The first leg of the trek begins on Aug. 29 in Pryor, Oklahoma, and runs through Sept. 21 in Cleveland. It picks up again on Nov. 7 in Houston and concludes on Nov. 22 in Denver.
Tickets go on sale to the general public on Friday. You can see the full list of dates below.
Dreams on Toast, the Darkness’ eighth studio album, arrived on March 28. UCR’s Michael Gallucci wrote: “Dreams on Toast bears no overriding theme other than have a good time and try to get out alive; if you can’t, that’s cool, too. The album’s 33 minutes whiz by, with power pop, metal and even some galloping country (‘Hot on My Tail,’ ‘Cold Hearted Woman’) tossed into the fidgety mix.”
When the band’s star-making debut album, Permission to Land, turned 20 in 2023, frontman Justin Hawkins marveled to UCR about making it two decades in the business.
“You get a band that’s around for 20 years and then you can’t shoot them down,” he said. “They’re bulletproof, they have their own audience and their own way of doing things. And that’s the sort of longevity that you don’t dare to imagine at the beginning of a project. If you get there it’s a miracle, really.”
The Darkness 2025 North American Tour Dates Aug. 29 – Pryor, OK @ Pryor Creek Music Festival Grounds Aug. 30 – Saint Louis, MO @ The Pageant Aug. 31 – Nashville, TN @ Brooklyn Bowl Sept. 2 – Atlanta, GA @ Masquerade – Heaven Stage Sept. 3 – Huntsville, AL @ Von Braun Center – Mars Music Hall Sept. 5 – Norfolk, VA @ The NorVa Sept. 6 – Richmond, VA @ The National Sept. 7 – Washington, DC @ Lincoln Theatre Sept. 9 – Allentown, PA @ Archer Music Hall Sept. 10 – New York, NY @ Irving Plaza Sept. 12 – Toronto, ON @ Phoenix Concert Theatre Sept. 13 – Kitchener, ON @ Elements Sept. 14 – Montréal, QC @ Club Soda Sept. 16 – Indianapolis, IN @ Egyptian Room at Old National Centre Sept. 17 – Detroit, MI @ Saint Andrew’s Hall Sept. 19 – Minneapolis, MN @ Varsity Theater Sept. 20 – Milwaukee, WI @ The Rave/Eagles Club – The Rave Hall Sept. 21 – Cleveland, OH @ Agora Theatre and Ballroom Nov. 7 – Houston, TX @ Warehouse Live Midtown Nov. 8 – Austin, TX @ Emo’s Nov. 9 – Dallas, TX @ The Echo Lounge & Music Hall Nov. 12 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Wiltern Nov. 13 – San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore Nov. 15 – Boise, ID @ Knitting Factory Concert House Nov. 17 – Portland, OR @ Revolution Hall Nov. 18 – Vancouver, BC @ Commodore Ballroom Nov. 19 – Seattle, WA @ The Showbox Nov. 21 – Salt Lake City, UT @ The Depot Nov. 22 – Denver, CO @ Summit Music Hall
Feature Photo: ABC / Dunhill Records, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Steppenwolf originated in Los Angeles, California, in 1967, following the evolution of the band The Sparrows, which included members John Kay, Goldy McJohn, and Jerry Edmonton. After relocating from Canada to the U.S. and rebranding as Steppenwolf—named after Hermann Hesse’s novel—the group quickly became synonymous with the late-1960s counterculture, fusing blues, rock, and psychedelic elements into their distinctive sound.
Their self-titled debut album, “Steppenwolf,” was released in January 1968 and immediately captured attention with the iconic single “Born to Be Wild.” The song became an anthem for a generation, heavily associated with biker culture and prominently featured in the groundbreaking film “Easy Rider.” This hit reached number two on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, becoming one of rock music’s defining moments and widely credited for introducing the phrase “heavy metal thunder,” thus influencing the naming of the heavy metal genre.
Steppenwolf swiftly followed up with their second album, “The Second,” in October 1968, featuring another major hit, “Magic Carpet Ride,” which peaked at number three on the Billboard charts. This track further established their commercial success and solidified their position in rock history, characterized by its psychedelic influences and dynamic instrumentation.
Throughout their active years, Steppenwolf released 13 studio albums, including notable works such as “At Your Birthday Party” (1969), “Monster” (1969), and “Steppenwolf 7” (1970). “Monster” stood out for its politically charged themes, directly addressing societal issues of the time and earning the band recognition beyond their musical contributions.
The band’s impact extended far beyond chart success. They have sold over 25 million records worldwide, with eight gold albums and twelve Billboard Hot 100 singles. Their influence was formally recognized when they were nominated for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2017. Though not inducted, the nomination itself underscored their enduring legacy and significant influence within the music industry.
Steppenwolf’s enduring popularity and the love they continue to receive in the rock community can be attributed to their powerful anthems, innovative sound, and authentic representation of the cultural shifts of their era. They crafted music that resonated deeply with a generation seeking identity and freedom, cementing their songs as timeless classics.
Outside of their musical achievements, Steppenwolf and its members have participated in various charity events and socially conscious projects, reflecting their commitment to social and cultural issues beyond entertainment. John Kay, in particular, has remained active in humanitarian causes, highlighting the band’s broader cultural significance and ongoing relevance.
