History in Five Songs with Martin Popoff

354 episodes

History in Five Songs Episode 351: Greatest Comeback Albums
17/03/2026 | 37 mins.
In Episode 351 of History in Five Songs with Martin Popoff, Martin traverse some of rock and metal’s greatest comeback albums, highlighting how artists rebound through critical acclaim, commercial success, adversity, or long absences.

Angel Witch – “Witching Hour”

Ozzy Osbourne – “Steal Way (The Night)”

Uriah Heep – “Too Scared to Run”

Kiss – “Young and Wasted”

AC/DC – “Are You Ready”

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History in Five Songs Episode 350: Recorded in Canada
17/03/2026 | 33 mins.
In Episode 350 of History in Five Songs with Martin Popoff, Martin explores albums recorded in Canada, highlighting how Vancouver studios like Little Mountain became a major destination for international rock bands while Toronto and other Canadian locations hosted surprisingly fewer notable recordings.

AC/DC – “Fire Your Guns”

Thin Lizzy – “Opium Trail”

Budgie – “I’m a Faker Too”

Rainbow – “Power”

Rush – “Cut to the Chase”

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History in Five Songs Episode 349: Live Albums That Meant Little
03/03/2026 | 35 mins.
In Episode 349 of History in Five Songs with Martin Popoff, Martin contrasts his previous celebration of career-defining concert records by spotlighting “live albums that meant little," from messy hybrids and poorly timed releases to reputation-denting misfires that felt unnecessary, undercooked, or simply forgettable within their bands’ catalogs.

Ozzy Osbourne – “Symptom of the Universe”

Rolling Stones – “Twenty Flight Rock”

Rainbow – “Kill the King”

The Clash – “I Fought the Law”

The Eagles – “The Long Run”

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History in Five Songs Episode 348: Peaked with a Live Album
25/02/2026 | 36 mins.
In Episode 348 of History in Five Songs with Martin Popoff, Martin examines bands like Kiss, Foghat and others whose live albums either broke them commercially, became their bestsellers, defined their reputations, or even marked their creative peak.

Kiss – “Strutter”

Foghat – “Fool for the City”

UFO – “Mother Mary”

Pat Travers Band – “Heat in the Street”

Peter Frampton – “It’s a Plain Shame”

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History in Five Songs Episode 347: Bands with Under-Performing Early Classics
17/02/2026 | 32 mins.
In Episode 347 of History in Five Songs with Martin Popoff, Martin explores the intriguing phenomenon of major bands like Rush, Iron Maiden, and Nirvana whose beloved early albums—often packed with staple songs and fan favorites—surprisingly underperformed commercially compared to their later multi-platinum successes.

Rush – “Finding My Way”

Iron Maiden – “Phantom of the Opera”

Cheap Trick – “Hot Love”

Nirvana – “Swap Meet”

Def Leppard – “It Don’t Matter”

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About History in Five Songs with Martin Popoff

History in Five Songs with Martin Popoff is the show that aims to make grand and often oddball hard rock and heavy metal points through a narrative built upon the tiny idea of a quintet of songs. Buttressed with illustrative clips, Martin argues quickly and succinctly why these songs - and the specific sections of these tracks - support his mad professor premise, from the wobbly invention of an “American” heavy metal, to the influence of Led Zeppelin in hair metal or to more succinct topics like tapping and twin leads. The songs serve as bricks, but Martin slathers plenty of mortar. At the end, hopefully he has a sturdy house in which this week’s theory can reside unbothered by the elements. At approximately 7000, Martin has had published in books more record reviews than anybody in the history of music writing across all genres. Additionally, Martin has penned approximately 85 books on hard rock, heavy metal, classic rock and record collecting. Proud part of Pantheon - the podcast network for music lovers.

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