First In, Last Out-A Comparison of Debuts and Final Albums-Part 2 (w/Martin Popoff) 

The rant Pete gives at the 6 minute mark is so spot on! You cannot disagree one single word.

as a boomer I can totally relate to Pete's argument about time spent with albums and one thing I can say is that Spotify and ease of access and FOMO means people will not spend the time they once did listening to anything for any length of time (including me)......it is music overload every single Friday.......new releases come out and last weeks are forgotten......music has been cheapened and devalued because of Spotify due to ease of aquisition ....40 years ago plopping your money down as a teen meant you had to value every album you bought and at least give them a fair chance...

Agree with your rant fully! Give the newer stuff a chance, you may be surprised...Loved this series guys!

About Pete's "people not giving new albums a chance" rant, I put a lot of blame on the music/record industry itself and the demise of radio. What occurred during the 90's was extremely disruptive and disenfranchised a lot of music listeners, particularly the more casual ones. The industry basically sent signals that people were not needed or wanted anymore, radio turned into the grotesque thing it is today. All the old music is "safe" and "focus tested" and used in movies, promos and commericals rather than rolling the dice on something new. This has left a lot of people stuck in this wayback-machine syndrome.

Another great show! These guys are so knowledgeable....great fun to have a listen and even discover some of these albums...

Always great to watch these Pardo-Popoff videos ... you're an amazing team guys ... greets from Argentina ...

Another thing not mentioned, 13 ends with the thunder and bells that the first Black Sabbath album starts with!

Pete I love your channel so much. I have loved music since I was a kid and to hear you and Martin talk about all these bands and albums is just awesome! I like all the other guests too. Keep it up!

Absolutey bang on Pete with regards to attention span and listening practices when we were younger,you can never recapture how an album felt when you were 12/13

Your argument about new music from classic artists rings so true! And to add to the frustration, often times these are the same people that complain about something like the new AC/DC album like "meh sounds like everything else they've done". Gotta be frustrating being a commercial musician these days, can't please everyone or anyone.

My favourite Motörhead LP is 'Inferno'. Captivating from start to finish, and the tour that accompanied it was unforgettable too with Sepultura supporting.

I loved the rant at the after Motörhead choice, a lot of truth in what you both said.

Blue Oyster Cult has a great debut & their most recent album The Symbol Remains is a great album. It will probably be their last since it took them 20 years to make/release a new album.

Thanks for a another informative and entertaining show guys. Very enjoyable and I often find myself nodding in agreement with your views.

Great point about new material and the material we grew up with, and formed memories and attachments to. I’m listening to bands catalogues now that I have no attachment to and in no particular order. It’s noticeable when I compare my opinions to, the ranking shows my favourites aren’t always the early albums that feature at the top of the lists. Then when it’s a band I grew up with the familiar material features higher.

Interesting fun listening to thanks. Regarding Triumph, discussed near the end I have to agree with Pete. I really enjoy their music ,even today. I like their positive lyrics,(fight the good fight, Magic power, Follow your heart ect).Much better than the somewhat goofy Satanic references that some other bands used during this period. So its refreshing, that you can put positive, feel good lyrics into a song and still rock out !.and hey I`m not religious at all. To each their own. Triumph is still all over classic rock radio over here on the island (Vancouver island),and the lower mainland (Vancouver).Two great power trio`s from Canada, Rush & Triumph. I've always thought it was a shame Triumph didn`t stay together, but that`s R & R..

I can't believe Hittin' The Note was the last ABB studio album... i think they continued playing live long after that album. I rate this album as high as their early albums from the late 60s and early 70s. Warren Haynes and Woody were additions to the band (in the 90s) that really gave the band a kick start. If you like the ABB band I hope you've given Warren's band Gov't Mule a listen; you won't be disappointed, it's great stuff!!!

Another awesome episode. Loved the Lemmy and Bowie comparison at the end. I would love too see a part 3, you guys can do The Kinks (fascinating career), Slayer, The Beatles and so many more.

