By Mick and the Phatman
Join Mick and Jeff as they talk about artists, albums and music genres with passion that comes from personal connection. They’ve seen artists in concert at venues that don’t even exist today,
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The podcast currently has 80 episodes available.
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In today’s episode, we look at how social media gives us a grab-bag of people’s memories of stars and some who weren’t quite so successful, or scarcely successful at all. Nonetheless, they are remembered by some and lionised on social media.
The other side of "on-line" is the channels that present video imagery of any and everything, such as YouTube, TikTok and so on. Jeff presents a bunch of interesting links for you to investigate.
In “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door”, we lament the passing of such greats as David Sanbourn, John Mayall, as well as a couple of guys who have played beneath the radar for most of their career but still worked with giants like Frank Zappa, Jean-Luc Ponty, Ray Charles, Steve Hackett, and many others.
Our “Album You Must Hear Before You Die” is John Mayall’s “Blues Breakers with Eric Clapton” from 1966. The album featured John Mayall, Eric Clapton, John McVie (Fleetwood Mac) and Hughie Flint (Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band) and marks the start of Clapton’s legend as a British guitar god.
References: social media, Nick Cave, “Australian bands from the 60’s - 90’s”, music nostalgia, Mi-Sex, Graffiti Crimes, Kevin Stanton, “Computer Games”, Space Race, “Live at the Wireless”, Kransky Sisters, Second Thoughts, Split Enz, Mental Notes, “Stranger than fiction”, Husker Du, Bob Mould, Greg Norton, Tim Walz, The Angels, Selina’s, Coogee Bay Hotel, cost of stadium tours, Captain Matchbox Whoopee Band, Mick Conway, My Wahini in Wangaratta, Tamam Shud, The Dynamic Hepnotics, A Soul Kind of Feeling, Quora, Reddit, YouTube, "What's In My Bag?", Amoeba Music, Professor of Rock, Rick Beato, Playing For Change, the Needle Drop, Top 5 Record, Billy the Mountain, (Frank Zappa & The Mothers of Invention), Aynsley Dunbar, Howard Kaylan & Mark Volman, The Turtles, Anthony Amaratti, Muiris Mac Cartaine
Links:
Playlist (including “Billy The Mountain”)
Other Links:
Amoeba Music - What's In My Bag?
Professor of Rock
Rick Beato
Playing For Change
When the Levee Breaks
The Needle Drop
Top Five Record Lists
Billy the Mountain - Frank Zappa & The Mothers of Invention
Computer Games – The Kransky sisters
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All bands need a name, but the process of getting that name is different for each band. This episode, we look at how a bunch of well-known bands got their names. Some are amusing, some are horrifying, some are dark or seedy – be ready for surprises!
Our “album you must listen to before you die” is Arc of a Diver, by Stevie Winwood (1980). This was a formative album during our youth, and with this million-selling album and its hit single “While You See a Chance”, Winwood was a major influence on other people we love, such as Marianne Faithfull.
In Rock News, the major story is that the Gallagher brothers have agreed to reunite as Oasis for a UK tour in 2025. We don’t like the odds of the brothers completing the tour without fighting and would like ringside seats!
In other news, we look at Nick Cave’s new album, Wild God, Bruce Springsteen back on tour, and Neil Young releasing Archives Vol. III, a 17-CD box set featuring 198 tracks. Wow!
References: Oasis, Bruce Springsteen, Neil Young, Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, INXS, Guns n Roses, Bee Gees, Bachman Turner Overdrive, Fleetwood Mac, Joy Division, Nazi camps, 10CC, The Lovin’ Spoonful, Steely Dan, The Mothers of Invention, Frank Zappa, The Doobie Brothers, Rammstein, Ramstein air show tragedy, Husker Du, The Velvet Underground, Depeche Mode, AC/DC, Black Sabbath, Tony Iommi, Ozzy Osbourne, Geezer Butler, Boris Karloff, The Foo Fighters, The Angels, The Beatles, The Quarrymen, The Silver Beetles, Tony Sheridan & the Beat Brothers, Buddy Holly & The Crickets, Pink Floyd, Pink Anderson & Floyd Council, “Oh by the way, which one’s Pink?”, Cheap Trick, Slade, ZZ Top, The Rolling Stones, Radiohead, Talking Heads, Shakespeare’s Sister, The Bay City Rollers, Led Zeppelin, Queen, Tim Staffell, “Smile”, Freddie Mercury, The Band, The Hawks, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Barenaked Ladies, Jethro Tull, U2, The Hype, Beach Boys, The Pendeltons, "Surfin'", Blue Öyster Cult, “On Your Feet or on Your Knees”, Shetland Islands
Playlist – Band names
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It’s not unusual for bands to change their sound or style as they move through their career. We take a look at bands that changed their sound substantially (or started a completely new sound) for a whole lot of reasons - from The Beatles, Bowie and Dylan and Black Sabbath through to Japan, The Cure and Split Enz.