Complete List Of Steppenwolf Songs From A to Z
(I’m a) Road Runner – Skullduggery – 1976
28 – The Second – 1968
A Fool’s Fantasy – Slow Flux – 1974
A Girl I Knew – Steppenwolf – 1968
Ain’t Nothin’ Like It Used to Be – Paradox – 1984
All I Want Is All You Got – Wolftracks – 1982
America (part of “Monster/Suicide/America”) – Monster – 1969
Annie, Annie Over – Hour of the Wolf – 1975
Another’s Lifetime – Hour of the Wolf – 1975
Bad Attitude – Rock & Roll Rebels – 1987/1996 reissue
Ball Crusher – Steppenwolf 7 – 1970
Berry Rides Again – Steppenwolf – 1968
Black Pit – For Ladies Only – 1971
Born to Be Wild – Steppenwolf – 1968
Born to Be Wild – Steppenwolf Live – 1970
Caroline (Are You Ready for the Outlaw World?) – Hour of the Wolf – 1975
Cat Killer – At Your Birthday Party – 1969
Children of Night – Slow Flux – 1974
Chicken Wolf – At Your Birthday Party – 1969
Circles of Confusion – Paradox – 1984
Corina, Corina – Steppenwolf Live – 1970
Desperation – Steppenwolf – 1968
Disappointment Number (Unknown) – The Second – 1968
Do or Die – Rise & Shine – 1990
Don’t Cry – At Your Birthday Party – 1969
Don’t Step on the Grass, Sam – The Second – 1968
Don’t Step on the Grass, Sam – Steppenwolf Live – 1970
Down To Earth – Wolftracks – 1982
Draft Resister – Monster – 1969
Draft Resister – Steppenwolf Live – 1970
Earschplittenloudenboomer – Steppenwolf 7 – 1970
Everybody Knows You – Rock & Roll Rebels – 1987
Every Man for Himself – Wolftracks – 1982
Everybody’s Next One – Steppenwolf – 1968
Fag – Monster – 1969
Fat Jack – Steppenwolf 7 – 1970
Faster Than the Speed of Life – The Second – 1968
Feed The Fire – Rock & Roll Rebels – 1996 reissue
Five Finger Discount – Wolftracks – 1982
Fishin’ in the Dark – Slow Flux – 1974
Foggy Mental Breakdown – Steppenwolf 7 – 1970
For Ladies Only – For Ladies Only – 1971
For Rock-N-Roll – Wolftracks – 1982
Forty Days and Forty Nights – Steppenwolf 7 – 1970
From Here to There Eventually – Monster – 1969
From Here to There Eventually – Steppenwolf Live – 1970
Gang War Blues – Slow Flux – 1974
Get into the Wind – Slow Flux – 1974
Give Me Life – Rock & Roll Rebels – 1987
Give Me News I Can Use – Paradox – 1984
Give Me News I Can Use – Rock & Roll Rebels – 1987
God Fearing Man – At Your Birthday Party – 1969
Happy Birthday – At Your Birthday Party – 1969
Hard Rock Road – Hour of the Wolf – 1975
Hey Lawdy Mama – Steppenwolf Live – 1970
Hippo Stomp – Steppenwolf 7 – 1970
Hodge, Podge, Strained Through a Leslie – The Second – 1968
Hold On (Never Give Up, Never Give In) – Rock & Roll Rebels – 1987
Hold Your Head Up – Wolftracks – 1982
Hootchie Kootchie Man – Steppenwolf – 1968
Hot Night in a Cold Town – Wolftracks – 1982
I’m Asking – For Ladies Only – 1971
In Hopes of a Garden – For Ladies Only – 1971
It’s Never Too Late – At Your Birthday Party – 1969
Check out our fantastic and entertaining Steppenwolf articles, detailing in-depth the band’s albums, songs, band members, and more…all on ClassicRockHistory.com
Brian Kachejian was born in Manhattan and raised in the Bronx. He is the founder and Editor in Chief of ClassicRockHistory.com. He has spent thirty years in the music business often working with many of the people who have appeared on this site. Brian Kachejian also holds B.A. and M.A. degrees from Stony Brook University along with New York State Public School Education Certifications in Music and Social Studies. Brian Kachejian is also an active member of the New York Press.
Very rare and previously unseen footage of Van der Graaf Generator performing in Toronto in 1976 has been released via YouTube and which you can watch below.
“Here’s something fairly extraordinary,” VdGG’s Peter Hammill wrote on his BlueSky page having seen the footage. “Recently found 8mm footage has been married up with audio and it’s now possible to see/hear 12 mins of VdGG at Massey Hall Toronto ’76.”
The footage was filmed at Toronot’s Massey Hall on October 15, 1976 by 18-year-old Michael Boyce, and features the only known live concert footage of VdGG during their legendary World Record tour of 1976. VdGG biographer Jim Christopulos was the catalyst in bringing the film to a wider audience.
“I’ve been secretly working on this one for a while,” Christopulos, also drummer with Chicago blues band Howard & the White Boys, wrote on Facebook. “Finally done!”
