Welcome to the Album Nerds Podcast with your
hosts, Andy, Don, and Dude. Welcome to the party,
pal. It's the Album Nerds Podcast. I'm Dude.
I got Andy and Don with me. Andy, how the hell
are you doing today? You ready to go back in
time? Yeah, man. You know I am. I got some cool
ranch Doritos over here and watching some Golden
Girls. Nice. I'm there. I'm there. I bought you,
Don. How you doing? I'm ready to just do it.
I'm sure you are, Don. I'm sure you are. This
is the Album Nerds Podcast. We love albums and
the album format, and we take any opportunity
to sit down and talk about some records. We've
got a great show for you today. We'll each be
talking about an album released in the year 1988.
Don's going to ask us a deep question. We'll
have some shout -outs to some other albums or
album -related items we're digging, and then
we'll spin that beautiful wheel of musical discovery
to find out what we'll talk about on the next
one. This week, it's all about 1988. That's what
I'm talking about! In 1988, the cultural landscape
buzzed with excitement, marked by the release
of blockbuster films like Die Hard and Rain Man,
and the premieres of beloved TV shows such as
The Wonder Years and Murphy Brown. Nike's iconic
Just Do It campaign also launched that year,
capturing the spirit of ambition and innovation
that defined the era. Against this dynamic backdrop,
albums released in 1988 both mirrored and influenced
the rapidly evolving tastes and trends of the
time. Today, each of us will present an album
released in 1988. So 1988, big year for me. Made
a big cross -country move from the Midwest to
the East Coast. Big change. Now I'm back in the
Midwest where I belong. But albums, yeah. We've
covered a lot of albums from 1988 already on
the show. Particularly the best ones. Some good
ones, for sure. Yeah, we left it open. So all
genres, nothing was out of bounds as long as
it was released in 1988. What other albums did
you guys consider for this one before making
your final choice? Well, there's a pretty good
one that I almost went with. Tracy Chapman's
debut record is from 1988, but you're in a fast
car and talking about a revolution. It's a really
good record. I think it does deserve some time
on the show. And it's kind of had new relevance
because of the Luke Combs cover. I think Tracy
Chapman's kind of back in the spotlight. So I
was tempted as well. Is she still around? Yeah.
Yeah, yeah. I mean, she was around. I don't think
she's recording or touring, but she did perform
with Luke Combs on the Grammys doing Fast Car,
I believe, a little while back. So that's something.
You just have to give her one reason to perform.
Sorry. What have you done? Well, I just wanted
to actually mention a bunch of hip hop records
that we've already covered. I think it is important
to note that, you know, I mean, hip hop was really,
you know, rising to the, you know, the top of
the mainstream in 1988. So we had done Boogie
Down Productions, By All Means Necessary, Eric
B and Rakim, Follow the Leader, NWA, Straight
Outta Compton, and Ultra Magnetic MC's Critical
Beatdown. Lots of good hip hop that year, but
unfortunately we've covered much of it. How about
you, dude? So I considered Cinderella, Long Cold
Winter. That was their second studio album. They're
kind of a glam metal band. They had big success
on their debut album, Night Songs. But this one
kind of breaks away a little bit from the glam
metal thing and leans more into the blues. Rolling
Stones, Aerosmith kind of vibes, ACDC thrown
in with that raspy, high -pitched voice. Dude,
no! Nope, shit. Okay. It doesn't sound like that,
so I still recommend checking out Cinderella's
Long Cold Winter if you haven't heard it. It's
a little more mature, blues -rooted approach
to heavy metal at the time. All right, so enough
about those we didn't chose, and on to our choices.
Chew, chew, chews me? Alright, for my 1988 selection,
I'm talking about Jane's Addiction and their
debut studio album, Nothing Shocking. It's like
a Joy Buzzer for George. So, Jane's Addiction,
Perry Farrell on vocals, Dave Navarro on guitars,
Eric Avery on bass, and Stephen Perkins on drums.
This record, I think... You could say without
too much controversy, it's largely thought about
as kind of ushering in the alternative rock.
Perhaps not to the mainstream, but at least kind
of getting the foot in the door. Let's jump in
and play the big cut, the first single. This
is Jane Sets. So yeah, that song was obviously
pretty impactful on the radio back in this era,
and I think throughout most of the 90s. It's
a sad song, I think. I don't know, for some reason
this time around, listening to it and reading
the lyrics, it really made me sad. Yeah, the
song is all about Pharrell's housemate at the
time, Jane, who I guess the band is also named
after as well. Yeah, she's a drug addict and
kind of just trying to get her life together.
