Lennon and McCartney: Songwriters — A Portrait from 1966
Interview by Michael Lydon, unpublished, March 1966
Just after the release of Rubber Soul, I had the chance to meet John Lennon and Paul McCartney in London, and I conducted in-depth interviews with ...

John Lennon/Yoko Ono Interview
Interview by Miles, unpublished, September 1969
These tapes were made on September 23rd and 24th, 1969, at Apple. When Allen Klein fired Ron Kass, the head of Apple Records, John and Yoko ...

Black Sabbath
Report and Interview by Steve Turner, unpublished, March 1970
2003 Note: Having written my very first article for the Beatles Monthly I was asked by the publisher, Sean O’Mahoney (aka Johnny Dean), to contribute to ...

An Interview with Frank Zappa
Interview by Miles, unpublished, November 1970
This interview recorded at Rattner's on 2nd Ave, New York City, on the 14th November 1970. After we'd eaten we escaped the rude noisy waiters by ...

Psychedelic Punks Refuse to Die: The Revenge of the 13th Floor Elevators
Profile by Metal Mike Saunders, unpublished, 1972
2009 note: The odd thing about this (unpublished) fall 1972 thing sent to Phonograph Record Monthly (unassigned) is that co-editor Greg Shaw would – I ...

Carrying That Weight With The Trashmen
Retrospective by Metal Mike Saunders, unpublished, 1972
2003 intro: This was an unpublished piece, wherein I strung together actual Dave Marsh phrases from his Bob Dylan polemics (in CREEM) under the name Dave ...

Foghat/Christopher Milk: Whisky A-Go-Go, Sunset Strip, LA
Live Review by Metal Mike Saunders, unpublished, August 1972
I WALKED IN late, so for all purposes Foghat were the opening group. People take their album seriously because Dave Edmunds was involved with it, but ...

The Flood: Dylan and The Band on Tour ’74
Report by Michael Lydon, unpublished, 1974
"The air was filled with music." – Raymond ...

The Act You've Known For All These Years: The Beatles and Sgt. Pepper
Retrospective by Mick Gold, unpublished, 1974
ALL ENTERTAINMENT HAS AN EXISTENTIAL dimension: all successful performances imply a life-style and a sense of values, a sub-structure of assumptions upon which the performer plays ...

A Recording Studio And Offices For Shelter Records: An Interview With Leon Russell
Interview by David A. Williams, unpublished, December 1974
"I ORGANIZED Shelter Records in Los Angeles in 1970. In 1972, I decided to move back to Tulsa to open one of the few recording studios ...

The End Is Always Near: Dread, Drunkenness and The Doors, Pt. 1
Retrospective by Lester Bangs, unpublished, 1975
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF the Doors should not be underestimated; it has been too often already. When you consider that they represented, in the positivist context through ...

The End Is Always Near: Dread, Drunkenness and The Doors, Pt. 2
Retrospective by Lester Bangs, unpublished, 1975
HE BEGAN, like all drunks who have arrived at this stage of the movie, to get in trouble. Havoc on planes, arrested in airports. Pulling a ...

Epistle to a Young Critic: A Letter from Lester Bangs, February 1975
Letters by Lester Bangs, unpublished, February 1975
Thirty years ago, RBP contributor Susan (then Suzan) Compo was an apprentice punkette and aspiring rock scribe living in Tustin, California. An avid reader of CREEM ...

Elvin Bishop: The Bourbon Street Irregulars
Report and Interview by Jim Esposito, unpublished, April 1975
2009 note: CREEM flew me up to New Orleans to write a story on Elvin Bishop. Rejected this. Editor told me: "You didn't say why Elvin ...

The Definitive Carole King Story...
Retrospective and Interview by Miles, unpublished, 1976
...and touching on the Phil Spector Story and the James Taylor Story as well. ...

Return of the Wicked Pickett
Report and Interview by Michael Lydon, unpublished, 1977
"I’VE ALWAYS WANTED to be a star," said Wilson Pickett. He clapped his hands and fell back into a deck chair behind his house in Englewood, ...

Paralytic Today, Paris Tonight: The Saints
Retrospective and Interview by Barney Hoskyns, unpublished, 1981
AT THIS TIME, A RETROSPECTIVE on the Saints could only be written by someone with a sense of great personal mission. Perhaps it's even a question ...

