An expanded box set for The Replacements' Let it Be album is due out in November, so it was a lot of fun to talk to Chris Mars to revisit his memories of how the album came together. We dug through a lot of different Replacements-related topics, but also plenty of other subjects, including his time working with Golden Smog, his solo work, his artistic endeavors with painting, drawing and video and a good amount of conversation outside of all of that with Chris Mars, the music fan. Our thanks to Chris for spending some time and digging in deep. The Let it Be box set will be available Nov. 21st wherever you get your music.
On the heels of the recent Mule-o-Ween concerts, Warren Haynes returns to the podcast to discuss putting together his latest musical tribute for those shows. He teamed up with Dirty Honey's Marc LaBelle -- and on the second night, Corey Glover of Living Colour -- for a special Mule set each evening featuring a dozen Aerosmith songs, both fan favorites and deeper cuts. He also details what fans can expect for the New Year's shows and his annual Christmas Jam benefit concert. This year's Christmas Jam will feature a tribute to Phil Lesh, plus additional guests including Stone Temple Pilots and MJ Lenderman. Did Warren really share the bill last week with Keith Richards? You bet that's one of the topics we get into. Plus, Gov't Mule has an expanded edition of their first album on the way. We find out when we can expect to have that in hand and of course, there's a bit of Allman Brothers talk as well. In short, if you're a Warren fan or even just a music fan, there's something here of interest for everyone. Enjoy and visit warrenhaynes.net for more information on the various things that we discuss!
With Bad Company's Rock Hall induction happening this weekend, we got together with Def Leppard's Joe Elliott, a longtime fan of Free, Mott the Hoople and Bad Co. to get his thoughts and memories on being a fan of what Paul Rodgers, Mick Ralphs and Simon Kirke did both together and apart throughout their long career. He shares his happiness regarding the induction, telling us, "No band deserves it more." We also talk with Joe about collaborating with Paul and Simon on a new version of Bad Company's Seagull, Def Leppard's Las Vegas residency and more. Note: This conversation was recorded before we learned that Paul Rodgers would be unable to participate in the Rock Hall induction ceremony.
Cellist and composer Lori Goldston has had an incredible career, one which included a stint touring with Nirvana during their In Utero tour in 1993 and 1994. As a bonus to our current conversation with Will Hodge about Nirvana's MTV Unplugged in New York, we're introducing you to Will's Unplugged Revisited podcast and a discussion he had with Lori about that Unplugged performance and other topics, including her experience being on the road with Nirvana. This special interview first debuted on December 4, 2024. Please enjoy and check out/subscribe to Unplugged Revisited wherever you get your podcasts to go even deeper down the MTV Unplugged rabbit hole!
Nirvana's classic MTV Unplugged in New York album was released on Nov. 1, 1994, almost a year after it was originally recorded in November of 1993. Will Hodge of the Unplugged Revisited podcast joins Matt to look back at what was an interesting night, both for Nirvana and the continued evolution of the Unplugged series. They dig into the highlights from the episode and also discuss the emotions, both before and during the performance that make it such an enduring classic. Will and Matt also discuss other great Unplugged moments and offer theories why the golden era for the show eventually came to an end.
Jeff Pilson joins Matt to discuss a number of subjects, including the new music they've been working on with Lou Gramm, the band's final concerts with Kelly Hansen earlier this month, new lead singer Luis Maldonado and he takes us back 20 years to look at how Mick Jones assembled a new lineup and started a fresh chapter of Foreigner.
On the heels of the sad news regarding the death of John Lodge of the Moody Blues last week, Matt gets together with author and UCR scribe Gary Graff (501 Essential Albums of the '80s) to talk about a new list of Lodge's musical highlights that Gary assembled for Ultimate Classic Rock. They dig deep into the Moody Blues as a band and also discuss recent rock news, including the reunion of Rush, Jonathan Cain's pending departure from Journey -- and offer up a special birthday tribute to Sammy Hagar, who turned 78 today.
There's only one way to rock and if your answer to that statement is "Sammy Hagar," well, congrats, you are listening to the right podcast. The Red Rocker joined Matt in advance of his annual Birthday Bash concerts at Cabo Wabo to talk about his new live album, how he feels about the David Lee Roth era of Van Halen now, his recent collaboration with Chad Kroeger and Tommy Lee, plus stories behind some of your favorite songs including "Humans Being" and "Rock Candy."
It's the news that many of us never saw coming. Rush will return in 2026. Matt was in attendance last night at the private event at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland where Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson announced their reunion plans and shared some great war stories. The events that followed that incredible night made a summit with Chuck Armstrong necessary to discuss a number of topics. We share our reunion thoughts, of course, plus news of a contest opportunity for UCR and Loudwire fans to win a trip to see Rush in Chicago on July 18. There's some "fly on the wall" style commentary about some of the people who were in attendance, including industry legends Cliff Burnstein and Peter Mensch and also, former WMMS music director Donna Halper, who played "Working Man" for the first time on U.S. radio and helped set an important course for the band here in the States. We even discuss an interesting Rush promo item that you might need to add to your life. Big thanks to the folks at the Rock Hall, particularly Jason Hanley and J.R. Johnson, for letting Matt spend some time in the studio there at the Hall to have this conversation!
