Rock’s Back Pages, an online database provided through the Columbia University Libraries, provides electronic access to an “… archive of reviews, interviews and features on artists from Aaliyah to ZZ Top, by the world’s best rock writers and from the most influential music publications.”

One interesting area of content that may not be immediately noticed is an archive of audio interiews, available by clicking on the “Audio” link on the left-hand navigation menu. Spanning from 1970 through 2006, these audio interviews feature artists such as Bo Diddley, David Bowie, Tom Waits, Ronnie Spector, Van Dyke Parks, Randy Newman, Leonard Cohen, and many others. Also included, at the end of the listings under “others”, are interviews with record producers, sound engineers, and producers, including such noted figures as Ahmet Ertegun, and Gamble and Huff.

The interviews are encoded as downloadable 128kpbs MP3 files, which is adequate for spoken word content. The context and location of the interviews is not always clear, and it would be nice to have more information provided. There are links provided to additional articles by the interviewers.