I saw a kind of interesting interview with this
person in the story about... The Jane, the real
Jane, in 2001, who confirmed that she did kick
her drug habit, and she did finally get to go
to Spain. Okay, that's good. A bit of a silver
lining. Happy ending. Yeah. My clickbait headline
for James Dixon's Nothing Shocking is, The most
shocking thing about Nothing Shocking is how
well this album has held up. Yeah, I was really
kind of impressed coming back to this after all
these years. Not having heard it in a little
while, it still sounds inventive. Modern, even,
I would say, by today's standards. It's just
like one of those bursts of creativity albums
for me, or just kind of, where did this come
from? Out of nowhere. It seems very influential,
obviously. I mean, lots of elements of their
sound has been copied throughout the 90s, but
I don't know if anyone really ever created albums
that sounded like this. The way they're composed
is so odd in comparison to most, or just unconventional,
I guess, compared to most rock at the time. It
feels pretty unique, so I appreciate that quite
a bit. It truly was alternative at the time.
Yeah. Yeah. As vague as that term is, it definitely
was. All right, let's jump in here and play another
cut from the record. This is track four, Ted
Just Admit It. I wonder if the bass line there
had anything to do with Don's choice. That's
often a part of it. I also like when they sneak
the album title into the lyrics. That's always
fun. That's fun for fans. So Ted Just Admit It
is the seven and a half minute song, kind of
an epic, sort of cinematic, but it deals with
themes of media desensitization, violence. uh,
hypocrisy kind of psychedelic. They've thrown
in some spoken word vocals. There's some audio
samples, um, including, uh, an excerpt from Ted
Bundy's final interview where he's like still
denying his, his crimes. So that's the Ted, but
yeah, you know, I kind of reminds me of like
the, remember the movie natural born killers,
which was sort of a comment on the media's portrayal
of violence and sex. That was a rough watch.
Yeah. But you know, this song, i i think kind
of has that that same that same theme um also
the like the cultural fascination with violent
criminals they repeat the refrain sex is violent
uh which i guess apparently the band members
you know they were debating whether to include
that lyric because they didn't want to be perceived
as glorifying violence or sex as a violent act
i was kind of misunderstood though honestly for
the first 20 years listening to the album. I
was like, what are they promoting here exactly?
But again, it's a, you know, it's a comment,
I guess, on how the media sort of. covers sex
and violence in a similar way. Anyway, so, you
know, pretty heavy song, you know, in terms of
themes, but definitely an interesting track.
You know, like I said, kind of psychedelic. You've
got that swirling guitar from Navarro, you know,
which is, I guess, created by FX Pedals. I guess
they made sure that Perkins drums were kind of
free from overdubs. You know, they were trying
to maintain that organic live feel, which I think,
you know, is... All over the record. Even though
there's a lot going on, it does kind of maintain,
I think, a live and somewhat spontaneous feel.
All right. Well, my clickbait headline for Nothing
Shocking is Don says Donnie Likey. Donnie Likey.
Nice and simple. But yeah, I've grown to love.
Both of those Jane's Addiction albums from that
time. This and Ritual de Lobitual or De Lobitual,
whatever it was called. I think they changed
Ritual de Lobitual to be more hip. And with it
now, it's Rish Da Bish. Oh, really? That's very
modern of them. I mean, they're so important,
I think, at that time, sort of taking us out
of that glam hair metal that was so prominent,
which I also have gone back to appreciate as
well. Well, that's called getting older and waxing
nostalgic. All of a sudden, it's like, oh, I
appreciate it. No, you just miss being young.
Yeah. There's probably some truth to that. I
think Perry Farrell's vocals, I don't hear people
talk about this too much, but his raspy kind
of high -pitched sound could have easily, and
probably was early in his years as a musician,
been used in the glam metal space. I mean, in
1988, that's what you would expect. I remember
thinking that at the time, being like, he sounds
like ACDC guy, but... Yeah, he's in that register,
but yeah, totally different use of it. Yeah,
I feel like he's more informed by maybe punk
and hardcore or something. I think that's part
of what was probably shocking about the sound
of this band at the time was, what's this guy
doing? You know, I think there are parallels
to the Pixies. I mean, they were doing sort of
similar things, a lot of loud and soft. Even
though this music can be somewhat wild and goofy,
it does feel more serious than the Pixies. The
Pixies, it all seems kind of tongue -in -cheek.
