''Classic Albums'' is a British documentary series about pop, rock and heavy metal albums that are considered the best or most distinctive of a well-known band or musician or that exemplify a stage in the history of music.

Format

The TV series was made by Isis Productions and distributed by Eagle Rock Entertainment. It is shown on various broadcasters including BBC, ITV, Sky Arts,

VH1 VH1 (originally an initialism of Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network based in New York City and owned by Paramount Global. It was created by Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment, at the time a division of Warner Communi ...

and

VH1 Classic MTV Classic (formerly VH1 Smooth, VH1 Classic Rock, and VH1 Classic) is an American pay television network owned by Paramount Media Networks. It was originally launched in 1998 as VH1 Smooth, an adult contemporary and smooth jazz channel. It ...

. They are also available on DVD. The show is similar in structure to VH1's short-lived 2001 series Ultimate Albums. The music, and its production, is dissected by the musicians and/or producer playing the

multitrack recording Multitrack recording (MTR), also known as multitracking or tracking, is a method of sound recording developed in 1955 that allows for the separate recording of multiple sound sources or of sound sources recorded at different times to create a ...

s and singling out tracks that one does not usually consciously hear when listening to the music, giving insight into the way the sound is built up. Also, the individual musicians play back pieces, which are then blended with the original recording. Almost all songs are dealt with, focusing almost entirely on the music itself, how it was composed/realised. Personal aspects of the band or members are occasionally dealt with, but mostly only if they serve this purpose. TV episodes are 50 minutes long but the DVD releases contain much additional material. All the releases in this series are done with the co-operation and full authorisation of the artists involved. The series producers are Nick de Grunwald and Martin R Smith. Various directors have been used for the series but the majority of the programmes have been directed by Bob Smeaton, Matthew Longfellow and Jeremy Marre.

History

The television series is unrelated to a radio show devised by radio producer John Pidgeon as a vehicle for Roger Scott, following the disc jockey's move from

Capital Radio Capital London is a radio station owned and operated by the Global Media & Entertainment, Global media company as part of its national Capital (radio network), Capital FM Network. As Capital Radio it was launched in the London area in 1973 as o ...

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and Contemporary hit radio, current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, includin ...

in 1988. The first hour-long series, produced independently by Pidgeon and Scott, opened with Dire Straits' '' Brothers in Arms'' in May 1989, followed by The Rolling Stones' ''

Beggars Banquet ''Beggars Banquet'' is the 7th British and 9th American studio album by the English rock band the Rolling Stones, released on 6 December 1968 by Decca Records in the United Kingdom and London Records in the United States. It was the first R ...

'', Genesis' '' Invisible Touch'', Pink Floyd's ''

The Dark Side of the Moon ''The Dark Side of the Moon'' is the eighth studio album by the English rock band Pink Floyd, released on 1 March 1973 by Harvest Records. The album was primarily developed during live performances, and the band premiered an early version of t ...

'', The Who's '' Who's Next'', Fleetwood Mac's '' Rumours'', the Beach Boys' ''

Pet Sounds ''Pet Sounds'' is the 11th studio album by American Rock music, rock band the Beach Boys, released on May 16, 1966, by Capitol Records. It was initially met with a lukewarm critical and commercial response in the United States, peaking at numbe ...

'', The Police's ''

Synchronicity Synchronicity (german: Synchronizität) is a concept first introduced by analytical psychologist Carl G. Jung "to describe circumstances that appear meaningfully related yet lack a causal connection." In contemporary research, synchronicity ...

'', Eagles' '' Hotel California'' and U2's ''

The Joshua Tree ''The Joshua Tree'' is the fifth studio album by Irish rock band U2. It was produced by Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno, and was released on 9 March 1987 on Island Records. In contrast to the ambient experimentation of their 1984 release, '' ...

''. Scott died of cancer five months later, and the second series aired posthumously. Further programmes were presented by Richard Skinner. The first episode of ''Classic Albums'' was actually a documentary called "The Making of Sgt. Pepper". This documentary focused on The Beatles' landmark album and was produced in much the same way as the ''Classic Albums'' series. Isis Productions and Nick de Grunwald helped co-produce this documentary and it helped lay the template for the ''Classic Albums'' series. It aired in 1992 both on the

Disney Channel Disney Channel, sometimes known as simply Disney, is an American pay television channel that serves as the flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney General Entertainment Content division of The Walt Disney Compa ...

in the United States and ITV's ''

The South Bank Show ''The South Bank Show'' is a British television arts magazine series originally produced by London Weekend Television and broadcast on ITV between 1978 and 2010. A new version of the series began 27 May 2012 on Sky Arts. Conceived, written, ...

