A (relatively) in-depth analysis of the The Clash together with their 1979 album 'London Calling' in (just under) thirty minutes.

The Clash achieved critical and commercial success in the UK with the release of their eponymous debut album and second album Give 'Em Enough Rope however, it was their experimental third album London Calling, released in 1979, that earned them popularity in the United States.

Produced by Guy Stevens at Wessex Sound Studios, the album bridged the traditional punk rock sound with a new wave aesthetic. London Calling also reflects the band's growing interest in styles beyond their punk roots, including reggae, rockabilly, ska, New Orleans R&B, pop, lounge jazz, and hard rock.

The album artwork was designed by artist Ray Lowry and was an homage to Elvis Presley's self-titled debut album.The cover features a photograph of Paul Simonon smashing his Fender Precision Bass (now on display at the Museum of London) against the stage at the Palladium in New York City on 20 September 1979. Pennie Smith, who photographed the band for the album, originally did not want the photograph to be used as the image was not in focus.

In 2004, a 25th-anniversary Legacy Edition was released with a bonus CD and DVD in digipack packaging. The bonus CD features The Vanilla Tapes, missing recordings made by the band in mid-1979. The DVD includes The Last Testament – The Making of London Calling, a film by Don Letts, as well as previously unseen video footage and music videos. London Calling was among the ten album covers chosen by the Royal Mail for a set of Classic Album Cover postage stamps issued in 2010.

In this episode I am in discussion with Dr. Andrew Webber.

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Mathew Woodall

A (relatively) in-depth analysis of the 1981 album 'Face Value' by Phil Collins in (just under) twenty minutes. 

Face Value was an instant commercial success and reached No. 1 on the UK Albums Chart for three weeks. It has since sold over 1.5 million in the UK. The album received widespread praise from critics and launched Collins' solo career whose commercial success would ultimately outstrip that of Genesis. Its lead single 'In the Air Tonight', released in January 1981, reached No. 2 on the UK singles chart and became known for its distinct drum arrangement.

During a break in activity from Genesis Collins set up a Sequential Prophet-5 synthesiser, piano, Roland CR-78 drum machine, and an 8-track tape machine in his bedroom, and recorded a collection of demos with backing tracks, pencilling early lyrics. He was not concerned with the quality of the recordings as what may have lacked in the recordings would have been salvaged with the emotion in the songs. There were numerous times where he stopped recording earlier than planned as the ideas were not working in the studio, leaving him to resume the following day. Collins based the majority of Face Value (and many subsequent tracks) on the divorce he had endured, and used his solo career as an outlet for his feelings.

In January 2016, Face Value was reissued with bonus tracks and new photography in the style of the original but featuring the face of a now sixty-five year old Collins.

In this episode I am in discussion with Dr. Andrew Webber.

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Feel free to leave a note with your donation to let me know what you enjoy about the podcast or any topics you would like me to discuss in the future.

Mathew Woodall

A (relatively) in-depth analysis of the album '1972' by indie folk musician Josh Rouse in (just under) twenty minutes. 

Released in 2003, 1972 is the fourth album by Rouse. Born in the rural town of Oshkosh, Nebraska, Rouse's family moved to various locations during his childhood including Utah, California, Wyoming, and Georgia. He began writing songs aged 18, and following his nomadic childhood, he eventually moved to Clarksville, Tennessee where he attended college, dropped out and then moved to Nashville, Tennessee, working as a parking valet. It was here he met local musicians and began recording.The initial recordings he made eventually became his debut release, Dressed Up Like Nebraska, realeased in 1998.

Produced by Brad Jones, 1972 is a collection of songs that pay homage to the songwriters whose songs were popular on AM radio in the year Rouse was born. In this episode I am in discussion with Dr. Andrew Webber.

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Why buy me a coffee?

Low Noise is proudly ad-free. If you would like to to say thank you for any of the content you have enjoyed (and help support the continuation of creating more), the above link provides a way to make a small donation of your choice (I also function on coffee!).

Feel free to leave a note with your donation to let me know what you enjoy about the podcast or any topics you would like me to discuss in the future.

Mathew Woodall

A (relatively) in-depth analysis of the song Love My Way (and The Psychedelic Furs) in (just under) fifteen minutes.

The Psychedelic Furs formed in London in 1977. Led by vocalist Richard Butler and his brother Tim on bass, they are one of the many acts spawned from the British post-punk scene.

The band had several hits in their early career. Pretty in Pink was originally released in 1981 as a single from their second album, Talk Talk Talk. John Hughes' 1986 film was named after the song and a re-recorded version of the song was included on its soundtrack.

Love My Way was released in 1982 as the first single from their third album Forever Now. Written by the group and produced by Todd Rundgren, who also played marimba, the song featured backing vocals from Flo & Eddie (Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan of The Turtles). Although it scraped into the top 50 in the UK Singles Chart, Love My Way was featured in the 1983 film Valley Girl.