UCR comrade Chuck Armstrong is back with Matt to share a conversation he recently had with Yungblud about the forthcoming collaborative EP with Aerosmith, One More Time. Yungblud shares the story behind the new music as well as tales about his longtime friendship with the late Ozzy Osbourne and how the Prince of Darkness was an important and supportive mentor. The One More Time EP is out November 21 and you can visit Ultimate Classic Rock to hear "My Only Angel," the first single.
David Gilmour is back with us again to recap the experience of the special concerts he played in support of his newest album, Luck and Strange. He's commemorated that outing with a new concert film, recorded live at the historic Circus Maximus in Rome. There's also a new live album, The Luck and Strange Concerts. Both will be available in a variety of formats starting October 17. We get into a number of different topics including the fans who are still discovering his music for the first time, how he put together the set list for this latest tour and why visuals have always been such an important part of his performances. As a bonus, we're including our 2024 conversation with David about Luck and Strange in case you missed it.
Mike joins Matt to look back at Dream Theater's epic A Change of Seasons which is marking its 30th anniversary (but as you'll find out, it goes back even further than that). They also discuss the band's latest album, Parasomnia and a number of other topics including past tours / dream outings with Yes and separately, Deep Purple and Emerson, Lake and Palmer. Dream Theater is currently on the road performing both A Change of Seasons and the Parasomnia album in full.
Former Styx vocalist and songwriter Dennis DeYoung is with Matt to discuss the history of two key Styx albums, 1977's The Grand Illusion and 1978's Pieces of Eight. Dennis shares a lot of stories including his recollections of hearing songs like "Renegade" and "Blue Collar Man (Long Nights)" and his own compositions including "The Grand Illusion," "Pieces of Eight" and "I'm O.K." Dennis continues to make progress on his memoir and previews some of the stories fans can expect.
Jerry Cantrell is with Matt for the latest episode of the podcast to discuss the last miles of his I Want Blood tour which kicked off August 16th while offering a preview of what's next. They also discuss the early days of Alice in Chains including milestones like the Clash of the Titans tour and some later highlights, including the SAP EP and MTV Unplugged.
Long before he joined Yes, guitarist Steve Howe had already developed a great love for Bob Dylan's music. A few decades later, he found himself recording 1999's Portraits of Bob Dylan. With the album being reissued alongside 2001's Natural Timbre on CD -- and for the first time, vinyl -- Steve joins Matt to discuss the experience crafting his versions of both Dylan fan favorites and deeper cuts. They also dig into a number of other subjects including touring with Delaney and Bonnie, working with Bruce Fairbairn and Steve's experience guesting on Queen's Innuendo.
The legendary Rob Halford is with Matt to discuss Judas Priest's upcoming tour with Alice Cooper and Corrosion of Conformity. They also get into the story of Rob's experience fronting Black Sabbath and why he has infinite respect for Ozzy. The Metal God shares the tales behind the creation of albums like Nostradamus and Turbo and why Painkiller is still all killer no filler 35 years after its release.
Let's play two today with Warren Haynes and Derek Trucks, who joined us for separate conversations. Warren shares details regarding his upcoming digital release, The Whisper Sessions (which is out September 12), plus tales about the Allman Brothers Band jamming with Bruce Willis, the 30th anniversary of Gov't Mule and a special release that Jerry Garcia fans can look forward to. Speaking of Garcia, Derek tells us about getting to play Jerry's Travis Bean TB500 #12 guitar at a recent gig. We also talk about the 10th anniversary of the Mad Dogs & Englishmen concert at the LOCKN' Music Festival. The concert, which paid tribute to the late Joe Cocker and the original Mad Dogs tour, featured alumni from that legendary run including Leon Russell, Rita Coolidge and others, plus additional guests like Dave Mason and the Black Crowes' Chris Robinson. Fans will be able to purchase the concert for the first time September 12. As a bonus, this podcast episode wraps up with audio from a 2022 conversation that Matt had with Derek and Susan.
UCR's Gary Graff and Jeff Giles are back with Matt and this time, the destination is the '80s! Gary tells us about his new book, 501 Essential Albums of the '80s: The Music Fan's Definitive Guide, which provided us with a lot to talk about and discuss. Among the topics, the rise of musically star-studded soundtracks in the decade and how that became such a thing, guilty pleasures, controversial albums and how music ultimately changed as a result of everything that was happening.
For more than 25 years, Lawrence Gowan has been part of Styx, but in conversation, one quickly discovers that he's also a big music fan. The keyboardist and vocalist tells Matt all about their new album, Circling From Above. They also discuss concept albums and how Styx strives to write music these days that honors the many different layers of the band's sound over the years. Gowan details some of the vintage gear he got a chance to use on this new record -- and his thoughts on why the group's classic album, The Grand Illusion, has the enduring legacy that it does.
Music fans and the hard rock and heavy metal community are mourning the loss of Ozzy Osbourne, but also celebrating his incredible legacy. UCR's Gary Graff joins Matt to share his memories, from Ozzy encounters to covering Ozzfest and beyond. They also discuss the impact that Ozzy and Black Sabbath had on music and how the band created and shaped an important path for the groups and musicians that eventually pursued their own heavy metal dreams.