Sublime

XTC, ENGLISH SETTLEMENT This band has been largely forgotten, but their gorgeous instrumentation tempered by edgy lyrics and a pastoral snarl made them my personal Beatles. The lead singer, Andy Partridge, had a nervous breakdown and swore he would never tour again, so the band holed up in some tiny bucolic English town, and their music became less

But Jack Nitzsche was an almost silent—and unpaid for reasons still not clear except he did it for fun—arranger, musician, gluer-together of the talent, a man of enormous importance for us in that period. He came to our sessions to relax and would throw in some ideas. He’d play when the mood took him. He’s on “Let’s Spend the Night Together,” when

Arthur Alexander and Hendrix. In case anyone is interested, Arthur Alexander is a hero of mine. Check out his high-hat sound on his song “Anna,” long before the Beatles came along.