Steve Sutherland

Steve Sutherland | Nov 06, 2020 | 0 comments

Perhaps what distinguishes this British-born producer is that he's not only able to play a variety of instruments but is also a performer. And a hugely successful one too, having been one half of chart-topping duo Eurythmics. Steve Sutherland on Dave Stewart...

Back in 1973, Dave Stewart was stuck in a hippie band called Longdancer. It wasn't a bad gig but Dave was restless. Then he met Erin Grace. She was this gorgeous American singer/songwriter who he bumped into in North London and the two hit it off.

Investigation

Just For The Record... 2020's Record Store Days

Steve Sutherland | Nov 03, 2020 | 0 comments

Steve Sutherland on the vinyl treats arriving on 2020's Record Store Days

Launched in America in 2008 as a way of encouraging collectors to frequent their local independent record shops and keep vinyl alive, Record Store Day is now an annual event offering rare, limited edition releases which will not only tickle the fancy of uber-fans but, like other works of art, accrue value as investments.

Meet the Producers

Gus Dudgeon

Steve Sutherland | Oct 09, 2020 | 0 comments

From David Bowie's 'Space Oddity' to the albums that rocketed Elton John up the charts, this British-born producer was one of the first to fuse orchestral arrangements with the fire of rock 'n' roll. Steve Sutherland considers the work and legacy of Gus Dudgeon

In the Spring of 1968, David Bowie, a pop star with a failing career, sat through Stanley Kubrick's trippy masterpiece 2001: A Space Odyssey at least three times at the Casino Cinerama in Old Compton Street. 'It was the sense of isolation I related to,' he explained later. 'I found the whole thing amazing. I was out of my gourd, very stoned when I went to see it – several times – and it was a revelation to me. It got the song flowing.'

Vinyl Release

Paul Butterfield Debut LP (180g)

Steve Sutherland | Oct 06, 2020 | 0 comments

Two of the band's principals were found dead from drug overdoses. Steve Sutherland tells the sad story and welcomes this 1965 album as an orange vinyl reissue!

At 11 o'clock in the morning of Sunday the 15th of February 1981, the police were called to a quiet side-street in the upscale neighbourhood of Forest Hills, San Francisco. There they found a beat-up beige 1971 Mercury Marquis. All four doors were locked, and slumped in the front seat behind the steering wheel was a body. An empty Valium bottle was discovered in the pocket of a coat on the back seat.

Vinyl Release

The Rolling Stones: It's Only Rock 'N' Roll

Steve Sutherland | Sep 15, 2020 | 0 comments

Their 1974 riposte to criticism, which Steve Sutherland finds a mixture of downright goodies with a sprinkling of duds is remastered on 180g vinyl from pure analogue

The Rolling Stones have just released their first original track for eight years. 'Living In A Ghost Town', started some time ago when the band could convene together in a swanky recording studio and hastily rounded off with isolated overdubs. It's getting a bit of a pasting from the online community who are having a lot of fun mocking Mick Jagger and Co for moaning about being stuck at home when they live in mansions with acres of land, hot tubs and snooker rooms, etc.

Meet the Producers

Phil Ramone

Steve Sutherland | Sep 03, 2020 | 0 comments

From Monroe to McCartney, and the soundtracks to more than a few iconic movies, this US-born producer was never afraid to use the latest cutting-edge studio technology while also never forgetting his people skills. Steve Sutherland on the 'Pope Of Pop'...

Afew months ago I claimed in these very pages that Jeff Lynne of ELO assembling his new best buddies Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr to tart up the deceased John Lennon's 'Free As A Bird' home demo and release it as a Beatles single was the worst musical idea ever. Well today, dear reader, I humbly recant that claim for what follows is surely far more dreadful.

Meet the Producers

Frank Zappa

Steve Sutherland | Aug 20, 2020 | 0 comments

'Anything, anytime, anyplace and for no reason at all...' was how Frank Zappa described his musical style, but how did he set about achieving his production goals when working the studio faders? Steve Sutherland reveals the method behind Frank's fruitcake facade

Since lockdown you will doubtless have failed to escape the endless, and really rather tedious, Facebook/Instagram invitations to make lists. First Gig Attended. Ten LPs That Changed Your Life. Best Guitar Solo Of All Time. Yadda yadda zzzzz. Anyway, if you can't beat 'em... I'm joining the party fashionably late. Try this one on for size. List the Ten Weirdest LPs Ever Made and why they are so weird. I'll get you going if you like.

Vinyl Release

Edgar Winter Group: They Only Come Out At Night

Steve Sutherland | Aug 05, 2020 | 0 comments

Take one pale Texan and a band of top talent and you have an LP ready to rock the charts. Steve Sutherland assesses a 1972 album destined for reissue on 180g vinyl

Say what you like about Quentin Tarantino, but one thing's for sure: the man's got great taste in movies. Listed among his favourites are the obvious (Apocalypse Now, Fight Club), the not so well known but fantastic (Takashi Miike's Audition, Bong Joon-ho's The Host) and one that especially concerns us here, Richard Linklater's Dazed And Confused.

Vinyl Release

The Bar-Kays: Soul Finger

Steve Sutherland | Jul 20, 2020 | 0 comments

Steve Sutherland relives the fateful night when four of The Bar-Kays flew with Otis Redding in 1967, the plane diving into icy Lake Monona. The album is on 180g vinyl

The next thing he knew he was floating. Freezing cold and floating. His head hurt. There was blood. He heard a noise. Then another. Cries in the distance. Cries for help. He began to go under and he splashed around, found a seat cushion and desperately clutched it to his chest to help stay afloat – he'd never learned to swim.

Meet the Producers

Mike Vernon

Steve Sutherland | Jul 08, 2020 | 0 comments

From Fleetwood Mac to Focus, Bowie to the British blues greats, this UK-born producer helped create many of the greatest performances committed to tape, while founding his own label along the way. Steve Sutherland celebrates the work of Mike Vernon...

It may not have been the dumbest thing he ever did, but it was certainly up there. David Bowie announced that the set-list for every performance of his 1990 Sound+Vision world tour would be partially decided by the most popular songs from his back catalogue, as voted for by his fans.

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Steve Sutherland

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