Hammill’s former manager Gail Colson also expressed her delight, stating, “Peter sent this to me a couple of hours ago. Goodness, you have been busy, well done. All the best, Gail.”
Sign up below to get the latest from Prog, plus exclusive special offers, direct to your inbox!
Spiritbox singer Courtney LaPlante joined Megan Thee Stallion onstage during her Coachella set this week.
The Canadian vocalist, who co-founded Spiritbox with guitarist Mike Stringer in 2017, appeared with the rap superstar on Sunday (April 13), performing last year’s collaborative track TYG. Watch the footage below.
LaPlante is one of several special guests who came out during Megan Thee Stallion’s performance in Indio, California. The rapper performed Plan B and Queen Latifah cover U.N.I.T.Y. with Latifah herself. She later did Spin and a version of Victoria Monét’s On My Mama with Monét, and a mashup of Roc Steady and Goodies with Ciara.
Megan Thee Stallion’s Coachella show was one of the last ones of the weekend. She was the main support act on the main stage on Sunday, followed by final headliner Post Malone. Lady Gaga headlined the main stage on Friday, followed by Green Day on Saturday.
Megan Thee Stallion has collaborated with Spiritbox multiple times before. In 2023, the band did an officially endorsed remix of the rapper’s song Cobra. Then, last year, they were announced as a guest on TYG, which appeared on an expanded edition of Megan Thee Stallion’s third studio album, Megan. This weekend marked TYG’s live debut.
Spiritbox released their long-awaited second album Tsunami Sea to rave reviews last month. Metal Hammer’s Rich Hobson gave it a near-perfect four-and-a-half stars and wrote, “Tsunami Sea feels like the moment Spiritbox firmly step into their own as a band who could contend with the likes of Bring Me The Horizon and Sleep Token, as the next zeitgeist-setting act.”
Spiritbox are currently touring North America and will hit the European festival circuit in June. They’re also set to play several shows supporting Linkin Park, including one at London’s 90,000-capacity Wembley Stadium. See all their live plans via their website.
Sign up below to get the latest from Metal Hammer, plus exclusive special offers, direct to your inbox!
🔥 @theestallion ‘TYG’ with @spiritboxband at #Coachella 🔥 pic.twitter.com/PAwZJqKfUXApril 14, 2025
MAKE SOME MF NOISE FOR COURTNEY! FROM FUCKING SPIRITBOX! pic.twitter.com/zUBZEDO06zApril 14, 2025
When Sabaton formed in 1999, power metal was about the dirtiest word you could utter. While most of the world was doing it for the Nookie, Gothenburg was transforming Sweden’s heavy music topography in a maelstrom of melodic death metal.
But, in time – and with a mid-2000s rebrand that saw them embracing military history – Sabaton opened the floodgates for waves of power metal-inspired bands to reshape the genre, and made the leap to arena level. With their 25th year behind them, and another arena tour scheduled for the end of this year, we cornered frontman Joakim Brodén to find out the secrets to his success…
POSTCARDS ARE NICE TO LOOK AT BUT BORING TO LIVE IN
“I grew up in Falun, a very small Swedish town. If you had a stereotype of Scandinavia with red houses, white windows and lots of snow in winter, that’s pretty much where I grew up!”
SOMETIMES YOU DON’T SEE THE HISTORY ON YOUR OWN DOORSTEP
“The biggest thing near my hometown was the World Heritage Site, Falun Mine. It was the commercial engine for the Swedish Empire in the 1600s. You’d think that might be where I got my love for history, but nope! It was just somewhere we’d visit on school trips – we didn’t realise how special it was because it was so close to home. It was like, ‘But doesn’t everyone have a mine?’”
MUSIC CAN BE LOVE AT FIRST FRIGHT
Sign up below to get the latest from Metal Hammer, plus exclusive special offers, direct to your inbox!
“When I was very young, maybe three or four, I remember my mom was making food and I was watching TV. Suddenly she hears me screaming. She runs in, like, ‘Is my child dying?’ and no… I was watching Twisted Sister’s I Wanna Rock video and freaking out. So she bought me the album!”
SOMETIMES HOBBIES TAKE ON A LIFE OF THEIR OWN
“Weirdly, becoming a musician was never a lifelong dream. I love music and listening to it… but I really only played Hammond organ because it was fun and we’d got one at home, and it was kind of funny to play in a metal band. It wasn’t until I was a teenager that I picked up the guitar – I was forced to play bass in the school band. I’d wanted to play keyboards, but they told me I needed to be more involved. I was just jamming with friends until I met Pär [Sundström, Sabaton bassist].”
WE LOVE POWER METAL, BUT WE ARE NOT IT
“Hammerfall are the pioneers in power metal. Possibly some of that glory belongs to Blind Guardian as well. Their late-90s and early2000s albums were so important for this scene; maybe bands like Rhapsody and Edguy too. We’ve always had a love/hate relationship with power metal. We grew up loving it and still listen to it now. We definitely have power metal influences, but the two main things in that genre are super-fast double-kick drums – which we do have at times, but not often – and high-pitched vocals… No, no, no. So describing us as a power metal band might give someone the wrong idea.”
