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PODCAST

What the Riff Next Gen

Rob Marbury, Wayne Rowan, Bruce Fricks, John Lynch

Every episode of “WHAT THE RIFF NEXT GEN” brings a ROCK AND ROLL album that debuted on the U.S. Billboard charts during a random month between 1995 and 2005. Four Classic Rock fans discuss the artist and 4 tracks from the album as it plays in the background. Then we riff on 3 additional “staff picks” of other artists that were also on the charts during that month and year. You’ll hear Classic Rock bands that were still producing new work, as well as some newer Alternative and Grunge bands that were

music music commentary

All Episodes

00:32:01

1969 - March: Blood, Sweat & Tears “Blood, Sweat &...

What the Riff Next Gen ·

2021/03/22

Jazz-rock band Blood, Sweat & Tears waited until their second studio album to eponymously name it Blood, Sweat & Tears. This band would defy convention in many ways. It was a large band, boasting nine full-time members, and adding a tenth in trumpet player Alan Rubin for one song. They also played a complex mix of progressive music that would come to be called "jazz-rock." This album would be the first with David Clayton-Thomas on lead vocals, and would spend seven weeks at the top of the album

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00:41:34

1994 - September: Blues Traveler “four”

What the Riff Next Gen ·

2021/03/15

Blues Traveler formed as a high school garage band in Princeton, New Jersey in 1987, and their fourth studio album, aptly named four, was their true breakout album.Blues Traveler is composed of guitarist Chan Kinchla, bassist Bobby Sheehan, drummer Brendan Hill, and front man, harmonica player, and primary songwriter John Popper. Sheehan would die in 1999 and be replaced by Tad Kinchla. The group would add Ben Wilson on keyboards in 2000. This group is hard to define from a genre standpoint, as

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00:35:42

1968 - December: The Beatles “The White Album”

What the Riff Next Gen ·

2021/03/08

By the time the ninth studio album was put out, The Beatles had achieved astounding critical and popular success. Their only double-album was self-titled. However it has become known as The White Album because, unlike the color and art of the prior Sargent Peppers album, this one was entirely without color, white, with simply the name "The Beatles" on the cover. Much of the songs on the album were created while the band was on a Transcendental Meditation retreat in India, and that influence can

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00:37:45

1980 - September: Pat Benatar “Crimes of Passion”

What the Riff Next Gen ·

2021/03/01

Patricia Mae Giraldo, better known as Pat Benatar, became one of the most prominent female rock stars when she made her debut in 1979. Her most successful studio album was this second album, Crimes of Passion, which would benefit from play on rock stations around the country and the new music video media spearheaded by MTV.Benatar had actually abandoned early dreams of a singing career, choosing to pursue health (actually sex education) at Stony Brook University, rather than music at Juliard. She

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00:26:50

1965 - November: Smokey Robinson and the Miracles...

What the Riff Next Gen ·

2021/02/22

When Berry Gordy's Motown Record Corporation began, the first group signed was The Miracles, also known as Smokey Robinson and the Miracles from 1965 to 1972. The group was also the first of Motown's million-selling recording artists, and the first Motown act to appear on American Bandstand. The group would have a nineteen-year run on the American music charts, with over fifty hits, sixteen within the top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100. Smokey Robinson led the group from its start in 1955 as “The

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00:47:11

1981 - February: Rush “Moving Pictures”

What the Riff Next Gen ·

2021/02/15

With the release of Moving Pictures, Canadian power trio Rush moved to their highest level of commercial success. Bassist and lead singer Geddy Lee, guitarist Alex Lifeson, and percussionist extraordinaire Neil Peart were established at the top of the prog rock genre, and this eighth studio album would be their most successful studio release in their career, becoming so when it crossed the quadruple platinum level of sales.The band had originally planned to release a live album at the conclusion of

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00:30:18

1967 - June: The Hollies “The Hollies' Greatest Hits”

What the Riff Next Gen ·

2021/02/08

One of the last British Invasion groups of the 1960s, and one of the few grroups that never disbanded, was Manchester's own The Hollies. Alan Clarke and Graham Nash founded the group, and after a few iterations joined with Vic Steele (lead guitar), Eric Haydock (bass), and Don Rathbone (drums) in a group known as the Deltas. They would first be known as The Hollies at a Manchester gig in December 1962, taking the name from both the Christmas season and in admiration of Buddy Holly. By 1967,

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00:37:59

1993 - February: R.E.M. "Automatic for the People"

What the Riff Next Gen ·

2021/02/01

By the time that R.E.M. put out their eighth studio album, the band had been a major factor in alternative rock for a decade. Automatic for the People takes a step back from the faster paced music of earlier albums and creates a more pensive, mellow feel with themes of loss and nostalgia for times gone by. Guitarist Peter Buck, bass and keyboardist Mike Mills, drummer Bill Berry, and front man Michael Stipe present a more acoustic landscape with this critically and commercially successful

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00:38:53

1977 - May: The Sex Pistols “Never Mind the...

What the Riff Next Gen ·

2021/01/25

We've profiled albums from bands which were a mess in real life before, but it would be hard to identify a more "bad boy" oriented group than the Sex Pistols. We'll also not be profiling any other Sex Pistols studio album…because Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols is their sole studio album. The Sex Pistols put out a number of singles ahead of the album, so while the full album was released in October of 1977, their single "God Save the Queen" was released in May of 1977. The Sex

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00:47:24

1987 - August: The Grateful Dead “In the Dark”

What the Riff Next Gen ·

2021/01/18

The Grateful Dead are most famous for their status as a tour band, jam band, and cult band. They may be the greatest touring rock group of the rock era. They were originally known as the Warlocks when they formed in 1965 in San Francisco, but had to change the name when they discovered another band already using the title. Jerry Garcia found the word "Grateful Dead" in a dictionary, meaning "the soul of a dead person, or his angel, showing gratitude to someone who, as an act of charity, arranged

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00:34:15

1969 - May: Crosby, Stills & Nash “Crosby, Stills &...

