1988: Jane’s Addiction, Anita Baker, Iron Maiden

Welcome to the Album Nerds Podcast with your hosts, Andy, Don, and Dude. Welcome to the party, pal. It's the Album Nerds Podcast. I'm Dude. I got Andy and Don with me. Andy, how the hell are you doing today? You ready to go back in time? Yeah, man. You know I am. I got some cool ranch Doritos over here and watching some Golden Girls. Nice. I'm there. I'm there. I bought you, Don. How you doing? I'm ready to just do it. I'm sure you are, Don. I'm sure you are. This

is the Album Nerds Podcast. We love albums and the album format, and we take any opportunity to sit down and talk about some records. We've got a great show for you today. We'll each be talking about an album released in the year 1988. Don's going to ask us a deep question. We'll have some shout -outs to some other albums or album -related items we're digging, and then we'll spin that beautiful wheel of musical discovery to find out what we'll talk about on the next

one. This week, it's all about 1988. That's what I'm talking about! In 1988, the cultural landscape buzzed with excitement, marked by the release of blockbuster films like Die Hard and Rain Man, and the premieres of beloved TV shows such as The Wonder Years and Murphy Brown. Nike's iconic Just Do It campaign also launched that year, capturing the spirit of ambition and innovation

that defined the era. Against this dynamic backdrop, albums released in 1988 both mirrored and influenced the rapidly evolving tastes and trends of the time. Today, each of us will present an album released in 1988. So 1988, big year for me. Made a big cross -country move from the Midwest to the East Coast. Big change. Now I'm back in the Midwest where I belong. But albums, yeah. We've covered a lot of albums from 1988 already on the show. Particularly the best ones. Some good

ones, for sure. Yeah, we left it open. So all genres, nothing was out of bounds as long as it was released in 1988. What other albums did you guys consider for this one before making your final choice? Well, there's a pretty good one that I almost went with. Tracy Chapman's debut record is from 1988, but you're in a fast car and talking about a revolution. It's a really good record. I think it does deserve some time on the show. And it's kind of had new relevance

because of the Luke Combs cover. I think Tracy Chapman's kind of back in the spotlight. So I was tempted as well. Is she still around? Yeah. Yeah, yeah. I mean, she was around. I don't think she's recording or touring, but she did perform with Luke Combs on the Grammys doing Fast Car, I believe, a little while back. So that's something. You just have to give her one reason to perform. Sorry. What have you done? Well, I just wanted to actually mention a bunch of hip hop records

that we've already covered. I think it is important to note that, you know, I mean, hip hop was really, you know, rising to the, you know, the top of the mainstream in 1988. So we had done Boogie Down Productions, By All Means Necessary, Eric B and Rakim, Follow the Leader, NWA, Straight Outta Compton, and Ultra Magnetic MC's Critical Beatdown. Lots of good hip hop that year, but unfortunately we've covered much of it. How about you, dude? So I considered Cinderella, Long Cold

Winter. That was their second studio album. They're kind of a glam metal band. They had big success on their debut album, Night Songs. But this one kind of breaks away a little bit from the glam metal thing and leans more into the blues. Rolling Stones, Aerosmith kind of vibes, ACDC thrown in with that raspy, high -pitched voice. Dude, no! Nope, shit. Okay. It doesn't sound like that, so I still recommend checking out Cinderella's

Long Cold Winter if you haven't heard it. It's a little more mature, blues -rooted approach to heavy metal at the time. All right, so enough about those we didn't chose, and on to our choices. Chew, chew, chews me? Alright, for my 1988 selection,

I'm talking about Jane's Addiction and their debut studio album, Nothing Shocking. It's like a Joy Buzzer for George. So, Jane's Addiction, Perry Farrell on vocals, Dave Navarro on guitars, Eric Avery on bass, and Stephen Perkins on drums. This record, I think... You could say without too much controversy, it's largely thought about as kind of ushering in the alternative rock. Perhaps not to the mainstream, but at least kind of getting the foot in the door. Let's jump in

and play the big cut, the first single. This is Jane Sets. So yeah, that song was obviously pretty impactful on the radio back in this era, and I think throughout most of the 90s. It's a sad song, I think. I don't know, for some reason this time around, listening to it and reading the lyrics, it really made me sad. Yeah, the song is all about Pharrell's housemate at the time, Jane, who I guess the band is also named

