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Riffology: Iconic Rock Albums

Uncover the details behind the most iconic albums ever recorded.

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The Evolution of Slipknot: We Are Not Your Kind slipknot-we_are_not_your_kind
14 min read
  • Album Deep Dive

The Evolution of Slipknot: We Are Not Your Kind

Neil Johnson 9 August 2024
Introduction Few albums in the twenty-first century have shaken heavy music quite like Slipknotโ€™s “We Are Not...
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Extreme II: Pornograffitti – A Glam Metal Game-Changer extreme-extreme_ii_-_pornograffitti
9 min read
  • Album Deep Dive

Extreme II: Pornograffitti – A Glam Metal Game-Changer

Neil Johnson 7 August 2024
Introduction In the landscape of early 1990s rock music, “Extreme II: Pornograffitti” by the band Extreme stands...
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Unveiling The Dark Side Of The Moon: Pink Floyd’s Timeless Classic pink_floyd-the_dark_side_of_the_moon
15 min read
  • Album Deep Dive

Unveiling The Dark Side Of The Moon: Pink Floyd’s Timeless Classic

Neil Johnson 6 August 2024
Introduction Some albums seem to transcend their era, yet few have left a mark as deep as...
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The Making of Rancid: Punk’s Defining Album Rancid
13 min read
  • Album Deep Dive

The Making of Rancid: Punk’s Defining Album

Neil Johnson 1 August 2024
Introduction Few debut albums have the raw force and restless spirit of Rancidโ€™s self-titled release. Dropping in...
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Unraveling Sabotage: Black Sabbath’s Iconic Album black_sabbath-sabotage_(2014_remaster)
10 min read
  • Album Deep Dive

Unraveling Sabotage: Black Sabbath’s Iconic Album

Neil Johnson 28 July 2024
Introduction Black Sabbath stands as a towering figure, their music both groundbreaking and influential. Released on 28...
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Ride The Lightning: Metallica’s Thrash Metal Revolution metallica-ride_the_lightning_(deluxe_remaster)
13 min read
  • Album Deep Dive

Ride The Lightning: Metallica’s Thrash Metal Revolution

Neil Johnson 27 July 2024
Introduction Some albums do more than capture a momentโ€”they change the course of music. Metallicaโ€™s Ride The...
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All We Know is Falling: Paramore’s Iconic Debut paramore-all_we_know_is_falling
14 min read
  • Album Deep Dive

All We Know is Falling: Paramore’s Iconic Debut

Neil Johnson 26 July 2024
Introduction Some albums change everything, even if you do not see it at first. “All We Know...
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Back In Black: AC/DC’s Resurrection ac_dc-back_in_black
14 min read
  • Album Deep Dive

Back In Black: AC/DC’s Resurrection

Neil Johnson 25 July 2024
Introduction Few albums in rock history have changed the course of music like Back in Black by...
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Alice Cooper’s ‘Trash’: A Glam Metal Revolution alice_cooper-trash
14 min read
  • Album Deep Dive

Alice Cooper’s ‘Trash’: A Glam Metal Revolution

Neil Johnson 25 July 2024
Alice Cooper's album "Trash," released on July 25, 1989, marked a pivotal comeback in his career, blending...
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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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