I like the hilarious bonus section where Lemmy describes getting fired from Hawkwind.
― snoball, Friday, 19 October 2007 18:26 (sixteen years ago) link
its very sweet. he said he would've never quit hawkwind. he loved it.
― chaki, Friday, 19 October 2007 18:27 (sixteen years ago) link
All in 3-D. Foreign movie.
― If Timi Yuro would be still alive, most other singers could shut up, Friday, 19 October 2007 21:43 (sixteen years ago) link
Love The Band and The Bollocks episodes. Love how at the end of the bonus guitar lesson when Steve Jones says "Wait, I'm showing you how to play 'Anarchy'!" and stops playing and cradles his guitar protectively.
― James Redd and the Blecchs, Friday, 19 October 2007 22:41 (sixteen years ago) link
Pity no Bowie album yet though. I believe another series of classic albums documentaries did "Ziggy Stardust" though.
― Geir Hongro, Friday, 19 October 2007 23:21 (sixteen years ago) link
wait this is a show
― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Friday, 19 October 2007 23:25 (sixteen years ago) link
And, you know, I'd love to see "Selling England By The Pound" too, but at least I will get a "mini documentary" on that one when the remaster is being released next spring. The producer and engineer will not be around for that though (shame, really, that Genesis didn't bring people like David Henschel and Hugh Padgam around for those remaster interviews. Would have loved getting their views)
― Geir Hongro, Friday, 19 October 2007 23:28 (sixteen years ago) link
the aja one wins
is anyone else a little bothered by the repeated recorded-for-the-show band footage? i mean, it's fine and all, but not a patch on the original recording, and it seems like it's just there to pad out the running time. i seriously can't imagine that Fagan didn't have more to say about aja.
― Lawrence the Looter, Saturday, 20 October 2007 07:23 (sixteen years ago) link
Love this show - wish I'd caught more than a half-dozen eps. (Only ones I remember: Kiss Alive, Ace of Spades, Joshua Tree, Nevermind, Rumours, Metallica.) Very informative - the entire procedure of record-making fascnates me, even as regards albums I have no use for, namely Metallica and U2.
Like snoball said, altho the Motorhead episode was tremendously entertaining, Fleetwood Mac takes it. The tech details themselves were excellent, of course, but the multiple-breakups backstory added an emotional element that the other episodes lacked. Oddly moving (and maybe a little self-serving) bit: Mick Fleetwood's assertion that he was as miserable as the other four, suffering relationship problems of his own.
― Myonga Vön Bontee, Saturday, 20 October 2007 09:18 (sixteen years ago) link
Well actually I said that the Pink Floyd one takes it because of the tech detail. Especially the bits with Alan Parsons at the mixing desk. But you're right that the Fleetwood Mac one is up there too, not only for the information on recording an album in an expensive LA recording studio in the 70's, but the feeling of "how the hell did these people produce an album when they all hated each other?". I think it's John McVie who recounts an argument where he said to Lindsey Buckingham "I think you'd better leave" meaning leave the room but LB thought JM meant leave the band and then did.
― snoball, Saturday, 20 October 2007 11:30 (sixteen years ago) link
thread prompted me to find this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4SCZv7786KY
oh my god. that is astounding. i always knew he was a tremendous drummer, but holy shit.
― Lawrence the Looter, Saturday, 20 October 2007 16:30 (sixteen years ago) link
The Pink Floyd one was pretty good, but if you want to talk about filler, try watching 20 minutes of London commuters placing one foot in front of the other to the tune of "Us & Them".
― Pleasant Plains, Saturday, 20 October 2007 17:06 (sixteen years ago) link
Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.
― ILX System, Wednesday, 31 October 2007 00:01 (sixteen years ago) link
"a night at the opera" for the live footage of freddie singing backing vocals for "'39" dressed in a jester's leotard alone
― r1o natsume, Wednesday, 31 October 2007 00:39 (sixteen years ago) link
Has NMTB won yet?