IT’S ALL IN THE TECHNIQUE
“I swam sort of professionally when I was younger, and it’s been handy as a singer. I had an x-ray of my lungs a couple of years ago, and they were so large they didn’t fit on a single image. That was pretty funny! All that said, I still get out of breath when I run – I’ve got the capacity, just not the conditioning. I really enjoyed swimming for its social aspects and the competitive aspects. I quit in my mid-teens, but my sister continued and actually got a scholarship – she got to study in Hawaii.”
IT NEVER HURTS TO STAND OUT
“In the beginning, writing lyrics was a necessary evil. But when we wrote the music for Primo Victoria, it had a big sound, so it needed a better message than just another song about beer. We thought about D-Day. That spurred us on to write more songs about military history, and it all made sense.”
LEAN INTO YOUR NICHE
“As much as we liked it, our few fans seemed to like it even more, so we did another [album about military history], thinking we’d then move onto something else. When we made the video for Attero Dominatus, the director asked us to wear something different, and that’s where the urban camo look came in, as well as my vest. It all looked good under his lights.”
DO WHAT YOU LOVE AND YOU’LL NEVER WORK A DAY IN YOUR LIFE…
“When Sabaton were starting out, we just wrote songs for fun. The band didn’t have a singer at the time, so suggested I do it – lazy assholes still haven’t bothered to find one! When Sabaton started I was actually studying sound engineering, radio broadcasting and all that kind of stuff. I figured that’d be my path, but we had so much fun when we played that we just kept going. I never thought I’d make my living playing heavy metal.”
…BUT YOU’VE STILL GOT TO PAY THE BILLS
“I had a job on the side as well as the band for years, usually in a cycle where I would have the job up until we had a tour or something, and then I’d get fired because I had so much to do in the band. Around 2009, we were playing in Greece for the first time, and even though there weren’t many people at this show in Athens, it struck me: ‘I’ve not had another job in a long time. I guess I’m a musician!’”
SABATON – Soldier Of Heaven (Official Music Video) – YouTube
“Everybody leaving the band [in 2012] was pretty fucking worrying! Pär and I were already treating it as a career choice by that point – I had a low half-time salary for my contributions, Pär got more because he did the band full-time. The other guys had their own jobs that paid better. They felt it was better to do this as a hobby and release an album every five years, tour every two or three, but we found out that wasn’t doable for me and Pär. We offered to buy the guys out and that let us keep the band going.”
GOT A PROBLEM? GET CREATIVE WITH YOUR SOLUTIONS
“Between Sweden and Finland there’s a party cruise that happens, and we played a few. One day we were travelling over to play a show and someone pointed out it was too expensive to just go over, so we figured we’d rent the ship ourselves and play as we travelled. The Sabaton cruise was born as a solution to the problem. Sabaton Open Air was born from the idea that there were no real venues in our hometown, so maybe we could create an event where we and our friends could play. These things make it look like we’ve got our shit together, which in some ways we do, but nobody sat down on day one thinking of these ideas.”
TAKE LEAPS
“[Swedish-American actor] Peter Stormare said that when he usually gets requests to appear in music videos, bands want to come and hang out with him as the Hollywood guy. We’d just seen him in the series Hitler: The Rise Of Evil as [Ernst] Röhm, the leader of the SA [the original paramilitary wing of the Nazi party]. We got him onboard [for the music video to Uprising in 2010]. He found it funny that we were asking him to fly to Poland and dress as a Nazi! He said, ‘I can’t pass this up!’ He did it for his minimum fee, but did it because he loved the idea.”
DON’T MAKE BETS WHILE DRUNK
“I think it was [producer/Hypocrisy/Pain frontman] Peter Tägtgren’s birthday party. We had this party in a community house, and he’d got [Rainbow/Deep Purple frontman] Joe Lynn Turner singing, so we all got super-drunk. I stupidly said I could walk to our next show, but hadn’t realised how far away it was… in Norway! I got sick and couldn’t finish the last three or five days of hiking. It bugged me that I didn’t finish it, but the top priority was recovering to still play a good show.”
SOME THINGS WILL STICK WITH YOU FOREVER
“We have this song called 40:1 which is about a battle in Wizna, Poland. We played on the actual battlefield on the 90th anniversary in 2009. That was incredibly special. But also, we’ve headlined both main stages of Wacken. Starting out, even playing the festival was a dream, so to headline is unbelievable.”
Sabaton’s The Legendary Tour comes to the UK in December 2025. For the full list of upcoming shows, visit the band’s official website.
Staff writer for Metal Hammer, Rich has never met a feature he didn’t fancy, which is just as well when it comes to covering everything rock, punk and metal for both print and online, be it legendary events like Rock In Rio or Clash Of The Titans or seeking out exciting new bands like Nine Treasures, Jinjer and Sleep Token.
Alex Lifeson has offered details about his recent jam sessions with former bandmate Geddy Lee.
During an interview with Sirius XM’s Eddie Trunk, Lifeson noted that the surviving Rush musicians still get together regularly.
“Ged’s my best friend, aside from everything else. He’s just my best friend since we were 13 years old,” Lifeson noted. “So I got to spend my, basically my whole adult life with my best friend, hanging around doing something that we love doing. So that ended, and now we’re still hanging around cause we’re best friends, you know? So there’s no great mystery or some plan or something.”