Joe Cocker: The A&M Years 1968-1976
Overview by Bud Scoppa, unpublished, 1982
BETWEEN THE YEARS 1968 and 1976, Joe Cocker recorded his first seven albums (all released on A&M). These recordings were composed of a wonderfully diverse array ...

Siouxsie and the Banshees: A Kiss In The Dreamhouse (Polydor)
Review by Jeffrey Morgan, unpublished, 1982
WITHIN STRAIGHT-LACED Vienna at the turn of the century, Gustav Klimt and Egon Schiele were producing graphic works which rebelled against the dying vestiges of an ...

Ozzy Osbourne
Interview by David Gans, unpublished, January 1982
On the bus en route from Salt Lake City to Denver in the early morning hours of January 10, 1982 ...

Malcolm McLaren
Interview by Johnny Black, unpublished, February 1982
This is the full transcript of the interview, a small (1500-word) version of which appeared in Over 21 magazine in May 1982. ...

30 Years of Teardrops: from Del Shannon’s ‘Runaway’ to Tom Petty’s ‘Refugee’
Retrospective and Interview by Cynthia Rose, unpublished, 1983
THE SPACE inside our souls where real dreams arise is created by a particular breed of gambler: the emotional, sexually aware, desperately honest human who risks ...

The Meters
Profile and Interview by Don Snowden, unpublished, May 1984
"One of my theories is that as long as I don't know about something, I can continue to seek it out," George Porter reflected in the ...

King Sunny Ade: An Interview
Interview by Hank Bordowitz, unpublished, 1985
HB: You are doing something most American bands wouldn't think
off, touring the country with a 20 odd person ...

Harlem’s Finest: The Apollo Theatre
Retrospective by Michael Lydon, unpublished, 1986
THROUGH A GAUZY silver curtain, multi-colored lights outline a band playing a mellow blues with a dancing beat. As the audience begins to cheer, the curtain ...

Deep Soul Mecca: Muscle Shoals, Alabama
Retrospective by Barney Hoskyns, unpublished, 1986
MUSCLE SHOALS: the very name suggests some grotesque image dreamt up by a surrealist painter. Shouldn't it be Mussel, you wonder... and yet this North Alabama ...

Paul Kantner
Interview by David Gans, unpublished, June 1986
This interview was an exploratory conversation for a book project that didn't happen. ...

George Harrison
Interview by Charles Bermant, unpublished, September 1987
HOW DID YOU pick this time to ...

From Hi to Waylo: the Spirit of Memphis Soul
Report by Barney Hoskyns, unpublished, 1988
LOVERS OF authentic southern American soul are in for a major treat this weekend when a "Memphis Soul Revue" holds court at London's Town & Country ...

Everything But the Girl: Shining Bright
Profile by Barney Hoskyns, unpublished, 1988
ONE OF THE few good things about the British pop scene in 1988 is that the subtle and reflective music of boy-girl duo Everything But The ...

Party Town: New Orleans
Overview by Simon Witter, unpublished, May 1988
2002 note: I went to New Orleans to see the Red Hot Chili Peppers in Dec 87, took a week's holiday there with photographer Chris Clunn, ...

Joe Strummer
Interview by Jon Savage, unpublished, May 1988
I'D LIKE to start with the busking tour – can you tell me what the point of that was? ...

Out Of The Cage: An interview with Keith Richards
Interview by Ira Robbins, unpublished, September 1988
IR: You’ve done a lot of interviews lately. It’s hard to pick questions you haven’t been ...

Carlos Santana
Profile and Interview by Len Brown, unpublished, 1989
This article appeared in edited form in New Musical Express

"This is a good time to replenish, to renourish and drink ...

Sly & Robbie: Silent Assassin (Island)
Review by Don Snowden, unpublished, 1989
HMM, HMM, HMM, let's see here...looks like Sly & Robbie & KRS-One are on to something here but I don't think it's what most people figured. ...

Joe Boyd: Elephant Man
Profile and Interview by Len Brown, unpublished, March 1989
IN AN UPSTAIRS storeroom at Hannibal Records HQ, the quarterback-sized Joe Boyd sits on a sack. Around him are boxes, piled high, brimming with the records ...

