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On this week's episode, we dig into the the forth album by the band the National, 2007's Boxer. 

The National is a band, literally, of brothers (two pairs) and a friend all from Ohio that formed after all parties moved to New York. From the get go, the band's music leaned heavily on  and atmospheric and stood out due to the deep baritone vocals of lead singer and lyricist Matt Berninger. 

After slowly but steadily building up a following, Boxer, their second album on the Beggar's Banquet label, was the band's breakthrough LP.  Its full of melancholy songs about relationships and existential struggles about being an adult. The album received widespread critical acclaim, and was included in many end of year "Best Of" lists for 2007, topping several of them, and is often mentioned as one of the best album of the 2010s.   

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This week This Is Vinyl Tap discusses the criminally underrated album by Pure Prairie League, 1972's Bustin’ Out. 

Bustin' Out contains the band's most well known song, "Aime," a radio staple for the last 50 years. Oddly, while even the most casual of music listeners know the song, many would be hard pressed to name the band that performs it. As a result, Bustin' Out has been somewhat ignored, which is a shame, because it is a fantastic collection of country infused rock songs. The album's secret weapon is David Bowie's guitarist Mick Ronson, who provides string arrangements and, some (uncredited) scorching guitar.   While the band did move away from the rawer sound of their debut on Bustin' Out, the album is bit more mature and undeniably full of expert playing and fine, soulful vocals by front-man Craig Fuller that makes its influence on the alternative country bands of the early 1990's very apparent.  

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On this episode, we take a deep dive into a “Listener Pick” -  the fifth and final studio album by the Simon and Garfunkel, 1970's Bridge Over Trouble Water.

While the partnership between Simon and Garfunkel was under immense strain that elementally led to its demise, the duo went out with a bang. Bridge Over Trouble Water was a commercial smash, and is regarded by many as Simon and Garfunkel's masterpiece. 

 The album was their most ambitious and showed Simon had  become a master song writer.  In addition to folk music, the album incorporate elements of rock, gospel, R&B, Jazz, and world music .  Known for its stirring title track (what Paul Simon called his "Yesterday") as well as its enduring singles, "The Boxer", "Cecelia", and "El Condor Pasa (If I Could)", the album won the Grammy for best album in 1971, while the title track won an additional three awards, including for record and song of the year, and has sold over  25,000,000 copies worldwide.  

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This week we dig into the 1973 self-titled debut by Bad Company.

Coming off of the success of Free, Paul Rodgers hooked up with Mott the Hoople guitarist Mick Ralphs, and along with former Free drummer Simon Kirk, and King Crimson bassist Boz Burrell, formed what may be the most American-sounding British band ever: Bad Company.

Rodgers soulful and powerful voice and Ralphs crunchy guitars punctuate songs about the old west, ballads about sea birds, and tunes about physical love that don't take much work to interpret. Bad Company was a monster hit, topping the charts in US and reaching # 3 in the UK. It is not an album full deep thought and self reflection, but that doesn't matter because it is and album of catchy licks and high octane fun that helped define the radio-freindy heavy rock of the 1970's.

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This week we dive head first into the 1968 psychedelic rock opera by the Pretty Things, S.F. Sorrow.

Ask any music fan what was the first rock opera was and most would say Tommy by the Who. That answer would be wrong. Recorded on S.F. Sorrow started a year before the Who even went into the studio to begin Tommy. Unfortunately the release of the album was delayed and was released after Tommy, placing S.F. Sorrow  into the "also ran" category for the vast majority of critics and the music buying public at the time. Which is unfortunate because the S.F. Sorrow is a wonderfully imaginative album, and the blueprint for many a concept album to come. One listen illustrates how inventive and influential it was for many albums at the time, including Tommy.

Starting out life as a blues-based band in the vein of the Rolling Stones (one time Stone's guitarist Dick Taylor was a founding member), by the time the Pretty Thing were set to record their fourth LP, they had become much more divers in the music they made, incorporating such diverse element as pop, psychedelia, folk, and even proto-metal) into their sound. And while the concept of S.F. Sorrow is a sad one, the music is remarkable and the lyrics compelling making repeated listens a must.  S.F. is a true underrated masterpiece.

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We start Season Five off with a monster album, Eat a Peach, by the Allman Brothers Band. Released in 1972, it is a double album and simultaneously their 3rd studio album and their 2nd Live album.

