Classic Albums (The Making Of) / Pink Floyd - Dark Side Of The Moon 1973 (documentary)

Pink Floyd -  Dark Side of the Moon (1973)

The Making of The Dark Side of The Moon in studio.

Developed during live performances, an early version was premiered several months before recording began; new material was recorded in two sessions in 1972 and 1973 at Abbey Road in London. The group used some advanced recording techniques at the time, including multitrack recording and tape loops. Analogue synthesizers were prominent in several tracks

https://youtu.be/dj4_-kh-Kpg :

Dark Side of the Moon is the eighth studio album by the English progressive rock band Pink Floyd, released in March 1973. It built on ideas explored in the band's earlier recordings and live shows, but lacks the extended instrumental excursions that characterised their work following the departure in 1968 of founder member, principal composer and lyricist, Syd Barrett. The Dark Side of the Moon's themes include conflict, greed, the passage of time, and mental illness, the latter partly inspired by Barrett's deteriorating mental state.

More info about the album: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dark_Side_of_the_Moon 


Full album: https://youtu.be/hsr4PmeEocE :

Classic Albums (The making of) / John Lennon - Imagine (1971)

John Lennon - Imagine (1971) : 

The Making of: https://youtu.be/7GP5mX5Ty8U :

Imagine is the second studio album by John Lennon. Recorded and released in 1971, the album is more heavily produced in contrast to the basic, raw arrangements of his previous album, the critically acclaimed John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band. The album is considered the most popular of his works and the title track is considered one of Lennon's finest songs. 
Music and lyrics:

Imagine was written and recorded during a period of particularly bad feeling between Lennon and former bandmate Paul McCartney, following The Beatles' break-up the year before and McCartney winning his case in the High Court to have their legal partnership dissolved. Harrison guested on half of Imagine 's ten tracks, including the brutal "How Do You Sleep?" - a song written in retaliation against McCartney's alleged personal attacks on Lennon and Ono, on his recent Ram album. Although Lennon softened his stance in the mid '70s and claimed he wrote "How Do You Sleep?" about himself, he revealed in 1980: "I used my resentment against Paul ... to create a song ... not a terrible vicious horrible vendetta ... I used my resentment and withdrawing from Paul and The Beatles, and the relationship with Paul, to write 'How Do You Sleep?'. I don't really go 'round with those thoughts in my head all the time ..."

The track "Imagine" became Lennon's signature song and was written as a plea for world peace. Years later he gave credit to his wife Yoko Ono who co-wrote the song. "Jealous Guy" has also had enduring popularity; it was originally composed as "Child of Nature" during the songwriting sessions in India in 1968 that led to The Beatles' double album The Beatles. "Oh My Love" and the song "How?" were influenced by his experience with primal therapy: "How?" contains the questions he was facing while going through the changes produced in him during the ongoing process of primal therapy, while "Oh My Love" was written to communicate the joy and growth Lennon was experiencing as a result of the therapy.


Lennon also indulged his love of rock and roll with "Crippled Inside" and "It's So Hard". "Gimme Some Truth", originally heard during the Let It Be sessions in early 1969, appears on the album with a new bridge. The politically themed "I Don't Want to Be a Soldier" closes the first half of Imagine in a cacophonous manner. The last song on the album was "Oh Yoko!"; EMI pushed for this track to be the single, but Lennon thought it was too "pop".


More info about the album: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imagine_(John_Lennon_album)



Full album: https://youtu.be/e0oQqa39pjk :

Track listing:

(All songs written by John Lennon, except "Oh My Love" by Lennon and Yoko Ono)

Side one:

 "Imagine" – 3:01
"Crippled Inside" – 3:47
"Jealous Guy" – 4:14
"It's So Hard" – 2:25
"I Don't Want to Be a Soldier" – 6:05


Side two:

"Gimme Some Truth" – 3:16
"Oh My Love" – 2:50
"How Do You Sleep?" – 5:36
"How?" – 3:43

"Oh Yoko!" – 4:20



Source: wikipedia

Classic Albums (The Making of) / The Band - The Band (1969)

The Band - The Band (1969) : 

http://youtu.be/XW7Z2bOJfmE

The Band is the eponymous second studio album by The Band, released on September 22, 1969. It is also known as The Brown Album. According to Rob Bowman's liner notes for the 2000 reissue, The Band has been viewed as a concept album, with the songs focusing on people, places and traditions associated with an older version of Americana. Thus, the songs on this album draw from historic themes for "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down", "King Harvest (Has Surely Come)" and Richard Manuel's "Jawbone" (which was composed in the unusual 6/4 time signature.)


