Last impressions. That is what today’s show is about. The Final or Farewell Albums made by our favorite artists. In some instances these final albums were made by groups that just didn’t like each other anymore. Some, where the artist unexpectedly died. And some, where they knew they were going to die and made their final album with that knowledge in hand. No matter how they were created these albums create the last true impressions of an artist. Yes, after groups break up or people pass away you get the inevitable compilation album full of demos or scrapheap songs, but the real final expression of the artist was made on their final album. You can get a glimpse into where they’ve been, who they are in that moment and maybe even where they wish they could go in the future. Deep stuff.

Fortunately for all you listeners out there, today we'll shed light on some of these Final/Farewell albums that you absolutely need to know. Also, we have an amazing guest to help us today. Brent Edmondson has joined us!!!

Brent is a Double bassist who currently serves as the Principal Bass of the Lancaster Symphony and the Pennsylvania Philharmonic, Associate Principal of the Annapolis Symphony, Section Bass of the Delaware Symphony, and is an A-list substitute with the Philadelphia Orchestra.

He previously held positions with the Beaumont Symphony, Atlantic Symphony, Mercury Orchestra, and Waltham Philharmonic. During the summer, Brent is the Principal Bass and Music Librarian for the Endless Mountain Music Festival Orchestra. And his Recent performances (pre-covid) include the Philadelphia Orchestra, Philly Pops, Houston Symphony, and other ensembles throughout the country. Brent is also a composer, arranger, and creator of film scores. His works have been performed by members of the Philadelphia Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony, Winnipeg Symphony, and others. Also. his first film scoring credit is coming out soon on the forthcoming film The Virtuoso featuring Anthony Hopkins.

Brent's website - https://www.brentedmondson.com/

Regular Hosts -

----Brendan McGeehan (bass player - York Street Hustle, The Right Fiction, Weekender; Producer/Composer at Naut Pictures; Engineer, Producer)

----Fred Berman (drummer - Amos Lee, John Byrne Band, Slowey & The Boats, The Right Fiction)

----Adam Zielinski (guitar/bass player/singer - Adam Zielinski Band, Phloyd, S.T.A.R.W.O.O.D., Conversations, Knitebitch, The Right Fiction, Alien Red)

----Aaron Parnell Brown (singer/guitar player - Aaron Parnell Brown, Aaron & The Spell, York Street Hustle, Alien Red)

>>>>Today's Show<<<<

There are some albums out there that you listen to that you sorta keep to yourself… these are the albums that if your friends or bandmates knew you listened to… they’d definitely give you crap for it… and probably say things like…”how can you listen to that garbage” or “I thought you knew about music… that… is not music”.... Or even “you know… this makes me think a little less of you”

While we generally don’t like sharing these albums with people… we still love them dearly and listen to them often. So on today’s show we’re going to try and break down the stigma of listening to terrible music as we share our favorite guilty pleasure albums. So hangout with us for a bit and see if your list matches ours.

Spotify Playlist “Favorite Guilty Pleasure Albums” Link -

https://spoti.fi/35bEAs2

Freddie Berman

1 - 2001 (aka the chronic 2001)-Dr. Dre 1999

2 - Phil’s Flipsides-Phil Spector (the phil spector wall of sound orchestra) 2012

3 - Brian Jones Presents the Pipes of Pan at Joujouka-The Master Musicians of Joujouka 1971,1995

Honorable Mention - Bowie At The Beeb-David Bowie 2000

Brendan McGeehan

1 - Brushfire Fairytales (2001) - Jack Johnson

2 - From Elvis In Memphis (1969) - Elvis Presley

3 - 1989 (2014) - Taylor Swift

Adam Zielinski

1 - Miley and her Dead Petz (2017)- Miley Cyrus

2 - Makie it Big (1984)- Wham

3 - Cracked Rear View (1994) Hootie and the Blowfish

Aaron Parnell Brown

1 - Bigger and Deffer (1987) - LL Cool J

2 - Justified (2002) - Justin Timberlake

3 - Madonna (1983) - Madonna

www.therightfiction.com

Regular Hosts -

----Brendan McGeehan (bass player - York Street Hustle, The Right Fiction, Weekender; Producer/Composer at Naut Pictures; Engineer, Producer)

----Fred Berman (drummer - Amos Lee, John Byrne Band, Slowey & The Boats, The Right Fiction)