As Martin says, "13" hits all the touchstones of the first 3 Sabbath albums. Intentionally, I think. It hasn't seen too many plays beyond the first 2 weeks I owned it.

@6:03. Preach it! I usually prefer later era albums by my favorite bands, and people think I'm absolutely insane for it, but hey. We all like what we like and don't like what we don't like. Also, Boogie!

Saw Triumph "headline" at what was essentially a carnival - Capitol Centre, 1979ish. Place held about 18000, there were about 4000 there. And they rocked.

Great show Pete. Really interesting. I think that would potentially be a great show for the future. 'Bands that are better now than in their heyday' off the top of my head I'll give you three examples: Europe / Tygers of Pan Tang / Thunder. 👍

Saw Triumph in 1986, Sport of Kings tour at the Meadowlands. Opening act Yngwie J. Malmstein. Great show.

How about Savatage... The change from Sirens to Poets and Madmen is staggering and I like all of their periods, also Anathema; from Serenades to the Optimist... It's totally a different band

Martin makes Fridays even better.

I must have missed this episode but I'm glad I caught it ! So glad to hear Martin talking about "Bad Magic". I loved the album & I also felt it was as strong any album Motorhead had done.

Pantera had one of the most interesting evolutions in music.

The Allman Brothers last albums are excellent.

Top 10 songs ABBA?

I've discovered *so many bands* that I missed out on, in their initial runs, through SOT! This episode made me go back to my CD collection, and I found that I had *five Triumph CDs* , bought thanks to SOT, still waiting to be heard! I'm in my late 40s, and I'm so gleefully excited about hearing these albums (really delving into them, not just casual listens!) that I feel like a teenager tonight! Thanks so much, Pete and Martin! :-)

I think most classic rock bands that are still making new music, while it may be good stuff, it’s not as good as the early stuff, with very few exceptions, you guys are very knowledgeable , every time I watch , I find new music to explore

Spotify ...streaming....doesn't anyone care about SONIC QUALITY anymore? These streaming and download companies are putting out music with abysmal sound dynamics - compressed and drained of life, I feel sorry for peeps who don't know the difference between analog and digital, due to coming into music in this ease of access era, but unaware of how much better CDs and vinyl sound! I am grateful to have grown up during an absolute golden time for music and will never take it for granted. Another great discussion - Pete and Martin once again ruining any attempt at SLEEPING!

1) Tower Of Power - East Bay Grease (1970) to Step Up (2020) 2) Steely Dan - Can’t Buy A Thrill (1972) to Everything Must Go (2003) 3) Chicago - CTA (1969) to Born For This Moment (2022) 4) Santana - Self Titled (1969) to Blessings & Miracles (2021) 5) Bad Company - Self Titled (1974) to Company Of Strangers (1995)

those bands have individuality, the style, and i love that style. and Pete, i love ur insight on every album, u educate me everytime i watch ur videos.

I agree with Pete's comment about those that won't give the newer recordings by bands we loved from yesteryear, a chance. I'm one of them !! For me, it's simply a matter of interest. For example, there are certain bands that I heard back in 1980 and loved their stuff on a particular album. And I still have and listen to the album to this day, but I never had any interest in exploring further. I'll watch documentaries, catch news items, read biographies or autobiographies of members, check out interviews etc, but aside from that one album, I never felt any inclination to go and check out their stuff. I couldn't even tell you why. My huge respect for said band rests on that one album. A few examples would be Nazareth {Rampant}, Boston {Don't look back}, ZZ Top {Tres Hombres}, Tiger {Tiger}, Judas Priest {British Steel}, Triumph {Just a game}, Cheap Trick {Dream Police}, Free {Fire & Water}, Genesis {Seconds out}, Lone Star {Firing on all 6}, Yes {Fragile}, The Outlaws {Bring it back alive}, Whitesnake {Lovehunter} and Def Leppard {On Through the night}. I've heard other stuff by them, but I never thought to myself in 40 years, "yeah, I must check them out more." Then there are those bands/artists that I have 2 or 3 albums of. Same applies. There are those that I have a lot of their output. But not interested in deluging my musical headspace with everything they have. If I hear recent stuff, I might be non-committal, but then, no more so than stuff they put out at the height of their powers or the period of the album[s] I do have. I remember back in 1984, I had just gotten into Mahavishnu Orchestra's "Birds of Fire" album. It blew me away and within a couple of weeks, I heard they were coming to play in London. I got tickets and went to see them. They were abysmal. It wasn't the same 1972 line up and it was many years later. That's happened to me a few times with music. I came to realize that if I love an album or a song, then I love that album or song. It's impossible to say what makes me check a band out further or not.

