Vinyl Verdict

On this episode of Vinyl Verdict, Bell, Jamie and Plouffe listen to Bell's next pick, Father John Misty's "I Love You, Honeybear". Father John Misty is the stage name of the musician Josh Tillman, previously of the band Fleet Foxes. This is his second album as Father John Misty, and it was released in 2015 to critical acclaim. Publications praised the lyrics, his warm delivery, and the instrumentation of the album. The album went on to make several year-end lists of the best albums of 2015, coming in at #12 on Pitchfork's list, and #5 on the A.V. Club's. Approximately 30% of the total sales for this album have been the release on vinyl. But what will the boys think of this album? Is it really the BEST album in Bell's collection? Come along and find out!

On this special episode of Vinyl Verdict, Bell, Jamie and Plouffe get together to talk about their latest acquisitions. Bell brings Joji's "BALLADS 1", Plouffe brings Casiopea's "Super Flight" and Jamie brings The Flaming Lips' "Transmissions from the Satellite Heart". Once again, the album could not be more different! Which host had to fudge their latest acquisition? Which host was a good boy? Was there a clear winner from the haul? Come along and find out!

Hey it's your buddy Jamie here with a minor content warning: this album is somewhat violent and sweary in its lyrical content, be forewarned.

On this episode of Vinyl Verdict, Bell, Jamie and Plouffe listen to Plouffe's next pick, Slipknot's "Slipknot". Their debut album, it was released in 1999 to critical and fan acclaim. In addition to positive reviews of the album, the single "Wait and Bleed" was nominated for Best Metal Performance at the 2001 Grammy Awards. Worldwide, it has sold over 3,000,000 copies since its release, which is a good thing because Slipknot has 9 members that need to get paid. Several of the members of the band contribute to the percussion alone, which was cited as a major strong point on the album. Will the boys review it as kindly? What kind of mask would Plouffe wear? Come along and find out!

On this episode of Vinyl Verdict, Bell, Jamie and Plouffe listen to Jamie's next pick, R.E.M.'s "Green". Released in November 1988, this was R.E.M.'s sixth studio album, and also their major label debut. Prior to signing with Warner Bros. Records, the band was signed to the relatively small label, I.R.S. While some ardent fans of the previous five albums thought the band was selling out by signing to a major label, it led to a period of great success, musically and financially for the band. "Green" spawned four singles, Orange Crush, Stand, Pop Song 89 and Get Up and went on to sell, review and chart incredibly well. Will the boys stand in the place where they live, and face the music, or will this album turn them inside out? Come along and find out!

On this episode of Vinyl Verdict, Bell, Jamie and Plouffe listen to Bell's next pick, My Morning Jacket's "Evil Urges". Released in 2008, the album was the fifth studio recording from the band, and represented a shift in their sound. Jim James, the frontman for the band said that they were trying to achieve a sound more akin to what they sound like in concert. Reviews for this new album were mixed, with some reviewers noting that the change in sound would squander the goodwill the band had garnered with their previous four releases. Pitchfork, which we usually note is a publication that actively hates music, remarked that the album was "baffling" and "eye-poppingly annoying". What adjectives will the boys use to describe this album? Will this be an album where they all agree? Come along and find out!

On this episode of Vinyl Verdict, Bell, Jamie and Plouffe are joined by special guest Dan Besser. Like previous guests, Dan is both a friend and a coworker! Today, Dan brought with him Lorn's "Ask the Dust", the second album from the artist, released in 2012. If you've followed Dan's streams on Twitch (@BuhDan on there), you'll know that Dan likes songs with synths and sometimes dark lyrics -- two things "Ask the Dust" has. What will the boys ask of the dust? Will Dan be back for more? Come along and find out!

