2006 was a bad year for Justin Vernon. His band broke up, his girlfriend left him, and he came down with a serious bout of mononucleosis hepatitis - a severe form of herpes that leaves your lungs inflamed. He spent the winter getting steamboats in his father’s cabin in rural Winsconsin, where he wrote almost all of ‘For Emma, Forever Ago’ on a laptop with a 1960s Silvertone guitar. It was a very successful record. Four years later he was an arena-level folk-star, collaborating with Kanye West and Nicki Minaj on the greatest hip-hop album of the 21st century, ‘My Dark Beautiful Twisted Fantasy’.

For Emma, Forever Ago is the 461st Greatest Album of All Time, according to Rolling Stone magazine. This week, Christopher and Liam listened to it, and now they’re going to talk about it. Featured topics include: liquid acid, powerful loneliness, the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre, Zane Lowe, the origins of modern hipsterdom and auto-tuned Appalachian folk choirs. All that plus Secret Posho, on this week’s episode of Enjoy An Album. Enjoy!

This week on Enjoy An Album, Christopher Macarthur-Boyd and Liam Withnail continue their break from listening to the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time to answer the rest of the listener-submitted questions in the Christmas mailbag. Featuring questions from the likes of Eriq a.k.a. Farump, Rory M. Spence and Alan Hazlie, including: Are there any songs you listen to before you perform to get you in the zone? What’s your favourite album of 2021? And if Christopher could have a Funko-Pop of anyone who has appeared on the list so far, who would it be? Enjoy!

This week on Enjoy An Album, Christopher Macarthur-Boyd and Liam Withnail take a break from listening to the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time to answer a smorgasbord of listener-submitted questions. Featuring questions from the likes of Jay Lafferty, Shaun “Panda” Nicholson and Thomas Craven, including: What’s your go-to happy album when you’re sad? If you could only listen to one album for the rest of your life, what would it be? And if there was a ‘The Best of Slimcock Bumblebee Balls” album, what would the tracklisting be? Enjoy!

When Bob Marley died in 1981, Island Records wanted to repeat the success they found with the reggae star by marketing King Sunny Ade as ‘The African Bob Marley’. It didn’t really work, but the attempt brought Nigeria’s unique style of afrobeat - “juju music” - to the international spotlight. Compiled in 2003 by Shanachie Records, ‘The Best Of The Classic Years’ documents the pre-Island period of Ade’s career (1969-1974) before the watered down attempts at crossover success - lyrics entirely in Yoruba, seventeen-minute long jams, and rawer production.

It’s also the 464th Greatest Album of All Time, according to Rolling Stone magazine. Christopher and Liam use the record as a springboard to discuss everything from the Yoruban talking drum, William Onyeabor, Ebo Taylor, Ghanian highlife, the difference between a nightclub and a hotel in Nigeria, doing the washing-up, the musical tastes of the British royal family, and the filmography of Richard Gere. All that and more, plus an even-handed installment of Secret Posho, on episode 36 of Enjoy An Album. Enjoy!

In 1964, Brian Wilson married a sixteen-year-old and smoked exactly one (1) marijuana cigarette before having a mental breakdown and deciding that the life of a rock star on-tour wasn’t for him - he holed up in L.A. to write and record music, while the rest of the band would travel around the world playing concerts. The next year, they released “The Beach Boys Today!” - a reimagining of the Beach Boys style with no surfer songs, as well as production and harmonies that triggered a creative rivalry with Wilson’s heroes The Beatles and famous murderer Phil Spector. It is also #465 on the Rolling Stone list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Christopher and Liam get into it and over it on everything from paddleboarding, true surf culture, the cy clops, honking on bobo, Mike Love’s evil heart, and Del Shannon’s cover of “Do You Wanna Dance?” All that and more, plus a potentially surprising installment of Secret Posho, on episode 35 of Enjoy An Album. Enjoy!

Maxwell disappeared from the public eye in late 2001, seemingly disillusioned with the world after both the terrorist attacks of September 11th and the resignation of William Hague, the then-leader of the United Kingdom’s Conservative party. But from 9/11 until just after Obama’s inauguration, the neo-soul chart-topper in exile toiled on 2009’s “BLACK summers night”, the first in a planned trilogy of nocturnal sex-gospel jams. “BLACK summers night” was Maxwell’s fourth consecutive multi-platinum album, and made it to #467 on the Rolling Stone list of the 500 Greatest Albums of all Time. Christopher and Liam get into it and over it on everything under the moon, including shamed socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, D’Angelo, Sade, arancini balls, Derek Hodge, having sex, the Urban Hang Suite, John Mayer and main character syndrome. All that and more, plus yet another scintillating edition of Secret Posho, on episode 34 of Enjoy An Album. Enjoy