Our album you must hear before you die is Let it Bleed by The Rolling Stones. From the cover art to the great music it contains, this album from The Stones’ golden period leading into the 70’s - Sticky Fingers & Exile on Main Street - is a corker!
In Rock News, Jeff updates us on The Sex Pistols, Ritchie Blackmore and Cyndi Lauper, while our Ozzy Osbourne report has Sharon telling us that “If a bomb dropped there would be cockroaches, Keith Richards and Ozzy!”
Enjoy.
References: The Sex Pistols, Ritchie Blackmore, Deep Purple, Blackmore’s Night, Candice Night, Cyndi Lauper, The Police, Spotify, Spotify CEO Daniel Ek, John Lennon’s guitar, Ozzy Osbourne, Keith Richards, The Rolling Stones, Let it Bleed, Jimmy Miller, Brian Jones, Mick Taylor, “Gimme Shelter”, “Midnight Rambler”, “Love in Vain”, “You can’t always get what you want”, “Honky Tonk Woman”, Beggars Banquet, The Beatles, The Quarrymen, Lonnie Donegan, Revolver, Sgt Peppers, Paul MacCartney, Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds, The Bee Gees, “New York Mining Disaster”, “Stayin’ Alive”, David Bowie, “Love you ‘til Tuesday", “The Laughing Gnome”, art-rock, glam, Bob Dylan, T-Rex, Tyrannosaurus Rex, Japan, Jimi Hendrix, Chitlin’ Circuit, Split Enz, Neil Finn, Tim Finn, The Cure, Billy Joel, Black Sabbath, “Black Sabbath”, The Animals, “The House of the Rising Sun”, Isaac Hayes, “Theme from Shaft”, Pixies, “Monkey Gone to Heaven”, Kurt Cobain, Nirvana, Soundgarden, Bush
Playlist
John Lennon on Dick Cavett Show
Hendrix Live on TV
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Nick Cave. After a career that would exhaust a lesser man, he’s still recording and performing breathtaking work. Mick’s just seen him live with only his piano, and a bass guitar, and can’t stop raving! We look at how he started and the difference between his performances and attitudes then and now.
In other news, Lenny Kravitz is still sticking to his vow of celibacy, The Police’s Andy Summers declares that they were total babes, and The Angels are still releasing new work. Hmmm.......
References: Jarrah McCleary, Panama, Jethro Tull, The Prince of Darkness, Nick Cave, Wollongong Entertainment Centre, Lenny Kravitz, The Police, Andy Summers, The Angels, Christine Anu, Mark E Smith, The Fall, “music for surly virgins”, Boys Next Door, Caulfield Grammar, Mick Harvey, Phill Calvert, The Birthday Party, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Grinderman, “Lawless”, “And the Ass Saw the Angel”, Dogs in Space, "Shivers", “a murder of crows”, John Cooper Clarke, Rowland S Howard, Colin Greenwood, Radiohead, “Fragments of a Rainy Season”, John Cale, “Mercy Seat”, “Balcony Man”, The Seekers, “The Carnival is Over”, “Kicking against the Pricks”, The Big Day Out, “The Weeping Song”, The Good Son, Blixa Bargeld, Live Seeds, Red Right Hand, “Into Your Arms”, “Mutiny in Heaven”, Order of Australia, Coronation of Charles III
Playlists:
Episode Playlist
Nick Cave Solo Setlist
Live Seeds
YouTube Links
https://youtu.be/fiwlZgOeAHA?si=8iyIi8m1JmVcVfaG
https://youtu.be/MfPQZzTbVqU?si=z7X0Eb5ea9NhS7cJ
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Musicians love to collaborate. We thought we'd have a look at some that are just great, some that are weird, and some that are simply awful! As usual, some you'll know, and some you won’t.
Our “Album You Must Hear Before You Die” is Pet Sounds, by The Beach Boys (1966). Long revered by musicians including The Rolling Stones and The Beatles, this album is a masterpiece of production and innovation.
This month, we farewell Graham Webb, an Australian pioneer of music videos – and Blind Date! We also say goodbye to Ignatius Jones, of Jimmy and the Boys, and Steve Albini, producer of The Pixies, PJ Harvey and Nirvana. Vale!
How do we fit it all into an hour?