I think that one interesting topic would be bands with the most divided fan bases. Meaning, that bands that built their fan base with a particular sound and lost their original fans and gained new fans after changing their sound.

I understand that Pete is passionate about the point that people should check out more recent studio output by legacy artists. And he makes a great point that when we were kids we had more time and fewer albums so we tended to listen to the same ones over and over until we found every nuance and grew to really like or love a lot of them. The problem for us older guys is time. Time to actually listen to this stuff. We have busy days and we have only so many hours on the planet. Look at all the albums and cds behind Martin and Pete. I have a fraction of their collections. Looking at my iTunes I see 55,729 songs. That equals about 165 days of continuous listening. I do listen to new stuff. Some of it is new bands and some of it is from legacy artists. But, you have to make tough decisions. You can't listen to everything. Do I need to give the new Iron Maiden album a chance? I like a lot of Iron Maiden but I don't need to hear another album of 13 minute songs that basically repeat stuff they have already done earlier in their career. So, no, I do not need to give the new Iron Maiden album a chance. Martin said as much on the podcast these guys did together where they announced much-loved artists that they do not like. He is okay shutting the door on some artists and albums because you cannot listen to everything.

Back in the early 80's my friends and I did this very exercise. I remember using the band, Deep Purple as an example.... Shades of Deep Purple (1968) >>> Come Taste the Band (1975) ...seven years, so different.

Absolutely love Budgie. Opening song Breadfan every Saturday night at University Rock Night back in the day.

Martin -ordered the Uriah Heep book and Priest book arrived this morning thank you so much.

Edge Of Excess by Triumph is criminally underrated. Not even close to their worst album in my opinion, in fact it’s close to my favourite

I couldn't agree more with you Pete regarding new music by older artists with extensive catalogs. So many bands continue to kick ass 20,30,40 years on and people just don't give the newer stuff a legit chance. That's why bands don't wanna record new music anymore. It doesn't pay, literally and figuratively.

"New York City Streets" was an amazing jam by Triumph... kind of wish more of their songs were like that.

I agree that age plans a factor, Pete, but I also see a lot of people viewing music as a consumer good rather than art. Like “when I buy a Styx record, I want it to sound like old Styx the way when I buy Doritos I want the stuff in the bag to taste like Doritos, dammit!” But artists either progress and change or they become a cold, useless brand releasing increasingly pale versions of their best work. You can’t really expect your favorite artists to approach their output the way Pepsi or Nike or Burger King does, and you’d be disappointed if they did.

not his cup of tea but I miss The Donnas…big difference between their first cd The Donnas full of short pop songs to their last cd Bitchin that was full on glam rock

Saw an interview with Rik Emmet.. saying the all for one spirit disappeared and once the record company starting pushing using outside writers.. he was done with it

The last Allman Brothers Band album gave me an idea. Why not do a show about funny album covers? Not bad, not good, but funny.

ABB and Rush!!! I'm 95% guilty on not giving classic bands' new albums a chance. The Symbol Remains, Firepower, and Africa Speaks some recent albums that B.O.C, Judas Priest, and Santana should be proud of. Still trying to get up the courage to listen to Cut the Crap!

Marc Bolan's music made a drastic shift. I know that T. Rex & Tyrannosaurus Rex are technically different bands, but it's still Marc.

5:30 Some love raw and simple. That isn't to say I keep to the older stuff. No, I have many of their later albums on CD. I do primarily stick with the old albums, though. Some times I do get the urge to wander into other decades...

