Chris Stapleton – Traveller

Welcome to the Album Nerds podcast with your hosts Andy, Don, and Dude. Summertime, Don's living easy. What's up? It's the Album Nerds podcast. I'm Dude, I got Andy and Don with me. Andy, what's up, man? What's up, dude? I'm just getting my bags packed. Going on a little summer vacay here. Nice. A little trip around the Midwest, maybe. Wow, that sounds like a very exciting vacation. I don't think you can say vacay when it's traveling the Midwest, even though that's where I live.

Don, it is the summer of Don, so how's it treating you? Good. Just came from a nice walk on the beach with a bottle of whiskey in my hand. That sounds a little concerning. Do we need to have an intervention? People don't know what time of day we're recording. That's true. This is indeed the Album Nerds podcast. We love albums, the album format, and talking about said albums and music. It's fun. It's good times. All right. We've got a great show for you today.

We're going to continue with the summer of Don. We're going to get into one of Don's picks that the Wheel of Musical Discovery delivered to us, Chris Stapleton's Traveler. Don is going to ask us a deep question. Then we're going to get some shout outs to albums and album related items that we're digging right now. Then we'll spin that Wheel of Musical Discovery to find out what the summer of Don will be bringing to us next time. This week, it's all about that Stapleton.

I proclaim this the summer of Donnie Lakey. That's what I'm talking about. As you said, it is the summer of Don. I've gone back into the archives of the Album Nerds and made a list of the records previously covered on the show that I'd like to discuss. This week, thanks to the Wheel of Musical Discovery, we will revisit an album you guys discussed only briefly in episode 102. I believe it was one of your old dogs at the time. Old dogs. It's called Stapleton's Traveler.

That's the title track in the lead single from the debut album by singer-songwriter Christopher Alvin Stapleton, born in Lexington, Kentucky in 1978. Stapleton was a prolific songwriter in Nashville. He also fronted a bluegrass group called Steel Drivers and a southern rock band called the Jomson Brothers. This is his first attempt at a solo album, which was co-produced with Dave Cobb. Oh, yeah. Oh, my gosh, Dave Cobb. Sound the alarm. Dave Cobb's heading in. Dave Cobb shows up a lot.

Well, he produces a lot of cool country albums, Churchill Simpson, Culture Wall, also some rock and roll stuff that we like, Rivalsons, et cetera. He could easily be a member of the Albinerds podcast if they keep FitzRyder in the dark. Wikipedia and then Dave Cobb, pretty much. Both of you guys seemed quite positive on this album back in episode 102. How do you feel now?

Yeah, to me, this feels like we're kind of lucky to have a record like this because it really is one of those records that brings everybody together. It's one of those, let's all hold hands, sort of we are the world sort of things. It's probably different disparaging genres around country music that he's nicely working together, I think. And honestly, a few records I think really have crossed that divide as elegantly as he does here. Yeah. And it still sounds like that.

I mean, I can't think of too many records that really do have this wide variety of country adjacent sounds on it that sound genuinely good, not pandering. Yeah, the soul sounds like true soulful vocals. It's not done to make a soul sound. I mean, this was my gateway to modern country music. Yeah, I heard nobody to blame on country radio and was like, wait a second, this sounds like outlaw country or what?

I mean, I had the same kind of like getting kicked out after a fight vibe, you know, not an unfamiliar tale, but that tale is told in rock songs, country songs. But it got me willing to go check out what else was out there in this sort of independent outlaw-ish space and see what was there. And there's a lot of good stuff out there. So I think back fondly to 2015 and this record because not only do I like the record, but it opened me up to a new world and it's been great.

So yeah, I don't think you're alone in that regard. This record for a lot of people was kind of a stepping stone to country music. Well, let's listen to one of the better known tracks from the album. This is Tennessee Whiskey. Tennessee Whiskey. You're a sweet strawberry wine. You're as warm as the sun. I think that run is the part that people like the most. There's something to that that works. Yeah. Tennessee Whiskey is one of two covers on the album.

Originally written by Dean Dillon and Linda Hargrove, but covered by a few folks since then. I feel like the song, at least for me, was kind of like where I first became aware of him. There was a performance at the CMAs, I think in 2016 with Justin Timberlake and Stapleton performing the song. Kind of blew up on the internet and whatnot after the show. Well, yeah, when they both started doing the bye bye bye dance in unison, that was amazing. It's very unexpected, but classic.