There's like some inside joke that you're not
completely in on with the Pixies. And this is
not that. This is kind of heavier, artier stuff.
duff yeah i would say maybe a little bit earlier
because some of these songs i think do require
a bit of a dissection to really get to the bottom
of and there's a lot of a lot of just odd creative
choices that i think happen throughout the record
that can't help but feel a bit artistic let's
jump in here and play i think this was the second
single off the album this is mountain song and
that drumming is so integral to their sound it's
so organic and raw and driving but not there's
not a lot of flourish which i think we were used
to at the time it just drives the song forward
in this case downward down the slope of the mountain
kind of in this case coming down from being high
and that emotional descent as you As you're coming
down the mountain. So, yeah, I mean, dark lifestyle
choices and addiction being a common thread throughout
the majority of their discography, really. Not
just this album. My clickbait headline to describe
the album? Nothing shocking, buddy. This album
tried real hard to prove you wrong. They're very
intentionally being weirdos to some degree. It's
not just performative. It's like, look at this
album cover. I made this art piece. It's clearly
going to cause... Yeah. It's like controversy
for the sake of controversy. Yes, that was part
of their vibe. That was Perry Farrell's thing,
kind of. It feels like he's antagonistic, probably
as a human as well. This is very antagonistic.
It's very, I dare you to say something. I dare
you to judge me. A lot of angry young man boiling
over here. That's often what's behind great art.
Yeah, sometimes just being a brat. I think that's
a pretty fair criticism. Look, I've got dreads
and I wear weird outfits. Like, it's all been
done before, Pear. Yeah. Everyone was kind of
telling him that he was hot shit at this time.
I think he did have a little bit of an ego. You
know, everybody's like, you're the next best
thing in rock, so. It gets so intentionally dark
and, you know, the Ted Bundy thing and Had a
Dad and Pigs in Zen, like the incest, the drug
addiction, urban madness. questioning authority
and just, you know, vulgar humor. And like I
said, I mean, the title was chosen specifically,
you know, nothing shocking, huh? Check this out.
Prepare to be shocked. And I think even as you
said earlier that this holds up, it still could
be shocking. If a young person were listening
to this, it's still shocking. And if their parents
were unfamiliar and heard it, they would not
want their kid to listen to it, I think. So that's
the spirit. That's what was enticing about rock
and roll when it was at its peak. We're saying
stuff that your parents don't want to hear. We're
a new generation. We're going to shake things
up. I mean, that's rock and roll, man. That's
what it's all about. Yeah, well, in many ways,
this was kind of the voice of a generation, or
at least the sign of a new generation kind of
taking hold as the 90s were approaching. So I'm
going to do it, guys. I think this is a landmark
album, and I do think it holds up really well,
which, after all these years of saying something,
so I'm going to nominate Jane's Addiction. Nothing
shocking for the Albinerds Hall of Fame. What
do you guys think? Yeah, it really is original,
I think. I mean, obviously it derives from, you
know, punk and metal and that kind of thing.
But it really doesn't, it didn't sound like anything
else at the time. And even now, you know, it
still doesn't really sound like anything else.
And it really did kind of push rock into the
90s. So I'll vote yes. As I said, I never quite
bought in, but this album's impact on music and
the music I love, the albums, the artists I love
from the late 80s, early 90s, probably wouldn't
have made it to my ears if it hadn't been for
these guys. breaking down some walls, so I'm
going to say yes as well. All right, well, congratulations
to Jane's Addiction. Maybe this will prompt them
to get back together one more time. Oh, yeah,
this will be the inspiration. Hopefully they
won't try stabbing each other on stage again
or whatever was happening there. All right, so
once again, the album is Nothing Shocking by
Jane's Addiction, another great album from the
year 1988. Before we continue reminiscing about
the year 1988, let's hear a little bit about
our friends over at the Can I Pod with Madness.
podcast yeah so the latest episode of can i pod
with madness uh continues their exploration of
vintage rock magazines this time they're they're
looking at the fourth issue of raw which was
rock action worldwide magazine um an issue from
october 1988 i don't think i ever read raw no
i would have i probably would have misconstrued
what it was about the issue featured discussions
of artists like bon jovi kiss alice cooper mr
big and ozzy osbourne On the podcast, they also
sneak in some conversations about cats and sandworms.
Okay. So it's a wild ride. So if you're interested
in 80s and early 90s rock, Can I Pod With Madness
offers humorous reviews of vintage metal magazines.
It's a mix of music history and pop culture.
And it's a genuine appreciation of the era's
bands and trends. Sounds nice. Go check it out,
everybody. So my pick from 1988 is Anita Baker's
Giving You the Best that I Got. I need a candlestick
maker. I was going to say, Anita Baker, I'm in
the mood for cupcakes. Sorry. I bet she'd never
heard that before. Great job, guys. We suck.