----Adam Zielinski (guitar/bass player/singer - Adam Zielinski Band, Phloyd, S.T.A.R.W.O.O.D., Conversations, Knitebitch, The Right Fiction, Alien Red)

----Aaron Parnell Brown (singer/guitar player - Aaron Parnell Brown, Aaron & The Spell, York Street Hustle, Alien Red)

>>>>Today's Show<<<<

On this podcast we generally talk about all of our favorite albums. Each episode we try and squeeze in all of our favorites, but unfortunately no matter how hard we try we can’t get them all in. That is why we have these episodes to chat about the albums that are just below our all-time favorites, but that we think are still pretty amazing. On this show we are super excited to jump back in and give you another dose of our favorite overlooked albums, so hang out with us for a bit and enjoy the show….

Spotify Playlist “Favorite Overlooked Albums #2” Link -

https://spoti.fi/3hFj9Vz

Adam Zielinski

1 - The Phlorenscdent Leech and Eddie (1972)- Flo and Eddie

2 - Shades of Blue (2003)- Madlib

3 - Clues (1980)- Robert Palmer

Freddie Berman

1 - Beck, Bogert, Appice-Beck, Bogert & Appice 1973

2 - After The Rain-Muddy Waters 1969

3 - The Town and The City-Los Lobos 2006

Honorable Mention - They Say I’m Different-Betty Davis 1974

Brendan McGeehan

1 - The Atlantic Ocean (2009) - Richard Swift

2 - Money Jungle (1963) - Ellington, Mingus, Roach

3 - Largo (1998) - Largo

Aaron Parnell Brown

1 - Euphoria Morning (1999) - Chris Cornell

2 - In Tune (1971) - The Oscar Peterson Trio and The Singers Unlimited.

3 - Before The Stars Burn Out, with featured guests Diane Monroe & Ben Schachter - Matt Davis’ Aerial Photograph

www.therightfiction.com

Special Guest Host -

Monique Brooks Roberts (violinist - Lizzo, Alicia Keys, Common, Jill Scott, and many more; The SIP Podcast)

Regular Hosts -

Brendan McGeehan (bass player - York Street Hustle, The Right Fiction, Weekender; Producer/Composer at Naut Pictures; Engineer, Producer, ProTools Instructor)

Fred Berman (drummer - Amos Lee, John Byrne Band, Slowey & The Boats, The Right Fiction)

Adam Zielinski (guitar/bass player/singer - Adam Zielinski Band, Phloyd, S.T.A.R.W.O.O.D., Conversations, Knitebitch, The Right Fiction, Alien Red)

Aaron Parnell Brown (singer/guitar player - Aaron Parnell Brown, Aaron & The Spell, York Street Hustle, Alien Red)

Today's Show -

In the late 1990s a record executive named Kedar Massenburg of Motown Records coined the term Neo-Soul to market and describe a style of music that emerged from soul and contemporary R&B at that time. Back then, Contemporary R&B was dominated by artists such as SWV, Jodeci, Mariah Carey, and TLC. These artists were hugely successful and their music was characterized in many instances by East Coast Hip hop-inspired backing tracks.

When the term neo-soul hit the scene there was a greater feeling of live musicianship and experimentation. Not only in the recordings of the songs, but within the songs themselves. They harkened back to 1970’s soul influences of Earth, Wind, and Fire, The Ohio Players, and Stevie Wonder where the commercial acceptance of soul music didn’t confine artist creativity as much as it did in the early-to-mid 90s. This movement led by D’Angelo, Erykah Badu, and Lauren Hill created a lasting legacy that endures today with artists such as Solange, Robert Glasper, and Krystle Warren.

On today's show we'll be digging into this much loved genre as we discuss our Favorite Neo-Soul Albums!!!! And not only that!!! We have an amazing guest today to help us out!

Monique Brooks Roberts is joining us today to give us her Neo-Soul Album takes!

Monique is a violinist hailing from Louisville, KY, but now living in Denver, CO. The former member of the Philadelphia String Quartet, released her first solo album “Free” on January 31, 2020 which debuted at #12 on the iTunes R&B/Soul Charts! You can find it on Spotify and all the other listening platforms. The album is really really beautiful, extremely soulful, and her playing is just sublime.

While Free is her first solo album, she’s not new to audiences as she’s performed and recorded for many notable artists including Lizzo, Alicia Keys, Common, Jill Scott, and many more. She has also made appearances on the Grammys, VH1 Storytellers, the Late Show with Stephen Colbert, and the BET Honors.

