Interviews

Mike Campbell, the consummate sideman, is now fully embracing his role as the frontman and bandleader of The Dirty Knobs, the long-running sideproject of his that has become his primary creative focus since the unfortunate passing of his lifelong friend and Heartbreakers/Mudcrutch bandmate Tom Petty in 2017. Here, Campbell tells Analog Planet exclusively why he prefers vinyl for his Dirty Knobs releases, how a somewhat inadvertent recurring mono listening situation in his youth ultimately informed his ongoing stereo proclivities, and which Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers song he feels will stand the test of time. Read on, into the great wide open. . .

Trevor Rabin is a truly cinematic artist — and we don’t just say that because he joined a band called Cinema that soon enough brought its name back around to Yes before they released November 1983’s 90125. In the interim, Rabin has scored over 50 films and television shows, continued to work on and off with various Yesmates (hello, ARW), and he’s also released a number of wide-ranging solo albums to boot. His latest effort, Rio, is being released today in various 2LP configurations via InsideOut Music. During a recent Zoom interview with AP editor Mike Mettler, Rabin discusses the vinyl-centric impetus of Rio, why it’s important for him to personally attend as many mastering sessions as he can, and why he feels Bob Ludwig’s mastering “saved” 90125. . .

You won't find Roy Halee's name on many great sounding records. Not because the veteran recording engineer hasn't made them, but because Columbia Records' policy for many years was to not credit the engineer on the jacket. So, aside from the few that do credit him, the others require you to know who they are. That's one reason I tracked Roy down through Sterling Sound's Greg Calbi who has mastered many of Halee's recent projects. But more importantly, as with Bill Porter, I just wanted to sit down face to face with someone who has consistently provided us with great sound, and find out why and how he managed to do it, when so many others failed.

Some of Halee's recording credits are well known:all of Simon and Garfunkel's records, the best sounding Byrds albums (Notorious Byrd Brothers and Sweetheart of the Rodeo), and of course, Paul Simon's two fascinating and extremely successful projects (both commercially and artistically) Graceland and Rhythm of the Saints.

The Flaming Lips are one of those bands that have always endeavored to create their own sonic universe, and we almost never know exactly what planet we’ll be on when we drop the needle on their latest vinyl venture and/or most recent archival collection. Case in point — the 180g 5LP baby-pink vinyl box set for July 2002’s Yoshimi Battle the Pink Robots being released (finally!) on April 14, a collection that includes the remastered core album, demos, non-album tracks, live radio sessions, and many other live tracks galore. In a recent Zoom interview with AP editor Mike Mettler, Flaming Lips visionary vocalist Wayne Coyne discusses the ins and outs of the making of the Yoshimi vinyl box set, how the word “realize” became such an integral part of the band’s songwriting, and how a few hundred test tapes fueled the beginning and the end of one of the album’s most enduring songs. Read on to realize all the LP-related Yoshimi details. . .

… or, why does it make sense for musicangle and other perceptive writers and sites to still be discussing and rating this stuff 40 years later?