So Giving You the Best That I Got is the third
album by the R &B singer who was born in Toledo,
Ohio in 1958. She was originally in a funk group
called Chapter 8, also with her producer, Michael
J. Powell. And this is the follow -up to her
commercial and critical breakthrough, Rapture,
from 1986, which I believe you guys talked about
at one time. Yeah, that's a good one. Well, here
is the title track, Giving You the Best That
I Got. Such a smooth way of saying it's okay
if you're mean to me. I'll still bring you your
dinner. So giving you the best that I got, it
was written by Baker, Skip Scarborough and Randy
Holland. Supposedly Scarborough gave her the
demo and she ended up rewriting a lot of the
lyrics and transitioning it from what was a conventional
love ballad into something that was more an exploration
of like marital commitment. And that's actually
if you look at the lyrics for most of these songs,
it is. It's long -term relationships and that
kind of thing. It's like marriage counseling,
jazzy marriage counseling, essentially. Yeah.
So her vocals kind of jump between the whispered
intimacy in the verses to those powerful belting
choruses. I think she's a contralto. Yeah. Karen
Carpenter is a contralto as well. That's right.
But she has a three -octave range. And there
are a lot of renowned musicians on this whole
album. On this track, you've got drumming by
Omar Hakeem. I'm sorry. So rather than like a
straightforward backbeat, there's more like subtle
syncopation. So it's a more interesting groove,
kind of jazzy. Yeah. And it's not a jazz record,
but there's definitely jazzy stuff going on.
Not to be too technical, but... I know, man.
You're over everyone's heads again. Fun fact
about this song, apparently Michael Jordan used
to use it as like smack talk on his opponents.
Okay. You would sing him a Nita Baker song? Yeah,
he's giving them the best that I know. Yeah,
probably just saying it, not lighting candles
and singing it. All right. Well, my clickbait
headline for giving you the best that I got is
forecast calls for a lifetime of quiet storms.
Yeah. In fact, I think we've had lots of queens
of whatever on this show, but she's been called
the queen of quiet storm. Okay. Yeah. But it's
a lifetime forecast, right? Because, again, the
themes of this album are about long -term, enduring
relationships, trust, and that kind of thing.
Which is not that typical, particularly in R
&B. A lot of R &B is about seduction. Hit it
and quit it. Yeah. Or it's... Or just a lot of
pop music in general is about like the thunderbolt
of like initial love and attraction. And so this
is about the, you know, the enduring. You're
farting bed every night, but I still love you.
Exactly. Yeah. So it has a very adult vibe, right?
Especially. When you compare it to other aspects
of R &B, we start moving in that new jack swing
direction. It's just very grown up. It was too
grown up for me at the time. It was not something
that was on my radar. For me, it was too grown
up, but when I'd hear her songs, it'd make me
want to be grown up so that I could experience
adult things. Eyebrow, eyebrow. Hubba hubba.
You know what I'm saying? Like mowing the lawn.
Yeah, not that. That was the stuff I got tricked
into early. All right. Well, let's hear another
cut. Here's Just Because. As Don was kind of
hinting at, this is sort of a later part of a
relationship where you just love each other.
It's a mature love. Yes. It's like the album.
You know, this is very characteristic of her
Quiet Storm style, written by Michael O 'Hara,
Sammy McKinney, and Alex Brown, produced by Michael
J. Powell, of course, and it emphasizes that
unconditional love, affection without specific
reasons. Peaked at number 14 on the Billboard
Hot 100, so it did cross over from Quiet Storm
into pop radio. My clickbait headline to describe
the album, before autotune, there was Anita.
Giving you the best that I got showed us how
to Netflix and chill long before Netflix was
a thing. I think she's underrated as far as mainstream
success goes. Perhaps too tame for the MTV generation.
She wasn't doing dance routines and trying to
impact that side of R &B. I think she just stuck
with her style and there was success regardless.
And she kept it classy. That adds to the romanticism
of it all. love and romance but it's not crass
it's not overtly sexual it's just reminds you
of love that's all you gotta say sweet love all
right well that's good enough for me so let's
uh let's hear another another track here's uh
here's good enough Probably the most jazzy track
on the album there. Breaks down to a really nice
instrumental in the last couple of minutes there.
Yeah, Baker actually does a little scatting on
that track. Kind of surprising. That little samba
vibe. Yeah, that's kind of a Latin feel to that
track. I appreciate that. As John said earlier,
there are some jazz flourishes throughout this
album that kind of does make it feel a little
bit more adult, a little more... You know, serious.
