With no guest and Brian taking the week off, Bill decided to talk to himself for an hour about one of his favorite artists and one of his favorite albums. Credited to Paul Westerberg's alias Grandpaboy, Mono (2002, Vagrant) was paired with the release of a Westerberg solo album called Stereo. Stereo was the softer side, and Mono was the rocking side. Both recorded at home in Paul's basement, these albums were hailed as a return to form for the singer songwriter after his disappointing prior 3 po...
Oct 05, 2015•1 hr 5 min
It's Bonus Song Thursday! Drew Novelli (actor, writer, videographer, musician) joins Bill and Brian to talk about a single song in conjunction with our previous episode. Earlier this week, we discussed our 12 favorite guilty pleasure songs, so naturally, we turned to one of our favorite artists, Ryan Adams, who just released an ENTIRE ALBUM covering one of his guilty pleasures Taylor Swift. We listen to a little bit of Adams' version of "Blank Space" and discuss surprise releases, the value of m...
Oct 01, 2015•22 min
You know you have a few of these, too. Songs that you don't want to admit to friends, especially the cool record collecting types, that you know you'll crank up every time you're in a car by yourself. Even here at the Great Albums podcast, we have a few of those. So we decided to enlist our friend Drew Novelli (writer, actor, musician videographer and creator of the 'Guacamole' video) to help us share some of those guilty please songs! We talk about what makes you feel guilty when listening to a...
Sep 28, 2015•1 hr 37 min
It's Bonus Song Thursday on the Great Albums podcast and our friend from Roy Orbitron, Conor Meara, is back to talk about Al Green's "You've Got the Love I Need." Released in 2008 on the album Lay It Down, produced by ?uestlove, the music showcases that Green's voice hasn't lost anything over the years. The guys talk about the music, Al Jackson Jr., and Conor chooses an LP from the mystery pile!
Sep 24, 2015•25 min
Singer/songwriter and musician from Roy Orbitron (royorbitron.org) joins Bill and Brian to talk about Al Green's I'm Still in Love with You (1972, Hi). Recorded at the hieght of his fame and creative output with producer Willie Mitchell, with this album Al Green found a comfort zone for his sweetly soulful music. Filled mostly with love songs and ballads, the album gently helps its listeners as they make their way through a romantic eveing. Brian, Bill, and Conor talk about their personal experi...
Sep 21, 2015•1 hr 34 min
It's Bonus Song Thursday! But wait, what's this? It's a cover of the Cure's "In Between Days" from their 1985 album The Head on the Door. Brian and Bill discuss Fold's career, chart success, striking while the iron is hot, and heat stroke. They also announce the winner of the "Petunia" contest, what singer-songwriter was the basis of the film Danny Collins, and big green monkeys!
Sep 17, 2015•24 min
Bill and Brian welcome Jack Sullivan as a guest to talk about the Cure's Disintegration (1989, Elektra/Asylum). Released after a series of songs that helped the band break into the mainstream, principal songwriter and poorly-applied-makeup enthusiast Robert Smith wanted to create a great album that solidifed how the band was perceived amongst both fans and critics. Written and recorded shortly before Smith's 30th birthday, a sense of doom and gloom dominated the album's new wave/alternative musi...
Sep 14, 2015•2 hr 3 min
It's Bonus Song Thursday, which means Brian and Bill tackle a single song from the artist featured on the previous episode! This week, we take a look at Rod Stewart's version of "Corrina Corrina," a bonus track from his 2013 album Time. A traditional blues tune, based on the version by Bob Dylan, it's a bit of a return to the sound Stewart perfected in the early 70s. Brian and Bill also discuss Stewart's return to songwriting and read some fan mail!
Sep 10, 2015•17 min
Bill and Brian get together to discuss Rod Stewart's third in a series of five wonderful solo albums for Mercury records that he released early in his career, Every Picture Tells a Story (1971, Mercury). After working with the Jeff Beck Group and running concurrent to his output with the Faces, Stewart found success with the b-side "Maggie May." With a unique rock-and-roll-meets-folk-with-a-little-soul songwriting and production style, this album stands out. Brian and Bill discuss how they were ...
Sep 07, 2015•1 hr 30 min
It's Bonus Song Thursday on the Great Albums Podcast! In our previous episode we talked about Tom Waits and the impact he's had on others' careers thanks to their covers of his songs. So Bill and Brian take a closer look at the Eagles version on "Ol' 55," originally released on Waits' debut album, Closing Time, in 1973. We discuss the Eagles as a dad band, their use of harmony, soft rock radio, and how covering other's songs fits in the world of rock and roll.
