Shows / Dave's Side One
Dave's Side One
Talk about music, vinyl, classic rock, classic jazz, and whatever else comes to mind. Hosted by one of the founders of Art of Listening Records - Dave Gwilliam. https://artoflisteningrecords.com https://www.discogs.com/seller/artoflistening/profile
Episodes
- Dave's Side One
An Album Doesn't Owe You a Good Time | Neil Young — On the Beach
What if the reason this record makes you uncomfortable is exactly the reason it works? Dave takes a physical copy of Neil Young — On the Beach off the shelf…
- Dave's Side One
A Catchy Pop Song Can Be Smarter Than It Sounds | France Gall — Poupée de cire, poupée de son
A seventeen-year-old won Eurovision with a song about being a manufactured pop star. Still think catchy means shallow? Dave takes a physical copy of France…
- Dave's Side One
The Biggest Voice Doesn't Always Get the Solo Career She Deserves
Everybody remembers Mama Cass. But how many people have really listened to Cass Elliot? On today's episode, Dave takes a physical copy of Cass Elliot — The…
- Dave's Side One
A Great Album Doesn't Have to Be Consistent
If a new band released this album today, would we call them brilliant—or tell them to pick a lane? On this episode of Dave’s Side One, Dave takes a physical…
- Dave's Side One
Your Stereo Is Part of the Performance
Today Dave brings The Alan Parsons Project’s I Robot back to the turntable, not to repeat an earlier conversation, but to listen in a new way. Playback…
- Dave's Side One
What Happens When the Drums Don’t Sound Like Drums?
Today Dave brings Peter Gabriel’s Security to the turntable to listen in a new way. Percussion can create a sonic environment instead of simply marking time…
- Dave's Side One
Why the Ending Feels Earned
Today Dave brings Rush’s Permanent Waves back to the turntable, not to repeat an earlier conversation, but to listen in a new way. Contrasting sections of a…
- Dave's Side One
The Guitar Solo That Tells a Story
Today Dave brings Eagles’s Hotel California back to the turntable, not to repeat an earlier conversation, but to listen in a new way. The closing guitar…
- Dave's Side One
The Instrument That Doesn’t Sound Human
Today Dave brings Led Zeppelin’s Houses of the Holy back to the turntable, not to repeat an earlier conversation, but to listen in a new way. Studio treatment…
- Dave's Side One
Two Songs That Became One
Today Dave brings The Cars’ The Cars to the turntable Two consecutive tracks can form one listening memory without becoming one composition. THE LISTENING…
- Dave's Side One
When Does the Song Actually Begin?
When Does the Song Actually Begin? Today Dave brings Supertramp’s Even in the Quietest Moments... back to the turntable, not to repeat an earlier conversation…
- Dave's Side One
The Music I Heard Before I Chose My Own
Today’s record is The Best of Al Hirt. The Best of Al Hirt (1965) played constantly in Dave’s childhood home. The album is the doorway; the memory is the…
- Dave's Side One
The Weight Room Had a Soundtrack
Today’s record is The Wall by Pink Floyd. In senior year 1979–80, The Wall was the soundtrack in the high-school weight room. Further details about who chose…
- Dave's Side One
The Album I Still Can’t Finish
Today’s record is Raised on Radio by Journey. Dave still struggles to finish Raised on Radio; it felt closer to a Steve Perry solo record than the Journey he…
- Dave's Side One
An Eight-Track in My Parents’ Station Wagon
Today’s record is Man of Miracles by Styx. In 1978 Dave listened to Man of Miracles on eight-track while riding to and from school in his parents’ station…
- Dave's Side One
The Box of Records That Never Made It Home
Today’s record is Kind of Blue by Miles Davis. During the 2006 move from Texas to Utah a box of vintage jazz records disappeared, including an early Kind of…
- Dave's Side One
The Record I Couldn’t Bring Home
Today’s record is Alive! by KISS. When Alive! was new, Dave worried about his parents’ reaction. He listened at friends’ houses and still does not own a copy…
- Dave's Side One
The Night We Took On “Tom Sawyer”
Today’s record is Moving Pictures by Rush. 1981 University of Utah Mayfest Dave’s band tackled Tom Sawyer, believed they might have been first local cover…
- Dave's Side One
The Album I Recommend Isn’t My Favorite Album
Dave’s favorite Triumph album is Just a Game, but it is not the record he would recommend first to a new listener. That job goes to Allied Forces. This episode…
- Dave's Side One
Knowing the Part Isn’t the Same as Knowing What Makes It Work
Joe Walsh’s “Rocky Mountain Way” sounds direct because the record makes its choices feel inevitable. The recognizable riff is only one layer. Attack, space…
- Dave's Side One
A Band’s Voice Isn’t Always the Singer
Before a vocalist sings a single word on Toto’s 1978 debut, “Child’s Anthem” has already established a recognizable musical identity. This episode expands the…
- Dave's Side One
Side Two Doesn’t Have to Beat Side One
Side One of Pat Benatar’s Crimes of Passion is undeniably powerful, but Dave rarely skips anything on the album. In this episode, he argues that Side Two does…
- Dave's Side One
You Can Love an Album and Still Skip a Song
Dave loves Styx’s Cornerstone—and regularly skips “Babe” and “First Time.” In this episode Dave asks whether loving an album really requires unconditional…
- Dave's Side One
Sometimes the Best Song Is the One That Doesn’t Belong
“Sweet Virginia” changes the atmosphere of Exile on Main St., and that is exactly why Dave loves it. Dave challenges the idea that album cohesion requires…
- Dave's Side One
What Does a Band Owe You After a Huge Album?