Beyond her playing she is a podcaster! Her podcast The SIP …. Which is short for A Singer (S), an Instrumentalist (I), and a Poet (P) …… is her and two friends Kerrie Joy and Rajdulari where they pour out their hearts, discuss systemic injustice, and explore love and relationships.

Monique Brooks Roberts -

www.moniquebrooksroberts.com

Monique's new album "Free" -

https://ampl.ink/emV5M

Monique's podcast The SIP -

www.thesippodcast.com

Companion Spotify Playlist “Favorite Neo-Soul Albums” Link -

https://spoti.fi/36kSWpL

Regular Hosts -

Brendan McGeehan (bass player - York Street Hustle, The Right Fiction, Weekender; Producer/Composer at Naut Pictures; Engineer, Producer, ProTools Instructor)

Fred Berman (drummer - Amos Lee, John Byrne Band, Slowey & The Boats, The Right Fiction)

Adam Zielinski (guitar/bass player/singer - Adam Zielinski Band, Phloyd, S.T.A.R.W.O.O.D., Conversations, Knitebitch, The Right Fiction, Alien Red)

Aaron Parnell Brown (singer/guitar player - Aaron Parnell Brown, Aaron & The Spell, York Street Hustle, Alien Red)

Today's Show - Favorite Albums from 2020

2020 was a crazy year... one that most of us would like to forget. However, even in one of the most terrible years in decades there was some great albums that were released. On today's show we'll dig into one of the very bright spots in this dark year. So, hangout with us for a bit and see if our list matches yours.

Adam Zielinski -

1 - Phoebe Bridgers- Punisher

2 - Run the Jewels- RTJ4

3 - Fleet Foxes- Shore

Honorable Mention - Jeff Tweedy- Love is the King

Honorable Mention - Sturgill Simpson- Cuttin Grass, Vol 1 and 2

Freddie Berman -

1 - Devon Gilfillian - Black Hole Rainbow

2 - Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit- Reunions

3 - Waxahatchee- Saint Cloud

Honorable Mention - Lucinda Williams- Good Souls Better Angels

Brendan McGeehan -

1 - Bonny Light Horseman - Bonny Light Horseman

2 - Lianne La Havas - Lianne La Havas

3 - This Love Thing - Drea D’Nur, Rami Nashashibi

Honorable Mention - The Flaming Lips - American Head

Honorable Mention - Thundercat - It Is What It Is

Aaron Parnell Brown -

1 - Mama, You Can Bet! - Jyoti (Georgia Anne Muldrow

2 - Djesse Vol. 3 - Jacob Collier

3 - Jaime - Brittany Howard

Honorable Mention -Expectations - Katie Pruitt

Check out this episode's accompanying "Favorite Albums from 2020" Spotify playlist here -

https://spoti.fi/3qKzg8p

www.therightficion.com

If you are a regular old person standing in front of a piano, the first thing you might notice is that there are a whole lot of keys… the next thing you might think is how do the amazing musicians out there get so many cool sounds, styles, and ideas out of that jumble of notes. It really is amazing that vastly different players like Bill Evans, Liberace, André Previn, Billy Preston, and Allen Toussaint can see the same 88 notes and make such incredible music that is so very different from one another. To me that really is the beauty of the piano, if you can master those 88 keys anything is possible musically - you can play rock, jazz, classical, blues, new age… anything really.

On today’s show we are going to dig into that wide range of styles and approaches to the piano or keyboard as we discuss our Favorite Piano or Keyboard Players!

We have an amazing guest today to help us out!

Joe Kenney is joining us to give us his Favorite Keyboardist/Piano Players takes! Joe Kenney is a recording artist, songwriter, and pianist from Philadelphia. He currently has four albums out and various collaborations spanning multiple genres. In his playing and writing he blends classical music theory, jazz fusion, rock, soul, and hip-hop idioms to create his own unique musical identity.

His latest album “Forth” was released recently and features six highly decorated vocal artists from the Philadelphia area on a ten-track original album that has music geared towards markets that cross multiple musical styles. The first single, Another Side (Ft. Joy Ike), released on May 8th, 2020, and was premiered by Neon Music (UK) with a glowing review. It was also featured on WXPN’s The Key site and selected as the Philly Local pick by highly popular radio personality Helen Leicht. The next two releases, All's Not Lost (Ft. Laura Lizcano) and Gone (Ft Aaron Parnell Brown) were also met with spectacular reviews.

