.

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Hello, CD listeners.

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We've come to the point in this album where those listening on cassette or records

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will have to stand up, or sit down, and turn over the record.

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In fairness to those listeners, we'll now take a few seconds before we begin side two.

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Thank you. Here's side two.

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On modern listening devices,

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it's all too easy to skip a track with a bored click.

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But LPs demanded more reverence - to stick with it.

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To take the needle from the record was virtually sacrilege

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and, inevitably, that meant we sat through some really terrible music.

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"One for the album" was always a dubious accolade,

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but that's how we studied now-revered classics

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like Led Zeppelin's Kashmir, or Pink Floyd's Shine On You Crazy Diamond.

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You had to earn your rock stripes to go down the vinyl mines and bring back a nugget.

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When you invested your scarce cash on that carefully-chosen album,

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you can be sure you were going to listen to it all the way through,

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from the initial hiss of anticipation

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to the rhythmic ffft, ffft of the run-out groove.

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The odd thing is, there are a handful of albums

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where you don't have to skip a track,

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and the idea that, even though you make cases for them,

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that you played them all the way through, there's very few albums you can. Ziggy Stardust is probably one.

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But in your producing capacities, how do you sequence an album?

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Do you let the band dictate it, or do you say, "No, no. That is starting track"?

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Going back a few years, it used to be sometimes I would have quite a big influence on it with the band.

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We'd discuss it while we were making the record and think, "This'd be a great track to start off with."

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-Is it always a hit?

-Not always. Sometimes you want that call to arms, as it were - the first track.

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I'm thinking, Headmaster Ritual for The Smiths on Meat Is Murder.

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It seemed to us, while we were making that record,

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that that was the one to kick off the album with.

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I'm a great believer in bringing things down at the end.

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I just saw in that little clip about Springsteen,

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likes to bring everything down. There's quite a few albums I worked on where the last track on the album

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-is more the mellow, kind of, cooling down...

-Rock 'n' Roll Suicide.

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You've taken everyone for the journey and you're just bringing them down and out at the end.

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So I still, to this day, tend to do that on a lot of records.

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Do you try to encourage people not to shoot their bolt by putting

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the best track at the beginning? Usually, nowadays,

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you get a CD and you put it on and you think, "Oh, that is as good as it's going to get,"

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maybe listen to the first three songs.

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There's loads of albums I never got round to side two. I didn't want to be disappointed.

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Terrible thing to say! Side one of Moondance,

0:16:430:16:45

I didn't play side two until about 19...99!

0:16:450:16:49

I think the reward for... Oh, sorry.

0:16:490:16:52

No, I was thinking, with an album, the most important thing is...

0:16:520:16:57

What made it different then is, I would often put headphones on,

0:16:570:17:01

light a joss stick - you always had to do that - and sit and listen.

0:17:010:17:03

-Yeah, listen, that's the thing.

-Just listen. Nowadays, I've noticed

0:17:030:17:07

kids listen to music while doing something else.

0:17:070:17:09

No, no, shut up! And it's mostly rubbish. But I would sit...

0:17:090:17:14

Like Selling England By The Pound, you'd put it on and listen -

0:17:140:17:16

"Can you tell me where my country lies,

0:17:160:17:18

"cried the unicorn to his true love's eyes..." What do they MEAN?!

0:17:180:17:21

I know, you would agonise a little on that, perhaps.

0:17:210:17:24

But that was the difference, I think, with albums then, to now,

0:17:240:17:27

Albums - you listened.

0:17:270:17:30

And the reward for patience, as well,

0:17:300:17:32

and that on an album, you had the space for the entire band

0:17:320:17:35

to play out its brain, even if they couldn't write songs.

0:17:350:17:37

You would sometimes have songs by the drummer,

0:17:370:17:39

-who maybe wasn't that good.

-Boris The Spider...

0:17:390:17:42

And that was a great thing, because in a way,

0:17:420:17:45

you grew to love the psychology of the band, in all its patchiness,

0:17:450:17:49

even its failures. You felt protective over its failures.

0:17:490:17:52

And you had to listen to Smile Away on Ram, which I've always hated.

0:17:520:17:55

But I will still listen to it, when I listen to Ram, because it's there, you know.

0:17:550:18:00

And today, it is in the DNA of all of us.

0:18:000:18:02

I know if I am in someone's car and they are playing

0:18:020:18:05

a CD of an album I know, but they've put it together themselves,

0:18:050:18:08

if a certain track doesn't follow a certain track, I'll think, "Oh! The Earth just shook."

0:18:080:18:12

After a while, you cannot see an album by any other way

0:18:120:18:15

than it was arranged at the time.

0:18:150:18:17

And that's why when they started putting extra tracks on the CDs - no, that was the body of work,

0:18:170:18:22

it doesn't need all these extra things laid on top of it.

0:18:220:18:25

And I don't know whether, again, the pressure of a CD to fill up

0:18:250:18:28

that space, all right, they CAN put 80 minutes on - should they?

0:18:280:18:31

They shouldn't. I think that is a trap a lot of people fell into.

0:18:310:18:34

I mean, we know the optimum, kind of, time for an album normally

0:18:340:18:39

is about 40 minutes - 20 minutes each side.

0:18:390:18:41

The reason for that was when they were mastering the records, if they went much longer than that,

0:18:410:18:45

-then the bass end would be rolled off.

-Oh, is that right?

-Yeah.

0:18:450:18:48

-And so your record would end up sounding quieter and with less bass.

-Why would that happen?

0:18:480:18:51

Because it's literally the thickness of the groove,

0:18:510:18:54

the more bass you go, the deeper the cut. Oh, I see.

0:18:540:18:56

So there would be a time you'd say,

0:18:560:18:59

OK, if we go much further than this...

0:18:590:19:01

I remember, Costello did an album with ten tracks a side,

0:19:010:19:04

the Get Happy album, and it was really a thin-sounding record,

0:19:040:19:07

because to get that many tracks onto the record...

0:19:070:19:09

-Do you remember the K-Tel albums, the compilation albums?

-Yes, of course.

0:19:090:19:13

And they all sounded quieter and tinnier than the real album.

0:19:130:19:16

-Stretched thin.

-It's cos they were so condensed.

0:19:160:19:18

This is my favourite album of all time. I won't put it up on the wall,

0:19:180:19:20

because I'm saving this for another time.

0:19:200:19:23

This, Todd Rundgren's A Wizard, A True Star,

0:19:230:19:25

very much the spin-off of that album, similar album.

0:19:250:19:28

And he puts instructions on the inside of how loud you should

0:19:280:19:31

listen to it, because he tries to put on as much music as he can.

0:19:310:19:34

And an LP, you can get fetishistic about it.

0:19:340:19:38

Today, the assumption is they were always scratched,

0:19:380:19:40

but you really looked after them, as well, I always held it by the edges.

0:19:400:19:44

It wasn't just the album as well, but the equipment you played it on.

0:19:440:19:48

I now know, even though many, many years have gone by,

0:19:480:19:52

I had a Garrard 86SB turntable with a Shure MD75 turntable,

0:19:520:19:55

a Teleton amp and Marsden Hall speakers.

0:19:550:19:59

And then I upgraded to Akai. Because it was all... I had no idea

0:19:590:20:03

what I was talking about, I've not got an ear like you.

0:20:030:20:05

That idea of, you know, you had the weights at the back, I've never understood that.