Sep 03, 2015•24 min
Bill and Brian welcome cohost of the Pruning Session podcast (from audiobonsai.com) Moksha Gren to help us talk about Tom Waits' Rain Dogs (1985, Island). The successor to the album where Waits left his balladier days behind him, the experimental Swordfishtrombones, Rain Dogs found universal critical acclaim as it solidified the eclectic music mixed with found sounds and a raspy vocal that Waits became synonymous with. Bill, Brian, and Moksha discuss how they first came to be fans of Toms Waits,...
Aug 31, 2015•2 hr 2 min
Get ready to be sad on this week's Bonus Song Thursday as Brian and Bill welcome back singer-songwriter, musician, and podcaster Brian Rothenbeck (rothenbeck.com) to talk about the Weakerthans' "Virtute the Cat Explains Her Departure" from their 2007 album Reunion Tour. Bill and the Brians share stories about lost pets and Rothenbeck explains why this song makes him cry. Also, in a new ongoing segment, we explore some some yacht rock!
Aug 27, 2015•18 min
Bill gets to play the "Hey, Brian!" game as Brian returns from touring with his band, the Paper Jets, and welcomes singer-songwriter, musician, and podcaster Brian Rothenbeck (rothenbeck.com) as a guest. In this episode, we discuss the Weakerthans' Reconstruction Site (2003, Epitaph). Their first record with major label distribution behind it, the Weakerthans broke through to a wider audience with their infectious pop hooks, intelligent lyrics, and fantastic guitar tones. As we discuss the album...
Aug 24, 2015•2 hr
Bonus! Song! Thursday! It's what it is! Brian is still away, touring the Northeast with his band The Paper Jets (thepaperjets.com), so Bill enlists the help of his own bandmate, Andrew Kolbenschlag of Small Planet Radio (smallplanetradio.com), to fill in as guest host. Returning from Monday's episode is guest Eric Nelson, guitarist and songwriter for The Lights Beneath (thelightsbeneath.com), to talk a little bit more about Bright Eyes. This time, we focus on the song "Poison Oak" from the 2005 ...
Aug 20, 2015•25 min
While Brian is out on tour with his band, The Paper Jets, Bill invites friend of the podcast, musician, and songwriter Andrew Kolbenschlag to fill in as guest co-host! Joining us is musician/songwriter Eric Nelson from The Lights Beneath (hear their whole debut album at www.thelightsbeneath.com) to talk about Bright Eyes' Digital Ash in a Digital Urn (Saddle Creak, 2005). Released as a companion to the slightly more commercially successful, folk influenced album I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning, "Di...
Aug 17, 2015•1 hr 52 min
It's bonus song Thursday! Bill and Brian discuss a Ryan Adams' version of "Wonderwall" from his 2004 album Love is Hell. Originally recorded and written by 90s British rockers Oasis, Adams turns the song into a haunting ballad. While delving into the music, Brian and Bill also talk about counting in Spanish, a drummer from the Beach Boys, how Beck maybe borrowed a little too liberally from other artists, how Ryan Adams' career lines up with Neil Young's, the Moody Blues, the Pixies, and more!
Aug 13, 2015•27 min
Brian and Bill sit down to talk about Ryan Adam's first foray away from alt-country and into the world of rock and roll with his appropriately titled album Rock n Roll (2003, Lost Highway). Following the success of his previous album and its single "New York, New York," Adams submitted 5 attempts that his label turned down. As a final "screw you," he made this album as, both a wry nod at their desire for something more marketable and a not-so-subtle response to their request for something less a...
Aug 10, 2015•1 hr 47 min
It's Bonus Song Thursday! And it finally happened. We had a technical glitch and the audio is terrible on this episode. Regardless, we forged ahead and decided to release the episode. Bill and Brian talk about U2's "Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses" from their 1991 album Achtung Baby. We talk about the bands evolution and how intentional it was before reading some listener emails about bands with underated rhythm sections.
Aug 06, 2015•23 min
This week, Bill and Brian go sans guest to talk about U2's super-massive-megadon hit The Joshua Tree (1987, Island). Recorded after the band had spent years touring the US, alternately falling in love with its ideals and becoming outspoken critics of its international policies, and wanting to create something bigger and better than anything they had done before, U2 released this album to massive sales and critical praise. Brian and Bill talk about their personal connections with the music, how t...
Aug 03, 2015•1 hr 52 min
It's Bonus Song Thursday! We listen to Beck's "Cold Brains" off his 1998 follow up to Odeley, Mutations and discuss Beck's transformation as an artist, how the aging of a listener helps one appreciate the music of an artist over the years, the politics of labels and releases, and if in fact Van Morrison still perform's "Gloria!"
