Classic Albums - Episode Guide

Since its 1986 release this album, with its blend of Western sounds and African rhythms, changed the course of rock music. Featuring interviews with Paul Simon and composer Philip Glass.

The musical progression of hippie band the Grateful Dead from their moderately successful second album, 1968's Anthem of the Sun, to the more commercial LP American Beauty released in 1970. Featuring interviews with band members, including Jerry Garcia , and David Crosby.

Already established as a musical genius, Stevie Wonder spent over two years making this album which was finally released in 1976. Featuring interviews with Stevie Wonder, Berry Gordy , Quincy Jones , Herbie Hancock.

When other groups were creating a generic hippy sound the Band were in Woodstock developing their own special style. Features interviews with Band members as well as admirers such as George Harrison , Don Was and Eric Clapton.

In 1968, with his career at a crossroads, Jimi Hendrix went to New York to record this album. It was to be the last official LP Hendrix made with his group the Experience.

Concluding the first series of programmes examining some of rock music's classicalbums. Released in 1977, Rumours has sold in excess of 25 million copies and is still the fourth largest-selling album ever. The LP was recorded when Fleetwood Mac were on a musical high, but enduring a personal low. The two couples within the group, Stevie Nicks and Lindsay Buckingham and Christine and John McVie-were splitting up. The programme features interviews with the five band members and footage of the group playing live in concert.

'Joshua Tree' elevated U2 to superstar status internationally, and confirmed their position as one of rock's most influential and powerful forces. Here we examine the making of the album with the four group members, along with producers Brian Eno, Steve Lillywhite, and Daniel Lanois. Elvis Costello is also on hand to lend friendly comments.

Phil's first solo album, which launched his career outside of Genesis, is examined here. Engineer Hugh Padgham peels the layers of sound back, and Phil explains how the lyrics to many of the songs wrote themselves as he was going through a bitter divorce. Tony Banks, Mike Rutherford, and Darrell Stuermer are on hand, and many of the studio musicians who contributed are seen as they describe working with Phil.

In 1977, Marvin Lee Aday, aka Meat Loaf, shocked the music world by releasing this 30 million-selling blockbuster. Previously little-known as an actor and singer, he hooked up with writer Jim Steinman, producer Todd Rundgren, and vocalists Ellen Foley and Carla Devito, to create one of the top five sellers of all time. Kasim Sultan and Max Weinberg, who also played on the album are heard from, and Todd isolates some of the masters to show how the sounds were created.

Producer Chris Blackwell is the main focus of this episode, as he recounts bringing in some top American session men to the studio, in an attempt to break Bob Marley to the US audiences. Wailer Peter Tosh, and instrumentalists Wayne Perkins and Rabbit Bundrick are interviewed, and we see some rare clips of Bob himself.

Donald Fagen and Walter Becker delve into the master tapes to discuss the year-long effort that went into this, their biggest album. Well known as perfectionists in the studio, this labour of love is dissected layer by layer. Producer Gary Katz and engineer Roger Nichols help explain the craft and detail that the Dan, along with Michael McDonald and the session players, spent on the Grammy-winning jazz-rock classic.

Iron Maiden has been both criticized and praised for their unforgiving presentation of hard rock. This album took them to worldwide stardom, and awoke accusations of backward masking, subliminal messages, and Satanism. Producer Martin Birch dissects the master tapes with the five band members, who discuss the writing and recording of each song, while looking for the 'hidden' elements.

Elton John, along with some of his past and present band members discuss the creation of his opus, 'Goodbye, Yellow Brick Road'. Producer Gus Dudgeon and engineer David Henschel pull up some of the original multi-tracks, and demonstrate how the music was played and sang. Bernie Taupin is also on hand to describe his lyric writing, and some rare footage of rehearsals, and photos shot in the studio, are presented.

Metallica's 12 million selling breakthrough album is examined in depth. Taped at One on One Studios, where it was recorded, Producer Bob Rock, along with all four band members, discuss the making of each song, and how they polished their sound to command a wider audience.

Co-produced by David Bowie and Mick Ronson, this 1972 landmark album took Lou Reed from cult idol to glam superstar status. Here Reed examines each track, discussing with engineer Ken Scott the creation process. Bassist Herbie Flowers shows us how the riff for 'Walk On The Wild Side' was recorded, and we see some archives of Lou's performances.

