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Man, there are a lot of great live albums.  Writing some notes before the podcast, I thought, "Well, there are a lot more terrific/memorable/important live records than I'm going to be able to do." Knowing the inherent imperfections of doing a podcast episode on the best live albums, we rock forward anyway.  Let the arguments begin.

As September dawns, we listen to a slew of late summer new music from classic rockers, outlaw country icons, and 80s garage rock heroes. Some of it is great (talking about you, Ray Wylie Hubbard), and a couple are not, plus there's a surprise turnaround for a band that always seems a little bit too self-important for its own good - or mine. Intrigued? Me too. Let's rock.

Jeff Lynne = Electric Light Orchestra, right?  That's his legacy.  That's what is front and center.  I argue that his career as an album producer for other rock and roll artists is equally important and enduring. And I think ELO is great and a lot more groundbreaking in making a unique kind of rock music, overshadowed by the sheer heft and sweetness of a big bag of hits. So in this episode, we rewind to the rockers he produced; the albums that had just enough - or sometimes tad too much -  of his sound and vibe to become key moments for the careers for the singers and bands he worked with. Petty. Orbison. A few surprises.  Plus, Lynne's own solo records - he made those too, after ELO had slowed down. A couple are forgotten little gems.   Listened to as a whole, it's a producer and artist catalog filled with a bunch of rock and roll that is airy, thumping, and hooky.  And we have some thoughts. Turn these up and hear the acoustic guitar drive, the orchestration, and snapping drums that, in contrast to the Phil Collins/Mutt Lange reverb-drenched, gated snares of the decade, are nearly always recorded really dry.   Back to 1971 and all the way through the 2010s, Lynne made some great and some just OK albums. A bunch of the records in which we hear echoes of both his influences and the albums he made himself.

One week from the summer of 1985. Top 40 radio, pulling ballads, pop-rock tunes, and a surprising amount of new wave-ish music, plus a couple of straight-up rockers. We listen to what was on your hit music radio station on July 6, 1985, and play the songs that were at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. Do we like them all? No way. Are there some surprises?  Yes. A perfect little summer exercise. Does the music still sound good, or is there some cringe?  Yes. ------ email: [email protected] website:l www.rockpopandroll.com

In his career with Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers - a group in the conversation for "Who is the greatest American rock and roll band ever?" - guitarist Mike Campbell's rare lead vocal was on a track called "I Don't Wanna Fight" from Echo. Other than that, Campbell did a whole bunch of other-than-lead-vocal work to help make the band, recordings, and live show sound the way they did for 40 years. Now, without Petty, he carries that American rock flame. We listen to his new album, "Mission of Mercy", created with his band, Mike Campbell and The Dirty Knobs. We also hear solo work from earlier records that is great rock and roll. Turn up the Petty vibes. They are alive. What do we think?   Hear previous episodes: www.rockpopandroll.com email Rob : [email protected]

Alt-Country. Americana. The line that led to The Bottle Rockets. Gram Parsons to Crazy Horse to Skynyrd to Jason and the Scorchers to Uncle Tupelo and a whole lot of Seger/Petty in between. A show loosely finding that line and hearing the rock and roll and country of it. The Bottle Rockets. Loud and acoustic. Electric and smart. And greasy and Midwest gritty. Let's go.

Peter Frampton has a new album, "Carry The Light," and a career that is weirdly misunderstood.  We listen to the new album  - a first listen - and talk about his legacy - deserved or not. Hear some rock tunes. Get out a talkbox and remember 1976, plus what came before that (Humble Pie), and after, to get to a new album in 2026.  Is it any good?  We decide.

