Dave's Side One

Dave's Side One

By Art of Listening RecordsMusicMusic CommentaryMusic History
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Dave's Side One episodes

  • What Happens When the Drums Don’t Sound Like Drums?
    Today Dave brings Peter Gabriel’s Security to the turntable to listen in a new way.
    Percussion can create a sonic environment instead of simply marking time.
    THE LISTENING ASSIGNMENT
    Play “The Rhythm of the Heat” and track when percussion shifts from a rhythmic element into an overwhelming environment.
    SIDE ONE SPIN
    What did you notice? Did the listening experiment change the way you hear the record? Tell us where you agree—or disagree.
    6 min
  • Why the Ending Feels Earned
    Today Dave brings Rush’s Permanent Waves back to the turntable, not to repeat an earlier conversation, but to listen in a new way.
    Contrasting sections of a long composition establish an ending that has been prepared rather than merely added.
    THE LISTENING ASSIGNMENT
    Play all of “Natural Science.” Note the major sectional changes and ask whether the ending works without the journey.
    SIDE ONE SPIN
    What did you notice? Did the listening experiment change the way you hear the record? Tell us where you agree—or disagree.
    7 min
  • The Guitar Solo That Tells a Story
    Today Dave brings Eagles’s Hotel California back to the turntable, not to repeat an earlier conversation, but to listen in a new way.
    The closing guitar section moves from individual statements to a shared, harmonized resolution.
    THE LISTENING ASSIGNMENT
    Listen to the “Hotel California” guitar outro and identify the individual statements, responses, and final harmonized resolution.
    SIDE ONE SPIN
    What did you notice? Did the listening experiment change the way you hear the record? Tell us where you agree—or disagree.
    7 min
  • The Instrument That Doesn’t Sound Human
    Today Dave brings Led Zeppelin’s Houses of the Holy back to the turntable, not to repeat an earlier conversation, but to listen in a new way.
    Studio treatment changes the perceived identity of instruments and voices.
    THE LISTENING ASSIGNMENT
    Play “No Quarter” twice. On the second listen, focus on how keyboard and vocal treatments change your sense of distance and atmosphere.
    SIDE ONE SPIN
    What did you notice? Did the listening experiment change the way you hear the record? Tell us where you agree—or disagree.
    7 min
  • Two Songs That Became One
    Today Dave brings The Cars’ The Cars to the turntable
    Two consecutive tracks can form one listening memory without becoming one composition.
    THE LISTENING ASSIGNMENT
    Play “Moving in Stereo” directly into “All Mixed Up.” Later play the first track alone. What does your memory expect next?
    SIDE ONE SPIN
    What did you notice? Did the listening experiment change the way you hear the record? Tell us where you agree—or disagree.
    7 min
  • When Does the Song Actually Begin?
    When Does the Song Actually Begin?
    Today Dave brings Supertramp’s Even in the Quietest Moments... back to the turntable, not to repeat an earlier conversation, but to listen in a new way.
    Supertramp’s extended introduction makes us question where a composition starts.
    THE LISTENING ASSIGNMENT
    Play the complete “Fool’s Overture,” then restart at the point you think the song begins. Does the later music land differently?
    DAVE’S SIDE ONE SPIN
    What did you notice? Did the listening experiment change the way you hear the record? Tell us where you agree—or disagree.
    7 min
  • The Music I Heard Before I Chose My Own
    Today’s record is The Best of Al Hirt.
    The Best of Al Hirt (1965) played constantly in Dave’s childhood home.
    The album is the doorway; the memory is the subject.
    Before we build our taste, somebody else is already shaping our ears.
    In this episode we revisit the story, question what makes a record important, and offer a listening test you can try with your own collection.
    Side One Spin: What music played in your childhood home that you now hear differently?
    6 min
  • The Weight Room Had a Soundtrack
    Today’s record is The Wall by Pink Floyd.
    In senior year 1979–80, The Wall was the soundtrack in the high-school weight room.
    Further details about who chose it or the equipment are not established.
    The album is the doorway; the memory is the subject.
    Some albums become the sound of a room before they become a subject of analysis.
    In this episode we revisit the story, question what makes a record important, and offer a listening test you can try with your own collection.
    Side One Spin: Which record takes you straight back to a place you used to spend time?
    6 min
  • The Album I Still Can’t Finish
    Today’s record is Raised on Radio by Journey.
    Dave still struggles to finish Raised on Radio; it felt closer to a Steve Perry solo record than the Journey he knew.
    Learning Steve Smith and Ross Valory had been replaced during sessions intensified his reaction.
    The album is the doorway; the memory is the subject.
    Disappointment in an album can reveal how deeply a band mattered to you.
    In this episode we revisit the story, question what makes a record important, and offer a listening test you can try with your own collection.
    Side One Spin: What record made you realize you and a favorite band had changed in different directions?
    7 min
  • An Eight-Track in My Parents’ Station Wagon
    Today’s record is Man of Miracles by Styx.
    In 1978 Dave listened to Man of Miracles on eight-track while riding to and from school in his parents’ station wagon.
    The album is the doorway; the memory is the subject.
    The setting can become inseparable from the music. In this episode we revisit the story, question what makes a record important, and offer a listening test you can try with your own collection.
    Side One Spin: What album immediately puts you back inside a particular car?
    7 min

About Dave's Side One

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Talk about music, vinyl, classic rock, classic jazz, and whatever else comes to mind. Hosted by one of the founders of Art of Listening Records - Dave Gwilliam.