Motorcycle Slut With The Mystic Cross: Joan Jett roars up the alley in Singapore
Report and Interview by Gerrie Lim, unpublished, December 1989
JOAN JETT is sitting in a dressing room a long, long way from home, and the perceptible sliver of anxiety in her voice suggests that the ...

Texas Tornados: A Return of the Sir Douglas Quintet (+ 2)
Report and Interview by Bill Wasserzieher, unpublished, November 1990
PARAPHERNALIA FROM the psychedelic 1960s – retina-blitzing strobes, black lights, go-go dancers in body paint and big-dipper boots – all very, very retro, especially for a ...

Birth of the Blues: Touring the Mississippi Delta
Guide by Ira Robbins, unpublished, 1991
"YOU MAY BURY MY BODY DOWN BY the highway side...so my old evil spirit can catch a Greyhound bus and ride." ...

Joey Negro
Interview by Simon Witter, unpublished, 1992
As a re-and-mastermixer, artist, label head and man of many names – too many, some might say – Joey Negro is emerging as one of the ...

Now Is Not The Time To Talk To Snoop Doggy Dogg.
Interview by Angus Batey, unpublished, May 1994
Originally written for the NME, this article was not published ...

Robert Plant Unledded
Interview by Alvaro Costa, unpublished, 1995
ROCK GODS SHOULD never leave their Olympus, in particular if they happen to stroll along a Parisian street during the city's Marathon. ...

Jesse Stone Tells His Story
Interview by Michael Lydon, unpublished, 1995
AT 94, JESSE STONE, arranger, bandleader, and song writer extraordinaire, has spanned the entire 20th century of African-American music. ...

Blackmore's Night: An interview with Ritchie Blackmore
Interview by Steven Rosen, unpublished, March 1995
Ritchie Blackmore, the penultimate electric guitar player, perhaps the main proponent of the Marshall/Stratocaster combo, has traded in his stacks for a tambourine and an acoustic ...

Reasons to be Cheerful: Ian Dury, Kilburn & The High Roads, The Blockheads, Sex, Drugs and Rock'n'Roll
Retrospective and Interview by Chris Welch, unpublished, Summer 1995
In the summer of 1995 Chris Welch visited Ian Dury at his Hampstead home on two afternoons to talk about the glory days of Kilburn & ...

Lubbock on Everything: The Best Little Neo-Country Town in Texas?
Retrospective and Interview by Richard Gehr, unpublished, 1996
In 1996, Richard Gehr went down to Texas to explore the history and mythology of Buddy Holly’s home town. This was his unpublished report for ...
To see an illustrated version of this article, click here

Lubbock on Everything: The Best Little Neo-Country Music Town in Texas?
Special Feature by Richard Gehr, unpublished, 1996
In 1996, Richard Gehr went down to Texas to explore the history and mythology of Buddy Holly’s home town. This was his unpublished report for Spin ...

Phast Freddie's Hollywood (Circa 1973-1983)
Guide by Phast Phreddie Patterson, unpublished, October 1996
"There's a world where I can go and tell my secrets to...."* ...

Free: Paul Rodgers
Interview by Jim Irvin, unpublished, 1997
THIS INTERVIEW coincided with Paul Rodgers' 1997 album, Now, his first set of original material since Cut Loose in 1983. It was conducted in a Thai ...

My Lunch with the Blues Guys
Interview by Bill Wasserzieher, unpublished, 1997
IT'S NOT NEWS that Kim Wilson of the Fabulous Thunderbirds is a good harmonica player. But he also cuts it as raconteur with stories about the ...

Whose Alt.Country Is It Anyway?
Essay by Barney Hoskyns, unpublished, 1997
THEY CALL it Alternative Country, a generous umbrella of a category that makes room for acts as different as Steve Earle, Son Volt and Slobberbone; for ...

Can Radiohead Take America?
Report by Barney Hoskyns, unpublished, 1997
"THERE ARE lots of double standards with British bands when they talk about America," says Jonny Greenwood. "They like to talk badly about it, yet they ...

Musing on Marilyn
Essay by Barney Hoskyns, unpublished, 1997
LAST YEAR, whilst holidaying in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., I thought about how strange it was that Marilyn Manson, the satanic metal proteges of Trent Reznor, had ...

The High Llamas
Interview by Barney Hoskyns, unpublished, 1997
THERE IS nothing quite like the High Llamas, even at a time when symphonic "mood music" is all the rage and neo-easy listening has become the ...