I thought Styx's The Mission was great.

Best David Bowie album covers that’s an idea

I'm curious if anyone was into Bowie's Tin Machine period, with Reeves Gabriels on guitar?

One topic that might be worth a go. Artists whose best work is not with the band they are best known for?

Great video...

Pete, I loved your little aside about sitting with albums for a bit before ruling a judgement on them. I too, was pretty frustrated and am pretty frustrated with the attitude of some Styx fans, especially how volatile some of them were being in your comment section. That's always my approach, if something doesn't really resonate right away with me, i'll typically just place it on the backburner and make a point to revisit it later. The music with the most replay value tends to be the same music that takes you building up somewhat of a familiarity with it before it starts to really make sense. To just come out the gate swinging on release day with a full conclusion and judgment apparently drawn on an album seems wrong to me. However, with all that said, when I do come across an album that I find just isn't for me after a handful of listens. I take no joy in being the troll under the bridge and trying to tear it down for other people like I was seeing in that comment section the other day. It takes much less energy, and everyone's happier when you just simply say "hey, I'm glad you enjoy this album, it's just not my cup of tea." Though to be fair, if that was always the case we wouldn't get Pete's legendary Motley Crue rants.... Another important aspect to consider is when and where you hear this music. Sometimes music hits you at the right time, when you're out experiencing something. It often times won't hit you that same way when you're hunched over your desk, on your first listen, actively looking for something to dislike about it. Essentially ready to pounce on it at any moment. Sometimes I get the impression that's how some people approach new records from classic bands.

I really enjoyed this little mini series of videos. I have yet to find someone who finds any post-1990 Dio album in as high regard as Holy Diver or Last In Line. Maybe there’s a few out there.

Pete, you right on your rant at 6 minutes. That said, back in the day, there were almost continuously albums getting released that immediately blew us away on first listen. It didn’t take hours of listening to get the greatness and freshness of the debut albums of Iron Maiden, Metallica, Van Halen, Boston, Metal Church. Or albums like Operating Mindcrime, Heaven and Hell, Restless and Wild. Or live recordings such as Unleashed in the East, Strangers in the night or Made in Japan? Honestly, how many times do you hear a new album that gives that Holy Cow effect like back in the day? No matter how fantastic the new Flotsam and Jetsam, Todd la Torre, Cheap Trick, Vintage Caravan, etc they don’t bring anything new to the table. All great new music of the past 25 years is in essence a recycle of old ideas, even when it is done better and more professionally than was possible before digital etc...

I'm with Pete on The Allman Brothers! Love the Classic albums, but Hittin The Note is my favorite Allman Brothers! It's an Every Songer for sure! If you got a free 12 minutes check out Instrumental Illness! Mind blowing stuff.

I just heard Helix - Billy Oxygen. It's interesting.

I always listen to the new releases of my favorite classic bands, some are good and some are not so good. I listened to that new Styx album more than a few times, I thought it was just meh, but I was never a big Styx fan anyways.

I always like what you guys have to say

Yes you are right ,when we were younger we had more time for music.Now we have different lives and works and not so much time for music and maybe your partner doesn't like the same music as you the it is even harder for us

Paul McCartney is lately being regarded as the pioneer of lo-fi rock, and even indie rock with his debut solo album, and Wild Life is kind of the same but with a full band and a new name. Very lambasted album but I believe is not that bad or as bad as London Town would be, or even Red Rose Speedway. McCartney even sounds depressed in his first albums until Band on the Run exploded, where he's energised and found success and critical acclaim again, BUT, just as you did, Pete, I grew up with The Beatles, John and Paul's solo albums, and Back to the Egg was so powerful as listening to the Beatles greatest albums. Solid from finish to end, hard to skip one song. It's perfection for me that album. Equally lambasted by critics and fans (and despised by macca himself), but Back to the Egg is the swan song of as I call it, the band that never was. They sound like a real band finally, all pieces fit together in the end. Sadly we'll never see a Deluxe re-edition remaster treatment of that album and other few macca don't deem as good, but for fans, these albums are important. As for David Bowie, he was highly influenced by Jacques Brel and all the impressionist protest singers from France, he was a Beatles and Yellow Submarine fan, as well as a Syd Barret fan, and he was also an actor and a mime so that childlike debut collection of songs are a blend of his early influences. Black Star is a stark contrast, it's childhood delight vs the certainty of death. I was expecting Roxy Music on the show, but I can't recall if you brought them up in the first episode 🤔

