LENNON: Why didn’t John Lennon join the other three Beatles when they went into the studio in January in 1970 to finish recording the Let It Be album?

MARK ANATER … The question apparently refers to I Me Mine. Although all of the songs on the Let It Be album received the Phil Spector treatment after the fact, I Me Mine wasn’t actually recorded until a year after the others, and had no contribution from John Lennon. George Harrison brought the song into […]

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BEATLES: During the Let it Be sessions, it appears that they recorded mostly live. How did they hear themselves? I don’t see any headphones, etc in use.

Michael D Mirne writes … This is actually a very good question and unfortunately, the previous answers all avoided the essence of the question. We know that even studio recordings that do not have overdubs still require some isolation of tracks. Otherwise, the drum mics would pick up the guitar amps, and the guitar mics […]

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NIRVANA: How did Nevermind change American music?

Lance LaSalle writes … It didn’t change music, it changed popular culture. Suddenly certain fashions and styles of music that were confined to rather limited social underground scenes became fashionable. At the time, I was wearing a lot of hand-me-down flannel shirts; I had a pointy chin beard and I had questionable hygiene. I deliberately […]

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BLUE OYSTER CULT: Why didn’t they become a mega band like Black Sabbath, Journey, Aerosmith, and other groups with similar talent? Were they just too science fictiony?

Ramakrishnan Parthasarathy answers here: No garage punk, proto-punk or punk rock band (or, to take it even further: no rock band) wrote better and more memorable riffs than Blue Oyster Cult. No one had a more intriguing sound that was dirty when required and deliciously evil at will. In fact, the best of Blue Oyster […]

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LIMITED CAREER: What are the best bands/singers with only 2 albums (that’s it)?

James O’Connor writes … So…there’s a tough one. I’m VERY familiar with bands and singers with only one album, that’s sort of a music trivia classic question, and here was my contribution to that list James O’Connor’s answer to Who is the best band of all time that only released 1 album? But two and […]

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LOST IMMORTALS: What classic rock buried treasure band have you discovered recently? #2

Mark Whelton writes Periodically I am directed to bands that I may have heard of but never actually listened to or if I have it was years ago or very occasionally ones i know absolutely nothing about. I collect and am always on the look out for psych/garage bands that I have missed. The US […]

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STING: How do professional musicians characterize his bass?

Antonella Frau writes … The guy is a beast. I understand we get used to regarding a guitar or bass player as “talented” or “virtuoso” because of their shredding[1], finger tapping, fingerwork and so forth. When it comes to Sting, however, specially during his Police years, we fail to spot any of the aforementioned parameters. […]

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Quill

BEATLES: Were there any songs that George wrote that John and Paul did not let him put on an album?

McKinzie Brantley III, Lifelong Music Fan (1966-present) writes … Originally, John and Paul wrote songs for Ringo AND George so each would have a vocal on the albums. This was generous, but also helped cement their individual roles within the band. Paul/John were the writers. Geo played guitar. Ringo drums. These roles, defined early, proved […]

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MEDIOCRITY: Which mediocre album released by an artist or band became a big hit mainly due to riding on the coattails of their enormously successful prior album?

Muiris Mac Cartaine, Listens to a lot of Music answered …. Monster by R.E.M. is a contender, it was a chart topper in 1994 and and only good in parts. The band heavily toured the albums rockier sound but it’s predecessor Automatic for the People was also successful and is one of the top REM […]

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THE ANIMALS: Do you rate them in the same category as The Rolling Stones or The Beatles?

STEFAN FOCH writes … The short (and incomplete) answer is that The Animals are not in the same category of The Rolling Stones or The Beatles in terms of overall financial success, commercial success, or as a pop cultural institution today. No one is. That aside, the Animals were in the same category during the […]

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Q&A: DIRTY WORK: What’s the meaning of the Steely Dan song “Dirty Work”?

James O’Connor: The song, “Dirty Work,” is from Steely Dan’s 1972 debut album Can’t Buy A Thrill and is likely the most pop feeling song on the record, featuring an almost Philly Soul sound that stood in contrast to the more Jazz/Rock style of the rest of the LP. David Palmer was the lead vocalist […]

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Q&A: What is the sound at the beginning of “I Put a Spell on You” by Creedence Clearwater Revival?

BOB SMITH: Oooh good question as the sounds are very hard to identify, but thankfully John Fogerty explained this and more in his 2015 autobiography. The song is a cover of a “Screamin’ Jay” Hawkins song from 1956 done by Creedence ClearWater for their self titled album in 1968. In an attempt to create a […]

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