0:20:050:20:09

-Is that the valve amplifiers?

-Yes, valve amplifiers, pre-amps,

0:20:090:20:11

I couldn't wait to get a record on, I didn't do the weight at the back,

0:20:110:20:14

I never had that little brush going along, cleaning the record.

0:20:140:20:17

-Did you ever stick a penny on the...

-Stick a penny on it, yes.

-To keep it in.

0:20:170:20:22

-With some turntables, you used to tune it so it was spinning at exactly 33 rpm.

-No!

0:20:220:20:26

There was a little red light on the actual turntable to make sure it was playing...

0:20:260:20:29

The first time The Snow Goose came out, I listened to that, by mistake, at 45 rpm.

0:20:290:20:35

And didn't know until I'd listened... These guys!

0:20:350:20:39

As an old rock critic myself, very famous story, the Melody Maker

0:20:390:20:43

were sent John Lennon's album on two acetates, one-sided.

0:20:430:20:48

The other side just had tone on. "Dooooooo!" They reviewed it.

0:20:480:20:53

They reviewed it, they said, "What John's doing here is very interesting, sonically."

0:20:530:20:57

So, yeah, I think like most great art,

0:20:570:20:59

not everyone knows entirely what they are doing.

0:20:590:21:02

But unlike the ghostly mp3 and the fickle, brittle CD,

0:21:020:21:05

the vinyl album experience was tactile,

0:21:050:21:08

visual, satisfying, almost fetishistic.

0:21:080:21:11

And we most definitely judged an LP by its cover.

0:21:110:21:14

The LP cover gave every group

0:21:200:21:22

a 12-and-a-quarter square inch blank canvas

0:21:220:21:25

onto which they could project their vision, their fantasies,

0:21:250:21:28

their budget.

0:21:280:21:30

To begin with, most rock album covers featured

0:21:300:21:32

a record company approved snap of the band.

0:21:320:21:35

Then, pop artist Peter Blake's Sgt Pepper album sleeve came out and...

0:21:350:21:40

Well, you know the rest.

0:21:400:21:41

Record shops became like art galleries.

0:21:450:21:47

Andy Warhol slapped a peelable banana

0:21:470:21:50

on the Velvet Underground's album.

0:21:500:21:52

Many found it suggestive!

0:21:520:21:54

Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon went minimal and mysterious.

0:21:540:21:58

Delia Smith baked the cake for the Rolling Stones album, Let It Bleed.

0:21:580:22:02

And Mick and the boys went a little bit further for their Sticky Fingers album cover,

0:22:020:22:06

which even had a real zip, beckoning the listener to relive some kind of intimate backstage experience.

0:22:060:22:12

Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention parodied Sgt Pepper.

0:22:130:22:17

But I, like others, was more mesmerised by the band's bonkers appearance,

0:22:170:22:21

wondering if I could sport a similar Californian hippy look as a British teenager.

0:22:210:22:26

You see, covers were so important. You studied and scrutinised them,

0:22:280:22:32

particularly the more obscure bands.

0:22:320:22:34

Because these renegade heads were never going to appear

0:22:340:22:37

on The Val Doonican Show and they didn't feature in Smash Hits.

0:22:370:22:41

MUSIC: "Hocus Pocus" by Focus

0:22:410:22:43

YODELLING

0:22:430:22:48

The album artwork, particularly the gatefold sleeve,

0:22:480:22:51

was a true gateway to their mindscape.

0:22:510:22:54

America...

0:22:560:22:57

is pregnant with promise and anticipation,

0:22:570:23:01

but is murdered by the hand of the inevitable.

0:23:010:23:06

Yeah, what he said. To be truthful, the album cover could go very wrong.

0:23:060:23:11

Common mistakes included the "trapped in time poodle" portrait,

0:23:110:23:15

the "band in a bad mood" genre,

0:23:150:23:17

sexist nonsense,

0:23:170:23:19

and sometimes, they were just out-and-out potty.

0:23:190:23:21

Let's face it, nobody really debates a CD sleeve these days.

0:23:210:23:26

And no hippy ever set out their Rizlas on a digital booklet.

0:23:260:23:29

The album cover, a programme in itself.

0:23:310:23:33

But let me just sum up the glory of it with one example.

0:23:330:23:37

Not a great album, this is the Welsh group, Man.

0:23:370:23:39

-Starts with a siren, as I recall, that one.

-Be Good To Yourself At Least Once a Day.

0:23:390:23:43

I would forgive this album anything,

0:23:430:23:46

because when you open it up, it goes...

0:23:460:23:48

-Look at that!

-Oh, wow.

-Look at that.

0:23:480:23:50

Now, that is not your CD. A map of Wales.

0:23:500:23:54

Is it an accurate map of Wales, or is it their own take on Wales?

0:23:540:23:57

Do you know, I don't know!

0:23:570:23:59

I was too impressed by that. They could have put Paris in there. I'm just happy it did that.

0:23:590:24:03

Kate, album covers, of course, no reflection of the music within, but it helped.

0:24:030:24:08

Well, it's a funny thing, because they were almost, like, talismanic or something.

0:24:080:24:13

The fact that you are listening to music at the same time,

0:24:130:24:15

it became almost a 3-D experience, looking at the picture.

0:24:150:24:18

Because you couldn't escape it, because you had the record on and

0:24:180:24:21

the whole thing, your senses were kind of magnified by one another.

0:24:210:24:24

The ones that got me, growing up, were the ones that scared me.

0:24:240:24:26

-Go on.

-Well, there was one cover of a Blood, Sweat and Tears album

0:24:260:24:30

-called The Child is Father of the Man.

-Yes, with the...

0:24:300:24:34

Which was like mini versions, Mini Me's!

0:24:340:24:36

Yes, they were little, tiny versions of the band.

0:24:360:24:38

They had a child and they would superimpose their own head.

0:24:380:24:41

That was horrific. There was another one, the Toe Fat album, which was just the big toe on a head.

0:24:410:24:46

Instead of a head, there was a big toe.

0:24:460:24:49

But the idea of the cover being, in itself, something.

0:24:490:24:54

It's that thing, and I'm sure you did it with Bowie,

0:24:540:24:56

it's reading everything, down to being printed by the McNeill Press of London.

0:24:560:25:00

That's exactly what I was going to talk about,

0:25:000:25:02

it's not just the front cover, it's the back cover.

0:25:020:25:05

And for me, it was reading all these lists of the studios

0:25:050:25:09

and the producers and the engineers and things,

0:25:090:25:11

and without even realising, I was soaking it all up, and I wanted to...

0:25:110:25:15

Later on, that is fortunately where I went into myself,

0:25:150:25:17

but it was reading this - "Who is this Tony Visconti guy?"

0:25:170:25:21

He's made some good records, you know. This kind of thing.

0:25:210:25:23

So when you have a 12-inch cover, not only does the art look good,

0:25:230:25:27

but also the credits are given a chance to shine.

0:25:270:25:30

And I always thought it was directly between me and the artist,

0:25:300:25:33

I didn't know about art directors or even record companies would've,

0:25:330:25:35

you know, sometimes the band would be the last to see the cover.

0:25:350:25:39

I actually thought, this is terrific,

0:25:390:25:41

something as iconic as the Ziggy Stardust cover, long before it became a shrine,

0:25:410:25:45

I thought, "Where is that? Why couldn't I have been walking down that road?"