After Rumours, Fleetwood Mac could have made the safest follow-up imaginable. Instead, Tusk challenged the very idea of what a successful band should do next…
- Dave's Side One
The Record Collection That Showed Me What a Record Collection Could Be
In 1979-1980, Dave spent time in the basement of his friend Wendy's house, where her father had a B&O stereo, JBL speakers, and an estimated 2,500 to 3,000…
- Dave's Side One
The Concert He Didn’t Get to See
On April 3, 1978, 15-year-old Dave headed to the Salt Palace in Salt Lake City with friends to see Foghat. Dave J. was old enough to drive. Brian was a tobacco…
- Dave's Side One
My Oldest Child Was Born With Columbia House Debt
Teenage Dave wanted records faster than his budget could provide them, and Columbia House and RCA Record Club offered a tempting solution. One legitimate…
- Dave's Side One
The Album I Had to Grow Into
For years, Elton John's Blue Moves felt dark to Dave in a way he couldn't quite connect with. He no longer remembers exactly how the album entered his…
- Dave's Side One
The Album I Learned to Impress a Girl
During his junior year in 1978-79, Dave wanted to impress a girl in his friend group. When he learned that she was a serious Billy Joel fan, he borrowed a…
- Dave's Side One
The Music I Wasn’t Supposed to Like
Dave's relationship with the Carpenters goes back to fifth-grade choir in 1972, when the class sang "We've Only Just Begun." While the other boys supplied the…
- Dave's Side One
The Record That Cost Me More Than Money
In 1979, on a high-school band and orchestra trip to Arizona, Dave walked into a record store near the ASU campus with a very limited budget and one purchase…
- Dave's Side One
The Metronome Doesn't Tell You How Fast a Song Feels
Dave uses Standing Hampton to explore perceived momentum versus measured tempo. Choose two tracks that feel different in speed. Before checking any BPM…
- Dave's Side One
When Does a Long Song Earn Its Length?