Jimmy Webb: An Interview
Interview by Jim Irvin, unpublished, 1997
What first made you want to write a ...

Ozzfest ‘97
Report and Interview by Edward Helmore, unpublished, 1997
THE UNEARTHLY NOISE that barrels over the pines and down Alpine Valley in rural Wisconsin last summer was a clear signal that the natural order had ...

Radiohead’s Back Pages
Retrospective by Ian Fortnam, unpublished, 1997
DESPITE THE best efforts of such explosive talents as Suede, Polly Jean Harvey and the Manic Street Preachers, 1992 was not a great year for pop. ...

Aretha Franklin: Rockport Rhythm & Blues Festival, Newport, Rhode Island
Live Review by Barney Hoskyns, unpublished, July 1997
"Summertime, and the living is easy..." So ring out the words of Aretha Franklin’s backing singers as they warm up the crowd for the entrance of ...

Mercury Rev: Deserter’s Songs
Profile and Interview by Barney Hoskyns, unpublished, 1998
MERCURY REV, one of the great if most overlooked American groups of the 1990s, are finally releasing a new album, their first for V2 Records. Will ...

Pulp: This Is Hardcore
Review by Barney Hoskyns, unpublished, 1998
JARVIS COCKER is that most British of pop creatures, the Nerd-as-Superstar. Like the young Morrissey, he’s the spindly misfit, the scrawny mis-shape who outwitted the bully ...

Chic: Hammersmith Odeon, October 1979
Retrospective by Barney Hoskyns, unpublished, 1998
So few and far between are the live performances that have made any real impression on me that they actually stick out in the memory like ...

The Weight on Levon Helm
Profile and Interview by Barney Hoskyns, unpublished, 1998
LEVON HELM is perched on the arm of a carved wooden chair in his large house-cum-recording studio in Woodstock, N.Y., and he’s cackling his head ...

The Greatness of Gang Starr
Report and Interview by Amy Linden, unpublished, 1998
IN 1997 EMI Records was in the process of folding, and among the groups who were up for grabs was Gang Starr, a veteran NYC hip ...

Neil Young at Heart
Essay by Mick Gold, unpublished, 1998
IT MUST HAVE been 1969 or 1970. There was a rave review of Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere in Rolling Stone and I bought it from ...

The Hard Life of Brian: Brian May
Interview by Ian Fortnam, unpublished, April 1998
It's quite a spread – set in the majestic, green sward Jerusalem of the Home Counties' stockbroker belt, and surrounded by idyllic gardens painstakingly landscaped a ...

Elliott Smith: An Interview in NYC, 30th April, 1998
Interview by Barney Hoskyns, unpublished, Spring 1998
BH: From Kill Rock Stars to DreamWorks – it sounds like some kind of fairy tale. Does it feel like one? ...

The Handsome Family
Interview by Rob Hughes, unpublished, 1999
OCTOBER 1999. On the release of early-years compilation Down In The Valley - and four months prior to fourth studio album, In The Air - Chicago ...

Marley Marl
Interview by Alex Ogg, unpublished, 1999
Marley Marl talks about his inadvertent "invention" of the drum sample and his involvement in the first Eric B and Rakim record. This was originally intended ...

Crosby Stills Nash and Young: Looking Forward in Y2K
Interview by Debbie Kruger, unpublished, 1999
GRAHAM NASH IS by nature an ebullient man, but maybe this time he went too far. Such was the anticipation of the long-awaited new Crosby Stills ...

Andy Partridge: Lemons And Lemonade
Interview by Bill DeMain, unpublished, 1999
"I'M A LUDICROUS optimist," says Andy Partridge. "I'm in front of the firing squad and I've got the clown's makeup on and I'm telling gags to ...

Frank Zappa: Too Much or Not Enough?
Retrospective by Richard Gehr, unpublished, April 1999
By the time of his death from prostate cancer on December 4, 1993, Frank Zappa's taste for life on the road had all but vanished. So ...

ABBA: The Interview
Interview by Jim Irvin, unpublished, May 1999
Here a full transcript of the interview conducted with Bjorn Ulvaeus for a MOJO feature published in 1999 to mark the opening of Mamma Mia!. The ...

