As a talent, as a creative, as a personality, or as an icon, they really don't make them quite like Freddie Mercury anymore. Which is not to say, of course, that we don't have great singers or clever songwriters anymore, but when it comes to comparisons I think most of us would be hard pressed... Continue Reading →

Janis Joplin was a unique talent. Few voices have been as iconic as hers and it is not by accident that 50 years after her death her music continues to be beloved by old fans and discovered by new ones. Having only released 2 solo albums before coming to an early demise, famously, at the... Continue Reading →

I recall a conversation that I once had with my cousin Maggie, a much more frequent listener of the women of country music than I, in which Maggie remarked that female country music is almost an entirely different genre from male country. You know what? I think she's 100% correct. Not only is themes and... Continue Reading →

A pleasing piano melody, an electrifying guitar solo, a thunderous drum beat, a heavy bassline: all musical ingredients in common in making an excellent song. Whether or not a song contains any of these elements does not make or break it, but when used correctly any of these ingredients can elevate a song to new... Continue Reading →

"I think Rubber Soul was the first of the albums that presented a new Beatles to the world. Up to this point, we had been making albums that were rather like a collection of their singles and now we really were beginning to think about albums as a bit of art in their own right. We were... Continue Reading →

You know, normally I try to keep things within fairly comfortable limits here at the Musical Training Plan, but this month's theme has pretty much just given us simple poppy albums so far. So, today, I just said screw it and decided to revisit the 2014 debut album by Japanese kawaii-metal girl group, Babymetal. And... Continue Reading →

It was high time that we got some cheesy 80's sounds out of my cheesiest theme to date. The Bangles, for those of you who may not know, are an American all girl pop-rock band formed in 1981. The band enjoyed a career peak of about 5 years in the mid-late 80's where they gifted... Continue Reading →

What a transition, huh? Yesterday's album, titled Diana Ross Presents the Jackson 5, a Motown classic, makes way for an earlier Motown classic actually featuring the talents of one Diana Ross. Though many of today's youth may not be familiar with this once premier act of Motown, the Supremes, comprised of Florence Ballard, Mary Wilson,... Continue Reading →

While the "Diana Ross Presents" title was really just Motown marketing, and who actually discovered this band of brothers from Gary Indiana is still debated, it's hard to argue that it was the first domino in a series of events that would change music as we know it. Today's album, the debut of the Jackson... Continue Reading →

Sometime in 1994, the Herbert brothers and financier Chic Murphy, under the name Heart Management, put out a call via Stage Magazine calling for "street smart, extroverted, ambitious" girls who are also "able to sing and dance". This recipe, which with the addition of sugar, spice, and everything nice, was the perfect combination of ingredients... Continue Reading →