Two things that drive me batshit crazy with radio stations and the way they present their versions of rock and roll:  1. The same four songs from every artist, played over and over and over and... 2. The loss of discovery and creativity. You don't listen to the radio anymore?  Got it. Me neither. At least not in the traditional, find-the-station-on-the-radio way. I do, however, listen to terrestrial stations, those with a tower and a frequency and call letters.  It is simply done through an app, via CarPlay in my vehicle, or in headphones with my iPhone. That said, the only chance an old-school radio station has to succeed - or continue to survive - is to get creative, be local, and find places within the world of what people like that can make the station feel different.  Not too different, right?  But unique within a realm that is. completely homogeneous. This podcast shows you how to do it. Bands and musicians you probably like, and songs from their catalog of material that are overlooked but probably loved if they were given some re-exposure.  That's our job for this one.   Hoping you find something you like. Rock on. - R website for previous episodes: rockpopandroll.com email: [email protected]

They’ve been fired from tours for speaking their mind, they’ve broken up more times than a high school couple, and yet, they remain as the band that still carries the flag for 70s-inspired blues-rock. Stones-rock. Faces-rock.  And they have stayed around long enough to inspire new bands to keep doing the old rock thing. Their sound blasts back to 1972. The Black Crowes’ debut album was a crunch of rock and roll goodness, just as the hair pop metal was winding down and just before grunge blew what we knew as rock and roll up.  They have a 2026 album that is the second project produced by country-rock knob-twister Jay Joyce.  We dive into the new - and the old - and see if we think the Crowes matter.

Steve Earle is rock and roll, he is country, and Earle has deep roots in early Americana all the way back to Guy Clarke, Townes Van Zandt, and Rodney Crowell, among many. A songwriter first, I found him with his "Guitar Town" release back in 1986.  Listened to the second album, the Springsteen-esque "Exit 0", a lot, and when 1988's "Copperhead Road" album came out, we turned it up loud. With this episode, I wanted to listen to his older music and talk about artistry, rebellion, and political themes that the three-time Grammy winner has embraced through 20 albums with themes of social justice, addiction recovery, and political, anti-war views. A newly-invited member to the Grand Ole Opery (who would have ever thought that would happen back in 1987), we also listen to some of what is a whole lot of great cover songs. Let's go.

Classic rock and roll bands and artists releasing new music?  What's the point?  Is it worth a listen?  Do we discount some excellent rock from these bands just because it's not 1987? Or is it a shell of their sound and original fire? Def Leppard has a new song, in conjunction with a run at the Sphere in Las Vegas.  We take a first listen. Then we look at the past 12 months of rock and roll releases from bands like Alice Cooper, Styx, and others who are still making and releasing new music—an objective ear on the sound of what some bands are doing today. Let's check it out together.  No BS.  Just our ears and the vibe. What works and what doesn't?

The thumping, pumping, Telecaster-driven, snare-smashing roots rock and roll of the 80's (and into the 90's) shaped my world.  Drove my inspiration for finding more of "that". Looking back, some of "that" lasted. And some of the bands and their songs went into the vault of lost rockers, and some even made it out to rock some more.   This podcast jumps back about 10 years to when I was digging into the roots of my rock and roll, which would later be labeled alt-country and Americana. But to me, it was jangly, garage-y, sloppy-but-not-too-sloppy rock and freakin' roll. Who were those bands?  See what you might remember. Or hear a new-old discovery.  That's the thrill.  Let's listen together and see how we do.  Rock on.

As we enter 2026, we dedicate a podcast episode to remembering the rock and roll artists (and some pop music icons, too) who passed away in 2025. We remember some of the greats and the overlooked individuals who made an impact on music - and RockPopandRoll, particularly in rock music. From Ozzy to Sly to the architect of bubble gum music, we remember and listen to some of the great music they created that lives on.

Can anyone put together a Santatacular set of rock and roll/Americana/roots-rock Christmas/Holiday songs?  Hell, yeah, someone can.  I’m your guy. We’re gonna take a look and listen to the best, oddest, dustiest, loudest, semi-legendary holiday rock music.  My top 20, countdown style. Songs you can sing along to every time you hear the damn thing, or tunes that should have been more than a holiday lost classic.

As time passed since Todd Snider passed away on November 14, I've been crawling around, hearing some music that I'd put aside. Some of it is Todd's music, especially his post-Nervous Wrecks output. Along the way, I found the purported Todd Snider Playlist of 2018, listing the top songs that he'd listened to that year.  I took it as real.  Don't know if it is. Still, I recorded this podcast episode by taking it at face value. If it is not created by Todd or his time, that's cool.  It remains a freakin' great group of rock and roll, folk, and country songs.  Listen as we dig into them a bit.