― Mark G, Wednesday, 31 October 2007 14:06 (sixteen years ago) link
Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.
― ILX System, Thursday, 1 November 2007 00:01 (sixteen years ago) link
I don't think any of the top albums should have beat nirvana.
― CaptainLorax, Thursday, 1 November 2007 00:35 (sixteen years ago) link
i for one am not interested of the inner workings of nirvana in the studio, unless it involves jack endino
― electricsound, Thursday, 1 November 2007 00:38 (sixteen years ago) link
pff!
― Mark G, Thursday, 1 November 2007 01:58 (sixteen years ago) link
I know you voted for Floyd rather than F.Mac, snoball - I only meant I agreed with your assessment of the Motorhead episode. But I phrased it poorly, so that's my fault, and it's all irrelvent now anyways.
xxxxpost
― Myonga Vön Bontee, Thursday, 1 November 2007 21:50 (sixteen years ago) link
I Netflixed the Zappa episode and just finished watching it. I've four episodes of this series so far and they're all surprisingly good.
About 45 minutes of extras on the FZ DVD also.
― Rock Hardy, Thursday, 1 November 2007 21:57 (sixteen years ago) link
I've SEEN four episodes...
just watched the rumours one and it was rad
― just sayin, Sunday, 22 November 2009 14:39 (fourteen years ago) link
have there been any more since? it's the AJA one for me all the way. always wonder what the 'other' guitarists make of that bit with PEG on it.
which bit was being linked to from you tube upthread? it's been removed now.
― piscesx, Sunday, 22 November 2009 14:50 (fourteen years ago) link
The 'Rio' one is great!
― MaresNest, Sunday, 22 November 2009 14:57 (fourteen years ago) link
yea i definitely need to see more of these, DLing the Aja one now
― just sayin, Sunday, 22 November 2009 15:04 (fourteen years ago) link
^^^^ on this.
― Elvis Telecom, Sunday, 22 November 2009 20:06 (fourteen years ago) link
Goodbye, Yellow Brick Road was slept on.
― The Teardrop ILXplodes (James Redd and the Blecchs), Monday, 21 January 2013 19:56 (eleven years ago) link
Who's Next is awesome, esp for Entwhistle playing the French horn.
― the little prince of inane false binary hype (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 21 January 2013 20:32 (eleven years ago) link
Daltrey dissecting/isolating Moon's drumming at 1:34 possibly my favorite moment in the whole series:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLMc6J9h3mU
― Tarfumes The Escape Goat, Monday, 21 January 2013 21:06 (eleven years ago) link
I enjoyed watching pretty much all of the ones I've seen, but the one that has always stuck in my mind is Hysteria, funnily enough.
― The Jupiter 8 (Turrican), Monday, 21 January 2013 21:12 (eleven years ago) link
I wanted so much to like the Grateful Dead episode but I hate hearing robert hunter talk. HATE. Also when Lesh said something like, 'I wanted it to sound like a thousand lotus petals opening' I shot myself in the face.
Fleetwood Mac was another one. Love that album so much, but as soon as Buckingham pulled the guitar over and started doing eyes-closed, white-man-overbite to his own song I had to bail. And Stevie "it was so haaaard it was like being in the aaaaarmy' like oh spare me you rich assholes
Search: The Band self titled, Pink Floyd Dark Side of the Moon, The Who Who's Next, Def Leppard Hysteria, Black Sabbath Paranoid...and I thought the Purps one was pretty cool too, when they talked about trying to get back to the sound van from the room they were recording in that massive mansion.
The Sabbath one kept that very cool aura of superstition, care of old Bill I'm sure, you know that whole thing that 'something' happened during the recording of that album where every song just seemed to come together whenever they were the room together.
Priest one is funny mainly just because Halford always sounds like he's reading advertising copy, or something, I don't know what it is about him but I always get the lols whenever he starts talking. 'Heavy metal? Well it's that sound? It's really heavy? And it just really sounds, like metal?" Looool I love him so much.