Dave uses Love Over Gold as a listening laboratory. The question is not whether the album deserves a higher ranking; it is whether changing where we place our…
- Dave's Side One
The Audience Is on the Record Too
Dave uses If You Want Blood You've Got It to explore the audience as part of a live musical event. Choose one track and listen once for the band. Then replay…
- Dave's Side One
Sometimes the Wrong Note Is the Right Note
Dave uses Diary of a Madman to explore tension, dissonance and instability. Find three moments that make your ear feel unsettled. Do not name the theory first…
- Dave's Side One
Listen to What Happens Before the Payoff
Dave uses Damn the Torpedoes to explore anticipation and setup. Choose a payoff you love - a chorus, riff, entrance or release. Rewind 20 to 30 seconds. Ignore…
- Dave's Side One
The Studio Is Playing the Song Too
Dave uses The Original Soundtrack as a listening laboratory. The question is not whether the album deserves a higher ranking; it is whether changing where we…
- Dave's Side One
The Notes Are Only Half the Music
Dave uses Bridge of Sighs as a listening laboratory. The question is not whether the album deserves a higher ranking; it is whether changing where we place our…
- Dave's Side One
Your Favorite Album Doesn't Have to Be Their Best Album
Dave closes this week with Led Zeppelin's *In Through the Out Door* and a distinction that rankings cannot capture. Wendy, a dear friend, gave Dave the album…
- Dave's Side One
Sometimes the Art of Listening test is admitting you still don't get it
Dave turns the Art of Listening test around and asks the audience for help. The Boomtown Rats, Todd Rundgren, and Lou Reed are artists he has repeatedly tried…
- Dave's Side One
Great Musicianship Doesn't Have to Call Attention to Itself
Court and Spark gives Dave a lesson in musical restraint. With players such as Larry Carlton, Joe Sample and Tom Scott supporting Joni Mitchell, the record…
- Dave's Side One
Changing Producers Doesn't Mean Losing Your Identity
America's Holiday begins the band's six-album run with George Martin. Dave listens past the famous producer's reputation to ask a more useful question: what…
- Dave's Side One
The Right Singer Is Better Than the Best Singer
Using his favorite Jethro Tull album, Thick as a Brick, Dave separates vocal technique from artistic fit. Ian Anderson's idiosyncratic delivery becomes part…
- Dave's Side One
The Long Version Changes Everything
A sixth-grade listening station, a very loud kid wearing headphones, and Rare Earth's “Get Ready” lead Dave from a funny 1973–74 classroom memory to a serious…
- Dave's Side One
The Song You Know Can Hide the Record You Don't
Dave uses It's a Beautiful Day's 1969 debut to test a simple idea: knowing “White Bird” isn't the same as knowing the album. By listening around the famous…
- Dave's Side One
By 1979, I Was Obsessed with Alan Parsons
By the end of the 1970s, Alan Parsons wasn’t simply one of Dave’s favorite artists. It had become an obsession. In today's episode of Dave’s Side One, Dave…
- Dave's Side One
The Follow-Up I Had to Have
A great first album can make the second one feel almost automatic. In today's episode of Dave’s Side One, Dave remembers buying Toto’s Hydra because the band’s…
- Dave's Side One
The Song I Kept Skipping To
The world chooses the hits. Sometimes one listener quietly chooses a different song. In today's episode of Dave’s Side One, Dave returns to Supertramp’s…
- Dave's Side One
We Thought “Nights in White Satin” Would Help
Teenagers don’t merely listen to records. Sometimes they assign those records jobs. In today's episode of Dave’s Side One, Dave remembers discovering The Moody…
- Dave's Side One
Suddenly, Eddie Money Was Everywhere
Do you remember when an artist could seem to appear on the radio almost overnight? In this episode of Dave’s Side One, Dave goes back to Eddie Money’s 1977…
- Dave's Side One
The Album I Owned on Cassette First
Sometimes the format through which we discover an album becomes part of the album itself. In this episode of Dave’s Side One, Dave returns to The Doobie…
- Dave's Side One
The Friend Who Taught Me How to Hear Aerosmith
Sometimes the person who changes the way you hear a record becomes part of the record forever. In this episode of Dave’s Side One, Dave begins a week of…
- Dave's Side One
Your Record Collection Should Tell Your Story
If someone could see only five records from your collection, would they learn anything about you? In today's episode of Dave’s Side One, Dave closes Week 10 —…
- Dave's Side One
Listen to the Record Nobody Talks About
What happens when the masterpiece becomes a doorway instead of the entire catalog? In Episode this episode of Dave’s Side One, Dave uses Blue Öyster Cult’s…
- Dave's Side One
Buy a Record You’ve Never Heard Of
What happens when you buy curiosity instead of something from a want list? In this episode of Dave’s Side One, Dave uses Beck, Bogert & Appice for an Art of…
- Dave's Side One
The Imperfect Copy Test
Can an imperfect copy still be a great listening copy? In this episode of Dave’s Side One, Dave uses Dave Mason’s It’s Like You Never Left to separate grading…
- Dave's Side One
Read the Back Cover Before You Drop the Needle
Your next favorite record may already be hiding in the credits of one you own. In this episode of Dave’s Side One, Dave uses Steely Dan’s Aja for the next Art…
- Dave's Side One
When the Song Becomes a Performance
When does a song stop being a fixed recording and become a performance? In today's episode of Dave’s Side One, Dave continues The Art of Listening with The…
- Dave's Side One
The $5 Record Can Be Better Than the $50 Record
What is a record really worth once the needle drops? In this episode of Dave’s Side One, Dave begins a new week of challenges — The Art of Listening by…