Echo & The Bunnymen: London, Astoria
Live Review by Alex Ogg, unpublished, May 1999
IT’S A STRANGE TIME for a rock gig to take place – midday on the Saturday of the FA Cup final. The unusual hour is attributable ...

Catching Up with Paddy Mac
Interview by Chris Ingham, unpublished, November 1999
This is an unpublished interview with Paddy McAloon on the release of 38 Carat Gold: The Best Of Prefab ...

Jazz Club … Nice: Remembering Ronnie Scott
Retrospective and Interview by Joel McIver, unpublished, 2000
The legendary nightclub Ronnie Scott's is celebrating its fourth decade this year. Joel McIver meets manager Peter King - a man who really has seen it ...

Pharoah Sanders
Interview by Chris Ingham, unpublished, 2000
THERE IS THE aura of legend surrounding the business of Pharoah Sanders. The fez, the dashiki, the Egyptian Prince goatee and the very name conjures instant ...

Stars In Their Eyes: Big Star
Retrospective by Bud Scoppa, unpublished, 2000
NOTE: I was assigned this piece the spring of 2000 by Revolver, but the mag was recast as a metal monthly while I was working on ...

George Harrison: All Things Must Pass (Apple)
Review by Jim Irvin, unpublished, 2000
New double-disc remastering of George’s solo debut. Now with out-takes, remixes and a re-recorded version of ‘My Sweet ...

Dear Charlie... Love, Lester
Letters by Lester Bangs, unpublished, 2001
Excerpts from letters supplied by Charlie Gillett to Rock's ...

Ahmet Ertegun and Various Authors: What’d I Say: The Atlantic Records Story
Review by Bill Millar, unpublished, 2001
THIS IS ONE muthahumping doorstep of a book as big as the Times Atlas and just as heavy. There are 900 photos and 160,000 words mostly ...

An Interview with Mick Farren
Interview by Martin Herron, unpublished, 2001
UK ROCK CRITICISM has produced its fair share of great writers: Nick Kent, Charles Shaar Murray and Barney Hoskyns, to name but a few. But ...

Willie Nelson Hits Springfield
Profile and Interview by Phil Sutcliffe, unpublished, 2001
IT’S LONG PAST midnight at the Springfield, Illinois, State Fairground. Heavy rain slants down, dousing the day’s tangled aromas of corn dog, funnel cake and horse ...

The Man Who Killed Paul McCartney
Retrospective by Jim Yoakum, unpublished, 2001
The incredible, never-before-revealed true-life event that sparked the greatest rock ‘n’ roll rumor of all time. ...

Looking Back with Bootsy
Retrospective and Interview by Martin Herron, unpublished, 2001
‘SEX MACHINE’; ‘Superbad’; ‘One Nation Under A Groove’; ‘Tear The Roof Of Tha Sucker’ – Bootsy Collins’ bass is the foundation stone of the House Of ...

In His Own Right: Ian MacDonald
Interview by Paul Gorman, unpublished, March 2001
I INTERVIEWED Ian MacDonald for my music press history In Their Own Write in March 2001. As charming, tolerant and insightful as the first-class prose on ...

The Box Tops
Sleevenotes by Colin Escott, unpublished, September 2001
IN THESE trivia-obsessed times, it's probably worth knowing that the first Number One hit recorded in Memphis by a Memphis act was 'The Letter'. It was ...

Something/Anything?: 30 Years On
Interview by Rob Steen, unpublished, December 2001
I RANG TODD in his Maui studio in December 2001, while he was remixing Something/Anything? for 5.1 Surroundsound. ...

A Q&A With Michael Franti
Interview by Stevie Chick, unpublished, Spring 2001
MICHAEL FRANTI has been one of the most consistently insightful, incisive, and intelligent voices in politicised pop music for almost 15 years now. ...

Matthew Herbert
Interview by David Hemingway, unpublished, 2002
House producer Matthew Herbert has made music from underwear, rodents and lazer eye surgery, remixed artists as disparate as Serge Gainsbourg and Moloko and is midway ...

The Great Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Or: What you don't know about Black Classical Music could be killing you
Retrospective by Glenn O'Brien, unpublished, 2002
BACK THERE during the revolution, when we called ourselves freaks proudly, rock was rocking the world. Musicians like Hendrix, Clapton, and Page, and philosophical bands like ...

