Aubrey Powell, Hipgnosis co-founder and the creative director for Pink Floyd's massive The Later Years: 1987-2019 box set, tells us why having a personal bond with the artist helps with the creative process and why the intended visual message must connect with the music itself.
The Beatles were, for all intents and purposes, over. While new, original music would follow in May 1970 with the release of Let It Be, the balance of the recording sessions for what ultimately became September 1969's Abbey Road is generally acknowledged as the in-studio swan song for those four Liverpool moptops who forever defined, if not outright created, the popular music artform in the 1960s.
Few biopics could get away with recurring nonlinear narrative beats the way Rocketman does, but given the larger-than-life nature of its titular subject, Sir Elton John, the movie's storytelling trajectory makes perfect sense. Director Dexter Fletcher's unabashed commitment to occasionally mirroring those classic MGM musical moments of yore—with Elton's full blessing, of course—succeeds with much audio/visual aplomb.
When Genesis tendered their fifth album, Selling England by the Pound, in October 1973, they finally cemented the promise that had been on display in fits and spurts on their previous LPs. (See the wide aural swath of "The Knife" from 1970's Trespass and the mind-expanding combo of "Watcher of the Skies" and "Supper's Ready" from 1972's Foxtrot as prime examples.)
And lo, there was a new breed of musician who had come to town, and they were duly christened singer/songwriters. In the wake of the burgeoning rock era's focus on volume-dealing power trios and instrumentally propelled multi-member ensembles (whether schooled or otherwise), there soon emerged another genre compelled by a more sensitive, more lyric-driven, and more acoustified approach.
British keyboard maestro Rick Wakeman called us from across the Pond to discuss the current (and future) status of that cherished Yes/ARW collective, why he continues to endorse surround sound and vinyl listening, why he needed to get Brian May’s approval to cover “Bohemian Rhapsody,” and when’s the right and wrong time to wear his signature cape onstage during a performance.
Goo Goo Dolls guitarist/vocalist John Rzeznik and bassist/vocalist Robby Takac got on the line with us to discuss the finely prescribed music on their new album Miracle Pill, plus the best way to find analog sounds in a digital world, how to make albums that are immersive experiences, and what the secret to their longevity is.
Oliver stone first heard The Doors while serving in the U.S. Army in Vietnam in the late-1960s, and the impact of their music never left him. Amid much controversy, the Oscar-winning director brought his singular vision for The Doors biopic to middling box-office success in 1991. Though some disagreement lingers regarding particular story beats and extrapolated mythologizing, there's no denying Stone conveyed much of the perpetual mystique surrounding Doors frontman Jim Morrison with an altruistic eye.
We caught up with Peter Frampton on one of his days off from the road to discuss his band’s fine chart-topping new album All Blues, why first or second takes are the best options, why the sun is a recurring theme in his songwriting, and why he feels his Farewell Tour needs to be his final hurrah.