0:25:450:25:49

I was looking at album covers the other day. Some of them are fantastic,

0:25:490:25:51

Wish You Were Here, I thought was fantastic, Quadrophenia, Tommy - The Who's version of it.

0:25:510:25:56

They are all works of art. I've often thought about getting album covers

0:25:560:26:00

and having an entire wall of the house decorated in album covers,

0:26:000:26:04

-because they're brilliant, some of them.

-Beautiful things.

0:26:040:26:06

There was a Clifford T Ward one, where it was him

0:26:060:26:08

at the piano and then a beautiful lady with very long, blonde hair, sitting at the piano stool.

0:26:080:26:12

-Then you turned it over and it was a lovely Afghan hound!

-Really?

0:26:120:26:15

Well, the first Black Sabbath album, which again, has now,

0:26:150:26:19

like all these things, become part of the scenery, with that odd, broken-down mill, looks like,

0:26:190:26:24

and a woman with a green face looking out from behind the trees,

0:26:240:26:27

nobody has ever found who that model is, nobody knows who she is. She was hired for the day

0:26:270:26:32

and you'd think she could probably earn a good touring circuit

0:26:320:26:35

behind the woman on the Black Sabbath cover. Nobody knows who that woman is.

0:26:350:26:38

Just, though, before we celebrate them too much, sometimes,

0:26:380:26:42

the titling of an album, for me, goes very, very wrong.

0:26:420:26:46

Van Der Graaf Generator may have a reason for calling their album

0:26:460:26:50

H To He Who Am The Only One, but that's a bad album title!

0:26:500:26:55

Stephen, does the title come last, or does it matter to the artist?

0:26:550:27:00

I think the title does matter quite a lot.

0:27:000:27:02

Obviously, I had the great fortune in working with The Smiths

0:27:020:27:05

and I know Morrissey put a lot of thought into what the album was going to be called.

0:27:050:27:10

And so, I think it is something that bands should take really seriously.

0:27:100:27:15

You don't want to put out a great album, great artwork and really mess up with the album title.

0:27:150:27:19

They sometimes change halfway through. Famously, the Beatles' Revolver

0:27:190:27:23

was called Abracadabra, right up until virtually it came out, then they changed it to Revolver.

0:27:230:27:28

-Wasn't Abbey Road called Everest or something?

-That's right.

0:27:280:27:31

They wanted to go to Everest to do a photo shoot, but then they couldn't be arsed!

0:27:310:27:35

And so they said, "Let's just go outside and call it Abbey Road."

0:27:350:27:39

It's true, that's why they did that.

0:27:390:27:41

I think the first Morrissey record I worked on, the first solo record,

0:27:410:27:44

which was called Viva Hate, in the end. I've got a feeling,

0:27:440:27:46

at one point, it was going to be called Education In Reverse.

0:27:460:27:49

And in fact, that is what is scratched in the...

0:27:490:27:52

You know there's the scratched message in the middle

0:27:520:27:56

of the pressing? I think that's "Education In Reverse".

0:27:560:27:59

Again, another great fetishistic angle,

0:27:590:28:01

looking even to what they wrote in the run-out grooves.

0:28:010:28:04

Famously, Led Zeppelin III, I think,

0:28:040:28:07

has got "Do What Thou Wilt", which is an Aleister Crowley quote,

0:28:070:28:10

and collectors these days all look to see if that is in there.

0:28:100:28:13

"A Porky Prime Cut" used to be on many, many of them.

0:28:130:28:15

But there was no aspect to the LP, from cover to label,

0:28:150:28:19

and let's be honest here, even the smell of them...

0:28:190:28:22

I've opened a few records... "There it is!

0:28:220:28:24

"That's probably his aftershave," or whatever. I used to smell albums, too.

0:28:240:28:27

And if people think this is a little creepy,

0:28:270:28:31

then they are missing the whole idea of the indulgence

0:28:310:28:34

and connection of the things, which the cover -

0:28:340:28:36

and let's face it, you can put them on your head and look like the Pope's mitre,

0:28:360:28:40

there was always that - the cover, and these ones around us,

0:28:400:28:43

randomly selected from a beautiful, beautiful era,

0:28:430:28:46

where that took a lot of patience and a lot of artwork.

0:28:460:28:50

And that's why I can't actually think of any really...

0:28:500:28:52

And I'm really sitting here thinking,

0:28:520:28:54

-I can't think of any bad album titles.

-There's one over there!

0:28:540:28:57

George Michael - Listen Without Prejudice, Volume 1. Seriously?

0:28:570:29:01

-I love that name.

-It's awful!

-I love the Volume 1, as well, because it's, sort of, so pompous.

0:29:010:29:05

If he had meant it to be preposterous, that's fine.

0:29:050:29:08

Album covers as well, I'm struggling really to think of ones

0:29:080:29:11

that you just think, "Oh, that was a bit dull."

0:29:110:29:13

Led Zep had one which came in a brown paper bag.

0:29:130:29:15

In Through The Out Door. Of course, Led Zeppelin III had

0:29:150:29:18

a little wheel you could turn and the cover turned beneath it.

0:29:180:29:21

Wonderful covers, all of them, you cannot imagine them separate from those covers.

0:29:210:29:25

-Many are right shockers, too.

-My personal favourite is The Wailers' Catch a Fire, the lighter.

0:29:250:29:30

-What a beautiful cover that is.

-Big Zippo lighter.

-Fantastic.

0:29:300:29:33

And now they all fetch real top prices.

0:29:330:29:36

But rock, of course, never has just been about the music.

0:29:360:29:39

It's also about the attitude, of course it is.

0:29:390:29:41

The pose, the empowerment - in short, it's about you.

0:29:410:29:45

And if your Motorhead T-shirt freaks out your mum along the way,

0:29:450:29:48

well, bonus!

0:29:480:29:50

# People try to put us down

0:29:530:29:55

# Talking 'bout my generation... #

0:29:550:29:58

From its earliest days,

0:29:580:29:59

the rock album was all about sticking it to The Man...man!

0:29:590:30:03

By their very nature, these LPs were rebellious, rude, filthy, badly behaved.

0:30:030:30:08

Albums were an extended call to arms, some overtly political.

0:30:080:30:13

# All we are saying is give peace a chance. #

0:30:130:30:18

# School's out for summer... #

0:30:200:30:25

But most were just raw, wild, rock rebellion.

0:30:250:30:28

According to Mary Whitehouse, Alice Cooper's School's Out meant

0:30:280:30:31

that, "Millions of young people are now imbibing a philosophy

0:30:310:30:35

"of violence and anarchy." Yeah, that's the point, Mary.

0:30:350:30:37

Rock rebellion. Get it?

0:30:370:30:39

Your performances used to end up with you smashing all your equipment,

0:30:390:30:44

-you were smashing hotel rooms on every tour...

-All lies!

0:30:440:30:47

Not a word of truth.

0:30:470:30:48

Annoying the great and the good was a badge of honour.

0:30:510:30:57

And the decade of discontent was the 1970s.

0:30:570:31:00

It's probably hard for Generation X-Factor to believe,

0:31:000:31:03

but rock musicians didn't welcome the Queen's Jubilee

0:31:030:31:06

as an opportunity to stage some sycophantic concert.

0:31:060:31:10

# God save the Queen... #

0:31:100:31:12

Instead, they stuck two fingers up to the Palace. And politicians.

0:31:120:31:15

And the media. It was rock against the establishment.

0:31:150:31:20

Music felt more political.