As Lifeson explained, the hang sessions regularly evolve into jams, though that’s just one of the activities the friends enjoy.
“I go over there to his place. Sometimes we go downstairs and we play for a bit. Sometimes we just sit upstairs and drink coffee and laugh,” he remarked. “You know, it’s fun. When we play, we jam. Sometimes we play Rush songs and we realize how hard they are. So we don’t play them for very long.”
Alex Lifeson Wishes Everyone Could Have a Friend Like Geddy Lee
Since Neil Peart’s death in 2020, Lifeson has remained adamant that he doesn’t have interest in any kind of Rush reunion with Lee. To that end, these jam session are not so much about future plans together, but about appreciating the joint history he has with his friend and bandmate.
“I love the man. He means the world to me. And I love being with him,” Lifeson proclaimed of Lee. “All we’ve done for all these years, 50 plus years, almost 60 years together is laugh. It’s like 99% of the time we just laugh and it is so great and so special. And I wish the same for everybody else that they should have a friend that they could have that kind of relationship with their whole lives.”
Rush Albums Ranked
We examine Rush’s 19 studio albums, from 1974’s muscular self-titled release to a series of remarkable late-career triumphs.
In a perfect universe, Raspberries would have been huge. The group’s second single “Go All the Way” sold over a million copies in 1972, earning a gold certification. They were on a good path it seemed.
But internal issues would eventually break the Cleveland-bred group apart following 1974’s Starting Over. They had pumped out an impressive four albums in barely three years, releasing a series of additional singles like “I Wanna Be With You,” “Tonight” and “Overnight Sensation (Hit Record)” that offered a tantalizing example of the band’s songwriting talents. As music fans, we hadn’t heard the words “power pop” yet, but Raspberries were a cornerstone element of helping to define what that meant, marrying lush harmonies with a powerful guitar-driven edge that packed a satisfying musical punch.
They’d made a strong case with their music, yet it would take the world at large a few more decades before they really started to show full appreciation for Raspberries. As it happens, they’d made some famous fans along the way. In the liner notes for 2007’s Raspberries: Live on Sunset Strip, Bruce Springsteen remembered driving to Asbury Park in his pickup truck with a Raspberries cassette lodged in his tape deck. Calling them “the great underrated power pop masters,” he praised their “Beach Boys harmonies” and “crunchy Who guitars.” Running down their best-known singles, he identified “Overnight Sensation” as one that should “go down as one of the great mini rock opera masterpieces of all time.” Paul Stanley, Axl Rose and Tom Petty are among the others who have offered Raspberries praise over the years.
Listen to Raspberries’ ‘Overnight Sensation (Hit Record)’
After a reunion attempt fizzled in the late ’90s, Raspberries, featuring vocalist Eric Carmen, guitarist Wally Bryson, bassist Dave Smalley and drummer Jim Bonfanti, finally were able to reassemble. A proper reunion began in late 2004 with a hometown concert in Cleveland to celebrate the opening of the local House of Blues. Author Ken Sharp (Kiss, Cheap Trick, John Lennon and Yoko Ono) was gobsmacked by the turn of events. Though he’d written a well-received book, 1993’s Overnight Sensation: The Story of Raspberries, he’d had little hope at the time it was published that the group would ever come back together.
Sharp learned about the reunion when he made a visit to Cleveland to deliver a special hardcover edition of Marathon Man, the subsequent book he’d written about Carmen, to the singer himself. “One of the first things [the vocalist] said was, ‘You know, the band is getting back together,'” he says on the UCR Podcast. It was a moment that stunned both him and his co-author Bernie Hogya. “I’m pretty sure it was me who said, ‘What band?’ and that’s when he told us Raspberries had an offer [for a reunion]. Bernie and I were both walking on a cloud.”
The subsequent shows that followed quickly proved it had been worth the wait. The four members were joined on stage by additional players — including future Taylor Swift guitarist Paul Sidoti, a fellow Cleveland local. The added musicians, cheekily named “The Overdubs,” gave Raspberries all of the musical tools they needed to accurately reproduce the intricate and stacked arrangements of their original recordings. “A lot of reunions that happen, you kind of have to trick your ears a little bit,” he explains. “Oh, it’s pretty good. [But] with Raspberries, they overdelivered.”
2014’s Guardians of the Galaxy helped to bring the music of Raspberries to new audiences, with “Go All the Way” being one of the songs prominently featured in the movie and on the accompanying soundtrack alongside David Bowie, the Jackson 5, 10cc, the Runaways and others. It was a moment that delivered the group their first platinum album at long last. “Guardians of the Galaxy is a jumping off point for some of the newer generation,” he says. “It’s an amazing, amazing thing that just proves that what they did has a timeless quality.”
Sharp has finally made a new edition of his book available. Overnight Sensation has been long sold out and unavailable for more than three decades. Though he planned initially just to do a straight reprint, he ended up having to recreate the book from scratch after it was discovered that the original publisher had gone out of business. Working with designer Jim Horan once again, the pair expanded the book from its initial 350 pages to over 820 pages. Featuring new and expanded interviews with Raspberries and connected figures like producer Jimmy Ienner, it also includes essays from their colleagues, road crew, friends, family and band insiders. Stuffed full of rare photos, concert reviews and other ephemera, Overnight Sensation tells the Raspberries story in a lovingly comprehensive fashion. Fans can order the massive tome from Sharp directly.