Great take on Dio's Dream Evil, it's WAY up there for me...I honestly love every song. Craig Goldy brought a ton of firey riffs to the proceedings, excellent production by RJD. Easily a 9/10 IMO. (Wearing my Dream Evil tee right now!)

I think nearly all Motorhead records are fantastic, keepers all the way. Including Bad Magic.

Pete a point your missing is that most bands have core fans then they have a hit and the ham eggers come in for the hit then two albums later you see who there core audience is without the hit

I think Triumph might be the first band to reference Heavy Metal as a type of music in their song What’s Another Day of Rock n Roll from their 1976 debut album. This is at the 54 second mark of the song. Steppenwolf references Heavy Metal thunder as the sound of a motorcycle engine, BOC references Heavy Metal fruit as a bomb laden B-52 bomber and some journalist mentioned in 1971-72 Uriah Heep as Heavy Metal but Triumph mentions it as a form of music in a song. Billy Oxygen by Helix is a great song from the late 70’s, then they devolved into the mainstream simple heavy metal of the early 80’s.

I am totally with Pete about giving new material from older bands a few chances and not just cast it aside because it doesn't sound a certain way. There are SO many people out there who just don't bother. People who stick to a few albums and don't bother with the rest of a catalog. Why? I get that some bands with big catalogs have their lesser albums but why not give new material a chance? Today it's free.. Go on Spotify or RU-vid. Spend fourty minutes a few times over on an album. What exactly do you lose compared to if you just listen to a classic album you heard 190 times before? How many times do you listen to a certain album or song. How many times do you need to? What if you expand your listening to the band with three new tracks that you like quite a bit? I mean.. Listening to Pete talk about all his music. It sounds like he had 500 new records at home every year as a kid. But the truth is he discovered bands and music along the way.. Didn't he? Now he might have 300 albums from 1984. But back then? 10-15-20? How many did he have time to listen to? How many did could he afford? Access was limited.. Had he even heard about half of what he now owns?

RUSH.... best band ever..... as much I like the first album, the 'real' Rush started on their second album Fly By Night

The Beatles

Those later Allman Brothers records are great! Having Warren Haynes (one of the true greats, definitely a 'triple threat') and Derek Trucks on board certainly does not hurt!

You know what might be a good idea for a show? Favorite songs that weren't on an actual band album. Like on a compilation, b-side, or soundtrack

Mindy McCready Ten Thousand Angles (debut) Mindy McCready I'm Still Here (last)

Triumph.....SO under rated, what a great band they were. They really did end when Rik left.... the last album doesn't count...lol

My choice for this episode would be Free. From the legendary 1968 debut Tons of Sobs right through to the final underrated gem Heartbreak in 1973 they maintained a consistently strong output. Led by the amazing vocals of Paul Rodgers and the master of vibrato Paul Kossoff and the inventive bass work of Andy Fraser (may they both R.I.P.) and the rock solid drumming of Simon Kirke. What a band…

The best song of Black Sabbath's last one (imo) only came in with the deluxe edition - it's "Pariah"

What about a show about artists and bands we should all keep an eye on? Ones you think we haven't heard of but who have extreme potential to be the next big thing in rock and metal.

Fun show. 👍

Just to point out that Budgie are NOT from Cardiff. They are from a small valleys town called Tredegar.

I think the classic rock radio format has a lot to due with Pete's argument! People hear the same stupid s@^t on the radio day in and day out! Classic rock radio wants nothing to do with what an artist is doing today! So people get hung up on hearing the same style of music from a band's hit album that is 40 years old!