One Part Genius...The Trail to October Road
Essay by Craig W. Thomas, unpublished, 2002
WHEN I WAS 14 years old the person I most wanted to be was James Taylor. It's a long time ago now. 1971. I remember clearly ...

Techno Beatnik: Thomas Dolby
Profile and Interview by Hank Bordowitz, unpublished, 2002
MY WIFE AND two-year-old huddle over my wife’s iMac. Billy, the two year old, giggles uncontrollably as the computer makes boinging and slide-whistle sounds, then ...

The Biggest Punk Rock Band in the World: Green Day
Retrospective by Ian Fortnam, unpublished, 2002
THE FACTS speak for themselves. With worldwide album sales currently in excess of 23 million, their Grammy Award winning, multi-platinum Dookie debut boasting an almost unprecedented ...

The Last Star: Kurt Cobain
Essay by Barney Hoskyns, unpublished, June 2002
Why Kurt Cobain's legacy is worth fighting – or at least waiting – for ...

Foundation Course
Report and Interview by Stephen Dalton, unpublished, February 2003
JOHN PANDIT is hopping mad. We were supposed to be discussing the latest album by Pandit's multi-cultural protest-pop collective Asian Dub Foundation, but our interview takes ...

Buried Treasure: Ian Dury and the Blockheads' Do It Yourself
Retrospective and Interview by Daryl Easlea, unpublished, March 2003
HOW CAN A platinum-selling album that reached No. 2 in the UK charts be classed as "buried treasure"? Easily. Do It Yourself remains a well-kept secret ...

Spector's Heirs
Overview by Robin Eggar, unpublished, April 2003
THE CASTLE PERCHES atop a hill in suburban Alhambra reached after a long and winding climb. The huge iron gates appear to have been shut forever ...

Wiley
Interview by David Hemingway, unpublished, September 2003
A transcript of an interview that subsequently became an XLR8R feature ...

Robben Ford At The Newcastle Opera House
Live Review by Craig W. Thomas, unpublished, November 2003
I'M TIRED OF the bullshit. I'm tired of TV advertising in my face. I'm sick of calls trying to sell me health insurance and I'm sick ...

On Rock And Rocket From The Tombs: David Thomas
Report and Interview by Steven R Rosen, unpublished, Fall 2003
WHEN DAVID THOMAS brought his three-day "Disastodrome" musical carnival to UCLA earlier this year, there was a surprise ...

Charlie Don’t Surf
Retrospective by Jim Yoakum, unpublished, 2004
THE NIGHT THAT the four members of the infamous Manson Family drove out to a secluded Benedict Canyon mansion and brutally butchered Sharon Tate, Abigail Folger, ...

Just who the hell is Robyn Hitchcock, anyway?
Interview by Jim Yoakum, unpublished, 2004
FUNNYMAN? Serious Artist? Ironic? Fey? Wry? Ask the average punter "Who is Robyn Hitchcock?" and you'll get a variety of replies, from "neo-psychedelic warbler" and "proto-punker", ...

The Beast Inside: The Afghan Whigs’ Gentlemen
Essay by David McKenna, unpublished, 2004
AMID THE SLEW of so-called ‘grunge’ acts that emerged in the early ‘90s, Cincinnati rockers The Afghan Whigs stood out for their soul influences and the ...

The Million-Pound Mod: John Stephen
Obituary by Paul Gorman, unpublished, February 2004
JOHN STEPHEN - who died on February 1 aged 69 - was the "£1m Mod" who was a vital element in the look of the 60s ...

Reflections on Kate Rusby at the Derby Assembly Rooms
Essay by Craig W. Thomas, unpublished, March 2004
ALEX FERGUSON was interviewed immediately after his team snatched an improbable victory from the back of the throat of defeat in the 1999 Champions League final. ...

Sparks
Interview by Rob Chapman, unpublished, June 2004
SPARKS ARE IN London to play the Meltdown Festival at Morrissey's request. Outside in the stifling heat the capitol is experiencing its own 90 degree meltdown ...

Frank Zappa: Baby Snakes
Review and Interview by Barney Hoskyns, unpublished, Spring 2004
FRANK ZAPPA was an irrelevant, redundant figure by the late ‘70s. The object of dorkish devotion, Ol’ Silly Beard had meandered off into cul de sacs ...