So where does one begin with Raspberries once you get hooked in by the singles? For Sharp, it’s a simple answer: 1973’s Side 3. “It’s my favorite of the albums. I think Jim [Bonfanti] said this to me, possibly in the book, that he kind of wishes it was the first album,” the author explains. “I love all four records. They all have their own individual character — and I could have leaned towards Starting Over too, but I would say that Side 3 really captured, I think, what they wanted to be from the start and maybe how they sounded live. I would put up so many of these songs, ‘Tonight,’ ‘Next to See Me,’ [with] the most incredible pop songs [by other artists]. I don’t want anyone to get angry with me, but I put [those songs] on the level of ‘Go All the Way,’ with being so incredible. I would want people to start there and then investigate the other records.”
Listen to Raspberries’ ‘Tonight’
“They haven’t gotten the respect they deserve, in my opinion,” Springsteen adds in the book. With all of the power pop music you hear out there, what about the Raspberries?” The band, he says, “had at least one full album of stone cold classics.” He punctuates his thoughts with one final thing. “At the time, [they were] considered not hip, due to the fact that they had hit after hit after hit after hit, but damn, they were good.”
He often described seeing the Rolling Stones in 1964 at Surrey’s fourth annual National Jazz and Blues Festival as a life-changing experience. “I thought, ‘That looks like a good job,” Wood later told the BBC. “One day, I’m going to be in that band.”
It almost happened in 1969, when Wood said the Rolling Stones initially approached him about possibly joining in the wake of Brian Jones’s departure. Wood said Stones piano player Ian Stewart called with the offer, reaching Faces bassist Ronnie Lane. Lane told him, “Ronnie’s quite happy where he is, thanks,’ and put the phone down,” Wood told the Los Angeles Times. “I think everything is fate. If I had joined the Stones at that time, I’d probably be a total junkie.”
Besides, he was still in the Faces – and “that’s what’s really important to me,” Wood said in Mark Paytress’s Rolling Stones: Off the Record.
Wood reconnected when he co-wrote “It’s Only Rock ‘n’ Roll (But I Like It)” with Mick Jagger in December 1973, then was joined by Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Jones’ eventual successor Mick Taylor for Wood’s first solo LP, 1974’s I’ve Got My Own Album to Do. Richards made some promotional appearances with Wood for the album, as well.
By then, Taylor was exiting the lineup. Wood took part in March 1975 sessions for Black and Blue while the Rolling Stones considered a series of replacements. Among them were Peter Frampton, Jeff Beck (for whom Wood had played bass on two albums, 1969’s Truth and 1969’s Beck-Ola), Shuggie Otis, Rory Gallagher and Harvey Mandel, among others.
Listen to the Rolling Stones’ ‘Shattered’
When Did Ron Wood Join the Rolling Stones?
Wood was officially announced as Taylor’s replacement on April 14, 1975, then played his first tour with the Rolling Stones across North America before the Faces confirmed their breakup in December 1975. Stepping into Taylor’s shoes felt like destiny, but at the same time, Wood understood the assignment.
“I knew those solos in my head. I could reproduce them, with tremendous respect for Mick,” Wood told Rolling Stone. “Technically, I’m not as good a guitarist as Mick [Taylor] but the only way I can really f— up is by being too loud. That is a sore point with Keith and Mick. I’d get my guitar wrapped ’round my head by Keith.”
Unlike the others, Wood worked as a salaried employee – and that arrangement continued until the early ’90s, after Wood helped broker a shaky peace between Jagger and Richards. “I just looked at it like I was doing my apprenticeship, even though I might have been 50 years old,” Wood told The Guardian. “I was learning, but I was teaching as well: How to let go and enjoy life.”
That’s how Wood eventually came to inhabit a much different space than he had in the Faces. He was a forceful and distinctive contributor on guitar with his former group while memorably co-writing “Stay With Me” and “Ooh La La.” (He also co-wrote two of Faces bandmate Rod Stewart‘s best solo songs, “Every Picture Tells a Story” and “Gasoline Alley,” among others.) That was then.
Listen to the Rolling Stones’ ‘Undercover of the Night’
Could the Rolling Stones Have Survived With Him?
Wood did less writing in the Rolling Stones, with notable exceptions including “Dance,” “Black Limousine” and “One Hit (to the Body).” He was more nastier than Taylor, and faster than Richards. But Wood rarely stepped forward outside of rare solo turns for songs like “Undercover of the Night,” “Shattered,” “Hey Negrita,” “Neighbours,” “Terrifying” and “Saint of Me.” Instead, he often occupied a new role as a fearlessly instinctive rhythm player in and around Richards’ more prominent lines.
More importantly, he served as a fire extinguisher for the combustible Jagger and Richards. “During the Dirty Work days [in the late-’80s], that was a really bad time. I got them through that,” Wood told The Guardian. “I’d be like, ‘You stay near the phone. I’m going to get him on the phone and I’ll ring you back.'”