More info about the album: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Band_(album)

Track listing:

(Note: Many of the songs credited solely to Robbie Robertson were disputed by Levon Helm)


Side One:

1. "Across the Great Divide"  (Robbie Robertson) 2:53
2. "Rag Mama Rag"  (Robertson) 3:04
3. "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down"  (Robertson) 3:33
4. "When You Awake"  (Richard Manuel, Robertson) 3:13
5. "Up on Cripple Creek"  (Robertson) 4:34
6. "Whispering Pines"  (Manuel, Robertson) 3:58

Side Two:

1. "Jemima Surrender"  (Levon Helm, Robertson) 3:31
2. "Rockin' Chair"  (Robertson) 3:43
3. "Look Out Cleveland"  (Robertson) 3:09
4. "Jawbone"  (Manuel, Robertson) 4:20
5. "The Unfaithful Servant"  (Robertson) 4:17
6. "King Harvest (Has Surely Come)"  (Robertson) 3:39


(Bonus Track listing from 2000 re-release
All songs by Robbie Robertson unless otherwise noted.

13. "Get Up Jake (outtake - stereo mix)"   2:17
14. "Rag Mama Rag (alternate vocal take - rough mix)"   3:05
15. "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down (alternate mix)"   4:16
16. "Up on Cripple Creek (alternate take)"   4:51
17. "Whispering Pines (alternate take)" (Richard Manuel, Robbie Robertson) 5:09
18. "Jemima Surrender (alternate take)" (Levon Helm, Robbie Robertson) 5:09
19. "King Harvest (Has Surely Come) (alternate performance)" )

Personnel:

Rick Danko – bass guitar, fiddle, trombone, vocals
Levon Helm – drums, mandolin, rhythm guitar, vocals
Garth Hudson – electronic organ; clavinet; acoustic piano; accordion; melodica; soprano, tenor and baritone saxophones; slide trumpet; bass pedals
Richard Manuel – acoustic piano, drums, baritone saxophone, harmonica, vocals
Robbie Robertson – electric and acoustic guitars, engineer

Additional personnel:
John Simon – producer, tuba, electric piano, baritone horn, tenor saxophone, "high school and peck horns", engineer
Tony May – engineer
Joe Zagarino – engineer
Elliot Landy – photography

Classic Albums (The Making Of) / KISS - Alive! (1975)

This is a documentary on Kiss' early career, and their first live album, Alive! (1975). It includes interviews with: The members of Kiss on this album (Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Ace Frehley, Peter Criss), Eddie Kramer (producer), Bill Aucoin (founding manager) Ted Nugent, Fred Durst of Limp Bizkit, Art Alexakis of Everclear, Ken Sharp (co-writer of Kiss: Behind The Mask), Kevin Bacon, J.R. Smalling (Original Road Manager), Jaan Uhelszki, and a couple others.

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Alive! is the first live album, and fourth overall, by American hard rock band Kiss. It is considered to be their breakthrough and a landmark for live albums. Released on September 10, 1975, the double-disc set contains live versions of selected tracks from their first three studio albums, Kiss, Hotter Than Hell and Dressed to Kill. It was recorded from concerts in Detroit, Michigan, Wildwood, New Jersey, Cleveland, Ohio and Davenport, Iowa.


More info about the album: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alive!_(Kiss_album)

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Part 2: 

Classic Albums (The Making Of) /Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers - Damn The Torpedoes (1979)

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers - Damn The Torpedoes (1979)

The making of:

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Damn the Torpedoes is the third album by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, released in 1979. This was the first of three Petty albums originally released by the Backstreet Records label, distributed by MCA Records. It built on the commercial success and critical acclaim of his two previous albums and peaked at #2 on the Billboard 200 album chart. In 2003, the album was ranked number 313 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.


