Total Rankers

We go onwards and upwards (or downwards?) into some of the most overhyped and overrated albums in Rock history: music revered by the critics; music rated as "important"; music that, in the words of our hosts, is just a bit pants. Or certainly not as good as it is made out to be. Toby goes on a rant about his most loathed band of all time (and NME's most loved...), and the album that results in a child's private parts adorning his daughter's bedroom wall. Donal discloses his distrust of musicians who stand on album covers looking awkward with shirts on. Above all, we debunk the critics' ratings with our own ranking of the most Overrated albums of all time.

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This week, Donal and Toby go to a dark and dangerous place, and take on some of the Big Beasts of the Rock canon. We are discussing albums that are revered by the literati - worshipped by the intelligentsia - and asking two very profound questions: why are they so rubbish, and is it us, or them?  
These crimes against vinyl have variously been entered into the Library of Congress,  topped polls for the most influential/seminal album of all time (or just their year of production) and have been pontificated upon by men with beards for decades. It is time to strip away the veneer, and examine the beating hearts of the most overrated albums of all time...

Just when you thought it couldn't get any more ludicrous. Or bombastic. Or pompous.  This week, Toby and Donal  pick up where they left off at the end of episode 7 to plumb the depths (or scale the heights?) and take last week's subject to its unnatural end.
Expect stories of the human condition, of the nature of life, the cosmos, and that elusive quality - truth; all produced by a collection of fabulously wealthy, cosseted and privileged individuals who are kind enough to share their wisdom and insight with us mere mortals - all for the price of a double album with a Gatefold sleeve (obvs).

There is genuine wonder here, as well as an examination of the album that topped the most recent Rolling Stone poll of greatest albums of all time. And no, it's not by Genesis...

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Check out our You Tube channel at totalrankers podcast.

We finally arrive at the most maligned (and celebrated) manifestation of popular music - The Concept Album. In times of yore (pre-1980), every band had to have one, it had to be at least a double album with a gatefold sleeve, and it had to have an unintelligibly stupid story or central theme.
Toby and Donal slide down a deep dark hole to explore the concept of the Concept. Expect inexplicable cosmic themes of redemption, naval gazing of a particularly repugnant variety, and mechanical cows with working udders...

Be as one with the knowledge and magic of the source
...eh?

We would love to hear your (polite) feedback! Email the show on [email protected]
Check out our You Tube channel at Totalrankers podcast.

This week (in a slightly delayed episode), Donal and Toby go back in time to the music that they listened to and loved in younger days, to see whether the tunes, the albums, and the magic stand the test of time. Revel in such nuggets as Toby's first Guitar Hero crush; Donal's mum's favourite album; the ubiquitous strange collective of musicians dressed bizarrely and sounding vaguely like The Beach Boys; and that most rarest of sightings: an "Art Rock" album that Toby actually likes!

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Twitter: @totalrankerspodcast
You Tube channel: Total Rankers Podcast

This week, Toby and Donal address the mathematical concept known as the Infinite Monkey Theorem, and apply it to Rock.
The theory being: if you give enough monkeys enough typewriters and enough time, sooner or later they will produce Shakespeare.

So who are the monkeys of the Rock world who have managed, after an infinite number of tries, to produce a nugget of Gold? Who are the terrible artists with back catalogues of no merit whatsoever, who have nevertheless achieved greatness just once for 3 minutes and 30 seconds? There are some surprises, some people you wish you had never heard of, some Big Beasts, and... The Osmonds!

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Twitter: @totalrankerspodcast
Our You Tube channel totarankers podcast contains links to all the music ranked on the show

This week, Donal and Toby investigate some of the greatest mysteries in Rock - artists who only ever produced one album - and ask why? Sometimes the answer is only too clear... at other times confusion or tragedy intervenes. We look at the highs and lows - those who like Icarus flew too high, and those who should never have got off the ground. Featuring such ground-breaking (?) acts as The Monks, The Disposable Heroes of Hipoprisy, and an investigation into the mystery that is...Hal...

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What better way to mark a third episode than to examine the greatest "three in a row" feats in popular music? Who has achieved the best run of three albums of the highest quality? And why is it such a rare occurrence? Donal and Toby investigate this phenomenon and consider such diverse artists as Parliament/Funkadelic, The Brian Jamestown Massacre and, of course... The Beatles!
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This week, Donal and Toby explore the concept of the Quality Flop: albums that failed - spectacularly or ignominiously - on release but, upon re-evaluation, have real quality: the Heaven's Gates of the musical world. How did such albums get made? Why did they fail, and what justifies their reappraisal?

Featuring such leading lights as Peter Gabriel and The Beach Boys, and unlikely inclusions such as Frank Sinatra and, of course... The Beatles!

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In this debut episode, Donal and Toby  - appropriately enough - delve into the mysteries of the debut album. Why do some artists get it so right so quickly? And do they all go on to bigger and better things, or do they burn brightly before extinguishing their own flames in a haze of musical differences, artistic angst and drug paraphernalia? Discover the great debut albums you never knew existed (The Earlies, anyone?), others you wished you had never heard, and... The Beatles.
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Let us know what you think - what we get right, what we get wrong, what we miss completely. Email us at [email protected]