By Dave Swanson - Summit FM Contributor Initially released in November of 1998, 'White Ladder' proved to solidify everything David Gray had been working towards since the early part of the decade. With three albums under his belt, Gray settled in at his home studio to record his fourth album in the spring of 1998. […]
Read MoreBy Michelle Charles - Summit FM Membership Director Born in 1882 in East London, Max Champion wrote a library of songs with unusual musical and lyrical twists and turns. Other than that, we know very little about him except that he was possibly related to noted performer Harry Champion. Only one of his recordings “The […]
Read MoreBy Dave Swanson - Summit FM Contributor Consider this for a moment if you will, in 1970, Stevie Wonder released his 12th album, the now classic 'Signed, Sealed & Delivered.' At the time of release, he had only recently turned 20, 12 albums into his career, and just two years out of his teens?! That's […]
Read MoreBy Dave Swanson - Summit FM Contributor "Who wants some sniveling female all the time?" asked Tori Amos, in a 1991 interview to promote her debut album, 'Little Earthquakes.’ "After all, just because something happened to me, and it was traumatic, doesn't make it interesting. I have to get my scissors out and make sure […]
Read MoreAll Sold Out! Wheeling and Dealing In Pop Culture Currency - The Shotgun Wedding Of Art And Commerce
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By Dave Swanson - Summit FM Contributor In 1967, The Who released their third album, the magnificent 'The Who Sell Out'. The album was, for the sake of argument, a concept album, not so much thematically, or via plotline, but rather in the way it was presented. There were band performed jingles mixed in between […]
Read MoreBy Dave Swanson - Summit FM Contributor When Van Halen first exploded, back in 1978, with their self-titled debut LP, they took the rock world hostage, in a manner of speaking. Though it was incorrect, heavy metal had long been associated with doom and gloom, downers and volume, lengthy guitar solos, drum solos, witches, dragons, […]
Read MoreBy Dave Swanson - Summit FM Contributor By the end of 1983, The Police were, quite simply, the biggest band in the world. Their fifth album, 'Synchronicity,' was a huge hit, spawning a handful of massive hit singles, and ultimately selling multi-platinum. After being active non-stop since forming in 1977, they decided that, following a […]
Read MoreBy Dave Swanson - Summit FM Contributor What does one get when you take one of England's finest singer/songwriters, pair him up with one of America's most respected and heralded combos, and unleash them on a songbook of unknown lyrics from one of the most important figures in the history of American music? You get […]
Read MoreBy Dave Swanson - Summit FM Contributor When it comes to contemporary Christmas albums, it's hard to outdo JD McPherson's 'Socks.' On his 2018 release, the retro rocker channels all his vintage rock and roll influences, and molds them into something contemporary and revivalist at the same time, but most importantly, it's a hell of […]
Read MoreBy Dave Swanson - Summit FM Contributor Since its release in November of 1963, 'A Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector' has long been championed as the ultimate rock and roll Christmas album, and a celebrated annual spin on turntables, CD players, and now streaming, every year thereafter. It's easy to figure out why […]
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