Since the Beatles showed up with a built-in songwriting team, bands have always had those members who practised the mysterious art of creating and arranging compositions rather than relying on outside professionals to do that for them. Of course, even those great songsmiths liked to take a break and release an album of music that inspired them to pick up the quill and ink in the first place – Bowie's “Pinups”, Patti Smith's “12”, John Lennon's “Rock n Roll” (maybe more for contractual obligation...
Jun 20, 2022•1 hr 28 min
It's the tail end of the 70s, and top 40 music is heavily leaning to disco and AOR. Sure there's plenty of other things out there, but the charts point not only to disco artists, but pop singers jumping on board the disco train (Barbara Streisand, Kiss, Paul McCartney and Wings). Then 4 guys based in Los Angeles recorded and mixed a powerful rock and roll album in a little over 10 days, and for a brief time, the world couldn't get enough of them. Welcome to episode 157 of Love That Album. It see...
May 16, 2022•2 hr 14 min•Ep. 157
In the past, Love That Album has avoided getting political. The albums being focused on for the most part didn't require the conversations to get embroiled in the very furnace that keeps people blathering on talk-back radio and social media – mostly in uncivilised fashion. That all changes for this episode. If you don't like talk about what a pack of dickheads (I use less polite terminology on the actual show) fascists really are and the political masters who enable them....you might wanna skip ...
Apr 25, 2022•2 hr 5 min•Ep. 156
Are you all seated comfortable, too square on your botty? Then Love That Album can begin. Welcome to episode 155 of Love That Album podcast. As the 1960s rolled on, popular music evolved....and yet some of it looked back for inspiration. In the late 60s, the pop songs that had propelled the early British Invasion bands had moved on to make way for heavier sounds of psychedelia and blues based rock. The mod bands that had started out as purely “maximum R&B” were exploring different avenues wh...
Mar 29, 2022•1 hr 26 min•Ep. 155
The late 60s to early 70s saw a popular run of troubadours, aka singer / songwriters who were usually known for performing acoustic songs, often of a confessional nature or trying to make sense of the world through their work. The best ones sought out new musical territory as they progressed through their work. Welcome to episode 154 of Love That Album podcast. Joni Mitchell’s run of albums from the late 60s onwards were beloved of fans of songwriters. She had a way with unusual chord progressio...
Feb 15, 2022•1 hr 49 min•Ep. 154
As a kid, I was always told to “reach for the sky”.....I think what they meant was “reach out to Sky”....or something like that. Welcome to episode 153 of Love That Album. First of all, thanks for your patience. I didn't get to put out the planned Joni Mitchell episode in December 2021, so that was deferred to January 2022. That then got deferred due to the bastard bug hitting one of my co hosts. I still really wanted to put something out this month, so a chance encounter with a couple of old ta...
Jan 15, 2022•1 hr 20 min•Ep. 153
Episode 153 of LTA has to be delayed. This is a brief explanation as to (as Marvin Gaye would have it) what is going on. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Dec 20, 2021•5 min
Think of any number of singers of the 20th century to take to a stage: Elvis Presley, Aretha Franklin, Bon Scott, Nina Simone.....”shyness” would not be any sort of adjective you'd use to describe these people. We're not focusing on any of them this time around. Welcome to episode 152 of Love That Album Podcast. To say that Nick Drake suffered from shyness could be the greatest understatement you could make about him. He only performed live a few times in his short life, and from all documented ...
Nov 17, 2021•1 hr 50 min•Ep. 152
You know what it's like when you discover a band that was around a long time ago, and then you inevitably go down a rabbit hole and discover a whole lot more music in a “Kevin Bacon six degrees of separation” kind of way? That's happened to me over the last few months. Welcome to episode 151 of Love That Album. A few months back, Christian Swain at Pantheon Podcasts (who supports Love That Album, See Hear and a ton of other music shows) asked me if I knew of the 70s band from Montreal called Har...
Oct 16, 2021•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 151
Anyone who's listened to the podcast for a while or hung around the LTA Facebook group long enough knows that my favourite working band is Los Lobos. You'd also possibly be aware that group saxophonist and keyboard player Steve Berlin has joined me on LTA in the past AND on See Hear.....well, Steve's baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack. Welcome to episode 150 of Love That Album. Los Lobos have released a new album in 2021 called Native Sons. The fact that they (or any band) are able to record and ...
Sep 25, 2021•55 min•Ep. 150
The 1970s going into the early 1980s are generally regarded as a purple patch of Australian cinema – The Australian New Wave. Film makers had financial support. Audiences wanted to see their own backyard on the big screen (before bloody cultural cringe set in again). There were films that focused on T&A and machismo, there were a lot of period pieces, and there were tales of crime. The films weren't always successful, but there was a spirit about them that's still exciting. Audiences recogni...