after as well. Yeah, she's a drug addict and kind of just trying to get her life together. I saw a kind of interesting interview with this person in the story about... The Jane, the real Jane, in 2001, who confirmed that she did kick her drug habit, and she did finally get to go to Spain. Okay, that's good. A bit of a silver lining. Happy ending. Yeah. My clickbait headline for James Dixon's Nothing Shocking is, The most shocking thing about Nothing Shocking is how

well this album has held up. Yeah, I was really kind of impressed coming back to this after all these years. Not having heard it in a little while, it still sounds inventive. Modern, even, I would say, by today's standards. It's just like one of those bursts of creativity albums for me, or just kind of, where did this come from? Out of nowhere. It seems very influential,

obviously. I mean, lots of elements of their sound has been copied throughout the 90s, but I don't know if anyone really ever created albums that sounded like this. The way they're composed is so odd in comparison to most, or just unconventional, I guess, compared to most rock at the time. It feels pretty unique, so I appreciate that quite a bit. It truly was alternative at the time. Yeah. Yeah. As vague as that term is, it definitely was. All right, let's jump in here and play another

cut from the record. This is track four, Ted Just Admit It. I wonder if the bass line there had anything to do with Don's choice. That's often a part of it. I also like when they sneak the album title into the lyrics. That's always fun. That's fun for fans. So Ted Just Admit It is the seven and a half minute song, kind of an epic, sort of cinematic, but it deals with themes of media desensitization, violence. uh, hypocrisy kind of psychedelic. They've thrown

in some spoken word vocals. There's some audio samples, um, including, uh, an excerpt from Ted Bundy's final interview where he's like still denying his, his crimes. So that's the Ted, but yeah, you know, I kind of reminds me of like the, remember the movie natural born killers, which was sort of a comment on the media's portrayal of violence and sex. That was a rough watch.

Yeah. But you know, this song, i i think kind of has that that same that same theme um also the like the cultural fascination with violent criminals they repeat the refrain sex is violent uh which i guess apparently the band members you know they were debating whether to include that lyric because they didn't want to be perceived as glorifying violence or sex as a violent act i was kind of misunderstood though honestly for

the first 20 years listening to the album. I was like, what are they promoting here exactly? But again, it's a, you know, it's a comment, I guess, on how the media sort of. covers sex and violence in a similar way. Anyway, so, you know, pretty heavy song, you know, in terms of themes, but definitely an interesting track. You know, like I said, kind of psychedelic. You've got that swirling guitar from Navarro, you know,

which is, I guess, created by FX Pedals. I guess they made sure that Perkins drums were kind of free from overdubs. You know, they were trying to maintain that organic live feel, which I think, you know, is... All over the record. Even though there's a lot going on, it does kind of maintain, I think, a live and somewhat spontaneous feel. All right. Well, my clickbait headline for Nothing Shocking is Don says Donnie Likey. Donnie Likey. Nice and simple. But yeah, I've grown to love.

Both of those Jane's Addiction albums from that time. This and Ritual de Lobitual or De Lobitual, whatever it was called. I think they changed Ritual de Lobitual to be more hip. And with it now, it's Rish Da Bish. Oh, really? That's very modern of them. I mean, they're so important, I think, at that time, sort of taking us out of that glam hair metal that was so prominent, which I also have gone back to appreciate as well. Well, that's called getting older and waxing

nostalgic. All of a sudden, it's like, oh, I appreciate it. No, you just miss being young. Yeah. There's probably some truth to that. I think Perry Farrell's vocals, I don't hear people talk about this too much, but his raspy kind of high -pitched sound could have easily, and probably was early in his years as a musician, been used in the glam metal space. I mean, in 1988, that's what you would expect. I remember thinking that at the time, being like, he sounds

like ACDC guy, but... Yeah, he's in that register, but yeah, totally different use of it. Yeah, I feel like he's more informed by maybe punk and hardcore or something. I think that's part of what was probably shocking about the sound of this band at the time was, what's this guy doing? You know, I think there are parallels to the Pixies. I mean, they were doing sort of similar things, a lot of loud and soft. Even though this music can be somewhat wild and goofy,

it does feel more serious than the Pixies. The Pixies, it all seems kind of tongue -in -cheek. There's like some inside joke that you're not completely in on with the Pixies. And this is not that. This is kind of heavier, artier stuff.

