Posts From Jeff Tamarkin
Peter Noone is Into Something Good—An Interview With ‘Herman’
“We never thought about selling millions of records; we just wanted to get on the radio. We didn’t know about America.”—Peter Noone on the early days.
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Lulu Rocks New York City—With Love: 2017 Concert Review
50 years ago a teenaged girl from Scotland had a #1 hit that is still loved today. At a NYC concert, she sounded better than ever.
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When Lou Reed Met Metallica: Lou on ‘Lulu’
A 2011 interview with Reed on his controversial collaboration with Metallica, published in its entirety
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When the J. Geils Band Finally Broke Through
The only #1 hit for this dynamic Boston band was about a schoolboy crush later being crushed for real. We look back at an early MTV favorite.
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1968—The Year in 50 Classic Rock Albums
Rock was still very intense in ’68 but it began giving way to quieter, more roots-oriented sounds. More than anything though, the music was diverse.
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Barry McGuire vs. Barry Sadler: When the News Hit #1
One chart-topper listed complaints about the inequities and horrors of the day, while the other was a patriotic paean to the Army’s elite special forces.
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‘Smiley Smile’: The Beach Boys Album That Wasn’t Supposed to Be
Their followup to ‘Pet Sounds’ was a quick replacement for an abandoned masterpiece-to-be. Some fans didn’t love it, but in time its reputation has grown.
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Byrds: ‘Sweetheart of the Rodeo’ @50—Concert Review
They didn’t dare bill it as a Byrds reunion, but to those fans who caught a show on one of the year’s most talked-about tours, that’s exactly what it was.
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David Clayton-Thomas Interview: His Early Years With Blood, Sweat & Tears
DCT: “I had to go back to Canada to renew my visa. A couple of days later I got a call. ‘Do you want to try out for the band?’ I said, ‘You’re damn right.’”
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Jimmy Webb Interview: Hits & Misses
In our 2016 chat with the legendary songwriter, we discuss the unpredictability of writing a hit song and how the art of songwriting has changed.
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