References: Brian Wilson, Beach Boys, Pet Sounds, Capitol Records, Billboard, Sgt Pepper, Rubber Soul, LSD, “Good Vibrations”, Led Zeppelin, Sandy Denny, The Battle of Evermore, Aerosmith/Run-DMC, Walk This Way, Rick Rubin, Confessions of Dr Dream and other stories, Kevin Ayers, Nico, “Irreversible Neural Damage”, “With a Little Help From my Friends”, Joe Cocker, Jimmy Page, Matthew Sweet & Susanna Hoffs, Bing Crosby, David Bowie, “Little Drummer Boy”, Kylie Minogue, Nick Cave, “Where The Wild Roses Grow”, Robert Plant, Alison Krauss, “Raising Sand”, “Raise the Roof”, “Sentimental Hygiene”, Warren Zevon, Neil Young, The Party Boys, Peter Gabriel, “Don’t give Up”, Kate Bush, “So”, Melt, “Games without Frontiers”, “Screaming Jets”, Johnny Warman, The Sex Pistols, Ronnie Biggs, “No One Is Innocent”, The Great Rock’N’Roll Swindle, Pink Floyd, Roy Harper, “Have A Cigar”, Wish You Were Here, Nick Cave & Shane McGowan, “What a Wonderful World”, Freddie Mercury, Montserrat Caballe, “Barcelona", U2, Brian Eno, The Joshua Tree, “Miss Sarajevo”, “Passengers”, Johnny Cash, “Under Pressure”, Queen, Vanilla Ice, “Dancing in the Street”, Mick Jagger, Mike Garson, Aladdin Sane, Pete Townshend, “Because You’re Young”, Ann & Nancy Wilson (Heart) & Lisa Simpson, The Simpsons, REM, “End of the World”, Sesame Street, “Shiny Happy People”, Ozzy Osbourne & Miss Piggy, “Born to Be Wild”
Playlist - You'll really enjoy this one!!
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Jethro Tull is one of the stranger turns taken by rock music over more than 50 years. Mick and Jeff look back at some of the band’s best work, and, maybe, some of their strangest.
The “Album You Must Hear Before You Die” is Queen II, a sensational album released the year before Queen took over the world! Both Mick & Jeff love it!
Jeff takes a look at what AI is doing to music. We’re not worried, because, as Joe Walsh says, AI can’t even trash a hotel room! While he's at it, Jeff then looks at who is “knocking on Heaven’s door” this month.
Yet another very full episode!
Episode playlist
Professional Flautist watches Jethro Tull: https://youtu.be/0SCdFmSqcjk?si=gRbdG9nsk0rW4Od7
“Too Old to Rock & Roll / Too Young to die”
References: Queen II, EMI Records, Elektra Records, Trident Studios, Roy Thomas Baker, Jethro Tull, Marquee Club, flute, John Glasscock, Ian Anderson. Martin Barre, “Locomotive Breath”, “Aqualung”, “Loudermilk”, Ocean, “Thick as a Brick”, “Passion Play”, “Too Old to Rock & Roll / Too Young to die”, “Songs from the Wood”, “Heavy Horses”, “Broadsword and the Beast”, The Jethro Tull Christmas Album, Clive Bunker, John Glascock, Black Sabbath’s Tony Iommi, salmon farming, Michael Stipe, Kirk Hammett, Nick Cave, Thick as a Brick 2: Whatever Happened to Gerald Bostock?, “Jethro Tull: The Rock Opera”, “RökFlöte”, Norse mythology, “The Zealot Gene”
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This week, something a little different for you – our first live interview!
Jarrah McCleary is an Australian musician - writer, songwriter & producer - whose music, a mix of synth-heavy sounds and beats to smooth electronica, is sometimes evocative of a smoky Fifties restaurant, and at other times, the coolest nightclubs.
Starting out in Western Australia around 20 years ago, Jarrah has toured Australia and Europe, played the festival circuit in Europe and the UK and played the Big Day Out. We talk with Jarrah about his history and how he creates his work with his band Panama and how, more importantly, a musician like him makes a living in this modern world that doesn’t have physical albums fans can buy, far fewer venues where fans can see him play, and, often, a more remote atmosphere for collaboration with other musicians.
Our “Album You Must Hear Before You Die” is “Back to Black” by Amy Winehouse, and Jeff loves it.
Jeff also brings us some Rock News with legal action against Rod Stewart kicking soccer balls into the crowd.
We think you’ll like it.
References: Big Day Out, Rod Stewart, Back to Black, Tensnake
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This episode looks at Johnny Cash’s “The American Recordings”, a series of 6 albums released on American Records between 1994 and 2010. By 1994, when he signed to Rick Rubin’s American Records, it looked like Cash’s career was all but done. However, Rubin had other ideas and, over the next 10 years, worked with Cash to produce some of the most memorable work of his career.
Part of this process involved Cash covering songs by some of the greatest artists of the late 20th Century - U2, Nine Inch Nails, Nick Cave, Tom Petty and Leonard Cohen. He’s not performing the songs in his usual country style, but simply as Johnny Cash. It’s a great story, with a fabulous playlist!