As with performances where he weaved his way through Richards’ parts, “I knew when to step in – and I instinctively know when to get out of their way,” Wood told Rolling Stone. “But it’s all about keeping that institution – the Rolling Stones – going: ‘Whether you like it or not, you guys are going to have to patch it up, or forget everything.'”
Rolling Stones Album Art: The Stories Behind 27 Famous LP Covers
The Rolling Stones’ album art tells the band’s story as well as any song.
Spin Doctors frontman Chris Barron said he was high on weed during the entirety of the band’s most successful years.
He reported that he only stopped when he became a single parent to his daughter as he looked back on the ebbs and flows of his band’s big era in the ‘90s.
“I was baked outta my mind high 24/7, man,” Barron told Rolling Stone in a new interview. “I was high from the age of, like, 14 to 30. I stopped when my daughter was born.
“I wasn’t together with her mom. And I had this epiphany of like, ‘If I’m getting high all the time, this is an avenue for my kid to be taken away from me.’”
He added: “I think nowadays I would’ve been medicated, on antidepressants. … That was me taking care of my head, you know, and trying to quiet down the voices in my head.”
As they tried to achieve success, the Spin Doctors found themselves placed head-to-head against Pearl Jam by their mutual label, Epic. “I still can’t listen to Pearl Jam,” Barron admitted.”You’d go to the record store; it’d be a big Pearl Jam display and one copy of our record. It was maddening.”
He recalled that his band’s biggest hit, “Two Princes,” came out of a phone call when he was 19. “I ran into the big brother of a guy I grew up with … I was like, ‘I just got a phone call at work from this chick I like.’ He’s like, ‘Oh, just go ahead now.’
“And I was like, ‘But I think she might be mad at me.’ And he was like, ‘Oh, well just go ahead now’ … He just kept saying, ‘Go ahead now, go ahead with it.’ And I just went home and I was like, ‘Go ahead now,’ and that was it. And now I’ll never have to work a normal job again!”
How the Spin Doctors Fell From Grace
The band fell from grace when they chose “Cleopatra’s Cat” as the lead single for their second album. “We got too fucking cute,” Barron reflected. ”That was a funny call, but I was really young … I just kinda, like, went along.”
The Spin Doctors have just released Face Full of Cake, their first album in 12 years, which was produced by Phish bassist Mike Gordon. Barron explained: “Mike is like, ‘You guys have, like, 350 million plays on Spotify — that’s crazy. And we’re like, ‘You guys do 13 nights at Madison Square Garden!’”
The singer admitted that lifestyle once appealed to him, but it didn’t any more. “I live in a two-bedroom apartment in New York City. Drive my Subaru. Got a 26-year-old daughter. I’m super-happily married. I got two cats.
“And I get to sing ‘Two Princes,’ which is a really good fucking song, man. And ‘Little Miss Can’t be Wrong.’ I love singing those tunes. People go nuts when we play them.”
Top 100 ’90s Rock Albums
Any discussion of the Top 100 ’90s Rock Albums will have to include some grunge, and this one is no different.
Feature Photo: Columbia Records: Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Firesign Field Guide: Listening to the Future from the PastA guide for the bewildered, the bozos, and the brave
The Firesign Theatre were not just a comedy troupe—they were sonic alchemists, cultural critics, and prophets of media overload. Active from the late 1960s through the early 2000s, they created surreal, densely layered audio dramas that challenged perception, satirized authority, and gleefully twisted the American psyche into knots of laughter and confusion. Listening to Firesign isn’t passive; it’s an act of exploration.
The group consisted of four core writer-performers: Peter Bergman, Philip Proctor, Phil Austin, and David Ossman. Bergman was widely regarded as the conceptual architect of the troupe, though all four members contributed equally to the writing and performing. Their name — Firesign Theatre — was a tongue-in-cheek reference to the fact that all four were born under the astrological fire signs of Aries (Austin), Leo (Proctor), and Sagittarius (Bergman and Ossman)
To a new listener, their work might feel like wandering into a dream with the TV on in the background—half news, half commercial, all strange. But give it time, give it headphones, and let yourself get lost. You’re in good company.
Essential Albums
How Can You Be in Two Places at Once When You’re Not Anywhere at All – (1969)
A two-part experience: one half featuring the surreal exploits of Babe (in a car dealership turned Cold War fever dream), and the other half introducing detective Nick Danger in a parody of old radio noir. It’s a brilliant entry point into their warped reality.
Don’t Crush That Dwarf, Hand Me the Pliers – (1970)
Often considered their masterpiece, this album follows aging actor George Tirebiter as he flips through channels of his own life. A satire on media, memory, and the American Dream, it’s packed with recurring motifs and looping logic.
I Think We’re All Bozos on This Bus (1971)
Set in a futuristic theme park run by malfunctioning computers and automated politicians. Clem, our unlikely hero, poses the fatal question: “Why does the porridge bird lay his egg in the air?” A devastatingly prescient look at technology, politics, and control. A Frank Zappa favorite.
Waiting for the Electrician or Someone Like Him (1968)
Their first major release, showcasing their early form—absurdist radio plays, international misadventures, and a darkly comic dystopia in the final act (Covid-19 with a twist). A signpost of where they were headed.
