Show Notes
No Doubt was dripping with talent, creativity, and attitude. Trying to put the Anaheim band in a genre box was as difficult as trying to pin a simple label on David Bowie. They used horns, keyboards, guitars, pianos, drums, bass, vocals, and spirit to express themselves. No Doubt could be classified as Ska, Punk, Alternative, Pop, depending on who you ask. But regardless of whichever distinction you choose, the term “unique” must accompany said description. In October of 1995, No Doubt invited the world on a tour through a Tragic Kingdom. Armed with a myriad of songs; some pumped with adrenaline, others sprouting sun beams, and a few dripping with emotion, Gwen Stefani and the lads were primed to catapult into the music stratosphere.
More from Don’t Scratch The Vinyl
In the 1980s fifth calendar flip through, Van Halen had once again scaled to the top of Rock ‘n’ Roll Mountain. After hitting a slight speed bump in the commercial and critical acclaim department early in the decade, Van Halen plastered “The Mighty” back in their moniker with their 6th studio album, 1984.
Over the decades, Southern California has bestowed humanity a treasure trove of iconic groups, albums, scenes, stories, and songs. But the territory’s desired way of life and one-of-a-kind ambiance was best musically depicted by a Long Beach trio’s self-titled effort that was released as a posthumous tribute to their fallen frontman. After bumming around the backyard party/club circuit for years, Sublime was set to enter a new era in 1996. In May, the band was primed to release their major label debut that summer after recording sessions in Austin, Texas. On a west coast tour, the crowd was in a frenzy of appreciation taking in live renditions of songs set to come off the new record. But lamentably, the band’s voice, guitarist, and soul would not live long enough to truly realize just how much his music would positively impact the world.
AC/DC is stripped, down n’ dirty, rock n’ roll as God intended. Heavy guitar riffs, rippin’ musical sequences, and lyrics so suggestive they would make Mother Teresa blush. The quintet from down under formed in Sydney, Australia, in late 1973. And after a myriad of early lineup changes, the band rounded into form 2 years later.
In the mid-1970s, there was nothing about the rock n’ roll lifestyle that was relatable or obtainable for fans of the genre. The simple chord play and familiar song structure that dominated primitive rock music were things of the past. By the genre’s third decade, intricate and complicated instrumental play had fully taken a death grip on rock.
By the time Master of Puppets came out on March 3rd, 1986, Metallica was truly ready to make the jump to the big time. For 6 months that year, they were the opening act for Ozzy Osbourne. It would be the last time the band played second fiddle to anyone on tour. Metallica's third studio album grabbed mature concepts and meshed them perfectly with gripping, emotional, and vibrant instrumental play. The album sounded even more operatic and larger than live compared to the group's two previous records. Themes of war, the system, and losing hope were at the heart of one of the most important rock records of the 1980s. Metallica had been building to this for years, and it led to the band pushing themselves and the metal genre into untreaded water. But unfortunately, 1986 was also the year a tragic incident forever altered the band’s very foundation.