Stapleton can move, man. Well, he's a soul brother, man. He does bring a lot of soul in his voice. I think that's probably what struck me the most coming back to this record after a few years. Man, there are moments where his voice just kind of digs down at something deeper that a lot of vocalists just don't have. He's got it. He's got that. I don't know.

It's hard to really describe what it is in his voice, but when he needs it, he can pull it down and it sounds just gives you shivers to hear sometimes. My clickbait headline for this album is, Stapleton delivers a strong, reliable, and economical method of holding together many country adjacent genres. Like I was saying earlier, I think this record really does tie together lots of things around country music in a really nice way.

Yeah, I'm actually reminded, I had watched that Ken Burns country music documentary recently. You get all those different parts, the folk, the bluegrass, blues, and then like Southern rock, all that stuff that surrounds country music. It's all here in the album. It's so cool. Yeah, it's the perfect blend. If you're not a country fan, Stapleton might get you there or at least get you closer. Get you in the door, I think, with his kind of willingness to experiment with different sounds.

But then for me, yeah, this voice, the soulfulness of his voice is what kind of like kept me there or what keeps me coming back to this record after all these years. Yeah, it feels like a very earnest record too is kind of the other thing I've came back to. It feels very sincere. There's no tongue in cheek or it's personal, but it's relatable too, which I think just kind of has a nice middle ground there.

Yeah, like Traveler was really about him and his wife, she bought him a Jeep or something for his birthday or a classic SUV and they drove across the country and he had to pull over so that they could write down the words and just figure out the guitar part. So just literally being a traveler while he wrote this song, Traveler.

The thing that's fascinating to me about this Tennessee Whiskey, which is a great rendition, but the first recorded rendition was by David Allen Coe and it was super twangy and very 60s, maybe early 70s sounding and go watch a video of him performing. His hair is ridiculous. But then George Jones did a cover that kind of smoothed it out a little bit. I feel like this Chris Stapleton version has kind of become the definitive version. What if there's a David Allen Greer version?

Living color maybe. Right now there's this viral Teddy Swims version of that song and he's all over the internet right now, but his version kind of sounds like Chris Stapleton's version. So it kind of reminds me of like Jeff Buckley redefined what the song Hallelujah is and now people who cover it tend to cover his version. I think that says a lot for what Stapleton was able to do vocally with an established song and give it more soul than it had before. Yeah, yeah.

It's the torchbearer carrying on the Tennessee Whiskey tradition. All right, well, let's hear another one. This is Outlaw State of Mind. Yeah, so that is kind of, as the name suggests, kind of like an outlaw anthem. I got friends who know how to have a good time. They roll their own and drink Carolina's shine. I've seen the devil in a dark coal mine. I've been higher than a Georgia pine. That's because you're having a good time. At Georgia Pines, you always see them holding these giant bongs.

So weird how nature works, you know? Just hearing it now, it kind of reminded me of Skinnerd. Southern Rock thing. Simple kind of man. Yeah. Yeah, so my clickbait headline is Stapleton tries to fix Nashville from within. So he is kind of an outlaw on this record and, of course, on that song. But it's interesting because I think unlike the other outlaws, the Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings. Just Jennings. Yeah, right. Billy the Kid. Doc Holliday, sort of. Good guy, by the way.

Sorry, Don. I don't feel like Stapleton's really an outsider, even though musically he's an outsider, I think, from the Nashville establishment and country radio. But somehow he still seems to be embraced and he's still on the awards circuit. But he reminds me of Willie Nelson quite a bit. Willie was part of the slicked back hair country music establishment writing for other people. And then he came out in the 70s with the late 60s, the grizzled beard, the long hair. Pay your dues sort of thing.

Stretch your legs, do what you want. And then he became an outlaw because he took that step forward of this is how I do it. But he hung in there with the establishment until it was time. That's right, Stapleton. I compared you to Willie Nelson. You're welcome. I don't get the impression that he's really trying to change country music or upset it in a revolutionary sort of way.

I get the impression he's more like a diplomat or someone who's more about bringing together and trying to keep what we have, but maybe making it more cohesive or encompassing. I don't know if diplomat country is really going to catch on as a set of genres. That's not the spirit we're going for. The diplomats, like the highwaymen. There is a group of artists like Sturgill Simpson or Brandi Carlile who are... They're diplomats.