On this episode of Vinyl Verdict, Bell, Jamie and Plouffe listen to Plouffe's next pick, Arctic Monkey's "AM". Their fifth studio album, it was released in September 2013, and the album was an immediate hit for the band. Six singles were release from the album, with most of them charting well in both UK, where the Arctic Monkeys are based, and internationally. "AM" has remained on the charts in countries such as Australia, Denmark and the Netherlands in the ten years since release, a huge feat. The album won the 2014 Brit Award for British Album of the Year, and the single Do I Wanna Know? was nominated for Best Rock Performance at the 57th Grammy Awards. Reviews were kind to the album both at the time and retrospectively. The New Musical Express (NME) named it the 449th of the 500 greatest albums of all time, after the album had only been out for a month, and Rolling Stone named it the 346th of the 500 greatest albums of all time on their updated 2020 list. Where will the boys put it on their lists? Will this be a rare quorum for the podcast? Come along and find out!

On this episode of Vinyl Verdict, Bell, Jamie and Plouffe listen to Jamie's next pick, Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young's "Deja Vu". Released in 1970, the album was one of the first albums released by a rock supergroup. David Crosby had previously been the guitarist in the band The Byrds, Stephen Stills and Neil Young had both been guitarists in the band Buffalo Springfield, and Graham Nash had been the lead singer of The Hollies. As a trio, CSN released their debut album in 1969, to immediate success and followed that up with a tour that included a stop at the Woodstock Music and Art Fair, where they were joined by Neil Young. Following this, they got together to record what would become "Deja Vu", between July 1969 and January 1970. Each member of the group contributed multiple songs for the album. The sole cover, "Woodstock", was written by Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell. Contemporary reviews were favourable, and the album sold 500,000 copies in its first two weeks, and then followed that up by spending 88 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100. Today, the album is regarded as a classic of its time, with Rolling Stone naming it variously the 147th, 148th and 220th greatest album of all time, and the Library of Congress selected it as a significant work for its archive in 2023. But how will the boys rate it? Is it too of its own time for them? Come along and find out!

Hey it's your buddy Jamie with a Content Warning: every song on this album has been flagged by Spotify/Apple Music as 'explicit'. The lyrics and song titles may be offensive to you. Maybe sit this one out if you listen with your kids.

On this episode of Vinyl Verdict, Bell, Jamie and Plouffe listen to Bell's next pick, Machine Girl's "U-Void Synthesizer". The fifth studio album from the duo of Matt Stephenson and Sean Kelly, it has been variously described as fitting the genres of Hardcore, Grindcore, Industrial and Drum and Bass. In their review where they gave the album a 7.8/10, Pitchfork said the album was "relentlessly smashing together bits of punk, grindcore, rave, industrial, and more". In just over 30 minutes, the duo beat the listener senseless with often dark lyrics buried deep in the mix, layers of sound and a small helping of spoken word samples. What will the boys think of Bell's most off-the-wall pick so far? Will this be the rare album we reach a quorum on? Come along and find out!

On this special episode of Vinyl Verdict, Bell and Plouffe have teamed up to pick two albums from Jamie's collection! Bell's pick is the Electric Light Orchestra's "A New World Record", their sixth, and perhaps most successful album, released in 1976. This album spawned four hit singles - Do Ya, Livin' Thing, Telephone Line, and Rockaria! and went to number one here in Canada. A fun record incorporating elements of orchestral accompaniment, the 70s rock sound and opera, critics enjoyed the nods to The Beatles, the juxtaposition between faster tracks and the more slow, haunting numbers and the sophistication of production. In comparison, Plouffe's pick, Elvis Costello's "My Aim is True", his first album, released in 1977, is sparse in production. In comparison to ELO's huge, sprawling sound and epic length to their songs, "My Aim is True" features many songs less than three minutes long, some shorter than two minutes. A mix of what might be called New Wave, Punk and Pub Rock, the album was a massive success. Despite being released only a year apart and both band being from the UK, the two albums sound almost nothing alike. What will the boys think of their picks from Jamie's collection? Will this be a rare episode where Vinyl Verdict is in complete agreement? Come along and find out!