The Giant Rat Of Sumatra (1974)
A tour de force of multi leveled puns and a hilarious spoof on Sherlock Holmes. In this case it’s Hemlock Stones taking the lead. The lightning back and forth dialog is akin to jazz musicians playing off one another. A polished offering making full use of the recording studio and bringing the listener into an absurd Victorian soundscape.
Everything You Know Is Wrong (1974)
A direct spoof of New Age mysticism, UFO cults, and conspiracy theory culture. This one feels especially relevant today, in an age of internet rabbit holes and epistemic chaos. “Dig a hole deep enough and everyone will wanna jump in.”
In The Next World You’re On Your Own (1975)
Primarily written by Ossman and Austin but also including contributions by Proctor and Bergman. This 70’s cop show / soap opera / game show / night at the Oscars / baseball played by insects is a tight work that truly pulls the listener into an alternate universe where TV and reality become one. Sit back and enjoy the ride. Don’t worry about the bars in the police car, they are for your protection.
Eat Or Be Eaten (1985)
This is the first CD to be released with CD+G graphics. Though only three of the four members appear on the disc, it still retains the FST absurdity and use of satire to explore video game obsession and popular TV commercials and trends in the 1980s.
Give Me Immortality or Give Me Death (1998)
A Grammy nominated come back centered around the then dubious Y2K threat and the identity loss of terrestrial radio with it’s superficial minute by minute change of format. A very melancholy, funny and witty homage to the end of the 20th Century.
Boom Dot Bust (1999)
Another Grammy nominated work that is set in the heartland town of Billville. The residents are all named Bill, and there’s a long history of natural disasters and lynching politicians and a Martha Stewart spoof.
Bride of Firesign (2001)
The final Firesign Theatre work which brings back recurring characters from the 70’s: Nick Danger, Peorgie, Mudhead, Ray Hamberger, Harold Hiphugger, Ralph Spoilsport, Bebop Loco, Rocky Rococo, Lt. Bradshaw. A very self referential CD with private eye Nick Danger in a noirish, tongue-in-cheek “L-O-S- T G-A-L-S” and explores subjects like biogenetics and stem-cell research.
Recurring Themes
Media Saturation and Simulation Firesign saw the rise of a world where reality is mediated through screens and voices. Their characters flip channels, live inside ads, and can’t distinguish memory from media.
Paranoia and Bureaucracy Their worlds are filled with malfunctioning systems, senseless paperwork, and overlords who speak in slogans. Everyone’s a cog, but no one knows what machine they’re in.
Fractured Identity Who are we when media, politics, and consumerism are constantly reshaping our minds? Firesign lets characters split, double, and contradict themselves—mirroring the disorientation of modern life.
Surrealism and Wordplay Puns, malapropisms, loops, and language games abound. Firesign creates dream logic: it makes sense while you’re in it, but try explaining it to someone and you’ll sound insane.
Studio Sorcery
The Firesign Theatre treated the studio as a tool for storytelling, layering voices, music, sound effects, and dialogue into rich audio environments. Their albums were made for headphones, long before that was a thing. They pioneered the use of multi-track recording for narrative comedy, doing for spoken word what The Beatles did for pop.
Their producer, engineer, and creative partner Fred Jones was integral to this process, as was the group’s insistence on writing and performing for the tape, not just the stage. They built complex worlds you could walk around in with your ears.
Deep Cuts and Hidden Gems
Nick Danger: Third Eye
A standalone classic. Noir parody with layers of ridiculousness and unforgettable one-liners: “I had just finished shaving a customer when she came in.”
Dear Friends / Let’s Eat
Their radio shows, compiled and remixed for LP. Looser than the studio albums but full of brilliant sketches, musical bits, and weird interstitials.
TV and Live – Occasional appearances on public TV and stage shows showcase their improvisational roots and performance skills.
Solo albums tackling holograms, noir roller maidens and the then burgeoning enterprise of cable TV.
Phil Austin : Roller Maidens from Outta Space (1974)
David Ossman : How Time Flys (1974)
Proctor and Bergman : TV Or Not TV (1973)
How to Listen (Now)
Use headphones. Firesign is stereo sorcery.
Start with Bozos or Dwarf. They’re strange, but accessible.
Listen more than once. Layers reveal themselves.
Relax into the confusion. The jokes often come back around.
Try with friends. Firesign is great for stoners, thinkers, and late-night philosophers.
Firesign Lives On
Though two of the troupe’s members have passed on, (Peter Bergman and Phil Austin), their work remains strikingly relevant. Remaining members David Ossman and Phillip Proctor sill keep the Firesign absurdity alive on facebook. In a world of algorithmic truths, AI voices, fake news, and bureaucratic absurdity, Firesign’s warnings feel like prophecies.
Their DNA lives on in shows like Welcome to Night Vale, Rick and Morty, Mystery Theater 3000, and countless audio dramas and podcasts that blend reality and fiction. But few do it with the elegance, density, or wit of Firesign.
So yes—we’re all bozos on this bus. But thanks to the Firesign Theatre, we know the route is weird, the driver is asleep, and the PA system is lying to us. And somehow, that makes the ride worthwhile.
![Paradox [Rare]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51IZXI0fD4L._SL500_.jpg)
