Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums

Yusuf/ Cat Stevens' "Tea for the Tillerman"

In the latest episode of Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums, Yusuf reflects on his masterpiece "Tea for the Tillerman," and discusses his decision to re-record it last year. His guitarist Alun Davies and longtime producer Paul Samwell-Smith also appear on the podcast. Later in the episode, Rolling Stone staff writer Angie Martoccio and deputy music editor Simon Vozick-Levinson join host Brittany Spanos to discuss the legacy of Tillerman, which ranked as the 205th best album ever made in the all-new version of the 500 Greatest Albums poll. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy [https://art19.com/privacy] and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info [https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info].

Missy Elliott's "Supa Dupa Fly"

In the Nineties, much of the conversation about hip-hop was dominated by the feud between the East and West Coasts. The South was putting out tons of incredible rap records too, but almost nobody was paying any attention to Portsmouth, Virginia. With 1997's "Supa Dupa Fly", Missy Elliott and Tim "Timbaland" Mosley changed that, and gave the world a taste of the future.  Missy and Timbaland met as teenagers in Virginia and soon found they were musical soulmates. As they explain to  Rolling Stone's Rob Sheffield in the episode, that friendship translated into some of the most lasting and adventurous music to come out of the Nineties. Both were content working as behind-the-scenes players, but once Missy was coaxed into making a solo album, the pair created "Supa Dupa Fly" in an incredible two weeks. Missy’s voice and delivery were one of a kind, whether she was singing, rapping, or just yelling, “Beep beep!" In this week's episode of Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums, both explain the stories behind the songs, including how Tim created the incredible Southern soul space-funk beat for "The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)". See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy [https://art19.com/privacy] and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info [https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info].

Phil Spector's "A Christmas Gift for You From Phil Spector", ft. Darlene Love

In this special holiday episode of Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums, our new podcast on Amazon Music, we delve into 1963's "A Christmas Gift for You From Phil Spector", an album that changed the way we look at holiday music. In 2019, Rolling Stone named it the best Christmas album of all time. A labor of love that pulled together all the top girl groups, including the Crystals and the Ronettes, the album was initially an ill-fated flop, dropping the day that President John F. Kennedy was assassinated (or so the legend goes). After being reissued in 1972 the record found its place in both the holiday and rock & roll canons, and inspired everyone from the Beach Boys to Bruce Springsteen to take a crack at Christmas standards. There was darkness under that festive tree, however, as the infamous perfectionist Spector directed artists on the record with an iron fist and later took his obsession with guns to a far darker place when he killed actress Lana Clarkson in 2003. Spector was unable to talk with Rolling Stone's News Editor Brenna Ehrlich for this episode (as he is serving time for second-degree murder), but she did chat with Darlene Love of the Blossoms about the fame of "Christmas Baby Please Come Home," La La Brooks of the Crystals about conditions in the studio, and Brian Wilson about how Spector inspired the Beach Boys. She also checked in with Spector fan, journalist Greil Marcus, to talk about the album's enduring fame. Later in the episode, host Brittany Spanos discusses the history, allure, and occasional ridiculousness of holiday music with Rolling Stone staffers Rob Sheffield and Jon Dolan, as well as comedian, Desus & Mero writer-producer, and podcast host Josh Gondelman. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy [https://art19.com/privacy] and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info [https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info].

Lucinda Williams' "Car Wheels on a Gravel Road"

In the newest episode of Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums, we dive into Lucinda Williams' 1998 masterpiece "Car Wheels on a Gravel Road," an album that helped define modern roots music and got Williams' long-overdue recognition as one of America's greatest songwriters. The album took six years, three producers, and some label drama to make, but Williams' perfectionism resulted in an arguably perfect album.  Williams joins Rolling Stone Country's Joseph Hudak to tell the stories behind songs like "Drunken Angel", and title track "Car Wheels on a Gravel Road" that affected Williams' father so much he apologized to Williams when he first heard it. Producers Steve Earle and Ray Kennedy in addition to Waxahatchee help flesh out the story. Later in the episode, Rolling Stone staffers Claire Shaffer and Jon Freeman join host Brittany Spanos to discuss the album's legacy. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy [https://art19.com/privacy] and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info [https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info].

Public Enemy’s "It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back"

In the first episode of Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums, we tackle one of hip-hop’s most important albums: Public Enemy’s 1988 political-rap masterpiece "It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back", which landed at Number 15 on the magazine’s all-new 500 Greatest Albums list. In this episode, Public Enemy frontman Chuck D and producer Hank Shocklee tell the story behind the album and break down the sample-layering tricks behind its furious, groundbreaking sound. Rolling Stone’s writers and editors take a fresh look at the political and sonic radicalism of rap's first and greatest concept album and why it still matters so much. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy [https://art19.com/privacy] and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info [https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info].