Yeah. Well, they've been sort of relegated to Americana, I think is the label that these artists get stuck with. And somehow Stapleton is still kind of in the game. So yeah, so maybe he's a go between. I do wish country radio sounded more like this. Some of it does. At least some of it does. And it didn't before. Yeah. A little bit, yeah. All right. Well, let's hear another. This is Fire Away. Yeah, so Fire Away deals with themes of unconditional love, resilience, emotional vulnerability.

It's about a relationship where one partner offers support despite the other's struggles and emotional turmoil and says, I love you, tell me what it is that's going on with you and fire away. I've got your back. The opening lyrics, honey, load up your questions and pick up your sticks and your stones. Pretend I'm a shelter for heartaches that don't have a home. Choose the words that cut like a razor and all that I'll say is fire away. I really like that. It's a nice feeling.

I think this song, probably one of the bigger ones from the record has spoken to a lot of people and maybe even made people more likely to share things with their partners. Who knows? One can hope. Especially with a little Tennessee whiskey. There you go. My clickbait headline to describe the record, Chris Stapleton reshapes country music in his own image, epic beard included, with the support of Morgan and Dave.

We already talked about Dave Cobb, so we're done with that part of the conversation. But I think Morgan, his wife, this fire away makes me think of their relationship and she's background vocals on many of the songs, co-writer, songwriter in her own right in Nashville. They met there, both being songwriters. I think her voice and her influence on him and their relationship has shaped what he is as a solo artist. I think without her, it wouldn't be the same. I really like that.

I think that's really important to think about sometimes of what these artists that move us, what moves them? I think she's a big part of that. Yeah, it sounds like they have a very sweet relationship. This record does feel like it's not exactly a deep dive into that relationship, but you can sense it. She is in the vocal harmonies there. She's there in the background just nudging him in the right direction or giving him the support he needs to do these types of things.

It feels like she's on the album too. It's not corny like the Johnny Cash and June Carter stuff, his back and forth. The back and forth, yeah. The call response thing. She's very understated in the mix. You can just hear her slightly, but it's enough to kind of, it's a very masculine sounding record. I guess it just sounds manly, I guess, the whole album. I was lifting weights when I was listening. It's a muscular album.

I picture you on the preacher bench there, crying your eyes out listening to Fire Away. You guys don't think it's a masculine sounding album? I think it's- Oh yeah, absolutely. Yeah, totally. But yeah, I mean, like I said, most importantly, this album is what helped me find cultural wall. Charlie Crockett, Mac Leapard, Tyler Childer, Sergel Simpson, Brett Cobbie, and no, Charles Wellesley Godwin, et cetera.

There's so much independent and sometimes called Americana, if you're searching lists, artists and groups and bands that are out there. Go find them because there's country music that anybody can like that's into any genre. There's hip hop fans that can find country music that they like. There's metal fans that can find country music that they like. Drop that, I don't like country because you're thinking about Luke Bryan or whatever. There's more out there. You dig, you dig?

Well, it sounds like we're all digging this record, so I am going to nominate it for the Album Nerds Hall of Fame. I think my only, if I had to find criticisms for it, I'd say it's maybe a bit long. What is it, like 62 minutes or 64 minutes? 64 minutes are pure muscle. And then maybe just a few too many whiskey references. That's country music, dude. Just dial it back, choose something. But it's with some gin or some- Well, you got the weed references in there.

Is he going to start talking about having some fuzzy navels or something? Appletini. But anyway, so my vote is yes. Dude. I'm not convinced that he's made his best record yet, at least what I consider his best record, but because of what I feel like this did for me and so many other fans, I think it changed country music and popular country music and gave independent artists a chance at the big time. So I'm going to say yes.

Yeah, I'm a little bit on the fence here, but it does, it feels like kind of those like crossroad moments where things kind of diverged in a different direction than they could have gone. Yeah, I'm going to say yes as well. I think yes was a positive thing for country music and we're in a better place because of it. I thought for sure you were going to shut it down. Well, congratulations to Christopher Alvin Stapleton. Alvin! Your album Traveler is now in the Alvin Nerds Hall of Fame.

Excuse me. I'd like to ask you a few questions. All right, well, it's time to go deep again. Deep Questions by Don. So well, the album was called Traveler. What are your best and worst traveling experiences? Yeah, that's a good question, Don. I have been traveling a couple of years, but I do enjoy to travel. We usually go to Caribbean islands kind of places, like the tropics.

Yeah, so I enjoy going to those tropical islands, but the downside of those islands is a lot of times the infrastructure is not up to snuff or used to in the States here, particularly the roads. So I've had a few experiences of driving around and rental cars in these islands that are pretty harrowing in terms of the road conditions.