More info about the album: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damn_the_Torpedoes_(album)

Track Listing:

01 00:00 "Refugee"
02 03:21 "Here Comes My Girl"
03 07:46 "Even the Losers"
04 11:44 "Shadow of a Doubt (A Complex Kid)"
05 16:08 "Century City"
06 19:52 "Don't Do Me Like That"
07 22:33 "You Tell Me"
08 27:03 "What Are You Doin' in My Life?"
09 30:28 "Louisiana Rain"

Classic Albums (The Making Of) / The Doors - The Doors (1967)

Classic Albums: The Doors - The Doors (1967)

The Doors is the debut album by American rock band The Doors, recorded in August 1966 and released in January 1967. It was originally released in different stereo and mono mixes, and features the breakthrough single "Light My Fire", extended with an instrumental section mostly omitted on the single release, and the lengthy song "The End" with its Oedipal spoken word section. The Doors credit the success of the album to being able to work the songs out night after night at the Whisky a Go Go and the London Fog. The Doors was ranked #42 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. It has sold over 12.5 million copies.

More info about the album: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Doors_(album)

Classic Albums (The Making Of) / Deep Purple - Machine Head (1972)

Classic Album - The making of:

Deep Purples Machine Head is one of the definitive rock albums of the 70s. Recorded in 1972 it features the classic Deep Purple line up of Ritchie Blackmore, Ian Gillan, Roger Glover, Jon Lord and Ian Paice at the very peak of their creative powers and became their most commercially successful album worldwide.

The story of the albums creation, in the rooms and corridors of the Grand Hotel in Montreux following a fire which burnt down the Casino where they were planning to record, was immortalised in their all time classic track Smoke On The Water.

This latest addition to the Classic Albums series features exclusive interviews with all the members of the band plus Martin Birch, the albums engineer, and renowned rock journalist Chris Welch. Alongside the interviews there is archive footage of the band performing tracks from the album in concert.

Bonus features include additional interviews not seen in the TV broadcast version, very rare American footage of the band performing Smoke On The Water and the original 1972 promo film for Never Before.

https://youtu.be/9ttmg25OrbQ :

Machine Head is the sixth studio album released by the English hard rock band Deep Purple. It was recorded through December 1971 in Montreux, Switzerland, and released in March 1972.
Machine Head is often cited as a major influence in the early development of the heavy metal music genre. Commercially, it was Deep Purple's most successful album, topping the charts in several countries following its release. The album reached number 1 in the United Kingdom and stayed in the top 40 for 20 weeks. It reached number 7 in the United States, remaining on the Billboard 200 for 118 weeks.

More info about the album: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Machine_Head_(album)


https://youtu.be/uhxkHqY9HJA : 

Classic Albums (The Making Of) / Black Sabbath - Paranoid (1970)

The second album by Black Sabbath, released in 1970, has long attained classic status. Paranoid not only changed the face of rock music, but also defined the sound and style of heavy metal more than any other record in rock history. The result of a magic chemistry which had been discovered between four English musicians, it put Black Sabbath firmly on the road to world domination.

This programme tells the story behind the writing, recording and success of the album. Despite vilification from the Christian and moral right and all the harsh criticism that the music press could hurl at them, Paranoid catapulted Sabbath into the rock stratosphere.

Using exclusive interviews, musical demonstration, archive footage and a return to the multi-tracks with engineer Tom Allom, the film reveals how Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward created their frighteningly dark, heavy and ear-shatteringly loud sound.
Additional comments from Phil Alexander (MOJO & Kerrang! editor), Geoff Barton (Classic Rock editor), Henry Rollins (writer/musician) and Jim Simpson (original manager) add insight to the creation of this all-time classic.

Only to see on YouTube: http://youtu.be/ALQkxWp4AOg

or try:

Part 1:  http://youtu.be/Zp6fMY_0v8k


Part 2: 

Part 3:

Part 4: 

Paranoid is the second studio album by the English heavy metal band Black Sabbath. Released in September 1970, the album was the only one by the band to top the UK Albums Chart, and as a result is commonly identified as the band's magnum opus. Paranoid has been certified four times platinum by the RIAA and contains some of the band's best-known signature songs, including the title track, "Iron Man" and "War Pigs".To capitalise on their chart success in the US, the band returned to the studio in June 1970, just four months after Black Sabbath was released. The new album was initially set to be named War Pigs after the song "War Pigs", which was critical of the Vietnam War; however, Warner changed the title of the album to Paranoid. The album's lead-off single "Paranoid" was written in the studio at the last minute. As Bill Ward explains: "We didn't have enough songs for the album, and Tony just played the [Paranoid] guitar lick and that was it. It took twenty, twenty-five minutes from top to bottom." The single was released in September 1970 and reached number four on the UK charts, remaining Black Sabbath's only top ten hit. The album followed in the UK in October 1970, where, pushed by the success of the "Paranoid" single, it made number one in the charts.