He didn't say it that well, but yes, that was
what he was alluding to. My headline for Anita's
Baker giving me the best that I got is it might
not be Baker's best, but it's still better than
most. I hear that. They're not the best brownies,
but they're still brownies. I say this record
is a little bit less sexy than Rapture. Yes.
But I still think that is maybe Baker's strength,
at least for me. alluding to that sexiness without
actually being explicit yeah i think she's really
good at that and those are my favorite moments
on here i think are the you know the moments
that are a little bit more sultry a little bit
more that sort of uh quiet storm vein it's when
they stay in a hotel without the kids yep when
the magic returns I read an interesting review
from Alex Henderson at allmusic .com who suggested
that maybe Baker would have been a great jazz
vocalist, but she never really pursued that line
of music. And this album kind of hints at it
a little bit. And yeah, I had similar questions
like, man, I wonder what that would have been
like if she really worked with a jazz quartet
or something and how that would have sounded.
But for my money, I think this is a pretty good
record and definitely we're heading shoulders
above what was going on in R &B Very synth -heavy
80s. I think you meant head and shoulder pads
above. Because, man, they were huge back then,
man. Yeah, well, speaking of the album right
here, I mean, she's definitely rocking some good
pads on that. Yeah. Looks like she's going to
hit the football field after. All right. Well,
giving you the best that I got remains a definitive
example of sophisticated soul, which showcases
Anita Baker's unique vocals. Check it out. Excuse
me. I'd like to ask you a few questions. It's
time again for Deep Questions by Don. So shopping
malls were reaching their peak as cultural hubs
in 1988. What do you remember about shopping
malls? In 1988, not a whole lot, but a couple
of years after that, I did make my debut on the
shopping mall scene with my ragtag group of friends.
And it caused a lot of trouble. The big thing
to do when I was growing up, there were two malls
that were kind of situated fairly close to each
other in the same parking lot, essentially. That
was maybe like a 10 -minute walk between them.
So we would tell our parents we were going to
the safer, family -friendly mall, and then we
would sneak out the back. To the dirty mall.
Yeah, the adult mall. The adult mall. It was
just the same mall. It was the same stores, but
it was... It seemed cooler because we weren't
supposed to be there. So what did you do at the
dirty mall? I don't even remember. We didn't
buy anything. We were just loitering. A little
five -finger discount? No, never again. That's
a shame. You haven't lived until you felt that
thrill. I've heard it's exciting. Did you guys
see that? Here and there. I don't know what the
statute of limitations is. Well, there weren't
cameras. It was a different time. Even if you
got caught, you could deny. There's no denying
now. So don't do it, kids. Don't do it. No stealing.
How about you, dude? For me, what I think about
most with the malls at that time was Taco Bell,
eating so much Taco Bell. Every time I'd go there
with friends, whatever. If I was there to go
to Caldor to buy underwear, I'd still go to Taco
Bell. And eat five or six tacos. It was just
a given. Was it just the novelty or the proximity
or what was the draw? The price. Like, they were
so cheap then for tacos and I could eat. I was
just constantly hungry as a teenager. Yeah. I
mean, you could get tacos for like, were they
like 30 or 40 cents each? Something like that.
They were cheap. Yeah. I feel like the regular
was 65 cents and the Supreme was 75 or something.
Yeah, for an extra 10 cents. Yeah, I would just
house those things, man. But yeah, so I stuffed
myself with tacos and then go over to the Chess
King, which was the cool clothed shop where you
could get like Z Cavaricci pants. And I was a
little out of my price range, but they always
had the most captivating. employees working there
okay lots of women working okay so yeah they're
always dudes just hanging around outside of chess
king it was kind of creepy if you had a mullet
and a crusty mustache that was your place to
shop how about you donald uh well it was a different
era so you know my mom would be shopping for
something and i would just go off on my own right
you know it's like to the other end of the mall
to to kb toys and i would just you know sit there
and stare at toys or whatever by 88 it was probably
more like video games that i was like just staring
at hoping that you were the one trying to abduct
adults from the toy store hey mister would you
like a lollipop Yeah. And I also remember randomly,
I just remember like an organ store, you know,
like the musical instrument organs, like the
old fashioned ones that would kind of play on
their own and stuff. Thank you for clarifying.
Yeah. But they would have them out like sometimes
in the middle of the mall and you could like
play with them and stuff. They'd have the little
drum machine under it and stuff. They always
had those pre -programmed songs playing. Yeah.
