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We're sticking around in 1990 for one more week after our episodes about REO Speedwagon and Eric Johnson. This week, Jeff and Matt are discussing Michael McDonald's third solo album, 1990's Take it to Heart. The album featured a variety of collaborations and guest players and big names like Don Was and Diane Warren in the mix behind the scenes. If you haven't heard this album, it's time for you to hear this album.

Show notes for this episode are here.

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Jesse Harms began writing songs in 1989 with REO Speedwagon vocalist Kevin Cronin who had been exploring some creative projects outside of the group. The chemistry between the pair was good and Harms was invited to join REO Speedwagon.

Though his stint in the group was a short one, he ended up co-writing six out of the 11 tracks on the band's next album as well as co-producing the record.

Harms joins Jeff and Matt to discuss his experiences working on REO's 1990 album, The Earth, a Small Man, His Dog and a Chicken -- as well as the subsequent tour.

He also shares some initial details regarding All Sides, the new six disc box set from Melodicrock Classics  that collects decades of his songwriting, including previously unreleased songs with Sammy Hagar, John Waite, Patty Smyth and others.

Hear two songs from the new box set here and stay tuned for pre-order details.

Read more about Jesse's extensive career as an artist, songwriter and producer here.

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What an absolute thrill it is to welcome guitar legend Eric Gales to our program today to discuss Eric Johnson's pivotal Ah Via Musicom album. Gales joins Matt and Jeff to dig into his love of the Austin guitarist's music and how Johnson's playing influenced his own path as an artist.

Both guitarists have new music that you should be aware of. Gales has been turning a lot of heads this year (yet again) thanks to the arrival of Crown, his newest album produced by Joe Bonamassa. We discuss the raw and emotional circumstances that influenced these latest songs.

Eric also shares some memories at the beginning of our conversation about his early days, including the work he did with Survivor's Jimi Jamison, who came in to sing background vocals on the first two Eric Gales Band albums.

After this interview, news broke regarding Voodoo Nation, the newest Supersonic Blues Machine album, which features Eric, guitarist Sonny Landreth, Blackberry Smoke's Charlie Starr and many others. Look for that in your favorite record store June 24th.

As mentioned, Eric Johnson will also be releasing two (!) new albums this summer. Visit his website for details on how you can acquire them -- including a special package where you can order both albums and receive seven additional songs.

We have a Patreon where you can receive lots of additional bonus material related to these episodes and a ton of fun stuff beyond that. So if you enjoy this podcast, please join our Record Club. We appreciate your support!

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Irish-born/NYC-based rocker Pierce Turner joins Matt for today's Bonus Track to discuss Terrible Good, his latest album, which was released in late February on StorySound Records. The songs for the album came together over a four year period and Turner paired up with guitarist Gerry Leonard (David Bowie, Rufus Wainwright, Suzanne Vega) to bring them to life.

The two Irishmen, who have spent the greater part of their lives living and experimenting with music in New York City, have married those experiences to produce an Irish album recorded with a New York attitude.

The conversation covers a wide range of topics, including Pierce's early collaborations with Black 47's Larry Kirwan. Matt and Pierce also discuss legendary freeform NYC radio DJ Vin Scelsa and how people like Vin were so important to music fans. Pierce shares tales of his time working in a record store. That's merely a thumbnail sketch of everything that was discussed.

By the way, here's the video of Pierce's complete performance at Joe's Pub that is referenced during the chat.

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Matt and Jeff are joined by author Daryl Gregory to discuss David Bowie's classic 1971 album Hunky Dory. They get into a number of other stray topics including the Hardy Boys and Daryl's latest book, Revelator.

Show notes for this episode are right here.

Remember, only you can prevent forest fires. Which is why it's probably a good idea for you to join our Record Club on Patreon. We appreciate your support of this podcast. Thanks for listening!

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Jeff and Matt are joined by longtime friend Michael Fortes, the biggest Weather Report fan they've encountered in this life. As they'll learn, he's not the holder of that title for the world. That is an honor that surely must go to the guy who wrote a book about the band (along with running the most impressive fan site on the internet for many, many years).

Michael stopped by The Record Player to discuss Sweetnighter, the band's third album and we loved exploring a bit of the group's history through his eyes.

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Guitar maestro Andy Timmons joins Jeff and Matt for a unique conversation about the classic Beatles album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Having recorded his own version of the album, Timmons has spent a good amount of time exploring the music of the Liverpool group, both as a musician and many times, simply a music fan. He brought his guitar and it was a true joy to talk with Andy.

His new album, Electric Truth, is out this week and deserves your ears. We enjoyed hearing the stories about how the record came together. In general, Andy is a fellow music nerd like us and we can't wait for a chance to speak with him again down the road.

Show notes are right here.

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Matt and Jeff are talking about the Eagles, both solo and together. We discuss a few of the week's new releases very briefly and give a nod to the Low Culture Boil podcast (they're talking about Twinkies and ramen and we couldn't look away).

Show notes as always are right here.

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Jeff and Matt are joined by Miles Francis and Lizzie Loveless (and their dog, Tony) for a special Bonus Track. They both have new albums that deserve your ears. Check out Miles' Good Man and Lizzie's You Don't Know (which Miles produced).

The journey that each of them took to arrive at the albums that they ended up with is a pretty compelling story, which we dig into during this episode. This conversation ends up being a special time capsule as well. Miles and Lizzie got engaged just a few days before this episode was recorded. Congratulations!

Show notes for this episode are here.

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The incredible Rax King is our guest to discuss Sleater-Kinney's 1997 album Dig Me Out. But we're also talking about the other Rax King, a restaurant called Rax, the band Creed and the Lazarus of Christian rock.

Rax has a great new book called Tacky: Love Letters to the Worst Culture We Have to Offer. It's awesome, but don't take our flimsy word for it, just read the damn thing. While you're reading, listen to her Low Culture Boil podcast, featuring "Rax Facts" and everything you need to know about Twinkies.

She's got a Patreon that deserves your attention. Hell, we've got a Patreon. Join both, feel better.

Show notes for this episode can be found right here.

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