More info about the album: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paranoid_(album)

Classic Albums (The Making Of) / Rush - 2112 (1976) and Moving Pictures (1981)

The making of:  Rush - 2112 & Moving Pictures

Rush - 2112 & Moving Pictures / Classic Albums:  https://youtu.be/kJYVSaIin6g :

2112 (pronounced "twenty-one twelve") is the fourth studio album by Canadian rock band, Rush.
Released in 1976, the album features an eponymous seven-part suite written by Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson, with lyrics written by Neil Peart telling a dystopian story set in the year 2112. The album is sometimes described as a concept album although the songs on the second side are unrelated to the plot of the suite. Rush repeated this arrangement on the 1978 album Hemispheres.


More info about the album: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2112_(album)

2112 (full album) : https://youtu.be/wPpQWyMjQ-s :

Moving Pictures is the eighth studio album by Canadian progressive rock band Rush, released on February 12, 1981, through Anthem Records. After touring to support their previous album, Permanent Waves (1980), the band started to write and record new material in August 1980 with co-producer Terry Brown. They continued to write songs with a more radio-friendly format, featuring tighter song structures and songs of shorter length compared to their early albums.

More info about the album: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moving_Pictures_(Rush_album)

Moving Pictures (full album):  https://youtu.be/M1uA4O6g1G4 : 

Source: wikipedia

Classic Albums (The Making Of) / Grateful Dead - Anthem to Beauty (1968 and 1970)

Anthem to Beauty is a music documentary about the making of the Grateful Dead albums Anthem of the Sun and American Beauty. It originally aired in a somewhat shortened version in 1997 as part of the television series Classic Albums. It was released on VHS video tape in 1998 and on DVD in 1999, with a running time of 1 hour 15 minutes.


The video combines footage from the early years of the Grateful Dead with 1997 interviews of former band members and associates. Phil Lesh, Mickey Hart, Bob Weir, Robert Hunter, and David Grisman, among others, discuss the creation of 1968's experimental, psychedelic "Anthem of the Sun" and 1970's folk-rock classic "American Beauty". 
They also listen to and analyze the original master recordings for the albums, and talk about being in (or working with) the Grateful Dead at that time. Recording engineer Stephen Barncard rolls the original master tape and solos tracks, recalling the recording sessions and highlighting specific moments.
Keyboardist Tom Constanten discusses the artificiality of appearing on Hugh Hefner's show Playboy After Dark. David Grisman plays his full version of the mandolin part for Ripple, as he had intended.

Anthem of the Sun is the second studio album by the Grateful Dead, released in 1968. It is the first album to feature second drummer Mickey Hart, who joined the band in September 1967. In 2003, the album was ranked number 287 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.


More info about the album Anthem of the Sun:  
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthem_of_the_Sun







American Beauty is the sixth album by the rock band the Grateful Dead. It was recorded between August and September 1970 and originally released in November 1970 by Warner Bros. Records. The album continued the folk rock and country music explored on Workingman's Dead and prominently features the lyrics of Robert Hunter.
In 2003, the album was ranked number 258 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.


More info about the album American Beauty: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Beauty_(album)

Classic Albums (The Making Of) / The Who - Who's Next 1971 (documentary)

The Who - Who's Next (1971)


Part 1:

Part 2:

Part 3:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hyzQ_bAbrIQ&feature=share&list=PL170108058EBABB24


Part 4: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5rGKrIpu4A&feature=share&list=PL170108058EBABB24


Part 5:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?=eyuZ5DUaMaM&feature=share&list=PL170108058EBABB24




Who's Next is the fifth studio album by English rock band The Who, released in August 1971. The album has origins in a rock opera conceived by Pete Townshend called Lifehouse. The ambitious, complex project did not come to fruition at the time and instead, many of the songs written for the project were compiled onto Who's Next as a collection of unrelated songs. Who's Next was a critical and commercial success when it was released, and has been certified 3× platinum by the RIAA.


