Steve Sutherland

Steve Sutherland | Oct 03, 2024 | 0 comments

It's renowned for its drum sound, custom Neve console and the room in which Rumours and Nevermind were recorded... Steve Sutherland on an old Vox amp factory in the US

The jury was hung on the question of his talent. Neil Young said, 'This guy is unbelievable - he makes up the songs as he goes along, and they're all good'. So good, Young tried to get Warner Brothers to sign him. To no avail. Beach Boy Brian Wilson wasn't so sure and said something like, 'He hasn't got a musical bone in his body'. And Terry Melcher, Doris Day's son and hotshot producer of The Byrds, told him, 'I really do appreciate your talent but there's nothing I can do for you'.

Vinyl Release

The Rolling Stones Satanic Majesties

Steve Sutherland | Sep 11, 2024 | 0 comments

Often seen as an attempt to ape The Beatles’ mystical magic, this 1967 oddity, now reissued on 180g, is The Stones at their most ragged, says Steve Sutherland

Following on from last month’s Vinyl Release about brilliant records that nobody else likes but you, I bet I’m not the only one who has an album that, although you’ve played it on and off down the years, even the decades, you can’t decide whether it’s any good or not. On one occasion it may sound great. Significant even, a landmark piece. Other times it just sounds... well, rubbish.

Inside the Studio

Quonset Hut Studio

Steve Sutherland | Sep 04, 2024 | 0 comments

Johnny Cash, Patsy Cline and a fuzz-effect first... how did an army surplus hut become Columbia Studio B and help country music cross into pop? Steve Sutherland reveals all

Crazy? You want crazy? OK, let’s pop into Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge for a snifter. See that guy over there in the corner, nursing the same warm beer he’s been sipping for the past hour or so? Well, that’s Willie Nelson, a wannabe songwriter who’s been kicking around Nashville of late getting pretty much nowhere beyond a police record for drunk driving without a licence. He’s got a wife and three kids to feed back home and the money ain’t so good.

Vinyl Release

Jellyfish Spilt Milk

Steve Sutherland | Aug 31, 2024 | 0 comments

The San Francisco power pop band chased perfection on their second album – and broke up a little over a year later. Steve Sutherland checks out the 180g reissue

It’s a crime, that’s what it is! An absolute outrage! Chances are you feel the same way as I do about a favourite album that no one else in the world seems to give a fig for. I’m not talking about the one that reminds you of your first date or some other sentimental attachment. I’m referring to the LP that was released into an uncaring world and inexplicably ignored when, by every measure you employ to judge a record’s artistic worth, it should have been embraced, applauded, lauded and been top of the charts for weeks on end.

Vinyl Release

Kate Bush The Sensual World

Steve Sutherland | Jul 28, 2024 | 0 comments

This 1989 classic, now remastered on 180g vinyl, riffed on computer technology and James Joyce’s Ulysses on its way to No 2 in the charts. Steve Sutherland listens in.

It’s October 1989 and we’re chatting with Kate Bush on the occasion of the release of her sixth LP, The Sensual World. This is an album that not only sounds utterly sumptuous but, looking back on it now, appears to predict the spiritual and social upheaval we’re entering today with the growth of artificial intelligence.

Inside the Studio

The Hideout, Nevada

Steve Sutherland | Jul 05, 2024 | 0 comments

We've had guys calling literally from gaol. They’re getting out the next day and they’re booking their time because, let’s face it, they’ve had plenty of time to write their lyrics…’ We’re listening in to Kevin Churko who, apart from chewing the fat about The Hideout recording studio in Las Vegas, which he just happens to own, also has a bit of a personal history behind him.

Inside the Studio

United Sound Systems

Steve Sutherland | May 21, 2024 | 0 comments

From a rock 'n' roll first to punk's earliest record, this Detroit studio was a pit-stop for the pioneers whose creations would shape music's history, as Steve Sutherland explains

There will be plenty of time to talk about Death in a moment. Right now, though, just you concentrate on ramming that speaker deep down in the toilet bowl and make sure the microphone is firmly propped underneath so the sound will bounce off the water and create an echo effect when it's sent back to the other speaker in the studio next door. Oh, and while you're at it, see that wooden pallet underneath the chair? Make sure it's mic'ed up because the foot-stomp is gonna drive the beat.

Vinyl Release

Black Grape: It's Great When You're Straight... Yeah

Steve Sutherland | May 07, 2024 | 0 comments

Ex-Happy Mondays stars Shaun Ryder and Bez returned to the top of the UK charts with this rockin', rollin' and rappin' LP. Steve Sutherland applauds its return on 180g

Pinch yourself. You're not dreaming, although it might get a bit Alice In Wonderland a little later on. We are dining al fresco on a terrace overlooking vineyards near Nice in the South of France. At the head of the table is our host, Michael Hutchence, who we have popped over from London to interview.

Inside the Studio

Roundhead Studios

Steve Sutherland | Apr 16, 2024 | 0 comments

This facility in Auckland is one of the crown jewels of the Kiwi music scene, shaping the sounds of legends while elevating the art of acoustic design. Steve Sutherland explains

One of the more lamentable ailments the world is suffering from right now is donor fatigue, which is what happens – or more accurately, doesn't happen – when people inclined to give to charity give up. There are tons of reasons for the current DF epidemic, not least that belts are getting tighter back home, not to mention the proliferation of desperate causes and a suspicion that not all the funds are going where they should.

Vinyl Release

Fatboy Slim: You've Come A Long Way, Baby

Steve Sutherland | Apr 05, 2024 | 0 comments

Blending genres and fusing samples, this 1998 album – now remastered on 180g – cemented Norman Cook's status as the king of Big Beat, says Steve Sutherland

It may well have something to do with the wretched state of the world right now but have you noticed how the 1990s are back in vogue? Celebrated by those who lived through it as a halcyon decade on a par with the legendary 1960s, the '90s are being glowingly reassessed as a time of growth and hope when world politics had not gone totally crazy, we weren't all existing on the breadline, the arts were actually appreciated as something inspirational and worthwhile, and anything seemed within the range of possibility for just about everyone.

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Steve Sutherland

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