The debut album of the King is examined here. It was the first million-selling rock album, and the first million-selling popular music album for RCA. We hear from some of the producers and musicians who contributed, and each track is discussed in depth. Five of the songs were taken from Elvis' Sun Sessions, and Sam Phillips is on hand to discuss those sessions. Elvis' version of Carl Perkins' classic, 'Blue Suede Shoes' is dissected, and his first smash single, 'Heartbreak Hotel', is included, though not originally on the album.

The metal classic 'British Steel' is examined here. The band, minus drummer Dave Holland, explain the songwriting process and lyrical ideas, interspersed with live footage of performances from that period. Producer Tom Allom demonstrates how the sound effects were achieved, and the two guitarists show how their 'trademark' twin guitar sound is generated.

The Sex Pistols only released one album before breaking up, but it set off the punk movement, and turned the British music industry on its head. Featuring interviews with John Lydon (Johnny Rotten), Steve Jones and Paul Cook, plus original bassist Glen Matlock, along with producer Chris Thomas, Classic Albums looks at the way it was written and recorded. Also shown is some rare television footage from that time, and some concert performances by the groundbreaking band.

The 1972 early metal classic is examined here. After a brief recount of Deep Purple's history prior, all five members of the group from that time recount the making of the album, and Jon Lord, Richie Blackmore, and Roger Glover isolate some of their parts, and play along live. Engineer Martin Birch also lends a hand, describing how the instrumental sounds were produced.

Def Leppard labored for more than a year to record this, their follow-up to 'Pyromania'. Producer Mutt Lange and the group describe track by track what went into the writing, rehearsing, and recording. Layers are peeled away at the mixing board as we see and hear how their vocal sound, guitar effects, and drums are engineered. Also, they play acoustic versions of two of their biggest hits from the record. As a bonus, an early rendition of 'Love Bites', which thankfully was given a complete overhaul, is presented.

Enter the debauched, anarchic world of Motorhead, who injected punk energy into rock 'n' roll, creating one of the headbangers' dirtiest and toughest albums ever. Featuring contributions from Lemmy, Phil Taylor, Eddie Clarke and Metallica's Lars Ulrich. (BBC Two)

Interviews and archive footage are combined to identify the driving forces behind the hit songs of the hugely popular album Stars. With contributions from Simply Red front man Mick Hucknall , plus band members of the time, including guitarist Heitor Teixeira Pereira and keyboard player Fritz Mclntyre.(BBC Two)

The Seattle grunge/alternative rock trio's breakthrough album is examined here. With this recording, Nirvana changed the direction of rock music in general, and made industry executives take notice, and rethink what type of music could be commercially viable. Surviving members Kris Novocelik and Dave Grohl take us through the tracks, along with producer Butch Vig. Included is a segment on Kurt Cobain's life and career.

An insight into the making of the exemplary 1975 LP that propelled them to superstardom. The musicianship that went into one of rock's premier achievements is examined. Surviving members Brian May and Roger Taylor talk about Freddie Mercury's contributions, and producer Roy Thomas Baker shows us some isolated channels from the master tapes. Also commentary from Joe Perry and Ian Hunter is included. (BBC Two)

Exclusive interviews with band members feature in a programme to commemorate the 30th anniversary of this legendary Pink Floyd album. Engineers Chris Thomas and Alan Parsons peel layers off the master tapes from this 1973 masterpiece. The songs are dissected methodically, and Roger Waters, David Gilmour, Nick Mason, and Rick Wright are on hand, (though separately), to demonstrate how simplistic some of the writing was. (BBC Two)

Interviews with Roger Daltrey, Pete Townshend and the late John Entwhistle who reminisce about the failed attempt to present a rock musical stage show called Lifehouse and how the project evolved into the 1971 classic Who's Next. Some archival footage is presented, and we are shown by Pete how he developed the synthesized keyboard riffs that gave sonic charges to the album.