Jul 30, 2015•21 min
With his sophomore effort, Beck quieted the critics and pundits who thought he may be a one trick pony by collaborating with production team the Dust Brothers. Known for their work in sampling, the producers helped Beck combine elements of hip hip, rock, soul, jazz, alternative, and R&B to create a nearly undefinable sound. Bill and Brian do their best to analyze and discuss a very dense piece of art. Along the way, they discuss Beck's originality, exactly which samples are being used and ho...
Jul 27, 2015•2 hr 18 min
On this week's Bonus Song Thursday, Bill and Brian take a deeper dive into Van Morrison's early career and listen to Them's garage rock classic "Gloria." Along the way, they talk about what the sound of the British invasion entailed, "nuggets," the criteria for being electrocuted by your guitar amp, and Stax v. Motown.
Jul 23, 2015•26 min
Photographer and artist Amanda Guthrie (amandaguthriephotography.com) joins Bill and Brian to talk about Van Morrison's Moondance (1970, Warner Bros.). With his third (second, depending on who you ask) release, Van "the man" found himself finally shedding his one-hit-wonder status after the initially dissappointing reaction to Astral Weeks in 1968 (the album has since gone on to establish itself as one of the best records of all time). With this album Morrison cemented himself as a gyspy folk ic...
Jul 20, 2015•1 hr 33 min
Bill, Brian, and special guest Colin McDonough continue this week's topic, Otis Redding, by taking a listen to a deep cut from his posthumous releases, "I'm a Changed Man." The guys talk about Otis Redding's evolving sound, what something "swampy" sounds like, and how the soul singer's legacy is treated with respect (no pun intended). The guys also catch up on some fan outreach (that Bill missed because he got too excited when talking about 1980s Philadelphia phenoms The Hooters a couple weeks a...
Jul 16, 2015•22 min
Musician/guitarist Colin McDonough joins Brian and Bill to talk about Otis Redding's second posthumous release, The Immortal Otis Redding (1968, Atco). Recorded shortly before the soul and R&B singer's death at the end of 1967, the album shows off a lot of what the singer/songrwriter did best, including what the Stax Records house band(s), Booker T & the MGs and the Memphis Horns, could do. Bill, Brian, and Colin get into talking about discovering great music for the first time, Stax vs....
Jul 13, 2015•1 hr 49 min
It's Bonus Song Thursday, and Renee Maskin and Jim McGee are back to talkabout Iggy Pop's "The Passenger." In his second collaboration with David Bowie, Iggy decided to have a little more fun than the dour The Idiot. In this episode we discuss how we all first experienced Iggy Pop, his existence as a pop icon, and Problem Child (the movie)!
Jul 09, 2015•18 min
Singer, songwriter, and musician Renee Maskin, solo artist and member of Lowlight and the Roadside Graves (soundcloud.com/reneemaskin, lowlightnj.bandcamp.com, and roadsidegraves.tumblr.com), joins Brian and Bill along with guitarist Jim McGee (jesseelliot.com) to talk about Iggy Pop's solo debut The Idiot (1977, RCA). Produced by and written with David Bowie, this landmark album gave a preview of what was to come in Bowie's "Berlin years." Recorded several years after the Stooges disbanded and ...
Jul 06, 2015•1 hr 40 min
It's Bonus Song Thursday! Unfortunately, Brian couldn't make it for this episode, but we got friend of the show and Hooters afficionado Jeff Fiedler (singer, songwriter, and musician for sleepingsatellites.bandcamp.com) to come on and share his expertise. Since there was no "album" for Monday's episode, we continued down a thread we touched on by exploring more of the Hooters and their work. In addition to finding about the band's origins writing for Cyndi Lauper and opening Live Aid in Philadel...
Jul 02, 2015•27 min
Musician and luthier Mike Virok (of the Paper Jets and Bordentown Guitar Rescue, bordentownguitarrescue.com, respectively) joins Bill and Brian to discuss some great songs off of some not-so-great albums. In a reprise of the format we introduced back in our "10 Great Songs," we push the limits by adding one more song! We talk about the Hooter's influence over all great music, Father's Day, whether or not one should date a person who has traveled the country for John Mellencamp, the value of Mich...
Jun 29, 2015•2 hr 5 min
It's bonus song Thursday! In our follow up to Monday's Pet Sounds episode, we examine The Beach Boys' (or is it Jesse and The Rippers'?) "Forever" off of their 1970 album Sunflower. Featuring drummer Dennis Wilson's lead vocals after he took pen to paper to craft this song, the song helped bring the band back to minor chart succes and critical good graces. Luthier and musician Mike Virok (a preview of next week's episode) helps Bill and Brian break down the song, figure out how The Beach Boys fi...
Jun 25, 2015•22 min