More info about the album: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Who's_Next

Classic Albums (The Making Of) / Frank Zappa - Over-nite Sensation (1973) and Apostrophe (') (1974)

Classic Albums - Frank Zappa: Over-nite sensation / Apostrophe (') (1973/1974)

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Over-Nite Sensation is the seventeenth studio album by Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention. Released on September 7, 1973, it was followed by Zappa's solo album Apostrophe (') (1974), which was recorded during the same sessions.


Frank Zappa wanted to use backup singers on the songs "I'm the Slime", "Dirty Love", "Zomby Woof", "Dinah-Moe Humm" and "Montana". His road manager suggested The Ikettes, and Ike & Tina Turner were contacted. Ike Turner insisted that Zappa pay the singers, including Tina Turner, no more than $25 per song. During the recording sessions, Tina brought Ike into the studio to hear one of her recordings with Zappa. Ike listened to the tape and responded "What is this shit?" before leaving the studio. Ike later insisted that Zappa would not credit the Ikettes on the released album.
The recording sessions, which produced Over-Nite Sensation also produced Zappa's followup, Apostrophe (') (1974), released as a solo album rather than a Mothers of Invention release.

More info about the album: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Over-Nite_Sensation

Apostrophe (') is an album by Frank Zappa, his eighteenth, released on March 22, 1974 in both stereo and quadraphonic formats. An edited version of its lead-off track, "Don't Eat the Yellow Snow", was Zappa's first chart single, reaching position 86. Apostrophe (') remains Zappa's biggest commercial success in the US. It was certified Gold by the RIAA on April 7, 1976. The album also peaked at number 10 on the Billboard Charts, and would end up becoming Zappa's highest-charting album.
Continuing from the commercial breakthrough of Over-Nite Sensation (1973), this album is a similar mix of short songs showcasing Zappa's humor and musical arrangements. The record's lyrical themes are often bizarre or obscure, with the exception of "Uncle Remus", which is an extension of Zappa's feelings on racial disharmony featured on his earlier song "Trouble Every Day".

More info about the album: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apostrophe_(%27)

Classic Albums (The Making Of) / Cream - Disraeli Gears 1967 (documentary)

Cream - Disraeli Gears  (1967)

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Disraeli Gears is the second album by British supergroup Cream. It was released in November 1967 and went on to reach number 5 on the UK Albums Chart. It was also their American breakthrough, becoming a massive seller there in 1968, reaching number 4 on the American charts. The album was #1 for two weeks on the Australian album chart and was listed as the #1 album of 1968 by Cash Box in the year-end album chart in the U.S. The album features the two singles "Strange Brew" and "Sunshine of Your Love".

More info about the album: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disraeli_Gears

Classic Albums (The Making Of) / Steely Dan - Aja 1977 (documentary)

Steely Dan - Aja (1977)

Aja (pron.: /ˈeɪʒə/, pronounced like Asia) is the sixth album by the jazz rock band Steely Dan. Originally released in 1977 on ABC Records, it became the group's best-selling album. Peaking at No. 3 on the U.S. charts and No. 5 in the United Kingdom, it was the band's first platinum album, eventually selling over 5 million copies[citation needed]. In July 1978, the album won the Grammy Award for Best Engineered Non-Classical Recording. In 2003, the album was ranked number 145 on Rolling Stone's "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time" list.

More info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aja_(album)

Classic Albums (The Making Of) / John Lennon - Plastic Ono Band 1970 (documentary)

John Lennon - Plastic Ono Band (1970)

John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band is the debut solo album by English rock musician John Lennon. It was released in 1970 after Lennon had issued three experimental albums with Yoko Ono and Live Peace in Toronto 1969, a live performance in Toronto credited to the Plastic Ono Band. The album was recorded simultaneously with Yoko Ono's debut avant garde solo album Yoko Ono/Plastic Ono Band at Ascot Sound Studios and Abbey Road Studios using the same musicians and production team, and featured nearly identical cover artwork. John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band is generally considered one of Lennon's finest solo albums, documenting with honesty and artistic integrity his emotional and mental state at that point in his career. In 1987, as part of their 20th anniversary, Rolling Stone magazine ranked it No. 4 on "The 100 Best Albums of the Last Twenty Years." In 2012, Rolling Stone ranked it No. 23 on their The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list.