duff yeah i would say maybe a little bit earlier because some of these songs i think do require a bit of a dissection to really get to the bottom of and there's a lot of a lot of just odd creative choices that i think happen throughout the record that can't help but feel a bit artistic let's jump in here and play i think this was the second single off the album this is mountain song and that drumming is so integral to their sound it's so organic and raw and driving but not there's

not a lot of flourish which i think we were used to at the time it just drives the song forward in this case downward down the slope of the mountain kind of in this case coming down from being high and that emotional descent as you As you're coming down the mountain. So, yeah, I mean, dark lifestyle choices and addiction being a common thread throughout the majority of their discography, really. Not just this album. My clickbait headline to describe the album? Nothing shocking, buddy. This album

tried real hard to prove you wrong. They're very intentionally being weirdos to some degree. It's not just performative. It's like, look at this album cover. I made this art piece. It's clearly going to cause... Yeah. It's like controversy for the sake of controversy. Yes, that was part of their vibe. That was Perry Farrell's thing, kind of. It feels like he's antagonistic, probably as a human as well. This is very antagonistic. It's very, I dare you to say something. I dare

you to judge me. A lot of angry young man boiling over here. That's often what's behind great art. Yeah, sometimes just being a brat. I think that's a pretty fair criticism. Look, I've got dreads and I wear weird outfits. Like, it's all been done before, Pear. Yeah. Everyone was kind of telling him that he was hot shit at this time. I think he did have a little bit of an ego. You know, everybody's like, you're the next best

thing in rock, so. It gets so intentionally dark and, you know, the Ted Bundy thing and Had a Dad and Pigs in Zen, like the incest, the drug addiction, urban madness. questioning authority and just, you know, vulgar humor. And like I said, I mean, the title was chosen specifically, you know, nothing shocking, huh? Check this out. Prepare to be shocked. And I think even as you said earlier that this holds up, it still could be shocking. If a young person were listening

to this, it's still shocking. And if their parents were unfamiliar and heard it, they would not want their kid to listen to it, I think. So that's the spirit. That's what was enticing about rock and roll when it was at its peak. We're saying stuff that your parents don't want to hear. We're a new generation. We're going to shake things up. I mean, that's rock and roll, man. That's

what it's all about. Yeah, well, in many ways, this was kind of the voice of a generation, or at least the sign of a new generation kind of taking hold as the 90s were approaching. So I'm going to do it, guys. I think this is a landmark album, and I do think it holds up really well, which, after all these years of saying something, so I'm going to nominate Jane's Addiction. Nothing shocking for the Albinerds Hall of Fame. What do you guys think? Yeah, it really is original,

I think. I mean, obviously it derives from, you know, punk and metal and that kind of thing. But it really doesn't, it didn't sound like anything else at the time. And even now, you know, it still doesn't really sound like anything else. And it really did kind of push rock into the

90s. So I'll vote yes. As I said, I never quite bought in, but this album's impact on music and the music I love, the albums, the artists I love from the late 80s, early 90s, probably wouldn't have made it to my ears if it hadn't been for these guys. breaking down some walls, so I'm going to say yes as well. All right, well, congratulations to Jane's Addiction. Maybe this will prompt them to get back together one more time. Oh, yeah,

this will be the inspiration. Hopefully they won't try stabbing each other on stage again or whatever was happening there. All right, so once again, the album is Nothing Shocking by Jane's Addiction, another great album from the year 1988. Before we continue reminiscing about the year 1988, let's hear a little bit about our friends over at the Can I Pod with Madness.

podcast yeah so the latest episode of can i pod with madness uh continues their exploration of vintage rock magazines this time they're they're looking at the fourth issue of raw which was rock action worldwide magazine um an issue from october 1988 i don't think i ever read raw no i would have i probably would have misconstrued what it was about the issue featured discussions of artists like bon jovi kiss alice cooper mr big and ozzy osbourne On the podcast, they also

sneak in some conversations about cats and sandworms. Okay. So it's a wild ride. So if you're interested in 80s and early 90s rock, Can I Pod With Madness offers humorous reviews of vintage metal magazines. It's a mix of music history and pop culture. And it's a genuine appreciation of the era's bands and trends. Sounds nice. Go check it out, everybody. So my pick from 1988 is Anita Baker's