Jeff's found 5 bands you would not believe exist, including Mac Sabbath, a parody of Black Sabbath with lyrics about fast food, and Shat, a band that is offensive in every possible way, whose lead singer’s costumes are draped with dildoes!
Our "Album you must listen to before you die" is “Arrival” by Abba. Reviewers weren’t convinced. Neither is Jeff. Have a listen and see what Mick thought.
References: Winny Puhh, The Residents, Mac Sabbath, Shat, TISM, Taylor Swift, Tortured Poets Department, Abba, Arrival, American Records, Rick Rubin, Def Jam, Shel Silverstein, “A Boy Named Sue”, “Solitary Man”, The Highwaymen, The Man in Black, Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, June Carter Cash, “Bitter Tears”, “Ballad of Ira Hayes”, Bruce Springsteen, “Highway Patrolman”, U2, Zooropa, “The Wanderer”, “Personal Jesus”, “The Mercy Seat”, “Streets of Laredo”, John Cale
Johnny Cash American Recordings – Full albums
Johnny Cash – Our episode playlist
Discogs’ listing of all 6 covers
Interview with Rick Rubin re “Hurt”
Ten Bands you Won't Believe Exist
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“Songs for Drella”, Lou Reed & John Cale’s marvelous 1990 posthumous tribute to Andy Warhol, offers an intensely personal view of Warhol with songs and playing that rank among the finest in either man’s career. Their first collaboration since The Velvet Underground, nearly 20 years earlier, led to both artists vowing never to work with the other again.
Our album today, suggested by listener Nick Farmer, is “El-Rayo-X" (1981) by multi-instrumentalist David Lindley. We hadn’t come across this album before, and we both agree it’s a lot of fun - mainly reggae-influenced beat, but clearly Californian. Lindley sounds familiar, probably because of his presence on albums by so many others we love – Warren Zevon, Jackson Browne and Linda Ronstadt to name but a few.
In the segment, Lunacy, Legends and Lies we look at how Black Sabbath’s Tony Iommi only stopped setting drummer Bill Ward on fire after Bill’s mum called Tony a "barmy bastard" who should "grow up", and recount how, in 1989, Slash ran naked and bleeding through a resort hotel after a hallucination.
This episode has lots of stuff you may not have known before, and isn’t that the fun of it?
References: The Factory, Banksy, Bowie, “Andy Warhol”, “15 minutes of fame”, Metallica, Master of Puppets, Stone Temple Pilots, MTV Unplugged, Valerie Solanis, Nico, “Waiting for the Man”, White Light/White Heat, “Words for the Dying“, Dylan Thomas, “New York”, The Church of St. Anne's Brooklyn, “Berlin”, Czechoslovakia, viola, “Fragments of a Rainy Season”, “Hallelujah”
Our email: MickandthePhatman@Gmail.com
Songs for Drella – Album
El-Rayo-x – David Lindley
Werewolves of London - David Lindley; Late Night with Jules Holland
Song for Drella – The Movie
Fragments of a Rainy Season – John Cale
Nobody Like You Video
Interview Part 2
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We all know that rock and pop stars live in a different universe to us mere mortals. Many make strange demands for things that must be provided before they’ll perform a show.
Today, we look at stars’ demands – whether extreme or reasonable, or blindingly hilarious! You won’t believe some of them.
In Jeff's Rock News, Keith Richards has covered Lou Reed’s, “Waiting for the Man”, U2 has played a residency at the Las Vegas Sphere, an unheard Jimi Hendrix song has been included in a time capsule placed on the moon, Deep Purple has released a 50th Anniversary video for “Smoke on the Water” featuring dragons and John Fogarty's Australian tour is cancelled.
Our “Album You Must Listen to Before You Die” is Orchestral Maneuvers in the Dark’s “1981 debut, Architecture and Morality. We didn’t think much of it!
It’s fun episode. Enjoy.
References: Orchestral Maneuvers in the Dark, Architecture and Morality, Keith Richards, The Power of the Heart: A Tribute to Lou Reed, U2 Sphere Residency, Odysseus Moon lander, Space Blue, Deep Purple, Smoke On The Water, Machine Head, Dweezil Zappa, John Fogarty, tour demands, tour riders, Rock mythology, Rose Tattoo, Canterbury Leagues Club, Angry Anderson, “Paper fucking towels!”, Taylor Swift, Paul McCartney, Madonna, Frank Sinatra, Grace Jones, Metallica, Guns’n’Roses, Justin Bieber, Eminem, Peter Gabriel, Ozzy Osbourne, AC/DC, Iggy and The Stooges, Bob Hope impersonator, Van Halen, brown M&Ms, The Foo Fighters, Weird Al Yankovic
The podcast currently has 80 episodes available.