More info about the album: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Lennon/Plastic_Ono_Band

Classic Albums (The Making Of) / Lou Reed - Transformer 1972 (documentary)

Lou Reed - Transformer (1972) The Making of: http://youtu.be/6J629FITNEU


Transformer is the second studio album by American rock musician Lou Reed, released in November 1972.

Transformer was produced by David Bowie and Mick Ronson, both of whom had been strongly influenced by Reed's work with the Velvet Underground.
Mick Ronson (who was at the time the lead guitarist with Bowie's band, the Spiders from Mars) played a major role in the recording of the album at Trident Studios, serving as the co-producer and primary session musician (contributing guitar, piano, recorder and backing vocals), as well as arranger, notably contributing the lush string arrangement for "Perfect Day". Reed lauded Ronson's contribution in the Transformer episode of the documentary series Classic Albums, praising the beauty of his work and keeping down the vocal to highlight the strings. The songs on the LP are now among Reed's best-known works, including "Walk on the Wild Side", "Perfect Day" and "Satellite of Love", and the album's commercial success elevated him from cult status to become an international star.



More info about the album: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transformer_(album)


Transformer:  https://youtu.be/YIp72qVE3fI

Classic Albums (The Making Of) - Fleetwood Mac - Rumours 1977 (documentary)

Fleetwood Mac - Rumours (1977) The making of:


https://youtu.be/egBB7zhpeQQ :

Rumours is the eleventh studio album by British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac. Largely recorded in California during 1976, it was produced by the band with Ken Caillat and Richard Dashut and was released on 4 February 1977 by Warner Bros. Records. The record peaked at the top of both the main United States Billboard chart and the United Kingdom Albums Chart. "Go Your Own Way", "Don't Stop", "Dreams", and "You Make Loving Fun" were released as singles. A Grammy Award winner, Rumours is Fleetwood Mac's most successful release with sales of over 40 million copies worldwide, and diamond certifications in several countries, including the US, UK and Australia.

More info about the album: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rumours

Full album Rumours: https://youtu.be/uzEt9cATWFw :

Classic Albums (The Making Of) - Info

Classic Albums is a documentary series about pop and rock albums that are considered the best or most distinctive of a well-known band or musician or that exemplify a stage in the history of music.

The TV series is made by Isis Productions and distributed by Eagle Rock Entertainment. It is shown on various broadcasters including BBC, ITV, Sky Arts, VH1 and VH1 Classic. They are also available on DVD. The show is similar in structure to VH1's short-lived 2001 series, Ultimate Albums.
The music, and its production, is dissected by the musicians and/or producer playing the multitrack recordings and singling out tracks that one does not usually consciously hear when listening to the music, giving insight into the way the sound is built up. Also, the individual musicians play back pieces, which are then blended with the original recording. Almost all songs are dealt with, focusing almost entirely on the music itself, how it was composed/realised. Personal aspects of the band or members are occasionally dealt with, but mostly only if they serve this purpose. 

TV episodes are 50 minutes long but the DVD releases contain much additional material. All the releases in this series are done with the co-operation and full authorisation of the artists involved. 
The Series Producers are Nick de Grunwald and Martin R Smith. Various Directors have been used for the series but the majority of the programmes have been directed by Bob Smeaton, Matthew Longfellow and Jeremy Marre.
The most recent episode in the series cover is Peter Gabriel's So, the release is in Autumm of 2012.


History:

The television series is unrelated to a radio show devised by radio producer John Pidgeon as a vehicle for Roger Scott, following the disc jockey’s move from Capital Radio to BBC Radio 1 in 1988. The first hour-long series, produced independently by John and Roger, opened with Dire Straits’ Brothers In Arms in May 1989, followed by the Rolling Stones’ Beggars Banquet, Genesis’ Invisible Touch, Pink Floyd's The Dark Side of the Moon, The Who's Who's Next, Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours, the Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds, the Police’s Synchronicity, the Eagles’ Hotel California and U2’s The Joshua Tree. Roger died of cancer five months later, and the second series aired posthumously. Further programs were presented by Richard Skinner.
The first episode of Classic Albums is actually a documentary called "The Making of Sgt. Pepper". This documentary focused on The Beatles' landmark album and was produced in much the same way as the Classic Albums series. Isis Productions and Nick de Grunwald helped co-produce this documentary and it helped lay the template for the Classic Albums series. It aired in 1992 both on the Disney Channel in the United States and ITV's The South Bank Show in the UK.

More info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classic_Albums