Classic Rocktails

Styx - "Paradise Theater and Grand Illusion" Too theatrical for their own good?

This week on Classic Rocktails, Doc and Mac go double-feature after accidentally prepping two different Styx albums—The Grand Illusion and Paradise Theater.
They debate Dennis DeYoung vs. Tommy Shaw, arena rock vs. theater, and which album truly defines Styx at their peak—plus cocktails inspired by both records.
Two albums. One band. One spirited showdown.

Arctic Monkeys- "AM" - in 2013 they were the future. Did it arrive?

Arctic Monkeys — in 2013 they were the future. Did it arrive?
AM was carried by “Do I Wanna Know?”-- was it the last great rock crossover?
#ArcticMonkeys #AM #IndieRock

Loverboy - "Get Lucky" - the off-the-rails special Valentine's Episode!

“Get Lucky” from 1981 is about wanting everything—success, sex, attention—and not feeling even slightly bad about it.
Listen, like, rate, subscribe, smile, square-dance, do all the things!

LIVE- "Throwing Copper"- is Throwing Copper a "90s Top 10 Album," or kind of over-rated?

Join the Bourbon Brothers this week as they discuss Throwing Copper.
This album is one of the most nakedly confessional rock albums of the ’90s — jealousy, longing, anger, worship.
But does it hold up?

Imagine Dragons- "Night Visions"- does ChatGPT still get royalties for creating Imagine Dragons?!?

We debate Night Visions. 
Is Imagine Dragons unfairly criticized because they’re successful—or fairly criticized because their sound feels engineered rather than dangerous?
What is Dragon Mount Rushmore?
Does this hold up?

COMMERCIAL- "Classic Rocktails"

Tom Petty & HB - "Into the Great Wide Open"- Is this secretly a concept album about fame and disillusionment?

Is this secretly a concept album about fame and disillusionment?
Eddie’s rise, success, moral compromise, and emotional fallout — intentional narrative or accidental cohesion?
@macrocktails @tompetty @MikeCampbellHQ #classicrock

Billy Squier- "Don't Say No"- is this the greatest cock rock album ever made?

Billy Squier's iconic debut album "Don't Say No," featuring The Stroke, My Kind of Lover, In the Dark...
Is this Cock Rock-- or actually vulnerable? Despite the confidence, loneliness and paranoia creep in—fame isolates as much as it empowers. Is this album secretly about isolation disguised as swagger?
#classicrock

Eric Clapton, "Journeyman"- do you like your Clapton fiery or cool?

Clapton's comeback album, Journeyman. A polished gem-- or does the gloss make it sound trapped in the 80's?
#classicrock

Prince- "Purple Rain"- the most dominant single-artist power move in rock history?

Is Purple Rain a perfect album—or an untouchable myth we’re afraid to question?
In this episode of Classic Rocktails, we revisit Prince’s Purple Rain not as a shrine, but as a living, breathing cultural event. We unpack how sex, spirituality, ego, and ambition collide across the album—and debate which songs still feel dangerous versus which ones survive mostly on reputation.
Along the way, we examine how Purple Rain blurred the line between album and movie, masculinity and vulnerability, pop and art—and whether its legacy has grown stronger or more protected with time.
Paired with a cocktail inspired by the album’s decadence and drama, this is a conversation about genius, excess, and what happens when cultural consensus stops us from listening honestly.
#classicrock