Yeah. All right. Well, what do you remember from
the glory days of shopping malls? Let us know
on Instagram and Facebook or leave a comment
on our website, albumnerds .com. You didn't think
we'd get through 1988 without some metal, did
you? Iron Maiden. I think you promised that in
the last episode. Pretty much did. Glad you delivered.
Except this has a fold sound. It doesn't have
that tinny production that Andy is so fond of.
So I went with the 1988 Iron Maiden album, Seventh
Son of a Seventh Son. Iron Maiden emerged from
London's New Wave of British Heavy Metal scene
in the late 70s, powered by Bruce Dickinson on
vocals, Dave Murray on guitar, Adrian Smith on
guitar synthesizer, Steve Harris on bass and
string synthesizer, and Nico McBrain on drums.
Galloping rhythms, literary lyrics, fearsome
mascot Eddie, very important to the whole vibe.
They became metal gods through a series of increasingly
ambitious albums. By 1988, they got super ambitious
with this one. The seventh son of the seventh
son is their seventh studio album, son. So...
There's a whole theme, a concept through it.
We can kind of delve into that. It's loose. It's
more of a guideline for the subjects of these
songs. Tied to a folk tale about if you're the
seventh in the line of your family, and it's
all sons, and then that guy does the same thing,
has all sons, and its seventh son then has these...
magical, clairvoyant powers and a whole bunch
of different folklore around it. But that's the
foundation for this. Let's play a little bit
of the titular track, Seven Son of a Seven Son.
Now, we really haven't covered it yet, but the
album's called Seven Son of a Seven Son. So,
you know, This song in the whole album, it's
a progressive metal epic blending traditional
heavy metal, you know, that kind of traditional
Iron Maiden sound with full -on synthesizers
and complex song structures and taking kind of
a departure. It's even more theatrical somehow
than what they had been doing. But I think the
time was right. I mean, this is 1988. They had
been together for quite a while, many albums
under their belt, and music was changing. I mean,
look at what was happening with Jane's Addiction.
right so where is a band to go like iron maiden
you know so they kind of found their second wind
or third wind and created probably one of their
you know one of their top three greatest albums
i i believe opened the floodgates for progressive
metal to maybe hit more of a mainstream audience
my clickbait headline to describe the album mysticism
prophecies and a whole lot of shredding seventh
son is iron maiden at its most weirdly epic it's
huge It's big. It's over the top. It's kind of
the polar opposite of what Guns N' Roses was
doing as they were on their rise in that metal
space. So I really learned to appreciate this
album with seven full listens every seventh hour
of every seventh day. So yeah, I really enjoyed
it. And I think all the songs hold up really
well. So why don't we check out another one?
This one is The Evil That Men Do. He's talking
to my inner Jack Black there. Evil That Men Do
is loosely adapted from Shakespeare's Julius
Caesar, which I believe is a line from that play.
I think it works really well in the context of
the loose story that's being told here. Probably
my favorite track off the album. My clickbait
headline for Seventh Son of a Seventh Son. Maiden
expertly walks the razor's edge between sci -fi
camp and prog rock excess. This is right around
the edge for me in terms of going too far down
that campy road with some of the storytelling
and imagery here. But I think they have this
great musical component and really interesting
prog rock style infused into this metal here
that kind of keeps pulling me back. It keeps
pulling me back to reality. And I think overall
it kept me on the light side here in the sun.
So I appreciated this one. Quite a bit. I think
they're really, I mean, they're obviously a great
metal band. And I think the guitar work on here
is just awesome. And some great grooves. The
synth usage, you know, there is that element
here, which I think was a little more prevalent
than maybe it has been in the past with them.
But I really thought it was tastefully used,
which is often not the case in this time period.
But I think they did a good job with it. It's
kind of dark. It's occasional. It doesn't really
throw things off too much for me. Yeah, I think
this is a really, really solid Iron Maiden record
for my money. They were also smart to, into this
loose story, they tied in the devil and apocalyptic
stuff. Not super clearly, but they definitely
hint at it, that the seventh son is potentially
the Antichrist and things, which is what people
expected from Iron Maiden. So they got that little
devil -y stuff in there, and then this story
based on folklore as well as a series of books
that's... I guess, was popular at the time. Seems
like it's about prophesying the future or being
able to see into the future. Yeah. Which I appreciate
that kind of aspect to it. I love that Eddie
on the cover there is kind of like, he's carrying
his wounds from previous albums. I never really
picked up on that before, but apparently it's...
The damage done. Yeah, the damage done to Eddie
over the course of his time as the Maiden mascot.