Giving You the Best that I Got. I need a candlestick maker. I was going to say, Anita Baker, I'm in the mood for cupcakes. Sorry. I bet she'd never heard that before. Great job, guys. We suck. So Giving You the Best That I Got is the third album by the R &B singer who was born in Toledo, Ohio in 1958. She was originally in a funk group called Chapter 8, also with her producer, Michael

J. Powell. And this is the follow -up to her commercial and critical breakthrough, Rapture, from 1986, which I believe you guys talked about at one time. Yeah, that's a good one. Well, here is the title track, Giving You the Best That I Got. Such a smooth way of saying it's okay if you're mean to me. I'll still bring you your dinner. So giving you the best that I got, it was written by Baker, Skip Scarborough and Randy

Holland. Supposedly Scarborough gave her the demo and she ended up rewriting a lot of the lyrics and transitioning it from what was a conventional love ballad into something that was more an exploration of like marital commitment. And that's actually if you look at the lyrics for most of these songs, it is. It's long -term relationships and that kind of thing. It's like marriage counseling,

jazzy marriage counseling, essentially. Yeah. So her vocals kind of jump between the whispered intimacy in the verses to those powerful belting choruses. I think she's a contralto. Yeah. Karen Carpenter is a contralto as well. That's right. But she has a three -octave range. And there are a lot of renowned musicians on this whole album. On this track, you've got drumming by Omar Hakeem. I'm sorry. So rather than like a straightforward backbeat, there's more like subtle

syncopation. So it's a more interesting groove, kind of jazzy. Yeah. And it's not a jazz record, but there's definitely jazzy stuff going on. Not to be too technical, but... I know, man. You're over everyone's heads again. Fun fact about this song, apparently Michael Jordan used to use it as like smack talk on his opponents. Okay. You would sing him a Nita Baker song? Yeah, he's giving them the best that I know. Yeah, probably just saying it, not lighting candles

and singing it. All right. Well, my clickbait headline for giving you the best that I got is forecast calls for a lifetime of quiet storms. Yeah. In fact, I think we've had lots of queens of whatever on this show, but she's been called the queen of quiet storm. Okay. Yeah. But it's a lifetime forecast, right? Because, again, the themes of this album are about long -term, enduring relationships, trust, and that kind of thing. Which is not that typical, particularly in R

&B. A lot of R &B is about seduction. Hit it and quit it. Yeah. Or it's... Or just a lot of pop music in general is about like the thunderbolt of like initial love and attraction. And so this is about the, you know, the enduring. You're farting bed every night, but I still love you. Exactly. Yeah. So it has a very adult vibe, right? Especially. When you compare it to other aspects of R &B, we start moving in that new jack swing direction. It's just very grown up. It was too

grown up for me at the time. It was not something that was on my radar. For me, it was too grown up, but when I'd hear her songs, it'd make me want to be grown up so that I could experience adult things. Eyebrow, eyebrow. Hubba hubba. You know what I'm saying? Like mowing the lawn. Yeah, not that. That was the stuff I got tricked into early. All right. Well, let's hear another

cut. Here's Just Because. As Don was kind of hinting at, this is sort of a later part of a relationship where you just love each other. It's a mature love. Yes. It's like the album. You know, this is very characteristic of her Quiet Storm style, written by Michael O 'Hara, Sammy McKinney, and Alex Brown, produced by Michael J. Powell, of course, and it emphasizes that unconditional love, affection without specific

reasons. Peaked at number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100, so it did cross over from Quiet Storm into pop radio. My clickbait headline to describe the album, before autotune, there was Anita. Giving you the best that I got showed us how to Netflix and chill long before Netflix was a thing. I think she's underrated as far as mainstream success goes. Perhaps too tame for the MTV generation. She wasn't doing dance routines and trying to

impact that side of R &B. I think she just stuck with her style and there was success regardless. And she kept it classy. That adds to the romanticism of it all. love and romance but it's not crass it's not overtly sexual it's just reminds you of love that's all you gotta say sweet love all right well that's good enough for me so let's uh let's hear another another track here's uh here's good enough Probably the most jazzy track

on the album there. Breaks down to a really nice instrumental in the last couple of minutes there. Yeah, Baker actually does a little scatting on that track. Kind of surprising. That little samba vibe. Yeah, that's kind of a Latin feel to that track. I appreciate that. As John said earlier, there are some jazz flourishes throughout this album that kind of does make it feel a little bit more adult, a little more... You know, serious. He didn't say it that well, but yes, that was