And then you get like two miles down a road and then you find out it's a one-way road and you have to back up like two miles on this dirt path that's winding up a mountain side. So it's not too good for my blood pressure. So I try to relax here. Yeah. Yeah, I mean, as far as if you're doing a vacation, like the people who go do outings and have to explore things, I'm like, if you're going to do it, just sit by the pool, man. I like to get my, I like to get dirty.

I like to get a little immersed, a little culture. Yeah. I usually backfire. All right, so one, the first thing that came to mind for bad experiences was being a teenager and going on family vacations, which weren't vacations. They were in fact week long visits with family in like rural towns and stuff where there was nothing to do. But the worst part was riding in an 86 Renault Alliance, which is like the size of a nineties or eighties or nineties Jetta.

And I was probably already like six feet tall at this point being jammed in the back seat, you know, in August with my two sisters. One was in elementary school and very sweaty and in the middle and sweating all over me. I know it's like this family truckster sort of a national, national ampoon kind of vibe, you know. Did you guys have air conditioning in the car? No. Any sort of amenities? No windows down my ass on fire from the metallic bars in the seats. Not good. The visits were fine.

You know, once we were there it was all right, but 1500 miles each way. That's rough. That's a long time. And I think that time we didn't stop at a hotel. Anyway. That's straight through? Yes. Yes. No way. Yes way. My dad would put ice cubes in his hat to keep him so warm. All right. But the best experience was when I went to Laughlin for a few days for a casino trip thing.

They had a little airport about 15 minutes from here and they actually had a charter direct flight from there to Laughlin, Nevada, Arizona, right across the border. And then just a shuttle bus trip to the hotel. That was awesome to not have to connect. That's the only time I've ever been on a flight where you get on where you live and you get off where you're going. It was that part alone was a great travel experience.

Well I, you know, having asked this question, it's occurred to me that I just don't travel enough because I don't really have great answers for these. You've made a lot of trips to Canada. Yeah. I have done. So I can tell you a bad experience going up to Canada. For me to see the people I want to see perform like Depeche Mode or The Cure, I generally have to go to Toronto to see those acts. It's Europe Junior up there. So yeah.

Yeah. But depending on the day, it's like four hours depending on the border and stuff like that. But I've kind of figured out that I can actually hop on a train outside of Toronto and be able to avoid traffic. So after a Depeche Mode show one night, all of a sudden the train stopped. It was already like midnight or something like that. And I'm like, I know I'm going to be home at like three in the morning as is. So we were told to get off the train and it was like a mess.

But anyway, so the reason the train stopped was because somebody had thrown themselves in front of the train or on the tracks. Perhaps they were at the Depeche Mode show. Yeah. So that was kind of bad. That's terrible. Yikes. That was terrible. Yeah. You know, positive experiences. I guess it was also sort of negative, but I remember going to Busch Gardens in Williamsburg with my family when I was a kid. Colonial Williamsburg as well.

But I remember at Busch Gardens there was some girl, you know the thing where you hold the sledgehammer and you ring the bell. So there was a lady there kind of razzing people, talking smack. And so my dad went up to do it and he actually rang the bell. It turns out it's all like fixed, I guess. So he was really proud of himself. He outdid all these younger guys and stuff, but his back was shot for the rest of the trip. So, anyway. So what are your best and worst travel experiences? Let us know.

Visit us on the socials, Facebook, Instagram and threads, or go to our website, AlbumNerds.com. Can you dig it? Can you dig it?

Can you dig it? Can you dig it? All right. Well, it was a nice week listening to Chris Stapleton, but what else have you guys been checking out lately? All right. Let me crack open my new release, Satchel here. Satchel? Satchel. What the fuck? Just a handful of things in here. I was hoping you were going to say your new release, Valise. Oh, well that sounds imported. Attaché. Very nice. All right. I thought we'd start things off with a band from my hometown of Rochester, New York, Joywave.

We have a new album out called Permanent Pleasure. It's got a kitty cat on the cover. It's adorable. So cute. These guys, they're pretty legit. They're an indie rock three piece. It's their fifth album. They have great sound. It's kind of dancey, but also kind of like a pop rock vibe. I think they're really good. I've enjoyed the last few records. Have you guys ever heard of them? I've heard of them, but I've never really paid attention. This record's pretty accessible, I would say.