'' in the UK.

Episodes

The albums that have been covered are:

Dutch episodes

In the Netherlands, special episodes were produced exploring landmark Dutch albums. There were two series produced for two different channels. The first ran in 1997 on the channel

NCRV NCRV (Nederlandse Christelijke Radio Vereniging) (English: Dutch Christian Radio Association) was a public radio and television broadcaster in the Netherlands, mostly transmitting on NPO 1 and NPO 2. On 1 January 2014, NCRV merged with KRO to ...

, in between episodes from the BBC series. These were never released on dvd. * Q65 - ''Revolution'' (1966) *

Boudewijn de Groot Frank Boudewijn de Groot (, born 20 May 1944) is a Dutch singer-songwriter, known for "'' Welterusten Meneer de President''" (1966). Biography Youth Boudewijn de Groot was born in wartime occupied Dutch East Indies in 1944 in a Japanese conce ...

- ''Voor de overlevenden'' (1966) * Cuby + Blizzards - ''Groeten uit Grollo'' (1967) * The Outsiders - ''Outsiders'' (1967) * Focus - ''

Focus II ''Focus II'' (better known by its international title, ''Moving Waves'') is the second studio album by Dutch progressive rock band Focus, released in October 1971 on Imperial Records. Following the departure of original bassist Martin Dresden an ...

'' (''Moving Waves'') (1971) *

Kayak A kayak is a small, narrow watercraft which is typically propelled by means of a double-bladed paddle. The word kayak originates from the Greenlandic word '' qajaq'' (). The traditional kayak has a covered deck and one or more cockpits, each ...

- '' Royal Bed Bouncer'' (1975) The second ran in 2011-2012 on the channel

VPRO The VPRO (stylized vpro; originally an acronym for , ) is a Dutch public broadcaster, which forms a part of the Dutch public broadcasting system. Founded in 1926 as a liberal Protestant broadcasting organization, it gradually became more s ...

.http://zoeken.beeldengeluid.nl/internet/index.aspx?contentid=6&chapterid=1164&filterid=974&searchID=3488645&columnorderid=-1&orderby=1&itemsOnPage=10&defsortcol=12&defsortby=2&pvname=personen&pis=expressies;selecties&startrow=1#pageCounter *

Shocking Blue Shocking Blue was a Dutch rock band formed in 1967 in The Hague. It was part of the music movement in the Netherlands that was generally known by the name Nederbeat. The band had a number of hits throughout the counterculture movement durin ...

- '' At Home'' (1969) including "

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never fa ...

" (1969) *

Herman Brood Hermanus "Herman" Brood (; 5 November 1946 – 11 July 2001) was a Dutch musician, painter, actor and poet. As a musician he achieved artistic and commercial success in the 1970s and 1980s, and was called "the greatest and only Dutch rock 'n' ...

- '' Shpritsz'' (1978) *

De Dijk De Dijk (English: The Dike) is a Dutch rock band which formed in 1981. The band is named after Zeedijk, a street in their hometown Amsterdam. Their music can be described as a mixture of soul, blues and rock 'n roll, with lyrics sung only in ...

- ''Niemand in de Stad'' (1989) *

Bettie Serveert Bettie Serveert is a Dutch indie rock band. The name translates to "Bettie Serves", or "Service to Bettie", which is the title of a book written by Dutch tennis player Betty Stöve, who made it to the Wimbledon Ladies Singles final in 1977 ...

- '' Palomine'' (1992) * Caro Emerald - '' Deleted Scenes from the Cutting Room Floor'' (2010)

References

{{reflist

External links

IMDb ''Classic Albums'' listing episode listing
of John Pidgeon 1989 British television series debuts 2021 British television series endings 1980s British music television series 1990s British music television series 2000s British music television series 2010s British music television series 2020s British music television series British documentary television series Documentary television series about music BBC television documentaries VH1 music shows English-language television shows