The Difficult Second Album Syndrome
Comment by Jeff Apter, unpublished, Spring 2004
ONE OF POP MUSIC’S most accurate axioms is that second albums are the toughest. Typically, you have some of the best years of your life – ...

ELO: Shine On
Sleevenotes by Jim Irvin, unpublished, 2005
IN THE LATE 60s, Jeff Lynne, leader of distinctive psychedelic pop group, The Idle Race, constructed a surprisingly sophisticated demo studio in the front room of ...

Magazine
Retrospective by Toby Manning, unpublished, 2005
IF EVER THERE was a soundtrack for the Cold War era, it was Magazine. Musically and lyrically, this definitive new wave band inhabited the wintry wastelands ...

Fleetwood Mac: The Making of Then Play On
Retrospective and Interview by Toby Manning, unpublished, 2005
IN 1969, FLEETWOOD Mac's prime mover had begun acting very strangely. First of all this East End Jew found Jesus, and began trying to convert everyone ...

The Joe Perry Interview
Interview by Ted Drozdowski, unpublished, May 2005
TO ROCK 'N' ROLL FANS, Joe Perry's half the front line of the dynamic band Aerosmith, a position he's held since co-founding the group with Steven ...

The Who, Track By Track, Album By Album
Discography by Steven Rosen, unpublished, 2007
Originally commissioned by Classic Rock Direct Limited for a Who DVD. (Note: All quotations in story come from Steven Rosen's personal ...

Mitch Easter Interviewed: Perfect Sound Forever - The Director's Cut
Retrospective and Interview by Fred Mills, unpublished, Summer 2007
NOTE: This is a vastly expanded version of the Mitch Easter feature, "Perfect Sound Forever," written for issue #76, of Magnet, published summer 2007. Interviews conducted ...

George Harrison
Retrospective and Interview by Steven Rosen, unpublished, 2008
IT WAS A day of unmatched California beauty; a startling and fiery sun perched high above in a crystal blue sky and blazed down promise. It ...

The Replacements: Pleased to Meet Me
Sleevenotes by Bill Holdship, unpublished, 2008
NOTE: These are Bill Holdship's original liner notes for the new Pleased to Meet Me reissue that were replaced last year when project producer Peter Jesperson ...

Turn and Face The Strange: David Bowie and the Making Of Hunky Dory
Retrospective by Bill DeMain, unpublished, 2008
JANUARY, 1971. There was trouble in outer space. Major Tom's signal was growing fainter by the day. And Ziggy Stardust was still an undefined blip on ...

Deja Viewed: Neil Young on CSNY and Living with War
Interview by Stephen Dalton, unpublished, June 2008
NEIL YOUNG IS in mischievous mood this morning. Sinking into his plush hotel armchair, the veteran Canadian rocker keeps his distance behind mirror shades and a ...

Independent Thinker: An Interview with Charlie Gillett
Interview by Alex Ogg, unpublished, Fall 2008
NOTE: The following is the full transcript from an interview with Charlie that took place towards the end of 2008 as research for my book Independence ...

Led Zeppelin: How Could They Fail? An Overview
Retrospective by Chris Charlesworth, unpublished, 2009
NOTE: The first time I encountered Led Zeppelin was interviewing Jimmy Page by phone when I was a reporter on the Bradford Telegraph & Argus, in ...

Lester Bangs at Home
Memoir by Richard Riegel, unpublished, May 2009
NOTE: I wrote this mini-memoir for one of the neo-Creem projects of recent years, but it wasn't ...

The Yardbirds and the Cereal Killer
Memoir by Keith Altham, unpublished, Summer 2009
THE YARDBIRDS were a '60s band that never quite found a fit and kept losing their shape as dissatisfied members came and went and the band ...

Rodriguez: An Interview
Interview by Rob Hughes, unpublished, Fall 2009
"DID I HAVE DREAMS of being a big star? Yeah, I had hopes of making it. We all do, but in music there are no guarantees. ...

Mike Bloomfield and Bob Dylan: Two Jews Blues, Chapter XI
Book Excerpt by Steve Roeser, unpublished, 2010
Author's note: This is my writing, but the work is mine and Barry Goldberg's together. It is Barry's story of his friendship with Michael (Mike) Bloomfield, ...