Yeah, I've not heard them, but okay. It's got some cool Rochester history, actually, at the end of the album. Little shout out to Nathaniel Rochester. Pretty much. It's a good record, though. I would recommend it. The next up for me, we have a reissue from Childish Gambino. The album is called Alta Vista. This is a reissue of his 2020 album with a handful of changes. The big single is called Little Foot, Big Foot. Came out a couple weeks ago, I believe.

I don't know what to do with Childish Gambino, because I know it's Donald Glover, who's this funny guy. I know he's a really talented rapper, but I don't know. Am I supposed to take it seriously, or is he goofing? I know, right? It always seems like he's goofing, but then sometimes there's a really serious message as the undertone.

I think because he chose to use a different name, I've always been able to separate the ideas from the actor, maybe because I heard Childish Gambino not knowing it was him to start a... All right. The last one for me here is from the Chicago rock group named Shellac. I like the name. They have a new album out, Two All Trains is the name of the album. This is the sixth studio album for the group, formed back in 1992, featuring Steve Albini on guitar, among other things.

Did you guys realize that he passed away about two weeks ago? Yeah. I said. Yeah. Real shame. Very influential 90s producer or songwriter. The Pixies. Yeah. But this was his project. This just came out before he passed away. It sounds really cool. I've been enjoying it. It's all original stuff. Sounds good to me. You too. Garagey. Yep. Very garagey. What you been digging on down? Well, I'm not sure that I'm digging it, but I was amused by it.

There's a new tribute album to the Talking Heads Stop Making Sense. It's called Everyone's Getting Involved, a tribute to Talking Heads Stop Making Sense. It includes Miley Cyrus, The National, Paramore, Norah Jones, Lord. The Miley Cyrus, Psycho Killer, is the one I was listening to, which is fun. Not bad. I'm not sure if she was going to put a pop treatment on it or do the more stripped down thing that she does with songs sometimes where it's all about her voice. Yeah. Yeah. It's very poppy.

Yeah. Kind of makes the Psycho Killer sound a little more likeable. I don't know if I... A little more bubble gum, Psycho Killer. I'm a Psycho Killer, come on now. The kind of Psycho Killer you want to dance with. Well, so it's not an album, but I did watch the new Beach Boys documentary that showed up on Disney Plus. I think it's just simply called The Beach Boys. I mean, I just eat the shit up. I mean, I've seen so many Beach Boys documentaries and... You eat shit?

You eat pieces of shit for breakfast? No. So yeah, so I knew all this stuff before, but it's well done. They've got Brian Wilson's First Wife, Mike Love, Al Jardine, and lots of cool footage and audio that I hadn't heard before. So it's worth watching. Is it like classic Arab Beach Boys or is it... Yeah, it basically goes up into the 70s. They kind of stop it there. They play Kokomo in the closing credits, but they don't really talk about the 80s. Gotcha. Cool. Sounds good.

I don't know that history very well. I should check it out. Yeah, I'm really intrigued by the sort of that post-Smile, late 60s, 70s era, because there's some really good stuff in that time. Yeah, how do you react to that when you're a good time group, where it's fun, fun, fun and all that? How do you represent the darkness that's going on too?

Yeah, in some ways, the Beach Boys are more interesting than the Beatles because there's sort of like this... I think the mythology behind the album that got scrapped and then just this band trying to be innovative, but having the striped shirts and the Beach Boys persona, kind of holding them back, it's an interesting story. And that's why there's so many documentaries and biopics about them. Dude, what are you digging? Well, Lenny Kravitz, new album, Blue Electric Light.

We'll play a little bit of... It's Just Another Fine Day in This Universe, which I like how wordy the title is, but it somehow works in the chorus. But this is his 12th studio album. The last few I've kind of been very dismissive of, they haven't been very interesting. This one has more variants of sound, a lot of it's written and recorded during the pandemic. I guess he wrote a ton of material. I don't know. I think I'm warming up to this one.

I think it's one of his better albums in a long time. There's just some really nice moments. And sometimes his lyrics are a little corny and I'm not finding as much of that here. There's some nice bass there. I knew you'd like that. Yeah, it's a little funky than I expected. Check it out. And there's some electronic touches. There's little synth pop sounds here and there too, so you're speaking my language. Something for everyone. That's like that guy still looks amazing, man.

I saw him a couple of days ago on something and I was like, Jesus, how the hell are you doing this? Well, yeah, the video for TK421, he's just in like a towel and he's all wet. Oh my God, he is ripped, dude. Like he is so cut. He's like 60 or something. No? Yeah. Anyway. Was TK421 a Star Wars reference? Because I think when he's got TK421, what is your position? I would have no idea. Turned to the wrong guy. You know, Lenny Kravitz is big, big into sci-fi. He might be. Maybe he is.