― set the controls for the heart of the sun (VegemiteGrrl), Monday, 21 January 2013 23:28 (eleven years ago) link
Motorhead one is hilarious. Filthy is so weird.
― set the controls for the heart of the sun (VegemiteGrrl), Monday, 21 January 2013 23:31 (eleven years ago) link
Oooh and I love, LOVE the Sex Pistols one. Thought it represented the idea of the sex pistols as a bonafide band really well, or at least what they could have been.
― set the controls for the heart of the sun (VegemiteGrrl), Monday, 21 January 2013 23:32 (eleven years ago) link
sorry, I'll stop now.
of the more recent stuff Duran's, Peter Gabriel's and Primal Scream's were the best IMO.
i must see that Hysteria one Turrican.
― piscesx, Tuesday, 22 January 2013 00:00 (eleven years ago) link
I watched the 'dark side of the moon' one last night and tbh am amazed it got no votes here. it wasn't enlightening or essential, but the interviews (with all four band members, and storm thorgerson and alan parsons) were quite informative, especially in understanding who contributed what.
― resultant curry paste (Autumn Almanac), Tuesday, 22 January 2013 00:28 (eleven years ago) link
I slagged the Dark Side one above, but honestly, as I said on another thread, it's worth the price of admission just to hear Rick Wright describe how he thought to put that chord into the spinal column of "Great Gig in the Sky".
― pplains, Tuesday, 22 January 2013 00:54 (eleven years ago) link
wright's interviews were the best bit imo. i had no idea he had such an impact on the album.
― resultant curry paste (Autumn Almanac), Tuesday, 22 January 2013 00:56 (eleven years ago) link
neither did waters
― Mark G, Tuesday, 22 January 2013 09:29 (eleven years ago) link
The one on The Doors coulda been great but unfortunately becomes unwatchable every time Ray Manzarek is on camera
― Sir Lord Baltimora (Myonga Vön Bontee), Tuesday, 22 January 2013 18:02 (eleven years ago) link
otm
― set the controls for the heart of the sun (VegemiteGrrl), Tuesday, 22 January 2013 18:05 (eleven years ago) link
ray talking is a dealbreaker
iirc, not only did Wright admit not pulling his weight on subsequent records, but even Gilmour agreed with Waters on this point.
― Tarfumes The Escape Goat, Tuesday, 22 January 2013 18:24 (eleven years ago) link
's a pity
― set the controls for the heart of the sun (VegemiteGrrl), Tuesday, 22 January 2013 18:33 (eleven years ago) link
But Wish You Were Here is unimaginable without Wright!
― Sir Lord Baltimora (Myonga Vön Bontee), Tuesday, 22 January 2013 20:25 (eleven years ago) link
surprisingly Waters comes over as a decent chap in the Floyd one iirc. he cuts a chastened, humbled kinda figure, nothing like the obvious total pain in the arse that appears in the studio footage of '.. Pompeii'.
― piscesx, Tuesday, 22 January 2013 21:18 (eleven years ago) link
he always comes across as humbled in interviews, but I've also never seen him interviewed in a group
― resultant curry paste (Autumn Almanac), Tuesday, 22 January 2013 21:19 (eleven years ago) link
He has since admitted to being in the wrong when Floyd split:
He was right, I was wrong. It was really simple. I thought it should be retired but I was wrong. And I’m perfectly content with what they did. I had problems at the time. I don’t have any problems now.
― Tarfumes The Escape Goat, Tuesday, 22 January 2013 23:21 (eleven years ago) link
Ha, that's quite a ways from THAT'S MY PIG UP THERE.
― pplains, Wednesday, 23 January 2013 00:38 (eleven years ago) link
/pvmic
― Two Severins Clash (James Redd and the Blecchs), Saturday, 31 July 2021 19:54 (two years ago) link
Look, how can you blame him? With all the time he no doubt spent practicing the Tai Chi he probably had next to nothing left to work on that other kind of thing.
