Record of the Week: David Bowie's "Life on Mars"

This week on Record of the Week, we dive into Rod Stewart’s classic song Every Picture Tells a Story. We break down what makes it so memorable, how the band works together, the production choices that make the song stand out, and why it still rocks hard, even 45 years later. If you love classic rock or just want to hear what makes a song timeless, this episode is for you!

Recently, we caught up with Ed Stasium about remixing classic albums from The Replacements and Talking Heads and his dive into the world of immersive audio. In this clip, Ed walks us through remixing the Ramones catalog in Atmos and how he used Eventide’s immersive plugins to both stay true to the original recordings and bring them to new life in the spatial audio arena.

Hey everyone! Recently, we had the band ZOPA over to the studio for a listening party! Their new album, Diamond Vehicle, was produced, engineered, and mixed by our very own John Agnello. We had Michael Imperioli on the show in Episode 89 where he talked about his own creative process and the history of the band. In this episode, John sits down with ZOPA to listen through the album and give us a behind the scenes look at the recording, songwriting, creative process, and gear that went into this fantastic record.

In this Record of the Week, John and Stewart dig into Waterloo Sunset by The Kinks. With its dreamy atmosphere, raw mono mix, and Ray Davies’ poetic storytelling, the song captures a fleeting moment of beauty in 1960s London. Because of its lo-fi charm, Waterloo Sunset stands as one of the most emotionally resonant and sonically unique recordings of its era.

We first interviewed producer and engineer Ed Stasium in Episodes 80 and 81, where he spoke with John and Stewart about recording some truly seminal albums with Gladys Knight & the Pips, the Ramones, Talking Heads, and Living Colour, as well as his pivotal role in the design and construction of the Power Station in NYC. These episodes offer a fascinating inside look into music history— we highly recommend checking them out. In this episode, John catches up with Ed about his recent work on records from the Hoodoo Gurus and The Dictators, remixing Tim by The Replacements and outtakes from Talking Heads: 77, and his latest immersive audio projects.

Take a closer look at Queen's epic song with John and Stewart. With aggressive guitars, rich vocal harmonies, and an over-the-top premise, the track is classic Queen. Ogre Battle also marks a pivotal moment in the band's evolution, as their recordings reached a new level under the guidance of producer Roy Thomas Baker.

In this episode, I sit down with Grammy winning producer and engineer Kevin Killen. We first interviewed Kevin in episodes 46 and 47, where he talks about his career in recording studios from Dublin to NYC, and working with Peter Gabriel, Kate bush, U2, Elvis Costello, and a host of others. If you haven’t already, go check ‘em out. Since then, Kevin has moved to his personal studio, and is teaching as an adjunct professor at the NYU Clive Davis Institute and Steinhardt School. He’s also been busy working with the likes of Tony Levin and Cara Dillon, and recording drum sample packs for Toontrack at Peter Gabriel’s Real World Studios. Listen in as he catches us up on all of it.

Everyone at Gear Club was saddened to hear of the passing of The Left Banke’s Steve Martin Caro, singer of Walk Away Renée. Eventide co-founder Steve Katz worked with The Left Banke back in the 60’s and related some details of Walk Away Renée’s recording to Gear Club. This episode is a reprint of that Song of the Week, followed by Steve Katz’s memories and insights into the recording!

David Bowie's "Life on Mars?" stands as perhaps the pinnacle of his theatrical ambitions - and it's this week's Record of the Week. Join John and Stewart and learn about the impressive band behind the recording - Mick Ronson, Trevor Bolder, Woody Woodmansey plus Yes's Rick Wakeman on piano! If you've seen “The Life Aquatic” with Steve Zissou, then you're in for a treat as Stewart reminisces about remixing "Life on Mars?" for the film.  

In this special episode, we pay homage to an artist who’s a Member of the rock and roll hall of fame, has won Seven Grammys out of 38 nominations, sold over 150 million albums worldwide, with three of those in the Grammy hall of fame. In their almost 40-year career they’ve played almost 1500 concerts, released 38 albums, have a supposedly endless vault of unreleased material, and have nonetheless remained an enigma. We’re talking about the one, the only, Prince. Listen in as we talk to the engineers who worked most closely with Prince in the studio on seminal albums across different eras of his wide-ranging career. There are amazing stories, pivotal moments, and behind the scenes insights into the work and personality of an artist very few people got to know up close and personal.