What the Riff Next Gen ·

2021/01/11

It is hard to think of a time in the rock era when Crosby, Stills & Nash were not already a mainstay of the genre, but every rock legend has an origin, and the self-titled debut album first appeared in May of 1969. It was a near-instant success and one of the harbingers of a turn from blues-oriented rock to more acoustic, folk-oriented rock that would usher in the decade of the 70's.Crosby, Stills & Nash were a supergroup from their debut. David Crosby came from The Byrds, Stephen Stills came out

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00:45:53

1991 - April: Temple of the Dog “Temple of the Dog”

What the Riff Next Gen ·

2021/01/04

In the aftermath of the death of Andrew Wood, lead singer of alternative rock bands Malfunkshun and Mother Love Bone, a supergroup was formed in tribute called Temple of the Dog and they released an album of the same name. Soundgarden's front man Chris Cornell had been Andrew Woods’ roommate previously, and wrote several songs inspired by Wood. After returning to Seattle from a tour with Soundgarden, Cornell approached Stone Gossard (rhythm guitar) and Jeff Arment (bass) of Mother Love Bone about

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00:42:53

1983 - January: Def Leppard “Pyromania”

What the Riff Next Gen ·

2020/12/28

All right. I got something to say...It's better to burn out than fade away!Def Leppard would go from a popular band to the stratosphere of rock music with their third album, Pyromania. The band lineup for this album would be front man Joe Elliott, Rick Savage on bass, Rick Allen on drums, Steve Clark on Guitar, Pete Willis on rhythm guitar, and newcomer Phil Collen on guitar. There's an explanation for why the lineup seems a bit guitar-heavy. While the album was being recorded Pete Willis was

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00:34:14

1969 - November: Santana "Santana"

What the Riff Next Gen ·

2020/12/21

One of the biggest, longest running, and commercially successful bands of the rock era was founded by Carlos Santana, the only consistent member of the band throughout the years. That band of course is simply named Santana, and their debut album was also known as Santana.Santana has always been about fusion, and you get that with this debut as well. There's jazz, Latin, calypso, funk, and soul in there, all held together by the guitar virtuosity of Mexican-American Carlos Santana. The debut album

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00:42:26

1979 - March: Supertramp “Breakfast In America”

What the Riff Next Gen ·

2020/12/14

While Supertramp had been on the rock scene for many years at this point (we already featured "Crime of the Century" on an earlier podcast), this sixth studio album would be the one that would make them superstars. Breakfast in America was originally going to be entitled "Hello Stranger" and explore the conflicts between founders Rick Davies and Roger Hodgson, but decided to take a lighter tone instead. In addition to Davies and Hodgson, Supertramp included John Helliwell on saxophone and other

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00:40:04

1991 - January: Jesus Jones "Doubt"

What the Riff Next Gen ·

2020/12/07

A little alternative rock, a little electronica, the UK's Jesus Jones had a hit on their hands with their second studio album, Doubt. It was recorded in 1990 and released in January 1991.The band got their name when founders Mike Edwards (vocals, keyboards, guitar), Jerry DeBorg (guitar), and Ian Baker (keyboards) decided to form the band while vacationing in Spain. They realized while sitting on the beach that they were three "Joneses" surrounded by a bunch of people named Jesus.Jesus Jones

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00:47:48

Christmas Songs That Rock (III)!

What the Riff Next Gen ·

2020/11/30

Believe it or not, we've made it to the Christmas season 2020 - and for some of us, its about time! We hope your Christmas is a good one, and hope you get a chance to listen to some of these Christmas Songs that Rock on this Rabbit Hole episode!“Step Into Christmas” by Elton JohnThis original song by John and Taupin has become a standard since it was originally released in 1973 as a single, and as a bonus track on the Caribou album.“Gabriel's Message” by StingA cover of an obscure Basque folk carol

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00:39:57

1986 — February: The Outfield “Play Deep”

What the Riff Next Gen ·

2020/11/23

The tight, well produced sound of Play Deep would make you think that this is the third or fourth album from The Outfield, but this was their debut studio album, and it went triple platinum in the United States. Percussionist Alan Jackman, guitarist/keyboardist (and songwriter) John Spinks, and bassist/lead vocalist Tony Lewis had worked together since the late 70's, and were in a band called The Baseball Boys when Columbia Records signed them in 1984. Their manager suggested that the name was a

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00:40:38

1983 - November: Billy Idol "Rebel Yell"

What the Riff Next Gen ·

2020/11/16

Did the artists make MTV, or did MTV make the artists? There is no doubt about the complementary relationship between the then-new music video channel and rocker Billy Idol. He had exploded on the scene with his debut solo album featuring hits such as "White Wedding" and "Dancing With Myself." His popularity would continue with his second studio album, Rebel Yell. Born as William Michael Albert Broad, Billy Idol found his studio name in a schoolteacher's derogatory description of him as "idle."

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00:38:52

1981 - June: Billy Squier "Don't Say No"

What the Riff Next Gen ·

2020/11/09

This second studio album is the one that would put Billy Squier at the top of the arena rock world in 1981. Don't Say No would produce Squier's first breakthrough single, “The Stroke,” a critique of the music industry, and the album would continue to contribute singles and AOR hits as it remained on the Billboard album charts for over 2 years.Billy Squier got his start in the Boston music scene in the late 60's, playing in locally successful groups through the 70's, and releasing a moderately

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