Joe Kenney Website - www.joekenneypiano.com

Check out this episode's accompanying "Favorite Keyboard/Piano Players" Spotify playlist here -

https://spoti.fi/2Kh0jr2

www.therightficion.com

What is a concept album? Is it one single narrative throughout an album? Is it the use of a defined set of instruments on an album… say no high hat or no guitars? Do all the songs have to be written solely for the album????

Who knows…. If you really think about it, it really could be all of them or none of them. Concept albums have come in so many forms that it’s almost impossible to narrow down what exactly is a concept album. I mean you have records like Frank Sinatra’s In the Wee Small Hours that contain songs assembled around a certain sensibility, you have The Who’s Tommy which is a rock opera where all the songs progress a single narrative around the story of Tommy Walker, or you have John Coltrane’s A Love Supreme which is a through-compose suite of four parts reflecting his deep spirituality. All different in almost every way, but the same in that, at least some people, consider them to all be concept albums.

On today’s show we are going to take a look at how people view and think of these peculiar records as we discuss our Favorite Concept Albums, so hang out with us for a bit and see if our list matches yours.

Check out this episode's accompanying "Favorite Concept Albums" Spotify playlist here -

https://spoti.fi/3p6s0Sq

www.therightficion.com

Frank Zappa was one of the most interesting and idiosyncratic artists ever to achieve pop culture fame. Born on December 21, 1940 and passing away on December 4, 1993, he was an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, composer, and bandleader and his work was characterized by nonconformity, free-form improvisation, sound experiments, musical virtuosity, and satire of American culture.

While many musicians just love Frank Zappa, many "regular people" just don’t get it. Some truly want to, but just don’t get it. It can be a bit hard when you have truly great albums like Hot Rats, then have some crazy song like “Why does it hurt when I pee” or “Hot Poop.” He’s also released so much music that it’s nearly impossible to find a great starting place, releasing 62 albums in his lifetime and 50 posthumous albums, making a total of 112 albums. That is a lot of music to sift through.

Fortunately for everyone out there, on today’s show we’ll be diving into Frank Zappa’s music as we discuss our Favorite Frank Zappa albums. Hopefully on today’s show we’ll demystify Frank Zappa for everyone and give you an excellent starting point for appreciating the amazing force that was and is Frank Zappa.

We also have an amazing guest to help us out on our Frank Zappa quest.

Joining us today is Aaron Levinson.

Aaron is a Grammy award-winning producer, musician, composer and record label owner who has produced and released 26 albums since starting his career with Inner City Records in 1981. He also has written extensively about music of the Americas and is an engineer, arranger and educator. Levinson is the owner of Range Recording Studios in Ardmore, Pennsylvania and served previously as president of Bell Tower Music. He was an adjunct faculty member at Temple University from 2010 to 2016 and from 2014 until 2019 he was an appointed master lecturer at The University Of The Arts. He is also a former governor of the Philadelphia chapter of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.

It’s Christmas time! You have that feeling of family and love …. That nice winter chill is in the air, cinnamon and nutmeg are flowing like wine, all your favorite Christmas movies are on TV, and of course while you are baking, or eating, your holiday cookies… you are listening to your favorite Christmas music.

So that is why this is a very special episode of The List: A Right Fiction Podcast because today Adam, Brendan, Freddie and Aaron are going all in on our favorite Christmas albums. We wanna give you all the best music to listen to this holiday season, so this is a can’t miss episode! So, hangout with us for a bit and let the cinnamon and nutmeg wash over you.

Check out this episode's accompanying "Favorite Christmas Albums" Spotify playlist here -

https://spoti.fi/34N6PO8

www.therightficion.com

Before COVID happened, this would be the time of year when folks would have friends and family over for parties where they’d have out little bites to eat like pigs in a blanket or some cheese and crackers. Everyone would be dressed snazzy. There would be smarty pants conversations happening everywhere and of course there would be fancy cocktails. This scene is what is called a cocktail party. However, probably the most important part of the cocktail party is the music which wafts through the air, filling all the dead spots in conversations and just generally setting the mood for the entire shindig. It can really make or break the vibe at a cocktail party. Fortunately for everyone out there on today’s show we’ll be discussing our Favorite Cocktail Party Albums.

Check out this episode's accompanying "Favorite Cocktail Party Albums" Spotify playlist here -

https://spoti.fi/2Vc2ZbQ

www.therightficion.com