The Allman Brothers Band were perhaps the first "Southern Rock" band, but they were so much more than that. Steeped in the blues, the brothers Duane and Greg actually had careers as session musicians playing everything from soul to psychedelic folk. Their jams were inspired by jazz improvisations by John Coltrane and they had an uncanny ability to "jam" and harmonize simultaneously.

Eat A Peach, composed of both live and studio tracks, is ultimately is a celebration of the life of founding member and reluctant leader Duane Allman, who died during the making of this album in a tragic motorcycle accident. Somehow the band found the will to carry on. Eat a Peach showcases this influential band at the peak of their powers, as both songwriters and musicians.

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On this episode, we have a listener pick: Nick Lowe and his 1994 album The Impossible Bird.

Nick Lowe has been a topic of conversation several times on This Is Vinyl Tap due to the indelible mark the man has left on pop music. Lowe was a bass player, singer and songwriter of the influential pub rock band Brinsley Schwarz.  He was a member of the the fabulous Rockpile. He is a producer of some note, having worked with countless artists including Elvis Costello, the Pretenders, Graham Parker, and the Damned. And he is one hell of a song writer, penning such timeless tunes as "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding," "Cruel to be Kind," "I Love the Sound of Breaking Glass," and "The Beast In Me."

Having found himself is a but of a rough creative patch in the late 1980's, his luck changed withe the success "The Bodyguard" soundtrack, which included a cover of "Peace, Love, and Understanding." That gave Lowe the financial freedom to pursue new musical directions and the music buying public were much the richer for it. The Impossible Bird  was a bit of a reboot for Lowe and a different kind of Nick Lowe album; more mature and stripped down, with his vocals front and center. It was not quite country, not quite rockabilly, not quite folk, but a flawless combinations of all of the above. Its a collection of choice covers and fantastic Lowe originals expertly executed by a crack band and easily one of Lowe's finest musical statements that includes some of his most endearing and enduring songs. 

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Join us on this week's episode as we discuss the 1970 album by Thunderclap Newman: Hollywood Dream.  

Thunderclap Newman were comprised of Townshend protege (drummer, songwriter and lead singer) Speedy Keen, a 15-year-old guitar prodigy named Jimmy McColluch, and the band's namesake - the eccentric self-taught piano player Andy "Thunderclap" Newman. Hollywood Dream (their one and only album) was recorded to capitalize on the success of Thunderclap Newman's surprising number 1 UK hit "Something in the Air." The band was the brainchild of Pete Townshend and Who manager/producer, Kit Lambert. Townshend had been working on separate projects for each when the when his work on the Who's Tommy forced him scale back his outside interests. His solution was to cobble together a band featuring the three uneasy cohorts from different musical backgrounds.   

The result is an album that showcases each members strengths, and while it makes for compelling listen, it is often times a frustrating one. Upon its release, Hollywood Dream was met with critical raves and commercial disinterest. But the album, and the story behind it, make for one heck of a rock and roll tale. 

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On this week's episode, we jump into Joe Jackson's fantastic sophomore LP, 1979's I'm the Man.

When Joe Jackson's hit the airwaves in fall of 1978, critics labeled him as one of the new "angry young men" on British music, the other two significant members of that group being Elvis Costello and Graham Parker. This was lyrically mature music that owed a debt to the early 70's UK Pub Rock scene, but played with the aggressive attitude of Punk.  Jackson's debut Look Sharp was released in January of 1979 and went top 40 in the UK and the US. After the success of Jackson's , many wondered what he would do as a follow up.  Thankfully, its more of the same.

Released a mere 10 months later, I'm the Man didn't stray too far from the debut's formula, but to see it as simply Look Sharp Pt 2 does the album a significant disservice.  This time, Jackson and his amazing band ups the energy on the simple instrumentation and well-crafted melodies he introduced on Look Sharp. The band is tight, the songs are crisp, and the music immediate resulting in an album that full of accessible pop tunes, clever and sardonic lyrics, and post-punk aggression. 

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On this week’s episode, we discuss what was once considered one of the hottest bands to come out of the late sixties San Francisco scene, Moby Grape and their debut album, 1967’s Moby Grape.

Moby Grape is one of the most celebrated debut albums ever produced. Recorded by five musicians who could all write and sing, Moby Grape spans multiple genres (rock and roll, folk music, pop, blues, and country) and does so effortlessly. Add a three guitar attack, and some a amazing harmonies to the mix, and you can begin to understand what all the fuss was about. 

Although over-hyped by the record label at the time of its release, constant issues related to their former manager have kept this album from reaching the future audience it truly deserved. 

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