0:31:220:31:24

# London calling to the far away towns... #

0:31:260:31:28

Every album was culturally calibrated.

0:31:280:31:31

To spot someone carrying a Clash album was to wink at a fellow spy,

0:31:310:31:35

a fellow societal saboteur, if you will. Don't talk to us about Queen!

0:31:350:31:39

For a very brief moment, the rock album really did seem to threaten

0:31:390:31:44

to take its revolutions from the turntable out onto the streets.

0:31:440:31:48

# No more heroes any more... #

0:31:480:31:51

Sometimes it's easier to lapse into albums that are corny,

0:31:560:31:59

but mean a lot to you, and we're trying to underpin some of it, you know, be deflective about it.

0:31:590:32:04

My second selection for the Wall Of Sound behind us,

0:32:040:32:06

Joni Mitchell's The Hissing of Summer Lawns.

0:32:060:32:09

If anyone thinks this whole rock 'n' roll experiment has been

0:32:090:32:12

pinheads larking around, we can give them this. Style, grace, genius.

0:32:120:32:16

That's the second one.

0:32:160:32:18

Jeremy, that whole package there was about the attitude of rock, the rebellion of it.

0:32:180:32:23

Despite your occasional outrages, you are looked at as, kind of, a pillar of the establishment.

0:32:230:32:28

-Where's that place, Chipping whatsit, you live?

-Chipping Norton.

0:32:280:32:31

Is it possible, were you ever a defiant, snotty youth?

0:32:310:32:34

I mean, I was at a public school,

0:32:340:32:36

I was away and everybody's parents were estate agents.

0:32:360:32:39

And I remember, vividly, and it shaped my whole life,

0:32:390:32:43

that and listening to Dark Side of the Moon, was,

0:32:430:32:46

I was reading Melody Maker and I was supposed to be listening to some dreary

0:32:460:32:49

lesson on economics, and there was a photograph, I can picture it now,

0:32:490:32:52

of Robert Plant stepping off a Led Zep-liveried plane.

0:32:520:32:57

I wasn't a Led Zep fan, but he was stepping off it, and coming down

0:32:570:33:01

the stairs behind him was all manner of rock 'n' roll flotsam and jetsam.

0:33:010:33:05

And I just remember thinking,

0:33:050:33:07

"What in the name of all that's holy has been going on on that plane?"

0:33:070:33:12

And how do I get to be on a plane like that?

0:33:120:33:15

And my life was given over to creating a life where

0:33:150:33:20

I could live like I assumed Robert Plant lived.

0:33:200:33:23

I just, again, it was the attitude of these guys...

0:33:230:33:26

Well, I had a problem with the hair, because it just grew out, until it was about out here

0:33:260:33:30

before gravity got hold of it and brought it down where I wanted it.

0:33:300:33:33

Then I would be told to get my hair cut and it was a nightmare. It would boing back up again.

0:33:330:33:37

But the attitude of rock 'n' roll then was enormously important.

0:33:370:33:41

The importance of what you're saying there,

0:33:410:33:43

and not that we are trying to convert people,

0:33:430:33:46

either you get it or you don't, and I don't envy those who don't.

0:33:460:33:49

But the idea that, at any time, music could have been a subculture rather than... You know,

0:33:490:33:55

we live in an age where Hawkwind are on the new Ford advert!

0:33:550:33:57

The idea that it was secret, that it meant that much and that this lifestyle wasn't aspirational,

0:33:570:34:04

it was mysterious and there was no other way in, other than by getting into the rock world.

0:34:040:34:11

I was never convinced by the idea of rebelling against your parents,

0:34:110:34:14

because I was from the generation whose parents had all the good music to begin with,

0:34:140:34:18

so there wasn't that sense of... And also, it always annoyed me, this idea that rock attitude was based

0:34:180:34:22

in smashing your instruments up, rather than playing them properly.

0:34:220:34:25

-I never got that.

-I don't understand that!

0:34:250:34:27

I mean, people hate John McLaughlin or whatever,

0:34:270:34:30

because he can play his guitar. Well, surely combining a violin and a doubleneck guitar and doing

0:34:300:34:34

things in 20/16 time is, sort of, revolutionary, in its own way.

0:34:340:34:38

-Doncaster man, wasn't he, John McLaughlin?

-I think so, yeah.

-Same as me.

0:34:380:34:42

John Parr, John McLaughlin and me - what a contribution Doncaster has made!

0:34:420:34:47

I must say, one of my finest writing moments was when they were

0:34:470:34:50

-all devotees of Sri Chinmoy, wasn't that the faith for a while?

-Shakti.

0:34:500:34:55

You know, Santana and McLaughlin and all the leading lights did a night at the Rainbow,

0:34:550:34:59

and the headline I gave it was, "A Clean Chinmoy Sweep".

0:34:590:35:02

Which, you know, all our yesterdays, at the NME.

0:35:020:35:05

Stephen, of course, you really still carry a torch for punk rock,

0:35:050:35:10

so obviously, music and lifestyle were like that for you, yeah?

0:35:100:35:14

Absolutely. I mean, obviously, with the initial thing of getting into the glam rock thing,

0:35:140:35:17

then I got into prog rock for a while. The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway was one of my albums

0:35:170:35:21

-that I was...

-That's a hard listen! That's a hard one, well done.

0:35:210:35:24

Got into that for a little bit, then the punk thing happened

0:35:240:35:27

-and basically, I just loved it. I threw myself into it, lock, stock and barrel.

-The Clash's first album.

0:35:270:35:32

-Cracking album.

-Brilliant.

-And Rattus Norvegicus, the first Stranglers album.

0:35:320:35:35

-I know it's not strictly "punk" perhaps...

-Yes, it is.

0:35:350:35:37

But I loved the attitude of it, and I thought Martin Rushent,

0:35:370:35:40

who produced that album and also produced the Buzzcocks, again,

0:35:400:35:43

another producer's name that I learned from reading album sleeves,

0:35:430:35:46

was a genius. And I just kind of... I remember not really going out

0:35:460:35:52

and kind of dyeing my hair and putting needles through my nose or anything like that,

0:35:520:35:56

but I just loved the idea of going to see gigs, going to the Marquee

0:35:560:36:01

and places like that. And, you know, just...

0:36:010:36:04

Recording this programme, we're just a spit from where the Roxy club was, just around the corner.

0:36:040:36:08

And for someone who was involved in punk rock,

0:36:080:36:11

for me, it was just getting involved in rock.

0:36:110:36:13

It was a way just to suddenly think, "I might be able to do this!

0:36:130:36:16

"It looks like this racket is going to actually... One day I might get to meet Frank Zappa!"

0:36:160:36:20

The idea that it was all political somehow is not true either.

0:36:200:36:23

And this nonsense year zero approach everyone has now adopted

0:36:230:36:26

and said punk was about this and punk was about that.

0:36:260:36:28

-At the time, it just felt terrific.

-It suited the moment.

0:36:280:36:31

Those pictures we saw there of policemen with tall helmets,

0:36:310:36:34

hitting miners on the head. It all fitted, it was bang on.

0:36:340:36:38

And you know what? It's extraordinary to think,

0:36:380:36:40

given how the last three decades have panned out for music,

0:36:400:36:43

that between Woodstock and the Sex Pistols album is seven years.

0:36:430:36:47

And if you think about what happened in the meantime -

0:36:470:36:49

virtually everything. It's just seven years. It's '69 to '76.

