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 … Read more

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: rockpoprollpodcast@gmail.com 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. … Read more

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 … Read more

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 … Read more

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 … Read more

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 … Read more