what he was alluding to. My headline for Anita's Baker giving me the best that I got is it might not be Baker's best, but it's still better than most. I hear that. They're not the best brownies, but they're still brownies. I say this record is a little bit less sexy than Rapture. Yes. But I still think that is maybe Baker's strength,

at least for me. alluding to that sexiness without actually being explicit yeah i think she's really good at that and those are my favorite moments on here i think are the you know the moments that are a little bit more sultry a little bit more that sort of uh quiet storm vein it's when they stay in a hotel without the kids yep when the magic returns I read an interesting review

from Alex Henderson at allmusic .com who suggested that maybe Baker would have been a great jazz vocalist, but she never really pursued that line of music. And this album kind of hints at it a little bit. And yeah, I had similar questions like, man, I wonder what that would have been like if she really worked with a jazz quartet or something and how that would have sounded.

But for my money, I think this is a pretty good record and definitely we're heading shoulders above what was going on in R &B Very synth -heavy 80s. I think you meant head and shoulder pads above. Because, man, they were huge back then, man. Yeah, well, speaking of the album right here, I mean, she's definitely rocking some good pads on that. Yeah. Looks like she's going to

hit the football field after. All right. Well, giving you the best that I got remains a definitive example of sophisticated soul, which showcases Anita Baker's unique vocals. Check it out. Excuse

me. I'd like to ask you a few questions. It's time again for Deep Questions by Don. So shopping malls were reaching their peak as cultural hubs in 1988. What do you remember about shopping malls? In 1988, not a whole lot, but a couple of years after that, I did make my debut on the shopping mall scene with my ragtag group of friends. And it caused a lot of trouble. The big thing to do when I was growing up, there were two malls that were kind of situated fairly close to each

other in the same parking lot, essentially. That was maybe like a 10 -minute walk between them. So we would tell our parents we were going to the safer, family -friendly mall, and then we would sneak out the back. To the dirty mall. Yeah, the adult mall. The adult mall. It was just the same mall. It was the same stores, but it was... It seemed cooler because we weren't supposed to be there. So what did you do at the dirty mall? I don't even remember. We didn't

buy anything. We were just loitering. A little five -finger discount? No, never again. That's a shame. You haven't lived until you felt that thrill. I've heard it's exciting. Did you guys see that? Here and there. I don't know what the statute of limitations is. Well, there weren't cameras. It was a different time. Even if you got caught, you could deny. There's no denying now. So don't do it, kids. Don't do it. No stealing.

How about you, dude? For me, what I think about most with the malls at that time was Taco Bell, eating so much Taco Bell. Every time I'd go there with friends, whatever. If I was there to go to Caldor to buy underwear, I'd still go to Taco Bell. And eat five or six tacos. It was just a given. Was it just the novelty or the proximity or what was the draw? The price. Like, they were so cheap then for tacos and I could eat. I was

just constantly hungry as a teenager. Yeah. I mean, you could get tacos for like, were they like 30 or 40 cents each? Something like that. They were cheap. Yeah. I feel like the regular was 65 cents and the Supreme was 75 or something. Yeah, for an extra 10 cents. Yeah, I would just house those things, man. But yeah, so I stuffed myself with tacos and then go over to the Chess King, which was the cool clothed shop where you

could get like Z Cavaricci pants. And I was a little out of my price range, but they always

had the most captivating. employees working there okay lots of women working okay so yeah they're always dudes just hanging around outside of chess king it was kind of creepy if you had a mullet and a crusty mustache that was your place to shop how about you donald uh well it was a different era so you know my mom would be shopping for something and i would just go off on my own right you know it's like to the other end of the mall to to kb toys and i would just you know sit there

and stare at toys or whatever by 88 it was probably more like video games that i was like just staring at hoping that you were the one trying to abduct adults from the toy store hey mister would you like a lollipop Yeah. And I also remember randomly, I just remember like an organ store, you know, like the musical instrument organs, like the old fashioned ones that would kind of play on their own and stuff. Thank you for clarifying.