We're ready. Yeah, more bands being mascots.
All right, why don't we jump into another track?
This one's called The Clairvoyant. Like have
a sing -off between Dio and Dickinson, kind of
fun. Yeah, it's in that same way. There's not
really metal screaming, but there's that sort
of operatic vocal thing that they could go back
and forth on, see whose is more powerful, like
two beams against each other. So the Clairvoyant
was actually the first track written for the
album. It's written by bassist Steve Harris.
It's his baseline, you know, at the beginning,
of course. You've got the guitar solo on this
track is done by Dave Murray. And, you know,
like the rest of the album, there's some heavy
synths thrown in there. According to Harris,
the song was directly inspired by the death of
British psychic Doris Stokes, which prompted
him to wonder whether she could foresee her own
death. And so that question kind of led him to
go down this territory for the whole concept
of the album. So at this point in the story,
the seventh son of the seventh son, you know,
is now a developed, fully fledged seer with control
over his prophetic visions. They become overwhelming,
causing him to confuse what he sees with his
eyes versus what he sees with his mind's eye.
This is heavy stuff, you know? It's dangerous.
Yeah, death is ultimately the only way to escape,
you know, sort of this burden. I believe he dies,
spoiler alert. Yeah, it's all up for debate on
the whole thing, you know? Yeah, and is it a
suicide or is he put to death somehow? Or is
it a sacrifice for the many? But yeah, I mean,
it's really hard to say. I don't truly have an
answer for you, Don. you know throughout the
arc of the story we cover things like the birth
and realization of his powers through moon child
and infinite dreams the struggle with purpose
and isolation through the songs can i play with
madness and the evil that men do There's that
climactic prophecy and breakdown with Seventh
Son of a Seventh Son leading into the prophecy
and the clairvoyant here. And then the album
ending with only the good die young, moving into
dissent and disillusionment. I mean, it's all
kind of up for debate. It's up for interpretation
by the listener. So, you know, there's a lot
of opinions out there. I just recommend listening
to the record and trying to piece it together
yourself for the most satisfying story. Sorry,
son, that's all I have. So my clickbait headline
for Seventh Son of the Seventh Son is Seventh
Times the Charm, Maiden Delivers Prog Metal Prophecy.
Yeah, I don't know the Iron Maiden catalog all
that well, although I know, I've definitely heard
a lot of it. I imagine this is... Probably one
of their best albums. You know, I think they
really, maybe they hit their stride here. Maybe
it's the right blend of metal and prog rock.
And fantasy. Yeah. I mean, you do have a lot
of, you know, talented musicians in this group.
And, you know, it works together. I mean, Dickinson
is a pretty compelling, you know, metal vocalist.
I mean, the guitar work is, you know, you've
got the dueling guitars and the guitar harmony.
It's pretty good. Not to get too technical. All
right. So this is a career highlight of a band
full of career highlights, but I think it's one
of their crowning achievements. So I'm going
to nominate this one for the Elm Nerds Hall of
Fame. A band unafraid of change and adjustment
in their sound. I think that's a big deal for
someone so established. And I think this is a
crowning achievement of all of the best parts
of what Iron Maiden was capable of. So what do
you guys think? Yeah, if it was instrumental,
I would say for sure, shoo -in. But since we
do have the lyrical component, I guess it's pretty
cool. I do enjoy it quite a bit, so I will say
yes as well. Yes, I'll vote yes. I think this
is... This is Iron Maiden. You know, this is,
they are a thing. You know, it's kind of like
a signature sound. You know, I mean, there's
other groups that have a similar sound, but Iron
Maiden is like its own category, I think. And
so because of that, they belong. They do belong.
Okay, so if you haven't heard the seventh album,
Seventh Son of a Seventh Son, I strongly encourage
you to do so. Can you dig it? Can you dig it?
All right, so on your journey back from 1988,
did you happen to dig anything? Uh, yeah, obviously.
Sha, was that a saying back in the day? Sha,
you're right. Yeah, first one for me is from
Dublin, Ireland. Talk about the murder capital.
They have a new studio album, their third just
came out called Blindness. Let's play track seven,
The Fall. The Fall. I like it. It didn't take
much. Yeah, it's a hard rock record, I would
say, but there's definitely some experimental
elements to it. Keeps you guessing, keeps you
on your toes. Very enjoyable. Another one from
Ireland. We seem to be an Ireland group the last
six months here for us on the show. Last one
for me is from Nottingham, England. Talk about
now. She has a new album out. This is the singer
-songwriter. She's usually in more of the R &B
soul space. Oh, now's the name of the artist.
