In the Studio: Albert Hammond, Jr. Falls Down, Gets Up and Reinvents Himself on Second LP

While the Strokes remain on a nice long break, guitarist Albert Hammond Jr. figured he'd use his spare time to get another solo album out. "I wanted to show a different side of me," says Hammond. For the follow-up to Yours to Keep, he re-teamed with his band--drummer Matt Romano, guitarist Marc Eskenazi and bassist Josh Lattanzi and engineer Gus Oberg--for five weeks at New York's Electric Lady Studios last fall. Hammond's goals included crafting "shorter and harder" tunes, like the ska-tinged "Miss Myrtle," as well as instrumental numbers, like "Spooky Couch." For "Boss Americana," Hammond and Oberg used "the Van Halen technique" for miking Romano's drums, connecting two kick drums by a long tunnel made from a blanket. And for the Cheap Trick-style power-pop song "In My Room," they plugged three amps into one another to achieve an enormity of sound in stark contrast to the first disc's bedroom vibe. "When we started, I would collapse with fear," Hammond says. "But it's amazing how people around you help you get back up, and that gives you the freedom to go weird places."

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Song Stories

“My President”

Young Jeezy | 2008

Young Jeezy teams up with Nas on this track, in which he compare his own success with the idea of an African-American winning the Democratic Party's nomination in the 2008 presidential election. "When I pulled up in my car, that s--- was unbelievable to people in my neighborhood because they were like, 'We grew up with him. How the hell did he accomplish this?'" he told Rolling Stone. "I feel like it was the same way with Obama. I grew up all this time, but I've never seen a black man this close to running this country."

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