Vinyl Verdict

On this episode of Vinyl Verdict, Bell, Jamie and Plouffe listen to Plouffe's next pick, Marcy Playground's Marcy Playground. Released in February 1997, the album went nowhere until the single, Sex and Candy was released as a radio single in September. The immediate success of the single led to the album being re-released in October 1997. As a single, Sex and Candy went to #1 on the Modern Rock chart for 15 weeks. In addition, it went to #8 on the Billboard Hot 100, while over here in Canada, it went to #1 on the Rock Singles chart. Three other singles, Poppies, St. Joe on the School Bus, and Sherry Fraser, did not have the same success as Sex and Candy. Contemporary reviews for the album were not kind, with the musical press panning the songs and musicianship and one review going as far as to call it one of the worst albums of the 90s. Will the boys think its one of the worst albums this podcast has ever reviewed? Is there more than one good song on the album? Come along and find out!

Welcome back! We're happy to have you along for season 2! On this episode of Vinyl Verdict, Bell, Jamie and Plouffe, listen to Bell's next pick, Prozzak's Hot Show. Like Gorillaz, Prozzak is a virtual band, consisting of two characters - Simon and Milo. In reality, Prozzak consists of the Canadian duo Jay Levine and James Bryan McCollum, previously of the group The Philosopher Kings. Levine and McCollum started Prozzak after needing a way to hash out their differences musically, eventually presenting the music they created to their label, Sony, who greenlit them to make a whole album. This resulted in the release of Hot Show, their first studio album. The album spawned five singles, with Strange Disease and Sucks to Be You being the two most successful. Will this episode be a Hot Show? Will you, the listener lament that it Sucks to be You for having to listen to it? Come along and find out!

After a long summer, Vinyl Verdict will be returning from our break with season 2 on September 2nd! Our first two episodes will be Bell's pick Hot Show by Prozzak, and Jamie's pick The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway by Genesis.

Thank you so much for tuning in, we can't wait to talk soon!

Also: Make sure to check out vinylverdict.com where we'll be updating it with our reviews from Season 1!

On this episode of Vinyl Verdict, the boys look back on our first year as a podcast! Were the ratings too harsh on some records? Too fair on others? What did we do well, what are we going to work on for next season? Will Jamie continue rating albums out of absurd numbers? All of these things will be answered! While this is our year end podcast, we're coming back with more Vinyl Verdict in August. So come along with us to look at the year that was and then come back for the year that will be!

On this episode of Vinyl Verdict, Bell, Jamie and Plouffe, listen to Plouffe's next pick, Rage Against the Machine's The Battle of Los Angeles. Their third, and final album of original material, The Battle of Los Angeles was released in 1999 to critical and commercial success. Critics cited the lyrics and innovative guitar playing of Tom Morello as high points of the album. The album debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200, and was nominated for Best Rock Album at the 43rd Grammy Awards. On the 2003 list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, Rolling Stone listed it as #426. But where will this album sit on the boys charts? Will they have the same critical reverence for it? Come along and find out!

On this episode of Vinyl Verdict, Bell, Jamie and Plouffe, listen to Jamie's next pick, Billy Joel's The Stranger. Released in 1977, The Stranger was a Hail Mary from Billy Joel to save his recording contract with Columbia. After his inexplicable rise to fame with Piano Man in 1973, his subsequent releases were lukewarmly received by both critics and the general public. Searching for a solution, he turned to his touring band and veteran producer Phil Ramone to cut this album in little over a month in 1977. The result was his breakthrough, with four singles charting, and it garnered two Grammy awards. Retrospective reviews have called it Billy Joel's best work, including Rolling Stone, which named it variously the 67th, 70th and 169th of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. But where will this album be placed on Vinyl Verdict's list? Come along and find out!

On this special episode of Vinyl Verdict, Plouffe and Jamie have teamed up to pick two albums from Bell's collection! Jamie picks Leon Bridges' Coming Home and Plouffe picks Muse's Black Holes and Revelations. The two albums could not be more different! Coming Home, released in 2015, is a soul album with a throwback sound that would not be out of place on the radio of the late 50s and early 60s. His retro style and smooth sound is reminiscent of Sam Cooke, who we previously covered on the Our Favourite Live Albums special episode. In contrast, Muse's Black Holes and Revelations is a space themed (but somehow with two songs that sound like they belong in Spaghetti Westerns), heavy sounding rock album from 2006. Jamie yet again reminisces about his lost youth, we discuss whether Muse is the Metal Gear of music and Plouffe talks about his Guitar Hero skills. Will this be a rare occasion where we like two picks in the same episode? Come along and find out!

On this episode of Vinyl Verdict, Bell, Jamie and Plouffe, listen to Plouffe's next pick, Skinshape's Arrogance is the Death of Men. His sixth album in five years, and second of 2020, Arrogance is the Death of Men is a quick trek through a jazzy psychedelic sound with a distinct v i b e. While relatively unknown, Skinshape is the stage name of Will Dorey, previously of the band Palace, where he played bass. On this album, he plays most of the instruments, but is joined occasionally by other musicians. Will the boys catch the wave of the vibe? Is the whole album destined to be played in the background? Come along and find out!