A pivotal moment in the development of heavy rock, Cream's 1967 album saw them transformed from blues-based revivalists to psychedelic rock heroes. Ginger Baker, Jack Bruce, and Eric Clapton are interviewed in the studio for a track by track analysis. Each of them play acoustically, including Bruce on the piano, and some archival footage is presented. Lyricist Peter Brown discusses the creative process for 'Sunshine Of Your Love'. (BBC Two)

Covering both albums as they were recorded about the same time, with the same musicians in the same style, and feature Zappa at his most accessible. Dweezil Zappa is at the studio console to examine the many layers of tracks, and along with some live vintage concert footage we hear from Alice Cooper, Billy Bob Thornton and members of the band.

Brooklyn-born Jay-Z is one of the most successful and creative hip-hop artists of all time. His remarkable rise to fame was heralded by his first album Reasonable Doubt, released in 1996, which broke new ground for rap, telling the bittersweet story of a street hustler from Brooklyn with striking, coded lyrics supported by rich soul samples. The programme uncovers the unusual story of how and why Reasonable Doubt was made, and the moral maze its story presents. Jay-Z collaborated with many major producers, like DJ Premier, Irv Gotti, Clark Kent, Knobody Sean Cane and Ski who show how they created their soulful samples.

Other contributors include Mary J Blige, Foxy Brown, Sauce Money and Memphis Bleek, Kanye West and Barry Michael Cooper, who analyse the inner core of the album - the voices, rhythms, lyrics and conflicting emotions that make this album a classic. The programme uses new interviews, rare performance footage and home movies and featured songs include Can't Knock the Hustle, 'Ain't No N..., Brooklyn's Finest, Dead Presidents II, D'Evils, Can I Live, Regrets and others. Reasonable Doubt is the one Jay-Z chose to be his Classic Album because of the power of its music and poetry and because of the disturbing and precautionary story it tells.

The Doors' eponymous debut album alone assures them a place in rock and roll history. Together with the voice and lyrics of Jim Morrison this mix of blues, rock and jazz has made it one of the greatest debuts ever. In less than a year after its release, the Doors would go from Los Angeles favourites to one of the biggest bands in the world.

With the use of interviews, musical demonstration, rare archive footage and live performances, the documentary tells the story behind the conception and recording of the album and the creation of their distinctive trademark sound, and charts the transition of Jim Morrison from reticent vocalist to one of the most electrifying and sexually-charged performers in rock music.

Ray Manzarek, Robbie Krieger and John Densmore, the surviving members of the Doors, share memories of the band's early days and the making of the album, and throw light on to living with the lyrical genius Jim Morrison.

Other contributors include manager Bill Siddons, beat poet Michael McClure, record company guru Jac Holzman, musicians Henry Rollins and Perry Farrell and Los Angeles DJ Jim Ladd, who add insight to the Doors as musicians, composers and leaders of a generation.

Bruce Botnick, the engineer on every Doors album, examines the original multi-track tapes and gives a guide through the recording process of such classic songs as Break on Through, Light My Fire, End of the Night, Alabama Song, The Crystal Ship, Back Door Man, Soul Kitchen and The End.

Series looking at the creation of classic albums documents the making of John Lennon's 1970 first post-Beatles solo album. Regarded as a classic, it is a fierce, raw, emotionally painful yet beautiful album. It contains some of the most personal and cathartic songs John ever wrote including Mother, Love, Working Class Hero , Isolation and God.

Drawing from his painful and difficult early life, the songs address the basic issues of death, isolation, anger, religion, class, fear and love. Most of them were written while John and Yoko were undergoing primal therapy with Dr Arthur Janov at his centre in California to deal with the root causes of their pain and neuroses.

In 1981, Duran Duran leapt into the limelight with two hit singles and their first album, but it was the follow-up, Rio, which catapulted the band to global success.

Against a backdrop of Thatcher's Britain, with riots, record unemployment and the Falklands conflict, Duran Duran released this optimistic, celebratory and uniquely visual album. Rio would go on to become one of the most successful albums of the 1980s and paved the way for Duran Duran to become one of the world's biggest bands.

The programme tells the story behind the writing, recording and subsequent success of Rio through interviews, musical demonstrations and archive footage. Original band members Simon Le Bon, Nick Rhodes, John Taylor and Roger Taylor are interviewed along with director Russell Mulcahy, former manager Paul Berrow, journalist Beverley Glick, designer Anthony Price and Bob Geldof amongst others.