He said, we're talking about now. I'm like, okay.
No, that's her name. N -A -O. Let's play track
three. This is called Happy People. I want to
say hard pass, but I'll give it a shot. That's
okay. It was definitely a more poppier affair
than she has in the past. A little less soul,
a little more pop. But I found it pretty catchy.
What you been digging on, Don? Well, Brian Eno
and another English artist named B .D. Wolf,
they are collaborating together, and they've
actually created two albums, all going to be
released on the same day, Luminal and Lateral.
Apparently, one is dream music and one is space
music. Oh. But actually, it's more poppy than
you would think. Here's a track called Suddenly.
The world up again. Betty Wolf is the vocalist?
I think it's Beattie. That wolf could not blow
a house down, man. Yeesh. I'm sure it'll be interesting,
man. You always count on Eno for something a
little bit outside the box. So another thing,
I'm going to try to get out and see it. pink
floyd live at pompeii was a movie made in in
1972 capturing their performance uh you guys
know pompeii where like mount vesuvius you know
erupted and you know uh in the coliseum of pompeii
pink floyd performed with nobody around. It was
an interesting cinematic concept right before
Dark Side of the Moon came out. But anyway, so
that just got a 4K restoration, and it's going
to be in IMAX theaters in the upcoming weeks,
so I'm hoping to check that out. Here's a cut
from that. This is a performance of Echoes. I
think I've seen clips from those performances.
Yeah. It's really cool. Yeah. Hard pass. It's
kind of a... It's sort of the... It kind of marks
the end of that psychedelic era of Pink Floyd
before they kind of moved on to Dark Side and
Wish You Were Here. All right. What are you digging,
dude? Well, I couldn't get Seventh Son with Seventh
Son out of my head, see? So I went with an EP
I missed in 2024 from a band called One Bad Son.
The EP is called OBS, The New Stuff, S -H asterisk
T, because they're Canadian, they want to get
too dirty. It's the new shit. Oh my gosh. Yeah,
so their last album was 2017. They kind of had
taken a long break. Let's listen to a little
bit of Sister Renegade. I was really a big fan
of theirs a few years ago. They kind of blended
alt -rock and 80s metal into this nice amalgamation.
Two of the remaining members, the vocalist Shane
Volk and Kurt Dahl on drums, but otherwise they've
replaced some band members since the last album.
Hard pass. Fair enough. I can take it. All right.
And then from my vinyl collection, I also have
this on CD, The Rival Sons. Their second full
-length album, Pressure and Time from 2011. They're
a blues rock. Band from Long Beach, California.
Jay Buchanan's voice is awesome. Scott Holliday's
fuzz -heavy guitar riffs really help them stand
out in the crowd. Let's listen to a little bit
of the title track, Pressure and Time. It's a
quick album. The songs are focused, minimal overdubs.
Live in the room feel, of course, produced by
the great Dave Cobb. So definitely worth checking
out. What are you digging? Let us know. Join
us on the socials, Facebook, Instagram, and threads.
Also on our website, albumnerds .com. It will
be a discovery of extraordinary value. Well,
it's about that time on the show, and I'm reminded
of former American president George W. Bush.
who said during his 1988 RNC acceptance speech,
We're a nation of community, of thousands and
tens of thousands of ethnic, religious, social,
business, labor union, neighborhood, regional,
and other organizations, all of them varied,
voluntary, and unique. A brilliant diversity
spread like stars, like a thousand points of
light in a broad and peaceful sky. A thousand
points of light. Then he said, I got that. I
got that. It's bad. Read my lips. All right.
With that in mind, let's bring out my phone in
yours, Wadbot, and see what we'll be talking
about on next week's episode. When bands hit
their commercial peak, the results are legendary.
Next time, you'll step into the ring to put two
albums toe -to -toe, throwing down with records
that captured bands at their commercial peak,
where the stakes were high and the hits just
kept coming. well it is just going to be the
two of us me and don so facing off we'll we'll
be in the squared circle fighting it out a squared
circle yeah that's the ring man the boxing ring
so does that mean only one of you is gonna make
it back from i barely survive any of these man
so we'll see it should be a good one we both
what you gonna do brother can you smell what
the dude is cooking What was your favorite album
from 1988? What else are you listening to? Email
us at podcast at albumnerds .com. Follow us on
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Album Nerds. Also, visit albumnerds .com to suggest
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us here on the Album Nerds Podcast. We'll catch
you next week, but we'll be ready to rumble.
That's what's up. tonight, buddy. Catch you later.
Oh, yeah. Snap into a Slim Jim.