Aug 21, 2021•2 hr 4 min•Ep. 149
Welcome to part 2 of the Love That Album 10 Year Anniversary extravaganza. If you missed the first part, I asked 7 previous co hosts to recommend some favourite albums recorded over the lifespan of the show. In part 1, I had the first four guests (Ian McFarlane, Jeff Jenkins, Eric Peterson and Heather Drain). The three remaining guests who will share the albums they treasure over the previous decade are: Billy Pinnell, host of the EON-FM / MMM-FM Album show and all round music guru. Shane Pacey,...
Jul 24, 2021•1 hr 49 min•Ep. 148
A decade ago (July 14, 2011 to be precise), I unleashed the first episode of Love That Album podcast on the world. Music journalist and massive Bruce Springsteen fan, Jeff Jenkins and I debated which was a better album from the Boss – The Wild, The Innocent and the E Street Shuffle (me) or Darkness On The Edge of Town (Jeff). I'm pretty sure I won...... I had no idea what I was doing in regards to audio quality (I still don’t), editing or how the discussion would go. In 2011, however, podcasting...
Jul 13, 2021•2 hr 20 min•Ep. 147
Remember episode 133 of the show where I spoke with hosts of some of my favourite shows within the Pantheon Podcast Network about their favourite live albums? You don't? Go back and listen to that show....I'll wait. Welcome to episode 146 of Love That Album. So after that episode came out, no one at all asked me, “What are some of YOUR favourite live albums???” With the scheduled episode for this month being deferred to next year, now is the perfect time to answer that non-asked question. On thi...
Jun 26, 2021•54 min•Ep. 146
Melbournians are a resilient lot. We had some of the harshest lockdowns anywhere in the world during 2020 (very necessarily – I won't argue with anyone on that point). Most of us got through it with good humour, grace, and countless Zoom meetings. One song kept going through my head the whole time – it should have become the Victorian state anthem....that song was “Stuck In Melbourne” by The Warner Brothers. Welcome to episode 145 of Love That Album. Back in the mid 80s, musicians and songwriter...
May 26, 2021•1 hr 14 min•Ep. 145
Growing up, before even becoming a fan of rock music, there was one name I knew very well – Jon English. He made a huge name for himself in the Australian production of Jesus Christ Superstar as Judas – Tim Rice may have declared him the finest performer of the role. Welcome to episode 144 of Love That Album I welcome music writer and biographer Jeff Apter to the show. He's just had his latest book published, “Behind Dark Eyes: The True Story of Jon English”. We talk about Jon's career as song i...
Apr 22, 2021•1 hr 40 min•Ep. 144
“Good evening, everybody. “Give a round of applause for the bar staff” These could be expressions you might hear from any musician in any bar around the world....but there was only one musician in the world who'd utter these AND the following.... “Let's hear it for Shane O' Fucking Mara, everybody” That musician is Chris Wilson. Welcome to episode 143 of Love That Album podcast. Chris was a hometown hero in Melbourne....he deserved to be revered around the world. He brought operatic majesty to t...
Mar 24, 2021•1 hr 21 min•Ep. 143
So many musicians have become popular based on one thing the caught the public's imagination. Daring to try something different artistically could be a “bad career move”. Of course, some musicians might have been “hiding in plain sight” with their real artistic ambitions all along. Welcome to episode 142 of Love That Album, the first episode for 2021. Michael Nesmith along with Peter Tork, Davy Jones and Micky Dolenz spent the latter half of the sixties rallying against the image bequeathed on t...
Feb 23, 2021•1 hr 49 min•Ep. 142
Love That Album Podcast Episode 141 - Sound As Ever: Australian Indie 1990 – 1999 The 1990s were musically diverse, but are often recalled as the moment that the so-called Seattle sound kicked down your door and got you to include its flannel shirt in your next wash. Gone were the horrible Linn drums of the 1980s....guitars, bass and drums were back. What was previously “alternative” now forced its way into the mainstream. Welcome to episode 141 of Love That Album Podcast. It cannot be argued – ...
Dec 29, 2020•1 hr 51 min•Ep. 141
Do you like Patrick Bateman? We're not actually here to discuss American Psycho, so the point is probably moot. We ARE here, however to discuss Bateman's favourite band outside of Huey Lewis and the News, Genesis. Welcome to episode 140 of Love That Album. Popular myth suggests that the world is broken up into two sorts of people – those who like their rock music straight forward and edgy, and those who like virtuoso noodling with complex counterpoint and time signatures. That latter group group...