Yeah. But they would have them out like sometimes in the middle of the mall and you could like play with them and stuff. They'd have the little drum machine under it and stuff. They always had those pre -programmed songs playing. Yeah. Yeah. All right. Well, what do you remember from the glory days of shopping malls? Let us know on Instagram and Facebook or leave a comment on our website, albumnerds .com. You didn't think we'd get through 1988 without some metal, did

you? Iron Maiden. I think you promised that in the last episode. Pretty much did. Glad you delivered. Except this has a fold sound. It doesn't have that tinny production that Andy is so fond of. So I went with the 1988 Iron Maiden album, Seventh

Son of a Seventh Son. Iron Maiden emerged from London's New Wave of British Heavy Metal scene in the late 70s, powered by Bruce Dickinson on vocals, Dave Murray on guitar, Adrian Smith on guitar synthesizer, Steve Harris on bass and string synthesizer, and Nico McBrain on drums. Galloping rhythms, literary lyrics, fearsome mascot Eddie, very important to the whole vibe. They became metal gods through a series of increasingly ambitious albums. By 1988, they got super ambitious

with this one. The seventh son of the seventh son is their seventh studio album, son. So... There's a whole theme, a concept through it. We can kind of delve into that. It's loose. It's more of a guideline for the subjects of these songs. Tied to a folk tale about if you're the seventh in the line of your family, and it's all sons, and then that guy does the same thing, has all sons, and its seventh son then has these... magical, clairvoyant powers and a whole bunch

of different folklore around it. But that's the foundation for this. Let's play a little bit of the titular track, Seven Son of a Seven Son. Now, we really haven't covered it yet, but the album's called Seven Son of a Seven Son. So, you know, This song in the whole album, it's a progressive metal epic blending traditional heavy metal, you know, that kind of traditional Iron Maiden sound with full -on synthesizers and complex song structures and taking kind of

a departure. It's even more theatrical somehow than what they had been doing. But I think the time was right. I mean, this is 1988. They had been together for quite a while, many albums under their belt, and music was changing. I mean, look at what was happening with Jane's Addiction.

right so where is a band to go like iron maiden you know so they kind of found their second wind or third wind and created probably one of their you know one of their top three greatest albums i i believe opened the floodgates for progressive metal to maybe hit more of a mainstream audience my clickbait headline to describe the album mysticism prophecies and a whole lot of shredding seventh son is iron maiden at its most weirdly epic it's

huge It's big. It's over the top. It's kind of the polar opposite of what Guns N' Roses was doing as they were on their rise in that metal space. So I really learned to appreciate this album with seven full listens every seventh hour of every seventh day. So yeah, I really enjoyed it. And I think all the songs hold up really well. So why don't we check out another one? This one is The Evil That Men Do. He's talking

to my inner Jack Black there. Evil That Men Do is loosely adapted from Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, which I believe is a line from that play. I think it works really well in the context of the loose story that's being told here. Probably my favorite track off the album. My clickbait headline for Seventh Son of a Seventh Son. Maiden expertly walks the razor's edge between sci -fi

camp and prog rock excess. This is right around the edge for me in terms of going too far down that campy road with some of the storytelling and imagery here. But I think they have this great musical component and really interesting prog rock style infused into this metal here that kind of keeps pulling me back. It keeps pulling me back to reality. And I think overall it kept me on the light side here in the sun.

So I appreciated this one. Quite a bit. I think they're really, I mean, they're obviously a great metal band. And I think the guitar work on here is just awesome. And some great grooves. The synth usage, you know, there is that element here, which I think was a little more prevalent than maybe it has been in the past with them. But I really thought it was tastefully used, which is often not the case in this time period. But I think they did a good job with it. It's

kind of dark. It's occasional. It doesn't really throw things off too much for me. Yeah, I think this is a really, really solid Iron Maiden record for my money. They were also smart to, into this loose story, they tied in the devil and apocalyptic stuff. Not super clearly, but they definitely hint at it, that the seventh son is potentially the Antichrist and things, which is what people

expected from Iron Maiden. So they got that little devil -y stuff in there, and then this story based on folklore as well as a series of books that's... I guess, was popular at the time. Seems like it's about prophesying the future or being able to see into the future. Yeah. Which I appreciate that kind of aspect to it. I love that Eddie on the cover there is kind of like, he's carrying his wounds from previous albums. I never really picked up on that before, but apparently it's...