Rio captures Duran Duran at the height of their powers, with wall-to-wall hits and great videos.

The second album by Black Sabbath, released in 1970, has long attained classic status. Paranoid not only changed the face of rock music, but also defined the sound and style of heavy metal more than any other record in rock history. The result of a magic chemistry which had been discovered between four English musicians, it put Black Sabbath firmly on the road to world domination.

This programme tells the story behind the writing, recording and success of the album. Despite vilification from the Christian and moral right and all the harsh criticism that the music press could hurl at them, Paranoid catapulted Sabbath into the rock stratosphere.

Using exclusive interviews, musical demonstration, archive footage and a return to the multi-tracks with engineer Tom Allom, the film reveals how Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward created their frighteningly dark, heavy and ear-shatteringly loud sound.

Additional comments from Phil Alexander (MOJO & Kerrang! editor), Geoff Barton (Classic Rock editor), Henry Rollins (writer/musician) and Jim Simpson (original manager) add insight to the creation of this all-time classic.

Keith Richards discusses the Rolling Stones' 1969 release with Roger Scott.

This edition of the series celebrates the 50th anniversary of the release of Brian Wilson's masterpiece, the Beach Boys' album Pet Sounds. Wilson and the surviving members of the Beach Boys - Mike Love, Al Jardine, Bruce Johnston and David Marks - guide us through the writing and recording of the landmark album that is consistently voted one of the top three most influential albums of all time.

Featuring exclusive interviews, classic archive and rare studio outtakes from the recording sessions, the film tells the story of the creation of the record that cemented the Beach Boys' reputation as a leading force to rival the Beatles, and Brian Wilson as a songwriting genius.

The third album by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, released in 1979, has long been regarded as a classic and demonstrates the musical and songwriting virtuosity of a great frontman and his amazing backing band. A mix of rootsy American rock 'n' roll and the best of the British invasion, of jangling Byrds guitars and Stones-like rhythms, Damn the Torpedoes was the album that took Petty into the major league and redefined American rock.

This programme tells the story behind the conception and recording of the album and how it transformed the band's career. Using interviews, musical demonstration, acoustic performance, archive footage and a return to the multi-tracks with the main protagonists, it shows how Petty, Mike Campbell, Benmont Tench, Ron Blair and Stan Lynch created their songs and sounds with the help of co-producer Jimmy Iovine and engineer Shelly Yakus. Additional comments from journalists and other producers and musicians help tell the story and put the album into its rightful place in rock history.

Recorded in secrecy at a time when the band was fighting for creative independence amidst a legal wrangle with their record company, the album is imbued with an anger and a gutsy attitude the situation had created. Many songs from the album are still played live and form an important part of Petty's body of work, including Refugee, Here Comes My Girl, Even the Losers, Shadow of a Doubt, Louisiana Rain, Century City and top ten hit Don't Do Me Like That.

Damn the Torpedoes hit number two in the US for seven weeks, initially selling over 2.5 million copies, and launched Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers onto the world stage and into superstar territory, standing as one of the great records of the late 70s and early 80s.

Canadian rockers Rush reflect on their two most famous albums while charting the ups and downs of their bumpy ride to rock glory.

Primal Scream's seminal album Screamadelica was released in 1991, and synthesized the band's rock 'n' roll roots with the dance culture of that time; for many, the album's sound and imagery came to be regarded as quintessential symbols of the acid house era, perfectly catching the spirit and mood of the early 90s.

Using rare archive footage and special performances, this film tells the story of Screamadelica and its hit singles and dance anthems Loaded, Movin' On Up, Come Together and Don't Fight It, Feel It. From the formation of the band in Glasgow to winning the first-ever Mercury prize, the band members explain the record's inception with insights from main producer Andrew Weatherall, Creation Records founder Alan McGee and many others involved with or inspired by this joyful record.

Screamadelica both defines a generation and transcends its time, and is a true Classic Album.

With the release of So in 1986, Peter Gabriel achieved a level of success that had thus far eluded him. Gabriel famously started out leading Genesis, but his four albums of solo work had made him the definition of a cult artist, with flashes that broke through such as Solsbury Hill and Games Without Frontiers. His fifth album, the first not to be titled Peter Gabriel, changed everything and became a massive hit on both sides of the Atlantic.