Nov 28, 2020•1 hr 50 min•Ep. 140
You don't need me telling you that 2020 has...uhhh....not exactly been a highlight for a whole heap of reasons besides the obvious ones ramming their way into your consciousness every day for months. BUT.......I'm here to tell you there's a beautiful rose that grown out of the dirt. Welcome to episode 139 of Love That Album podcast. If you've hung around the Facebook page for this podcast long enough, you'll know I'm obsessed with Melbourne band Icecream Hands. No one expected an album of new ma...
Oct 19, 2020•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 139
The history of music (indeed, the history of humankind) is littered with tales of poor behaviour. It can range from stories of murder, molestation and drugs, to reports of every-day obnoxiousness. Welcome to episode 138 of Love That Album Podcast. As music fans, we make conscious decisions to either overlook or take to heart the behaviour of those we put on a pedestal for their art. We decide whether to separate the art from the artist or hold them accountable for behaviour and beliefs we cannot...
Sep 24, 2020•1 hr 29 min•Ep. 138
How do you approach the music of John Cale? He supposedly butted heads with Lou Reed in the Velvet Underground for being too experimental....the creator of Metal Machine Music didn't like that Cale was too experimental!!!! Welcome to episode 137 of Love That Album podcast. I am joined by my partner from the See Hear podcast, Bernard Stickwell and first time guest and music-head Fnord Buissant (aka Doug to his family). The central focus of the show is John Cale's most musically accessible album P...
Aug 22, 2020•1 hr 32 min•Ep. 137
The story of English rock music in the 1960s often revolves around some mates meeting up and bonding over a love of blues music or wanting to be the next Beatles. Then there's Fairport Convention. Welcome to episode 136 of Love That Album podcast. Fairport Convention assembled around 1966 and rehearsed in the same neighbourhood as another band of Muswell Hillbillies. The line-up has changed over the years, but the mission has always been to adapt folk music to a rock setting. Early on, they inte...
Jul 21, 2020•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 136
Pop music has had its share of bands with siblings: Gallaghers, Finns, Carpenters, Davies, Wilsons (some with heart and some with surf), Isleys, Warhursts….. Then there’s the Mael men!!!!! Welcome to episode 135 of Love That Album podcast. Sparks, (ostensibly, Ron and Russell Mael) are that rare beast that are hugely identifiable despite having changed styles (and record companies) several times. By the time they released album number 11, “Angst In My Pants” in 1982, they’d experimented with roc...
Jun 17, 2020•1 hr 43 min•Ep. 135
When we think of music coming out of England in the 1960s, it's often in relation to the Mersey Beat, psychedelia, prog rock, or The Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band. England was also going through a folk music revival in a different way to the American one in the early sixties thanks to a number of artists who saw fit to combine the traditional songs of generations gone with a contemporary approach. Welcome to episode 134 of Love That Album podcast. I am joined once again, by blues guitarist and vocalist...
May 19, 2020•2 hr 22 min•Ep. 134
Music fans generally agree that the experience of seeing musicians perform live can be the greatest experience music can offer. The way the members of an orchestra or a band can play off each other and feed off an audience's enthusiasm often results in an experience one can remember for life. The problem is that all too often that energy doesn't get translated as a recording....the moment has been and gone, and we're left with an album that doesn't bring out the experience for those at the show ...
Apr 20, 2020•2 hr 21 min•Ep. 133
Tired of having your social media filled with the latest COVID-19 stats or fire and brimstone messages from friends who aren't virologists offering their two cents worth? Never fear. This month on LTA, we will digress your mind with stories of murder, depression, and drug addiction. There you go...feel better? For episode 132 of Love That Album, I am joined by electronic music duo, Lovers and Poets ….oh yeah and the hosts of the wonderful All Time Top Ten podcast, Shannon Hurley and Ben Eisen to...
Mar 28, 2020•1 hr 27 min•Ep. 132
Back in late 2015 for episode 84 of LTA, I was joined by my friend and fellow jazzhead, Terry Frost to discuss 6 jazz albums we dug (I did it again for episode 95 in 2016 by myself – not as much fun). Episode 131 is now available to groove on. Terry joins me again as we stroke our goatees, snap our fingers and say things like “groovy daddy-o”……well, at least the part that's true is that Terry joins me again on the podcast to talk about some more jazz albums we love. Bear in mind, we talk about t...
Feb 18, 2020•1 hr 46 min•Ep. 131
Welcome to episode 130 of Love That Album. It's time for the annual discussion of favourite discoveries of the year. In the previous episode, I consulted with the great music journalists of Melbourne. For part 2, I am joined by my son Max to talk about albums that grabbed our attention in 2019. You want diversity? Trust me...you're gonna get it with these selections. A huge thanks to Max for taking the time to put his list and thoughts together. Sure there are a ton of other lists out there vyin...
Jan 18, 2020•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 130