0:36:490:36:55

And the absolute explosion of things being pulled from the air in that time,

0:36:550:37:00

and that's why you shouldn't shrink from saying there could have been a golden age,

0:37:000:37:03

just like there was in movies, as there can be in literature. That period, you say - "What?"

0:37:030:37:07

Punk wasn't a full stop. It was a natural progression of all these things.

0:37:070:37:11

-But look what we ended up... Sorry.

-It never stopped.

0:37:110:37:14

You had the glam, the prog, the punk, then it was, like,

0:37:140:37:17

the ska revival came out pretty quickly...

0:37:170:37:20

Soft rock, krautrock, you know.

0:37:200:37:22

And then the New Romantics thing, you know, you couldn't stand still.

0:37:220:37:25

They always say, the reason punks say they were bored is

0:37:250:37:28

because no great new musical genre had been forged within months,

0:37:280:37:30

-so no wonder they said that.

-Just hadn't been done before.

0:37:300:37:33

Yes, of course hip-hop and everything else, but that ferment,

0:37:330:37:36

that period between Woodstock and the Sex Pistols - huh?

0:37:360:37:40

It's really interesting that you moved from liking glam into punk,

0:37:400:37:44

because in my mind, those two things are sort of opposites, almost.

0:37:440:37:47

Do you know why? Did you just grow up, or..?

0:37:470:37:49

Bowie and Lou Reed were huge influences on...

0:37:490:37:51

I'd say they are not opposites, they're very much of a piece.

0:37:510:37:54

No, cos I did that, without even going through the Bowie thing.

0:37:540:37:57

I still DO love glam. And prog rock and so on,

0:37:570:38:01

and then really got into The Clash, most of all.

0:38:010:38:04

Actually, I liked the Pistols, too, but I really, really did like...

0:38:040:38:08

Because it was like somehow, when you were watching Orgreave,

0:38:080:38:12

or whatever strike was going on at the time,

0:38:120:38:15

Grunwick - with the photographic dispute,

0:38:150:38:18

and you can't really be listening to, you know, Camel.

0:38:180:38:22

So you really needed the Pistols on.

0:38:220:38:23

That in itself - and I'm not a great one for the sociological

0:38:230:38:27

side of music, because it's in your heart, and it's about you,

0:38:270:38:30

and it can be any time, anywhere, but, that said,

0:38:300:38:32

the depoliticising of music now,

0:38:320:38:34

the idea that we live in an age where groups would celebrate...

0:38:340:38:37

any amount of establishment things,

0:38:370:38:40

I do think the corporate dead hand has probably...

0:38:400:38:43

That's where I disagree with you. I really do believe that music is of the moment, of the time, and

0:38:430:38:47

you can't listen to certain songs in certain places at certain times.

0:38:470:38:50

-Well, you can, but...

-My son will listen to...

-It doesn't sound quite right.

0:38:500:38:53

Look at Nick Drake. Nick Drake didn't sell an album in his time.

0:38:530:38:56

You cannot get a bigger figurehead now than Nick Drake.

0:38:560:38:59

Anyway, in the iTunes era, there's almost no such thing as a rarity.

0:38:590:39:03

Things might take 15 seconds to download - might be a rarity, that!

0:39:030:39:07

But back in black-and-white, we spent months looking for the first Velvet Underground

0:39:070:39:12

album or something - anything - by Todd Rundgren.

0:39:120:39:15

Nothing said 'cool' like an import - those thicker sleeves,

0:39:150:39:18

the American way, and nothing was more satisfying than having

0:39:180:39:21

a spare copy of a limited release.

0:39:210:39:24

Back in the ancient analogue days, pre-internet and pre-MP3s,

0:39:280:39:32

unearthing a really rare rock album or the kudos of knowing

0:39:320:39:36

the details of some track three on a side two, gave you tremendous

0:39:360:39:40

hipster cachet.

0:39:400:39:42

MUSIC: "Paradise By The Dashboard Light" by Meatloaf

0:39:420:39:44

For example, despite selling 43 million copies worldwide,

0:39:470:39:51

the Meat Loaf and motorbike epic that is Bat Out Of Hell

0:39:540:39:57

is rightly scorned by the music press.

0:39:570:40:00

But study the sleeve notes and you'll see it was produced

0:40:020:40:06

by super-hip, genius maverick Todd Rundgren.

0:40:060:40:08

On the album Goodbye Cream, who was this L'Angelo Misterioso who played guitar?

0:40:110:40:15

Well, we found out that was George Harrison.

0:40:180:40:20

This trend for uncredited appearances on LPs led to

0:40:230:40:26

an infamous album in 1969, when Rolling Stone magazine

0:40:260:40:30

announced they'd heard exciting rumours of the ultimate

0:40:300:40:33

uncredited supergroup - a line-up that included Jagger, Lennon,

0:40:330:40:37

McCartney, and Bob Dylan, and they'd all recorded an album

0:40:370:40:40

under the name the Masked Marauders.

0:40:400:40:42

It turned out to be all balls,

0:40:420:40:44

but the rumour created such a lust for the actual LP, that the

0:40:440:40:48

magazine hired a skiffle band and released one, anyway.

0:40:480:40:51

It sold 100,000 copies to gullible groovers!

0:40:510:40:54

Then there are some crackpot albums that ARE by musical superstars,

0:40:560:41:00

which set out to undermine our expectations.

0:41:000:41:03

At his peak, Lou Reed released an album called Metal Machine Music,

0:41:030:41:07

four sides of unlistenable electronic feedback.

0:41:070:41:10

Rock LPs were always an odd old odyssey.

0:41:130:41:16

We embraced the exotic, the mysterious, the mad.

0:41:160:41:20

Though no matter how many times you played Stairway To Heaven

0:41:200:41:23

backwards, you never really could hear the secret messages.

0:41:230:41:26

For my let daylight in upon magic, if you will, the one thing I wanted to do with this programme was

0:41:270:41:35

once and for all, stop apologising for being nostalgic about it.

0:41:350:41:39

I think, in 100 years,

0:41:390:41:41

a lot of these albums are going to be performed,

0:41:410:41:44

and because of the death list line, "Hope I die before I get old",

0:41:440:41:48

which has hung like a pall over any real analysis,

0:41:480:41:50

beyond affection, for the stuff we're hearing now,

0:41:500:41:53

and some of them I knew were coming tonight, yeah - it's rosy-tinted, but it has worth.

0:41:530:41:58

Kate, do you agree that there is something that we wouldn't do

0:41:580:42:01

to movies, we wouldn't do to books,

0:42:010:42:03

and certainly wouldn't do it to jazz, that rock music, particularly

0:42:030:42:07

during that '70s period, might have created something magical.

0:42:070:42:10

Is there any worth in this stuff we're talking about tonight?

0:42:100:42:13

Well, that's why it's interesting,

0:42:130:42:15

this idea that it may have been the great era of the rock album,

0:42:150:42:19

but if you look... I remember Jimmy Webb saying,

0:42:190:42:21

"this is when it all started to go wrong was

0:42:210:42:23

when the album came into play",

0:42:230:42:24

because people who were industry songwriters like him,

0:42:240:42:27

who were pre-tooled to make these three-minute little wonders,

0:42:270:42:30

suddenly there were just loads of really,

0:42:300:42:32

really good bands who had got the space to play over an entire

0:42:320:42:35

album, and I think that's just a phenomenon. Looking back on it,

0:42:350:42:38

it's very much the case that this stuff

0:42:380:42:40

happened at a particular time and, for the last ten years in the music industry,

0:42:400:42:44

we've been nostalgic about it and that's going to continue.