So includes the singles Don't Give Up, Big Time, Red Rain, In Your Eyes and Sledgehammer, the latter reaching number one in the USA, ironically knocking Genesis's Invisible Touch off the top spot.

The R&B/soul inspired Sledgehammer was propelled to the top by a much-celebrated stop-motion music video, which won numerous awards and set a new standard for art in the music video industry.

By returning to the original multi-tracks, along with musical demonstrations and rare archive footage, we discover how Gabriel's melodic ability to blend African music, jangly pop and soul created a classic.

So stands as one of the greatest records of the 1980s, helping define its time to become a true classic album. The film features interviews with Gabriel himself, co-producer Daniel Lanois, bass players Tony Levin and Larry Klein, performer Laurie Anderson, drummer Manu Katché and Rolling Stone editor David Fricke amongst others.

Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey discuss making The Who's fourth album, "Tommy."

Carly Simon is one of the most influential singer-songwriters of her generation. The classic album that made her a global star was No Secrets, which included the enigmatic song You're So Vain. The album spent five weeks at number one in the US chart. In this new interview Carly ties together her life and work on No Secrets - she is at her most honest, sometimes defiant, but with a wit and wisdom that comes from her rich and turbulent life.

The story of Don McLean's second album American Pie. Crowned by its titular overture and the song Vincent, McLean's equally moving tribute to Van Gogh, American Pie is a classic of the folk-rock genre, earning it's place alongside Carole King's Tapestry, Joni Mitchell's Blue and Neil Young's After The Goldrush as one of the landmark singer-songwriter LPs of 1971. Don McLean features in extensive new interviews, discussing the intricacies of his songs, the sometimes fraught recording process, and the album's legacy.

Series looking at the creation of some classic rock albums looks at Amy Winehouse's second album Back To Black from 2006 and how it transformed the beehived girl from north London into a global star, with hits like Rehab, the title track and Love Is A Losing Game. Back to Black helped launch a wave of soul-influenced British chanteuses including Adele and Duffy and has since sold over 20 million copies.

This film reveals Amy Winehouse the artist, focusing firmly on her lyrics, influences and vocal talents. Using unseen footage from the Miami and New York sessions and rarely seen archive of Amy in interview and performance, producers Mark Ronson and Salaam Remi and their respective musicians shine a light into the making of Back to Black and offer their firsthand accounts of Amy's genius and her emotional turmoil.

Featuring producers Mark Ronson and Salaam Remi, the Dap-Kings band, Amy's colleagues and friends, Island president and A&R director Darcus Beese and Ronnie Spector.

When lanky and bespectacled 20-year-old Texan singer Buddy Holly walked into the independent studio of producer Norman Petty in February 1957, he thought he'd come to make some demos to save his already failing music career as a two-flop wonder. By the time he had left the next morning, he had recorded not only his first million-selling smash - the immortal That'll Be the Day - but the beginnings of one of the first, and greatest, rock 'n' roll albums of all time – The 'Chirping' Crickets.

Documentary that explores the creation of the seminal, second album by Tears for Fears. Songs from the Big Chair took the gothic synth-pop foundations of the band and combined them with arena-ready anthems, leading to critical acclaim and three international hit singles, Mothers Talk, Shout and Everybody Wants to Rule the World.

This documentary, made with the full cooperation of the band, explores how the album was recorded and how the band left their indelible imprint on new wave music.

An in-depth look at the acclaimed concept album by the iconic rockers, first released in 1967.

Released in 1989 and featuring hits such as Keep On Movin' and Back To Life, this is a look at Soul II Soul's triple platinum album.

The 1996 Mercury Prize nominated album from the British alt-rock band comes under the microscope.

A look at what made the first album from the highly influential soul and jazz musician so unique and inspiring when it was first released in 1971.

A look at the American rockers' fifth studio album. It saw them return to their blues-rock style and earned them their highest charting album in the UK.

The debut album from The Mothers Of Invention comes under the microscope. It won the Grammy Hall of Fame Award and gained a cult following in the U.S.