The damage done. Yeah, the damage done to Eddie over the course of his time as the Maiden mascot. We're ready. Yeah, more bands being mascots. All right, why don't we jump into another track? This one's called The Clairvoyant. Like have a sing -off between Dio and Dickinson, kind of fun. Yeah, it's in that same way. There's not really metal screaming, but there's that sort of operatic vocal thing that they could go back and forth on, see whose is more powerful, like

two beams against each other. So the Clairvoyant was actually the first track written for the album. It's written by bassist Steve Harris. It's his baseline, you know, at the beginning, of course. You've got the guitar solo on this track is done by Dave Murray. And, you know, like the rest of the album, there's some heavy

synths thrown in there. According to Harris, the song was directly inspired by the death of British psychic Doris Stokes, which prompted him to wonder whether she could foresee her own death. And so that question kind of led him to go down this territory for the whole concept of the album. So at this point in the story, the seventh son of the seventh son, you know, is now a developed, fully fledged seer with control

over his prophetic visions. They become overwhelming, causing him to confuse what he sees with his eyes versus what he sees with his mind's eye. This is heavy stuff, you know? It's dangerous. Yeah, death is ultimately the only way to escape, you know, sort of this burden. I believe he dies, spoiler alert. Yeah, it's all up for debate on the whole thing, you know? Yeah, and is it a suicide or is he put to death somehow? Or is it a sacrifice for the many? But yeah, I mean,

it's really hard to say. I don't truly have an answer for you, Don. you know throughout the arc of the story we cover things like the birth and realization of his powers through moon child and infinite dreams the struggle with purpose and isolation through the songs can i play with madness and the evil that men do There's that climactic prophecy and breakdown with Seventh Son of a Seventh Son leading into the prophecy

and the clairvoyant here. And then the album ending with only the good die young, moving into dissent and disillusionment. I mean, it's all kind of up for debate. It's up for interpretation by the listener. So, you know, there's a lot of opinions out there. I just recommend listening to the record and trying to piece it together yourself for the most satisfying story. Sorry,

son, that's all I have. So my clickbait headline for Seventh Son of the Seventh Son is Seventh Times the Charm, Maiden Delivers Prog Metal Prophecy. Yeah, I don't know the Iron Maiden catalog all that well, although I know, I've definitely heard a lot of it. I imagine this is... Probably one of their best albums. You know, I think they really, maybe they hit their stride here. Maybe it's the right blend of metal and prog rock.

And fantasy. Yeah. I mean, you do have a lot of, you know, talented musicians in this group. And, you know, it works together. I mean, Dickinson is a pretty compelling, you know, metal vocalist. I mean, the guitar work is, you know, you've got the dueling guitars and the guitar harmony. It's pretty good. Not to get too technical. All right. So this is a career highlight of a band full of career highlights, but I think it's one

of their crowning achievements. So I'm going to nominate this one for the Elm Nerds Hall of Fame. A band unafraid of change and adjustment in their sound. I think that's a big deal for someone so established. And I think this is a crowning achievement of all of the best parts of what Iron Maiden was capable of. So what do you guys think? Yeah, if it was instrumental, I would say for sure, shoo -in. But since we do have the lyrical component, I guess it's pretty

cool. I do enjoy it quite a bit, so I will say yes as well. Yes, I'll vote yes. I think this is... This is Iron Maiden. You know, this is, they are a thing. You know, it's kind of like a signature sound. You know, I mean, there's other groups that have a similar sound, but Iron Maiden is like its own category, I think. And so because of that, they belong. They do belong. Okay, so if you haven't heard the seventh album, Seventh Son of a Seventh Son, I strongly encourage

you to do so. Can you dig it? Can you dig it?

All right, so on your journey back from 1988, did you happen to dig anything? Uh, yeah, obviously. Sha, was that a saying back in the day? Sha, you're right. Yeah, first one for me is from Dublin, Ireland. Talk about the murder capital. They have a new studio album, their third just came out called Blindness. Let's play track seven, The Fall. The Fall. I like it. It didn't take much. Yeah, it's a hard rock record, I would say, but there's definitely some experimental

elements to it. Keeps you guessing, keeps you on your toes. Very enjoyable. Another one from Ireland. We seem to be an Ireland group the last six months here for us on the show. Last one for me is from Nottingham, England. Talk about now. She has a new album out. This is the singer -songwriter. She's usually in more of the R &B soul space. Oh, now's the name of the artist. He said, we're talking about now. I'm like, okay. No, that's her name. N -A -O. Let's play track

three. This is called Happy People. I want to say hard pass, but I'll give it a shot. That's okay. It was definitely a more poppier affair than she has in the past. A little less soul, a little more pop. But I found it pretty catchy. What you been digging on, Don? Well, Brian Eno and another English artist named B .D. Wolf, they are collaborating together, and they've actually created two albums, all going to be released on the same day, Luminal and Lateral.