0:42:440:42:46

It's probably going to get more positive...

0:42:460:42:48

It took a generation, as well, to be a palate cleanser,

0:42:480:42:52

and now certainly, my own son, and his friends,

0:42:520:42:54

they say "This stuff's great". Not all of it, obviously.

0:42:540:42:57

The idea that you defend every record that came out in the '70s - of course, it's preposterous.

0:42:570:43:00

And it was never a massively popular music, certainly on television and elsewhere.

0:43:000:43:05

-But when it's good, it's very, very good.

-It's interesting you said that it would be

0:43:050:43:08

performed in 100 years' time, because I agree with that.

0:43:080:43:11

The tribute bands we have now, you, kind of, laugh,

0:43:110:43:13

but I was - weirdly - in Fairbanks, Alaska, ages ago,

0:43:130:43:17

and I walked into a bar, walked straight up to order a beer,

0:43:170:43:20

and they were playing Wish You Were Here, Pink Floyd,

0:43:200:43:24

and it was... I turned round, and it was a band.

0:43:240:43:26

And they were, honestly, close - Pink Floyd. They were spot on.

0:43:260:43:30

It was completely Pink Floyd.

0:43:300:43:33

And you think, "Why would you not perform a work as good as that

0:43:330:43:36

"100 years down the line?" Why would you not? People don't say,

0:43:360:43:39

"I'm not going to go and listen to this Bach concerto, because it isn't actually Bach playing it."

0:43:390:43:43

I know, but there is something risible, apparently,

0:43:430:43:45

about that period and someone of our age

0:43:450:43:49

and intellect - no offence to our younger friends here! -

0:43:490:43:52

saying this stuff has worth, it's any good.

0:43:520:43:54

So if I'm coming to you, Stephen, with your producer's ideas,

0:43:540:43:58

do you miss the album, the discipline, the economy,

0:43:580:44:01

just the very idea that a group goes in

0:44:010:44:03

and makes this statement for its audience?

0:44:030:44:06

Do you miss the album yourself?

0:44:060:44:08

I'm not sure I miss it.

0:44:080:44:09

The key thing is that 40 minutes is a good optimum time for people

0:44:090:44:13

to focus and give their attention to listening to one artist,

0:44:130:44:16

so I think that, kind of, works well.

0:44:160:44:18

I also think, if you're a heavy touring band

0:44:180:44:21

and you're touring and you're on the touring, recording, kind of, circle

0:44:210:44:24

to come up with more than 40 minutes to an hour of good

0:44:240:44:29

material which would be cool for your next record is quite hard,

0:44:290:44:32

so I would imagine that that's kind another reason why albums

0:44:320:44:36

were the length they were.

0:44:360:44:38

The other thing I'd like to make clear is that throughout

0:44:380:44:41

the '70s, there was a huge advance in recording techniques.

0:44:410:44:43

Obviously, the studios got bigger,

0:44:430:44:45

there were more tracks available,

0:44:450:44:47

so bands were able to go and spend more time,

0:44:470:44:51

in multi-tracking and layering and so on,

0:44:510:44:54

and so what we also saw was not just great records being

0:44:540:44:57

made by artists, but some also great producers coming through,

0:44:570:45:00

and some really great engineers being able to shine.

0:45:000:45:02

The idea of an album, when I used to go and buy an album,

0:45:020:45:07

I never wanted... CDs came out, I didn't want them.

0:45:070:45:09

I was quite happy the way that music was being delivered.

0:45:090:45:12

And CDs just seemed to be a fait accompli. And without saying that was a slippery slope, that

0:45:120:45:17

connection was just broken there.

0:45:170:45:18

And it wasn't the idea that I'm of a generation that bought final, but I actually didn't request CDs.

0:45:180:45:22

We're finding it now with a lot of downloading information,

0:45:220:45:26

the way big stores and little stores are going out of business.

0:45:260:45:29

We didn't actually want this, but it's going to happen, anyway.

0:45:290:45:32

What I liked on the eight track, when you had to have...

0:45:320:45:36

because it had to be the same length - you had to be able to

0:45:360:45:38

divide it into four - you had to put the little tiny bit,

0:45:380:45:41

so you'd get these albums, very specifically you can date them

0:45:410:45:45

as to when eight tracks were around, because they were albums,

0:45:450:45:47

but this weird little one-and-a-half minute track on the end.

0:45:470:45:50

Aisle Of Plenty on Selling England is an example.

0:45:500:45:53

I only found out, and you probably know more about this,

0:45:530:45:55

Stephen, that some of the albums, like I've got by Yes

0:45:550:45:58

and Emerson Lake and Palmer, and things like that, they had

0:45:580:46:01

these filler tracks on that plainly are there,

0:46:010:46:04

and so noticeably there,

0:46:040:46:06

and even if they do a whole side of an album,

0:46:060:46:08

they're broken up into movement one, movement two, and it was only when I met a member of Yes, he said,

0:46:080:46:13

"that's cos we had to get paid for each of those tracks."

0:46:130:46:15

"You do one long track", he said, "So, if we put on a track,

0:46:150:46:18

"the drummer would, literally, do a little fill,

0:46:180:46:20

"and we'd call it something, that was an individual payment

0:46:200:46:23

"he had to get." And I don't know if I wanted to hear that.

0:46:230:46:26

I'd read so much into it by then.

0:46:260:46:28

That reminds me of a story about Bob Seger.

0:46:280:46:30

He'd hired the Muscle Shoals rhythm section to do one of his records

0:46:300:46:34

because he heard that it was 5,000 a side, and they meant a song,

0:46:340:46:37

and he thought it was a side of an album,

0:46:370:46:39

and they just, literally, parted ways halfway through.

0:46:390:46:42

"I can't afford to pay you for this!"

0:46:420:46:44

How do you tell someone, "That's no good for an album?"

0:46:440:46:47

I can't imagine anything.

0:46:470:46:49

And there are, as I say, even,

0:46:490:46:51

and I'm trying to bet without the Beatles tonight,

0:46:510:46:53

or that overwhelms everything, but you get an album like Revolver,

0:46:530:46:55

which is still absolutely staggering, the idea

0:46:550:46:57

that it was made, as we record this, that'll be 47 years ago...

0:46:570:47:02

-On four track.

-On four track. And you see, but then again, yes,

0:47:020:47:05

with the best will in the world, and I know kids love it, but it's

0:47:050:47:08

got Yellow Submarine halfway through side one, and you think, OK.

0:47:080:47:12

Have you ever had to say to a band, "I don't think that's very good."

0:47:120:47:17

There's been times when I've kind of hinted that way,

0:47:170:47:20

but I'm a big fan of tracks like Yellow Submarine

0:47:200:47:23

being on Revolver, because it gives it scope and depth.

0:47:230:47:25

It's like Frankly, Mr Shankly on The Queen Is Dead.

0:47:250:47:28

You're kind of... I think it's... It's, kind of, nice to have this,

0:47:280:47:33

kind of, breadth of material, kind of, spread throughout.

0:47:330:47:36

And how about - and sorry this is directed at yourself, but

0:47:360:47:39

something like Blur, who said, "We don't want to do them hits any more.