Rock music is best made when you're young and crazy. That's why Pete. This is why I applaud someone like Robert Plant leaning into folky stuff instead of trying to rewrite Whole Lotta Love.

Interesting that Pete referenced Travis Bickle. The Clash actually appear briefly in King of Comedy, in a street scene 🤟

Lmao, I love how Pete's Motorhead rant basically contradicts everything they said about Queen in part one! 🤣🤣🤣🤣🙄

The Velvet Underground's last studio album (Squeeze, 1973) has nothing to do musically with the 1967 debut and no founding member is involved. All Velvet fans hate it !!! All Doug Yule fans like it !!!

Styx has a brand new fan with Crash of the Crown.

It does make you wonder. Has Martin ever heard the first 2 Status Quo albums. Nothing like their later music and what about the change in music in the late 80s, early 90s.

People like what they like and more power to them, but I thought it was fascinating that Pete described "The Devil You Know" as 'plodding' compared to "13". I listened to both albums back to back and was shocked by how much more energetic Heaven and Hell's sole output is in comparison to Sabbath's last album. I think that "13" is a lifeless exercise in nostalgia where the producer wiped away 40 years of musical growth to put out an album that could have come out in 1970. I read Tony Iommi's autobiography, and he comes off as extremely passive in the studio. He writes his riffs and songs, but then he doesn't basically anything that the producer tells him to do, which is how we ended up with "Forbidden". That approach really shows on 13. I think it also has some of Ozzy's worst vocal recordings in decades, and he really sounds like he just can't be bothered. Some of that is because Ozzy's range is much more limited now than it was in the 70's, but I strongly suspect that much of it is, again, the producer telling Ozzy that the droning vocal is what people loved in the 70's and that's what he wanted on 13. Compare his vocals on "13" to his performance on "Scream", which I think was the album he did just before "13". "The Devil You Know" has some slower songs, but even on the slower songs, Dio sells the vocals with an enthusiasm that Ozzy doesn't muster on a single track of 13. I'm OK with Sabbath being over. I'll take another Tony Iommi/Glenn Hughes album, though!

I don't always agree with Martin but I thought it was cool that he picked Motorhead, Dio, and Budgie which were three of my picks for them to do. I do agree with Martin about not liking Lock Up The Wolves...it's my least favorite Dio album. I also think Killing the Dragon is the best of later day Dio albums.

The Doors and L.A Woman

Van halen 1 and a different kind of truth, big difference in quality

Gentle Giant: Gentle Giant & Civilian

Best genesis album covers or best Styx album covers

Classic rock stations don’t play any new music. Record labels don’t promote them. Without shows like yours you may not know that new music exists.

Is Martin a little confused? Lock up the Wolves came out before Starnge Highways and was really the last one with the classic Dio sound. I also am not crazy about the slower plodding Dio and Sabbath. I'm not a fan of Dehunaizer either

I still think Signals was a total shark jump. I always liked Subdivisions and New World Man, and to a lesser extent Analog Kid. I have even, after many years, come to appreciate Countdown But the album definitely was a shark jump. It's worse than everything prior and better than everything after.

Disagree with Martin on- DIO's:Lock Up The Wolves! Ronnie in any of his artist solo endeavours....rocked!!!Scared Heart,is my least favorite. Brilliant throughout his career - Holy Diver,Dream Evil,Killing The Dragon,Master of the Moon. Pete makes a good point about the "loyality" of some longtime fans;where they discount new material from classic bands because the new material doesn't immulate the old. Give the new stuff more than a couple of listens'....I've found some GREAT stuff,later in bands catalogs. Ex. BOC,Todd LaTorre's Queensyrche,Triumph with Phil X,too name a few. Good show guys!!!

I went to see KISS on the End Of The Road tour. I was simply remarking to a friend that it would be a dream to hear some Unmasked material or something off of Revenge. This guy behind me goes, “fuck that shit, Detroit Rock City!!!”. Shit like that just bugs me.

I liked the Devil You Know better than 13. The extra disc was better than the actual album.

No weather report?