The Best of Sound Opinions Live & Hal Blaine
Over the years, Sound Opinions has seen many great performances from the talented artists and bands that appeared. Jim and Greg share some of the biggest performances ever on the show, including artists like Wilco, Common and Cheap Trick. They'll also bid farewell to legendary session drummer Hal Blaine, who died at age 90.
The Best of Sound Opinions Live
Jim and Greg share some of their favorite Live Sound Opinions performances.
- Cheap Trick, "Surrender"
- Aimee Mann, "Save Me"
- Jason Isbell, "White Man’s World"
- Run the Jewels, "Early"
- Common, "Sound Opinions Freestyle"
- St. Vincent, "The Strangers"
- Wilco, "She’s a Jar" (not available online)
Click on the songs above to listen to the full episode and watch videos of the performances (please refresh the pages if they are having trouble loading.)
Hal Blaine
One of rock's most legendary drummers died this week: Hal Blaine. He was 90 years old. The session drummer and de facto leader of The Wrecking Crew played on 38 chart-topping singles. He played the iconic "Be My Baby" beat for The Ronettes, he recorded with The Beach Boys' on Pet Sounds, he played on number 1 hits for both Frank and Nancy Sinatra, among nearly 40 others. Hal Blaine spoke with Jim and Greg in 2015. He shared stories about Phil Spector, The Beach Boys and more, but one of the best was about recording the drums on Simon & Garfunkel's "The Boxer."
Featured Songs
- Cheap Trick, "Surrender (Live on Sound Opinions)," Cheap Trick at Budokan, Epic, 1978
- Aimee Mann, "Save Me (Live on Sound Opinions)," Magnolia, Warner Music, 1999
- Allen Toussaint, "Southern Nights (Live on Sound Opinions)," Southern Nights, Reprise, 1975
- Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, "White Man's World (Live on Sound Opinions)," The Nashville Sound, Southeastern, 2017
- Run the Jewels, "Early (Live on Sound Opinions)," Run the Jewels 2, Mass Appeal, 2014
- Low Cut Connie, "Shake It Little Tina (Live Sound Opinions)," Hi Honey, Contender, 2015
- Common, "Sound Opinions Freestyle," Sound Opinions Freestyle, Not released, 2006
- St. Vincent, "The Strangers (Live on Sound Opinions)," Actor, 4AD, 2009
- Wilco, "She's a Jar (Live on Sound Opinions)," Summerteeth, Reprise, 1999
- The Ronettes, "Be My Baby," Presenting the Fabulous Ronettes Featuring Veronica, Philles, 1964
- The Beach Boys, "Wouldn't It Be Nice," Pet Sounds, Capitol, 1966
- Sam Cooke, "Another Saturday Night," Ain't That Good News, RCA, 1964
- Herb Alpert's Tijuana Brass, "A Taste of Honey," Whipped Cream & Other Delights, A&M, 1965
- The Crystals, "Then He Kissed Me," (single), Philles, 1963
- The Byrds, "Mr. Tamborine Man," Mr. Tambourine Man, Columbia, 1965
- Nancy Sinatra, "These Boots Are Made For Walking," Boots, Reprise, 1966
- Simon & Garfunkel, "The Boxer," Bridge over Troubled Water, Columbia, 1970
- Sarah Shook & the Disarmers, "What It Takes," Years, Bloodshot, 2018
- Fats Domino, "I've Been Calling," What a Party!, Imperial, 1961
- The Stooges, "T.V. Eye," Fun House, Elektra, 1970
- The Stooges, "Little Doll," The Stooges, Elektra, 1969
- At the Drive-In, "Rolodex Propaganda," Relationship of Command, Grand Royal, 2000
- The Mars Volta, "Frances the Mute," Frances the Mute, Gold Standard, 2005
- The Police, "Don't Stand So Close to Me," Zenyatta Mondatta, A&M, 1980
Dear Listeners,
For more than 15 years, Sound Opinions was a production of WBEZ, Chicago's public radio station. Now that the show is independent, we're inviting you to join the band and lend a hand! We need your support more than ever because now we have to do all the behind-the-scenes work that WBEZ handled before (like buying insurance and paying for podcast hosting, ugh). Plus, we have some exciting ideas we'd like to try now that there's no one to tell us no!