0:47:390:47:43

"We want to do intriguing, introspective stuff."

0:47:430:47:45

D'you have to just go along with these musicians' ideas?

0:47:450:47:49

Well, yes, to a degree, I do.

0:47:490:47:50

When we made the Blur album, you know, the fifth album,

0:47:500:47:54

there was a distinct, kind of, turning point of turning

0:47:540:47:58

away from the more pop end of their spectrum, as it were.

0:47:580:48:02

But actually it was a great, kind of, release,

0:48:020:48:05

especially for Demon, I think, as a songwriter.

0:48:050:48:07

-It can be a trap, of course.

-Yeah.

0:48:070:48:09

Well, some groups arrive fully-formed - and have you,

0:48:090:48:12

or certainly me, saying, "I don't know how they could have done that."

0:48:120:48:16

It's just come fully-formed out of somewhere else.

0:48:160:48:20

And so my third selection I'm going to do tonight is this

0:48:200:48:22

extraordinary piece of music, which has had to

0:48:220:48:25

weather its critics over the years,

0:48:250:48:27

but from 21st-Century Schizoid Man, which is as angular

0:48:270:48:30

a listen as you'd ever hear, to the wonderful

0:48:300:48:33

In The Court Of The Crimson King, itself, an observation by King Crimson.

0:48:330:48:37

And yep - that's Greg Lake's signature on the front there.

0:48:370:48:40

Vocalist for King Crimson, at that time. Bryan Ferry was nearly the vocalist, of course.

0:48:400:48:43

Of course, anyone watching this under the age of 11

0:48:430:48:46

is probably still wondering, "What is all the fuss about?"

0:48:460:48:48

There were 70,000 albums released last year,

0:48:480:48:51

so why should anyone care about all of this stuff?

0:48:510:48:54

"I mean, come off it, granddad! Get with the programme...jogramme!"

0:48:540:48:58

Well, kids. Let me tell you all about it.

0:48:580:49:00

No-one truly boasts about being a CD collector,

0:49:070:49:09

or solemnly alphabeticises their MP3 files.

0:49:090:49:13

But in the analogue era,

0:49:130:49:15

you'd run back into a burning squat to rescue

0:49:150:49:17

a bunch of albums, because LPs felt more intimate, more substantial.

0:49:170:49:23

Those 12 inches of vinyl promised a direct relationship with the band.

0:49:230:49:27

Indeed, one of the trends of the '70s was the rise of the live album.

0:49:270:49:30

Every self-respecting rock act had to have one.

0:49:300:49:33

Frampton Comes Alive was the best selling album of 1976.

0:49:340:49:39

The Grateful Dead released nine live albums and, I don't know,

0:49:390:49:42

maybe a million bootlegs!

0:49:420:49:44

The Who's Live At Leeds was so revered, there is now

0:49:440:49:47

a blue plaque as the venue, to commemorate its recording.

0:49:470:49:50

Live albums brought the full moshing

0:49:530:49:54

and mayhem of a concert to your sideboard music centre.

0:49:540:49:58

Band members became stars in their own right,

0:50:020:50:04

given space on albums for some really rotten solos and fanfares.

0:50:040:50:08

-Yeah, right!

-In youth clubs,

0:50:120:50:14

kids would actually argue over who was the world's bestest

0:50:140:50:17

lead guitarist - Eddie Van Halen,

0:50:170:50:19

slash, Jimmy Page,

0:50:210:50:23

slash...Slash!

0:50:230:50:25

I wouldn't even lift the needle from vinyl during the electric mandolin or flute solos!

0:50:260:50:31

The point is, LPs were from the analogue era,

0:50:340:50:37

before digital recording, and before autotune, and before sampling.

0:50:370:50:42

They were faithful recordings of the individual

0:50:420:50:44

and collective talents of the musicians and there was

0:50:440:50:47

a credible virtuosity locked into those microscopic vinyl grooves.

0:50:470:50:53

The creative high point of rock music synced with

0:50:530:50:56

the highpoint of the vinyl LP.

0:50:560:50:58

And that is no coincidence.

0:50:580:51:00

TRACK ENDS, AUDIENCE CHEERS

0:51:000:51:02

I might as well say that Rock of Ages by The Band

0:51:030:51:05

is the best live album, but we'll discuss that in a moment.

0:51:050:51:08

I think not!

0:51:080:51:09

In a second, in a second.

0:51:100:51:12

Kate, the legacy of the period we're talking about.

0:51:130:51:17

a generation has gone by when it's de rigeur to go

0:51:170:51:19

and get your parents' tastes. Is there a legacy from vinyl?

0:51:190:51:24

Will people actually see it for what it was and what it's worth?

0:51:240:51:28

I think the tendency,

0:51:280:51:29

particularly if you're trying to discover new music, one of the problems, I'm still

0:51:290:51:33

trying to get away from this, is that if something excites you, it tends to be

0:51:330:51:36

because it reminds you of something else that came out in the '70s. So, John Grant, for instance,

0:51:360:51:41

who is a great singer-songwriter - he sounds like early Elton John and the Carpenters,

0:51:410:51:45

so you've got these reference points. It's impossible to break away from those.

0:51:450:51:49

The other thing that I suppose troubles me a bit about Spotify

0:51:490:51:52

and digital downloading, is that your listening habits are so different,

0:51:520:51:57

your idea of patience has changed so much,

0:51:570:51:59

that people will create 14-hour playlists,

0:51:590:52:01

to have on in the background while they are writing an article,

0:52:010:52:05

or having a dinner party or something like that.

0:52:050:52:07

And you just can't discover the hidden gems of an album in

0:52:070:52:10

the same way if you're only cherrypicking from lots of different ones.

0:52:100:52:14

And I think, in a way, that CDs won't have a revival.

0:52:140:52:17

There is something totemistic and mystical about the vinyl album,

0:52:170:52:22

that I think will last, and is, fortunately, being rediscovered,

0:52:220:52:25

to the point that something like - if I might just very quickly - something like that, Led Zepplin 1 -

0:52:250:52:30

turquoise writing, on eBay - £1,700 the last copy went for.

0:52:300:52:35

So there's worth in it, in all kinds of way.

0:52:350:52:37

And now to the bit I know you've all been waiting for.

0:52:370:52:41

It's purely and simply and obviously on personal taste,

0:52:410:52:44

there's enough music out there to satisfy everyone.

0:52:440:52:46

The three albums you want to put on the Wall of Sound behind me.

0:52:460:52:49

Starting with you, Kate.

0:52:490:52:51

Difficult choice. I would say, first one - Hot Rats, Zappa.

0:52:510:52:54

We already have a Zappa, but a genius

0:52:540:52:56

and more like a classical composer, than a rock star, really.

0:52:560:53:00

But had a sense of humour. That's why he gets through.

0:53:000:53:02

And I would say the opening track, Peaches En Regalia,

0:53:020:53:04

is as good an opening track as on any piece of work.

0:53:040:53:07

And impossible to whistle, because the tune is so crazy,

0:53:070:53:09

-you can't whistle it.

-Sounds like a wager to me! There is one. What about two?

0:53:090:53:13

Next one. This is a bit obscure. Coliseum.

0:53:130:53:16

Those Who Are About To Die Salute You, which I loved growing up.

0:53:160:53:19

There's not enough jazz-rock in the world, and this is joyous

0:53:190:53:22

and ebullient and brash and the drummer led the band, Jon Hiseman.

