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Uncover the details behind the most iconic albums ever recorded.

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Unraveling Coral Fang: The Distillers’ Punk Legacy Coral Fang (PA Version)
9 min read
  • Album Deep Dive

Unraveling Coral Fang: The Distillers’ Punk Legacy

Neil Johnson 14 October 2024
Introduction In the vibrant landscape of early 2000s punk rock, The Distillers emerged as a formidable force,...
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The Making of Nimrod – Green Day’s Pivotal Album Nimrod
8 min read
  • Album Deep Dive

The Making of Nimrod – Green Day’s Pivotal Album

Neil Johnson 14 October 2024
Introduction In the pantheon of punk rock, few albums have managed to blend raw energy with mainstream...
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Stay Hungry: Twisted Sister’s Iconic 1984 Breakthrough Stay Hungry
9 min read
  • Album Deep Dive

Stay Hungry: Twisted Sister’s Iconic 1984 Breakthrough

Neil Johnson 8 October 2024
Introduction In the vibrant landscape of 1980s rock, Twisted Sister’s “Stay Hungry” stands as a landmark album...
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No Rest for the Wicked: Ozzy Osbourne’s Metal Revival No Rest for the Wicked (Expanded Edition)
9 min read
  • Album Deep Dive

No Rest for the Wicked: Ozzy Osbourne’s Metal Revival

Neil Johnson 6 October 2024
Introduction In the annals of heavy metal history, few figures loom as large as Ozzy Osbourne, the...
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Screw It!: Unveiling Danger Danger’s Glam Metal Gem Screw It!
7 min read
  • Album Deep Dive

Screw It!: Unveiling Danger Danger’s Glam Metal Gem

Neil Johnson 2 October 2024
Introduction Released in the twilight of the glam metal era, Danger Danger’s Screw It! stands as a...
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Bark at the Moon: Ozzy’s Iconic Metal Resurgence Bark At The Moon (Expanded Edition)
8 min read
  • Album Deep Dive

Bark at the Moon: Ozzy’s Iconic Metal Resurgence

Neil Johnson 30 September 2024
Introduction Released in the midst of a turbulent period for Ozzy Osbourne, Bark at the Moon marked...
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The Ultimate Sin: Ozzy Osbourne’s Glam Metal Triumph The Ultimate Sin
8 min read
  • Album Deep Dive

The Ultimate Sin: Ozzy Osbourne’s Glam Metal Triumph

Neil Johnson 30 September 2024
Introduction Released in the mid-1980s, Ozzy Osbourne’s The Ultimate Sin represents a pivotal moment in the evolution...
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Exploring the Legacy of Diary of a Madman Diary of a Madman (40th Anniversary Expanded Edition)
8 min read
  • Album Deep Dive

Exploring the Legacy of Diary of a Madman

Neil Johnson 30 September 2024
Introduction When Ozzy Osbourne released his second studio album, Diary of a Madman, in October 1981, it...
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The Making of A Thousand Suns: Linkin Park’s Bold Evolution A Thousand Suns
5 min read
  • Album Deep Dive

The Making of A Thousand Suns: Linkin Park’s Bold Evolution

Neil Johnson 28 September 2024
Introduction Released on 13 September 2010, Linkin Park’s A Thousand Suns marked a bold departure from their...
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Podcast Episodes

Riffology: Iconic Rock Albums Podcast
Riffology: Iconic Rock Albums Podcast

Welcome to Riffology, where a GenX and a Millennial talk about the albums from their youth. Itโ€™s more fun than it soundsโ€ฆ

RIFF059 – Stereophonics – Performance and Cocktails
byRiffology

In this instalment of Riffology, Chris arrives early and fully prepared, a development so shocking that Neil repeatedly checks he hasnโ€™t fallen into a parallel universe. They introduce Stereophonicsโ€™ second LP Performance and Cocktails, whose title came from a business card handed to the band at the bizarre New York club Shine โ€“ a haunt featuring trapeze artists wearing pigโ€™sโ€‘heads. Chris describes the record as a โ€œcomfort blanketโ€ and the pair recall it being one of the touchstones of their schoolโ€‘days, along with Eels and NOFX. They also reminisce about making tapeโ€‘deck radio shows as teenagers, a hobby that foreshadowed their current podcast.

Neil makes the case that Performance and Cocktails is โ€œone of the greatest sounding records.โ€ It is both huge and warm, can be cranked up in a car yet still reveals breathy nuance through headphones, and somehow remains coherent despite being recorded in multiple studios. The album was released on Richardย Bransonโ€™s V2 label, runs a lean 50ย minutes with thirteen tracks, and was produced by Steve Bush and Marshallย Bird. It sold 1.7ย million copies even as Napster ushered in the age of free downloads and propelled the Welsh trio from club dates to arenas. The hosts note how Kelly Jonesโ€™ gritty vocals, Richard Jonesโ€™ bass and Stuartย Cableโ€™s drumming are augmented by producer Marshallย Birdโ€™s keyboards and Astridโ€™s backing vocals. They also relay how Scarlet Page shot the cover photograph beneath Londonโ€™s Westway, with model Lucy Joplin posing after a long night of absinthe and opium.

As usual, the conversation meanders. Between facts, Chris and Neil ponder why Radioย 2 suddenly plays Ozzy Osbourne, debate whether โ€œpostโ€‘Britpopโ€ is an actual genre, and recall how Napster made everyone stop paying for music. A midโ€‘show tangent sees them visit Yorkโ€™s Jorvik Viking Centre to admire a fossilised human poo in a glass cabinet and discuss the educational merits of taking their children to train museums. Later they imagine a future AI scraping their podcast and mistaking their nonsense for historical fact. The episode ends with some gentle ribbing about their blog, the smell of the Northern Line and whether the Hyperloop will ever rival 1990s tiltโ€‘trains. Dry humour and affectionate digressions keep the tone light while the hostsโ€™ admiration for the album remains clear.

RIFF059 – Stereophonics – Performance and Cocktails
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RIFF059 – Stereophonics – Performance and Cocktails
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RIFF058 – Carcass – Heartwork
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RIFF057 – Black Sabbath – Paranoid
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RIFF056 – Oasis – Definitely Maybe and (What’s The Story) Morning Glory
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RIFF055 – Terrorvision – Formaldehyde
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RIFF054 – Feeder – Polythene
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RIFF053 – Manic Street Preachers – Everything Must Go
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RIFF052 – Ash – 1977
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RIFF051 – The Wildhearts – Earth Versus The Wildhearts
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RIFF050 – Gun – Gallus
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