Articles by: Matt Frost

"I said, ‘Well, it’ll just be a back-up song in case some other things don’t work out’" – How Robbie Robertson wrote The Band's classic song, The Weight

By Matt Frost published 10 August 23

"I sat the guitar on my lap and I was kind of bent over it and I looked inside the sound hole on the guitar and it said, Nazareth, Pennsylvania"

The Jam taken on the street in Tokyo, July 1980, Tokyo, Japan. Paul Weller, Bruce Foxton, Rick Buckle

Bassist Bruce Foxton on the story of The Jam's That's Entertainment: “It was a bit of a departure for us, because it was acoustic”

By Matt Frost published 11 July 23

The birth and recording of a British classic

Thin Lizzy From left to right, singer Phil Lynott, drummer Brian Downey and guitarist Eric Bell of rock band Thin Lizzy, UK, 23rd February 197

"I think you might have a hit record there!" – the story of Thin Lizzy's Whiskey In The Jar

By Matt Frost published 3 July 23

Eric Bell on the unlikely 17th-century folk song that became a Lizzy signature

Yusuf Islam (Cat Stevens), Klaus Voormann and Alun Davies attend album launch at Das Schloss on June 15, 2009 in Munich, Germany.

The story of Wild World: "I don’t think that either Cat Stevens or Alun Davies would have been the same without the other. They were a complete fit”

By Matt Frost published 7 June 23

Tea For The Tillerman producer and former Yardbirds bassist Paul Samwell-Smith on the recording of an acoustic classic

Led Zeppelin's Robert Planet and Jimmy Page onstage in 1970

Genius and controversy: the story of Led Zeppelin's Bring It On Home

By Matt Frost published 17 April 23

"People say, ‘Oh, Bring It On Home is stolen’. Well, there’s only a little bit in the song that relates to anything that had gone before it, just the end”

“Phil Spector would whisper, ‘You better not f*** up’”: the story of the Ramones' recording of Baby I Love You

By Matt Frost published 3 January 23

Legendary keys player Barry Goldberg on the sessions that spawned the band's biggest UK hit

Paul Rodgers on Free and how they wrote their classic All Right Now: “With Koss and I, the chemistry was very, very strong right from the start"

By Matt Frost published 19 October 22

“I said, ‘What we need is a song that is just really simple that everyone can sing…'"

Producer John Leckie looks back on recording The Stone Roses classic I Am The Resurrection: “I knew it was going to be good, but I didn’t think I’d still be talking about it years later!”

By Matt Frost published 26 September 22

“I’m sure the backing track was done in one go”

“It was an exceptionally long time to spend on one song” – the co-writer and guitarist on Roy Orbison's Oh, Pretty Woman tell the story of a classic song

By Matt Frost published 1 September 22

Insight from co-writer Bill Dees and guitarist Wayne Moss on Orbison's greatest hit

"David Bowie said, ‘Have you got anything?’ Then I remembered these chords”: Ricky Gardiner on co-writing Iggy Pop's The Passenger

By Matt Frost published 17 August 22

“Iggy recorded it on his mono battery cassette player with me playing it unplugged on the Strat"

Gregg Rollie on the recording of Santana's Abraxas and the classic instrumental Samba Pa Ti: "We put things on there that nobody would do. We experimented and had hit songs as well!”

By Matt Frost published 28 July 22

The insider perspective on Carlos in peak form: "His headphones actually ended up on the ground. He was so engrossed in what he was playing and we only stopped it when he finally lost it"

“I muted Noel’s guitar solo at the halfway point!” - the story of recording Oasis anthem Live Forever

By Matt Frost published 20 July 22

“It was the tune that changed everything”

Donald ‘Buck Dharma’ Roeser on Blue Öyster Cult’s (Don't Fear) The Reaper: "It’s unlike the rest of our music and it’s unlike the rest of the songs I’ve written, too"

By Matt Frost published 4 July 22

“It’s not about suicide, although I can see how people can think that, but that’s not where it’s at"

“It was very much against my wishes but at that moment I had absolutely no power in the band, in the studio” – Cream and the troubled birth of Strange Brew

By Matt Frost published 26 June 22

For fans, this psych-blues stomper kicked off Cream’s ‘Disraeli Gears’ LP in irrepressible style, but it’s never been a favourite of the band. This is why…

“I remember I was at an awards ceremony and I actually heard Tony Iommi say it was his favourite riff ever" – Scott Gorham and Brian Robertson tell the story of Thin Lizzy's Jailbreak

By Matt Frost published 1 June 22

“Jailbreak was actually going to be the beginning of the concept album”

"If we do this correctly, I think this could be one of the best blues songs ever!” – the story of Joe Bonamassa's version of Sloe Gin

By Matt Frost published 18 May 22

"The solos were done live… But the sort of Jimmy Page bits, those were overdubbed. I had the hardest time doing those"

Producer John Leckie on recording Radiohead classic Fake Plastic Trees: “There were so many demos that sounded like major songs, but that one was near the top of the list"

By Matt Frost published 9 May 22

"The whole track dynamic was created from Thom’s original performance"

"My Tele was on just about every track I did with The Smiths" – John Porter talks producing Johnny Marr on Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now

By Matt Frost published 28 April 22

The crafting of an indie classic

The story of Boston's More Than A Feeling: "It was many, many years of long nights playing along with a tape deck!"

By Matt Frost published 25 April 22

A timeless classic from the sound design vision of Tom Scholz

Leslie West tells the the story of Mountain's Mississippi Queen: "If only every song was that easy, man!"

By Matt Frost published 11 April 22

In 2011 the late guitar icon offered the inside perspective on his signature song

Smoke On The Water at 50: The story of Deep Purple Mk II and the most famous guitar riff of all time

By Henry Yates published 25 March 22

Between 1969 and 1973, Deep Purple’s MkII incarnation took on the world then tore itself apart. This is the story of the axe fights, smashed Strats, neo-classical solos and power struggles behind British rock’s most dysfunctional family