0:53:220:53:26

You could have given me a thousand guesses and a gun to my head - I would not

0:53:260:53:29

have put either you together with that or a woman together with that.

0:53:290:53:34

I know! But it's got these kind of mock-classical things.

0:53:340:53:36

It's got a version of Whiter Shade Of Pale, as well, which is lovely.

0:53:360:53:39

That's always a good thing, like prog rock, it should be bonkers.

0:53:390:53:43

It should be bonkers. And this one, very controversial, Queen.

0:53:430:53:46

Possibly the ugliest album cover in history - really horrible,

0:53:460:53:49

sprayed with baby oil.

0:53:490:53:51

I didn't choose Night At The Opera, because I think this is where -

0:53:510:53:54

Queen have been called "a singles band" before,

0:53:540:53:56

which is often a veiled insult.

0:53:560:53:59

But it takes a lot to be able to have four people who can all write songs.

0:53:590:54:02

That's the first album that they all started writing on.

0:54:020:54:05

I can tell, we could debate it, but it's not about that. It's not a bear pit.

0:54:050:54:08

And if you say so, and it's in your heart, that's all that matters.

0:54:080:54:11

That's what vinyl does.

0:54:110:54:12

Stephen, I've got an idea where you're going, but what have you got?

0:54:120:54:16

Well, it's a little bit more obvious for me,

0:54:160:54:18

but the first album I spent my own pocket money on. Ziggy Stardust.

0:54:180:54:23

It was life-changing for me,

0:54:230:54:24

and also very many musicians that I've had the good fortune

0:54:240:54:29

to work with over the years have all come back

0:54:290:54:31

and mentioned this period of Bowie and what an influence he was.

0:54:310:54:35

Again, it seems absurd in these days to talk about an LP that

0:54:350:54:39

could culturally change everything, and it did.

0:54:390:54:41

I think Ian McCulloch, from Echo and the Bunnymen,

0:54:410:54:44

another great singer, fantastic singer, I think he was like me,

0:54:440:54:47

blown away by Bowie and this record, and it's still being felt.

0:54:470:54:52

Still being felt. Second one?

0:54:520:54:54

Next one? It's London Calling, The Clash.

0:54:540:54:58

If there's a track more uplifting than the opening

0:54:580:55:01

bars of London Calling, the track itself, I'd love to hear it.

0:55:010:55:05

Because when you hear that stomp, and that bass line kick in...

0:55:050:55:09

Like in the Bond film, with the BA jets coming in to land and they play London Calling.

0:55:090:55:12

It got re-used again for the Olympics last year,

0:55:120:55:15

so obviously there's someone on that committee who feels the same way.

0:55:150:55:20

At the end of the opening track he starts singing, "I never felt more like singing the blues",

0:55:200:55:24

and they had to cut it, because they couldn't afford to pay for it.

0:55:240:55:27

-And the third one?

-Yeah, it's brilliant.

0:55:270:55:29

And the last one, again it comes from the same

0:55:290:55:32

glam period, but for me, this is Lou Reed at his most accessible.

0:55:320:55:37

Great storytelling, proto-punk, with Vicious, and storytelling,

0:55:370:55:42

with Walk On The Wild Side - New York sleaze and everything.

0:55:420:55:45

And Perfect Day - what a great song.

0:55:450:55:48

Even Susan Boyle couldn't ruin it - or could she?

0:55:480:55:52

And it's got Satellite of Love, a Bowie track in all, but...

0:55:520:55:56

# Bam, bam, bam! # His backing vocals are beautiful.

0:55:560:56:00

As a young man, listening to Lou Reed talking about the sleazier

0:56:000:56:02

-side of life in New York, it was quite an eye-opener.

-It was a shame what happened to him, though.

0:56:020:56:07

And now, speaking of grumpy old gits!

0:56:070:56:10

Jeremy, I think I know one you're going to bring out,

0:56:110:56:14

-but surprise me - what's your three?

-Rumours.

-OK.

-It's...

0:56:140:56:19

and particularly this one, actually, because this was a very

0:56:190:56:22

-important thing when we were all growing up, was to get...

-Oh!

0:56:220:56:26

See, we live in an age now where vinyl will come out in any

0:56:260:56:28

other colour, but the weird sight of seeing something that wasn't black.

0:56:280:56:32

No, Rumours, and particularly Songbird, the Christine McVie...

0:56:320:56:36

you know, the little simple piano thing.

0:56:360:56:38

An incredible song and an incredible album. That. I know it's a cliche...

0:56:380:56:43

The reason it's a cliche...

0:56:430:56:45

-The reason it's a cliche - it's just a great album.

-It is.

0:56:450:56:48

And the sequencing as well on Dark Side Of The Moon, it's just epic. I listen to that all the time.

0:56:480:56:52

Well done for not trying to be arch, or try something else.

0:56:520:56:57

I fluctuate with these three albums, as to which is my favourite

0:56:570:57:01

of all time, constantly, and, at the moment, my favourite is,

0:57:010:57:04

and has been for a long time, is Crime Of The Century,

0:57:040:57:09

and Hide In Your Shell is...

0:57:090:57:11

I honestly believe, and this is just me,

0:57:110:57:14

I believe that Hide In Your Shell is the finest piece of music ever

0:57:140:57:18

written by a group of human beings.

0:57:180:57:20

But nobody, I don't expect anyone...

0:57:200:57:22

there's no point writing to me, because you'll disagree.

0:57:220:57:25

No, and there's nothing more boring, because in the end we're all subservient.

0:57:250:57:29

-It's the track I listen to most.

-Tunesmithery, as they used to call it.

0:57:290:57:32

I listen to that track three times a week, every week, without fail.

0:57:320:57:36

I sometimes just put it on and it's got to be played loud, and it's epic.

0:57:360:57:40

And there was a group who virtually were dropped by their label,

0:57:400:57:43

till they said, "Let's sober up, let's make some hits".

0:57:430:57:46

Well, I've often shrunk from the phrase Baker's Dozen.

0:57:460:57:51

But this time, I'm not. I'm going to make it 13.

0:57:520:57:55

Because I think the greatest rock album ever made,

0:57:550:57:57

by the very definition of rock itself, cannot be bettered by this

0:57:570:58:02

absolute stupendous piece of work - Led Zeppelin's Physical Graffiti.

0:58:020:58:08

Something like In My Time Of Dying - if anyone ever said,

0:58:080:58:11

"Well, the Earth's going to end in 20 minutes, the Martians

0:58:110:58:13

"are going to take away rock music", you say, "There you are, mate.

0:58:130:58:17

"That's pretty much the heart and soul of it." And it is

0:58:170:58:19

an extraordinary, extraordinary finished piece of work,

0:58:190:58:22

-and a double album, too.

-And beautiful.

-And beautiful.

0:58:220:58:25

Another time, we'll go through these. And so we've come to our run-out groove.

0:58:250:58:29

I'm not sure what the last hour was about, but it felt terrific up here,

0:58:290:58:32

and I hope it touched a nerve for you, too, and basically we've been

0:58:320:58:35

having the same conversation for decades, so thank you, Kate.

0:58:350:58:39

-Thank you, Stephen.

-Thank you.

-Thank you, Jeremy.

-Loved it.

0:58:390:58:42

You have spoken and the ages have listened. Well, I know I have.

0:58:420:58:46

Until the next time, thanks for watching, and hey, man - rock on!

0:58:460:58:50

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