It also appears on the soundtracks of the 1998 film The Wedding Singer and the 2006 film Starter for 10. After it was heard in the 2017 film Call Me by Your Name, the song enjoyed a surge in streaming popularity. It was also featured in the video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City.

In this episode I am in discussion with Dr. Andrew Webber.

I hope you enjoy the podcast and please do leave feedback if you like what you you have heard.

Mathew Woodall

A (relatively) in-depth analysis of the pop band Frankie Goes To Hollywood in just under thirty minutes.

Goes to Hollywood signed to ZTT Records in 1983. Their debut album, Welcome to the Pleasuredome was released in 1984. Produced by Trevor Horn, it achieved advance sales of more than a million, and their first three singles, Relax, Two Tribes and The Power of Love, reached number one on the UK singles chart.

Their second album, Liverpool was released in 1986. The album sold fewer copies, and they disbanded acrimoniously the following year. Holly Johnson successfully sued ZTT to leave his contract and began a solo career. He declined invitations to reunite and attempted to block the band from using the Frankie name. In 2004, the group reunited without Holly Johnson and Brian Nash to perform at a Prince's Trust charity concert, with Ryan Molloy on vocals, and underwent a subsequent tour in 2005. 

In 2011, ZTT reissued an expanded edition of Liverpool, plus The Art of the 12", a compilation of tracks from ZTT artists including Frankie Goes to Hollywood. Universal Music purchased ZTT in 2017. The group reunited with Johnson and Nash for the first time since 1987 to perform for the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest.

Holly Johnson and Paul Rutherford were openly gay throughout the group's existence, making Frankie Goes to Hollywood the first openly gay major pop act, with gay rights and sexuality becoming a theme of their music and performances. The BBC famously banned them from broadcast, which only generated further publicity.

It has been reported that a Frankie Goes to Hollywood biographical film is in development, based on Johnson's memoir. Bernard Rose, who was responsible for the Relax music video, is set to direct, with Callum Scott Howells as Johnson.

In this episode I am in conversation with Dr. Andrew Webber.

https://buymeacoffee.com/lownoise

Why buy me a coffee?

Low Noise is proudly ad-free. If you would like to to say thank you for any of the content you have enjoyed (and help support the continuation of creating more), the above link provides a way to make a small donation of your choice (I also function on coffee!).

Feel free to leave a note with your donation to let me know what you enjoy about the podcast or any topics you would like me to discuss in the future.

Mathew Woodall

A (relatively) in-depth analysis of British, singer/songwriter Judie Tzuke in just under thirty minutes.

Judie Tzuke was born Judie Myers in 1956. She is best known for her 1979 hit 'Stay with Me till Dawn', which reached number 16 on the UK singles chart.

Tzuke's family relocated from Poland to England in the 1920s, and changed their surname from Tzuke to Myers, like other Jewish families from Eastern Europe. Judie preferred the original family name, using it at school and later as her stage name. She was educated in the visual arts, performing arts, and music, performing in folk clubs from the age of 15. Tzuke's career as a solo artist began in 1977, when she signed to Elton John's Rocket Record Company. Her first single on Rocket, 'For You', was released in 1978.

In 1982 Tzuke headlined the Glastonbury Festival and in 1996 she launched her own label, Big Moon Records. In 2008 she released her sixteenth studio album, Songs 2. The same year, she co-wrote four tracks with Morcheeba, and featured as a vocalist on two tracks from their Dive Deep album.

In 2018, Tzuke joined with Beverley Craven and Julia Fordham to record 'Safe', a song that she had written with Beth Nielsen Chapman. An album was released titled Woman to Woman, together with a tour of the same name in the same year.

From October 2024 to January 2025, Tzuke took her 'Jude The Unsinkable Tour' to a selection of dates around the UK. She was joined by T.I.G.Y, comprising of Bailey Tzuke and Matt Racher who opened for her as well as accompanied her during her set. 

In this episode I am in conversation with Dr. Andrew Webber.

https://buymeacoffee.com/lownoise

Why buy me a coffee?

Low Noise is proudly ad-free. If you would like to to say thank you for any of the content you have enjoyed (and help support the continuation of creating more), the above link provides a way to make a small donation of your choice (I also function on coffee!).

Feel free to leave a note with your donation to let me know what you enjoy about the podcast or any topics you would like me to discuss in the future.

Mathew Woodall

A (relatively) in-depth analysis of the 1973 album 'Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid' by Bob Dylan in (just under) fifteen minutes. In this episode I am in discussion with Dr. Andrew Webber.

Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid is the twelfth studio album and first soundtrack album by Dylan, released by Columbia Records for the Sam Peckinpah film of the same name. Dylan himself appeared in the film as the character 'Alias'. The soundtrack consists mainly of instrumental music and was inspired by the movie itself. It also includes 'Knockin' on Heaven's Door', which became a trans-Atlantic Top 20 hit. The song was also covered by Eric Clapton and Guns N' Roses. 

After Peckinpah completed his own cut of the movie, MGM re-cut the film without his input, removing several significant scenes and re-shuffling most of Dylan's music in the process. Peckinpah's film was released to mixed reviews. Years later, critical re-evaluation of Peckinpah's film would lead many to regard it as one of his major works, a revisionist view aided by the restoration of Peckinpah's original cut in 1984.

As with Peckinpah's movie upon release, Dylan's album was received unfavourably by most at the time. It has also since undergone critical re-evaluation. I hope you enjoy the podcast and do leave feedback if you like what you have heard.

https://buymeacoffee.com/lownoise

Why buy me a coffee?

Low Noise is proudly ad-free. If you would like to to say thank you for any of the content you have enjoyed (and help support the continuation of creating more), the above link provides a way to make a small donation of your choice (I also function on coffee!).

Feel free to leave a note with your donation to let me know what you enjoy about the podcast or any topics you would like me to discuss in the future.

Mathew Woodall

A (relatively) in-depth analysis of the 1975 album 'A Night at the Opera' by Queen in (just under) twenty minutes. In this episode I am in discussion with Dr. Andrew Webber.

Queen's previous album, Sheer Heart Attack had achieved commercial success and the single Killer Queen reached number two on the UK Singles Chart. Despite this success, the band was broke at the time, essentially due to a contract they had signed which meant that they would produce albums for a production company, who would then sell the album to a record label. This meant that Queen saw almost none of the money they earned. Brian May was living in a bedsit, while Freddie Mercury lived in a flat with rising damp. The matter eventually came to a head when the recently married John Deacon was denied a cash advance of £4,000 by the band's manager for a deposit on a house. The group's increasing frustration led to Mercury writing the song Death on Two Legs, which would serve as the opening track to A Night at the Opera. 

Upon release, A Night at the Opera became Queen's first number-one album in the UK and produced the band's most successful single, Bohemian Rhapsody. In 2011, a digitally remastered version of the album was released.

I hope you enjoy the podcast and do leave feedback if you like what you have heard.

https://buymeacoffee.com/lownoise

Why buy me a coffee?

Low Noise is proudly ad-free. If you would like to to say thank you for any of the content you have enjoyed (and help support the continuation of creating more), the above link provides a way to make a small donation of your choice (I also function on coffee!).

Feel free to leave a note with your donation to let me know what you enjoy about the podcast or any topics you would like me to discuss in the future.

Mathew Woodall

A (relatively) in-depth analysis of American lyricist, singer, songwriter and painter Carole Bayer Sager in just under thirty minutes.

Bayer Sager's first recording as a singer in her own right was the 1977 album Carole Bayer Sager. It included the hit single 'You're Moving Out Today', a song which she co-wrote with Bette Midler and Bruce Roberts. The single reached number 6 in the UK Singles Chart. She was born in New York City and graduated from New York University, where she majored in English, dramatic arts, and speech. She had already written her first pop hit, 'A Groovy Kind of Love', while still a student at New York City's High School of Music and Art. It was recorded by The Mindbenders, whose version was a worldwide hit. The song was later recorded by Sonny & Cher, Petula Clark, and Phil Collins, whose rendition for the film Buster reached number one on both the UK Singles Chart in 1988.

In October 2016, Bayer Sager published her memoir, They're Playing Our Song: A Memoir. She also narrated the audiobook version.

In this episode I am in conversation with Dr. Andrew Webber.

I hope you enjoy the podcast and do leave feedback if you like what you have heard.

https://buymeacoffee.com/lownoise

Why buy me a coffee?

Low Noise is proudly ad-free. If you would like to to say thank you for any of the content you have enjoyed (and help support the continuation of creating more), the above link provides a way to make a small donation of your choice (I also function on coffee!).

Feel free to leave a note with your donation to let me know what you enjoy about the podcast or any topics you would like me to discuss in the future.

Mathew Woodall

A (relatively) in-depth analysis of the song There Is a Light That Never Goes Out by The Smiths in (just under) fifteen minutes.

Critics consider "There Is a Light That Never Goes Out" to be one of the Smiths' finest songs. Simon Goddard wrote, "In a straw poll among Smiths fans today, 'There Is a Light That Never Goes Out' would more than likely still come out victorious", which he credits to the "perfect balance" of Marr's compositional skills and Morrissey's lyricism.. AllMusic's Tim DiGravina calls it "a standout among standouts from the Smiths' masterpiece third album, The Queen Is Dead."

In this episode I am in discussion with Dr. Andrew Webber.

I hope you enjoy the podcast and please do leave feedback if you like what you you have heard.

Mathew Woodall