― Two Severins Clash (James Redd and the Blecchs), Saturday, 31 July 2021 19:56 (two years ago) link
The three that I've liked most are The Band (probably my favorite), Steely Dan's Aja and maybe John Lennon's Plastic Ono Band.
Plastic Ono Band has the obvious disadvantage of Lennon being gone, but there's a lot of little things they do very well, like Ringo's role in album (with Voorman emphasizing "Ringo has taste, that's why he's a great drummer" and even Ringo dropping his usual aw-shucks modesty to show that he knows exactly what he's doing behind the kit). The most priceless info IMHO is when Arthur Janov explains how Lennon came up with "God is a concept by which we measure our pain."
As much as I enjoy Aja, it's not among my very favorite Steely Dan albums but Fagen and Becker are hilarious (not a given - their liner notes' attempt at humor usually fell flat) and thanks to the way Aja was made, there's plenty of good material for a doc. The “Deacon Blues” exchange was probably the funniest moment for me of any Classic Albums episode: “Those were the days when I was singing like Jerry Lewis. Remember that?” “Yes, that was a very fertile period for you.”
― birdistheword, Sunday, 1 August 2021 00:12 (two years ago) link
Thought the Suede episode was amazing, especially seeing as I never liked Coming Up much after the giddy heights of the Bernard Butler era. Made me have a bit of a rethink all round.
― piscesx, Sunday, 1 August 2021 10:14 (two years ago) link
I think I've only ever seen the one about Peter Gabriel's So (unless that wasn't actually this series?)
― StanM, Sunday, 1 August 2021 10:26 (two years ago) link
ok - it was.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classic_Albums
― StanM, Sunday, 1 August 2021 10:27 (two years ago) link
Which is the one that has the guy from Disturbed in it? Was he in the Songs from the Big Chair doc? (Was that Classic Albums canon or just some doc?) Anyway, I know Disturbed covered Tears for Fears, but no one cares what that guy has to say about it.
The Songs from the Big Chair episode was great, some interesting stories and in-studio breakdowns of the songs. Can't remember if the Disturbed guy was in it, but if he was, it would have been a small part
― Vinnie, Sunday, 1 August 2021 15:19 (two years ago) link
The other thing I took from the "Transforner" episode was that Lou himself did not consider it a classic album, so he was not exactly the most engaged of participants.
― Soundtracked by an eco jazz mixtape. (Tom D.), Sunday, 1 August 2021 15:32 (two years ago) link
Because he thought it was more of a Bowie/Ronno thing that corrupted the purity of his vision?
― Two Severins Clash (James Redd and the Blecchs), Monday, 2 August 2021 12:40 (two years ago) link
And then later Ronno beat him out in the picker sweepstakes for The Rolling Thunder Revue.
― Two Severins Clash (James Redd and the Blecchs), Monday, 2 August 2021 12:41 (two years ago) link
It's possible he thought it was too much of a Bowie/Ronno thing, not about purity of vision tbh. I think his closing comments were, "It's just an album" *shrug*
― Soundtracked by an ecojazz mixtape (Tom D.), Monday, 2 August 2021 13:42 (two years ago) link
Lou's attitude to any album being singled out for praise would probably be: "Why, what's wrong with [other Lou Reed album]?"
― Halfway there but for you, Monday, 2 August 2021 14:22 (two years ago) link
Ha, yes, exactly!
― Two Severins Clash (James Redd and the Blecchs), Monday, 2 August 2021 14:57 (two years ago) link
The Bat Out of Hell episode is so great. I could watch Meat Loaf, Steinman and Rundgren talk for hours.
― nate woolls, Wednesday, 5 April 2023 06:43 (eleven months ago) link
love the opening with jim playing piano in a sick af cape
― kurt schwitterz, Wednesday, 5 April 2023 07:09 (eleven months ago) link