Apparently, one is dream music and one is space music. Oh. But actually, it's more poppy than you would think. Here's a track called Suddenly. The world up again. Betty Wolf is the vocalist? I think it's Beattie. That wolf could not blow a house down, man. Yeesh. I'm sure it'll be interesting, man. You always count on Eno for something a little bit outside the box. So another thing,

I'm going to try to get out and see it. pink floyd live at pompeii was a movie made in in 1972 capturing their performance uh you guys know pompeii where like mount vesuvius you know erupted and you know uh in the coliseum of pompeii pink floyd performed with nobody around. It was an interesting cinematic concept right before Dark Side of the Moon came out. But anyway, so that just got a 4K restoration, and it's going to be in IMAX theaters in the upcoming weeks,

so I'm hoping to check that out. Here's a cut from that. This is a performance of Echoes. I think I've seen clips from those performances. Yeah. It's really cool. Yeah. Hard pass. It's kind of a... It's sort of the... It kind of marks the end of that psychedelic era of Pink Floyd before they kind of moved on to Dark Side and Wish You Were Here. All right. What are you digging, dude? Well, I couldn't get Seventh Son with Seventh

Son out of my head, see? So I went with an EP I missed in 2024 from a band called One Bad Son. The EP is called OBS, The New Stuff, S -H asterisk T, because they're Canadian, they want to get too dirty. It's the new shit. Oh my gosh. Yeah, so their last album was 2017. They kind of had taken a long break. Let's listen to a little bit of Sister Renegade. I was really a big fan of theirs a few years ago. They kind of blended alt -rock and 80s metal into this nice amalgamation.

Two of the remaining members, the vocalist Shane Volk and Kurt Dahl on drums, but otherwise they've replaced some band members since the last album. Hard pass. Fair enough. I can take it. All right. And then from my vinyl collection, I also have this on CD, The Rival Sons. Their second full -length album, Pressure and Time from 2011. They're a blues rock. Band from Long Beach, California. Jay Buchanan's voice is awesome. Scott Holliday's fuzz -heavy guitar riffs really help them stand

out in the crowd. Let's listen to a little bit of the title track, Pressure and Time. It's a quick album. The songs are focused, minimal overdubs. Live in the room feel, of course, produced by the great Dave Cobb. So definitely worth checking out. What are you digging? Let us know. Join us on the socials, Facebook, Instagram, and threads. Also on our website, albumnerds .com. It will

be a discovery of extraordinary value. Well, it's about that time on the show, and I'm reminded of former American president George W. Bush. who said during his 1988 RNC acceptance speech, We're a nation of community, of thousands and tens of thousands of ethnic, religious, social, business, labor union, neighborhood, regional, and other organizations, all of them varied, voluntary, and unique. A brilliant diversity spread like stars, like a thousand points of

light in a broad and peaceful sky. A thousand points of light. Then he said, I got that. I got that. It's bad. Read my lips. All right. With that in mind, let's bring out my phone in yours, Wadbot, and see what we'll be talking about on next week's episode. When bands hit their commercial peak, the results are legendary.

Next time, you'll step into the ring to put two albums toe -to -toe, throwing down with records that captured bands at their commercial peak, where the stakes were high and the hits just

kept coming. well it is just going to be the two of us me and don so facing off we'll we'll be in the squared circle fighting it out a squared circle yeah that's the ring man the boxing ring so does that mean only one of you is gonna make it back from i barely survive any of these man so we'll see it should be a good one we both what you gonna do brother can you smell what the dude is cooking What was your favorite album from 1988? What else are you listening to? Email

us at podcast at albumnerds .com. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, and Blue Sky at Album Nerds. Also, visit albumnerds .com to suggest topics for the show, peruse the Hall of Fame, and listen to all 288 episodes. And the best way to support the show is to share it. Please subscribe, rate, and review on your favorite podcast app. Thank you, as always, for joining us here on the Album Nerds Podcast. We'll catch you next week, but we'll be ready to rumble.

That's what's up. tonight, buddy. Catch you later. Oh, yeah. Snap into a Slim Jim.