Category: The Making Of…

The Making Of...

Bowie '69: How everything changed for Bowie

Fifty years ago, everything changed for David Bowie. He went from a singer on the fringes to finally finding success with Space Oddity. After the failure of his debut album two years earlier, just how did Bowie become the Starman? As three new vinyl boxsets explore his transformation, John Earls speaks to his bandmates and former girlfriend Hermione Farthingale. David Bowie was 22 when Space … Continue reading Bowie '69: How everything changed for Bowie

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The Making Of...

Talk Talk – The Colour of Spring

In the early 80s, Talk Talk seemed destined to be remembered as one of many bands marketed cynically as New Romantics by record companies who were far more concerned with short-term gain than significant creative and commercial development. Third studio album The Colour Of Spring would change all that, and as Neil Crossley explains, it would propel the band from synth-pop wannabes towards boldly experimental … Continue reading Talk Talk – The Colour of Spring

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The Making Of...

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds – Murder Ballads

For their ninth album, Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds took a creative left-turn by delivering a collection of songs that was as gruesome as it was enthralling. Neil Crossley assesses the sonic delights amidst the slaughter… Anyone tuning in to the 19 October 1995 edition of Top Of The Pops would have been greeted by an assured and exuberant Kylie Minogue, welcoming viewers to … Continue reading Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds – Murder Ballads

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Kraftwerk – Autobahn

On their 1974 album Autobahn, Kraftwerk created an electronic epic, with man and machine in perfect harmony. As Neil Crossley explains, the album was a pivotal step forward for contemporary music – a timeless and profound work whose legacy resounds today… The Autobahn Line-Up Ralf Hütter: Co-founder Hütter is now the only member of the Autobahn-era Kraftwerk left in the band. In 2009, Hütter said of … Continue reading Kraftwerk – Autobahn

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The Making Of...

The Stone Roses – The Stone Roses

Still adored nearly 30 years on, The Stone Roses rescued indie rock from shambling student bands and fired Manchester into a bright new musical future. we chart the making of a one-off album that, according to Noel Gallagher, “opened the door for British guitar music in the 90s”… No. 1 in the NME’s vote on Best Albums Of The 80s. Top of their Greatest British … Continue reading The Stone Roses – The Stone Roses

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The Making Of...

Fleetwood Mac – Rumours

“Art is only a way of expressing pain,” reckoned John Lennon – and with Rumours, Fleetwood Mac took massive hurt and polished it into a tour de force of pop-rock that helped define the 1970s. Now a 40-million seller that has transcended genre and fanbase, this album’s legend is half-based on the fractious relationships and excess that surrounded its very making… “Trauma. Trau-ma.” That’s how … Continue reading Fleetwood Mac – Rumours

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The Making Of...

Cream – Fresh Cream

Still revered as one of the most pioneering bands of all time, Cream are credited with inventing everything from the supergroup, to jam-rock, to heavy metal, to breakthrough guitar tones. With the new six-LP boxset of their 1966 debut about to hit the shelves, Michael Leonard tells the story of the original album’s genesis and speaks to the boxset’s executive producer, Bill Levenson… Crosby, Stills, … Continue reading Cream – Fresh Cream

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The Making Of...

Neil Young – Harvest

Wary of his growing fame and suffering a debilitating back problem, 1971 saw Neil Young retreat from the limelight to record a simple “homey” LP. Oddness followed, with one-armed drumming in old kitchens and the classic mixing instruction “More barn!” shouted from a boat. Unintentionally, Harvest made Neil Young more famous than he’d ever been… It’s the one Neil Young album people who don’t really … Continue reading Neil Young – Harvest

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