He's the right age for Star Wars. It's true. It's true. I've also been digging a single that was released, Prince Silver Tongue. I guess the song was written with Nika Kosta in 2004. It was a Virtual B-side to Call My Name. No other version was released at the time and the lyrics were written by Nika Kosta, but this sort of ballade-y piano sound, you don't hear much of that from Prince, so I was fascinated with this single. I don't know if it's going to be a part of a bigger thing, but.

Interesting. This guy just had like a huge catalog of stuff he didn't release, didn't he? Yes. He's so prolific. Occasionally I'll see a Prince single pop up that's something like this, but this one just was a little different. So it's cool. Go check that out. And then as far as recent acquisitions for the vinyl collection, I picked up a copy of Star Crawlers 2022 album, She Said. I got this on a site called Experience Vinyl. It's a new vinyl. It's a white vinyl.

I got it for like seven or eight bucks, so maybe they printed too many. I'm not sure. It was recorded during the pandemic. Punk Poppish, this is their third album. It's a little more rock with some country influences and slide guitar pedal steel stuff going on. It's a kind of a garbage-y whole kind of thing, and I really like their sound and nice to have one of their records on vinyl. Somebody told me that like colored vinyl or like the clear vinyl doesn't sound as good. Is that true?

That's my experience, but I'm not really an audiophile. I like the way vinyl sounds, like having physical media. But one thing with clear vinyl that is not good is if they're scratched, it's really hard to tell by looking at them. You can't really tell they're dirty. I mean, they're a pain in the ass, clear ones, but this one's white. So go check out Star Crawler if you haven't heard them. I might just. Do we talk about that album in the past though? I've mentioned them.

I think the first two albums you would like a lot, they're punk pop-ish and a little more raw. This is good stuff. Is it all girl group? No, just a singer. Oh, I see. The guys wear tuxedos and stuff. I know you love that. Kind of a Hives vibe there. Yeah. Well, that's what we're digging. What are you digging? Let us know. Hit us on Facebook, Instagram or threads. Also our website, albumnerds.com. It will be a decision. I think it's going to be a decision. I think it's going to be a decision.

I think it's going to be a decision. I think it's going to be a decision. I think it's going to be a decision. I think it's going to be a decision. It will be a discovery of extraordinary value. All right. What's about that time on the show? And I'm reminded of the great Danish author, Hans Christian Andersen. Danish. Sounds good. Yeah, and he wrote famously, to move, to breathe, to fly, to float, to gain all while you give, to roam the roads of lands remote, to travel is to live.

Yeah. Really nicely summed up the sentiments of Chris Ableton there, I think. Nicely. Yeah. Too bad Hans didn't have the ability to just watch travel videos on YouTube, then he wouldn't have to go anywhere like me. I don't know that's quite what he was getting at, but let's bring out my friend here as a Wadbat to see what we'll be discovering on next week's show. The summer of Don continues.

With that in mind, I will be choosing which albums from Don's curated list you will be exploring this summer. At the same time, the forecast shows a quiet storm in your area. Prepare yourselves to get soaked with the smooth jazzy vocals of Sade on their 1984 album, Diamond Life. To live the diamond life of Sade once again, I'm excited to talk about that record. I don't think we did it justice on the last conversation. Well, we'll be sure to do it right this time.

Yeah, Don's going to bring that smooth operator to the mix. Don't forget, you can suggest topics for the wheel on our website, albinoards.com, as well as vote for any ongoing Album Nerds Hall of Fame nominations. How do you feel about Sade's Diamond Life? What else are you listening to? Leave a comment on our website or email us at podcast at albinoards.com. You can follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and threads at Album Nerds. And please subscribe, rate, and review on your favorite podcast app.

And if you'd like to support the show, you can do so via PayPal at albinoards.com slash support. Thank you once again for joining us on the Album Nerds podcast. We'll continue the summer of Don. You can live that diamond life. See you. Thanks for listening everybody. Catch you next week. Smooth operator. I thought it was smooth operetta at one point. I think I did too actually. She sounds like operetta. Hey, we got an Andy. Andy vocal there.

Andy's the guy with the vocal chops in the house apparently, all right. I could take the summer off. I don't know if you guys want that. I don't think I want that. As long as you do rap, you can do it. I'm going to go with the guy from the journal, Pete dumville.