Album Clash - a music podcast!

Concluding the first clash in our electro season, Kev takes us through the breakthrough album by the laser loving gallic synth-wizard Jean-Michel Jarre, 1976’s ‘Oxygene’. As ever there’s plenty of ground for us to cover, including how the recording process was somewhat more low-tech than you might think (even for 1976), how the album’s unexpected success gave Jean-Michel Jarre a platform to develo...

Returning from our festive excursions, normal service is resumed this week as we start both a new clash and a new season. It’s electro season, which means over the next couple of months we’re going to be going through some of the most significant albums over the last 50 years of electronic music. Kicking things off we are going all the way back to the mid-70s and two of the most influential albums...

***FIRSTLY, apologies about the sound quality on this show. True to our amateurism we had four people sharing two microphones on either end of a Zoom call, so it is a little echoey and muffled at times. Sorry if that becomes a distraction.*** IT’S CHRIIIIIIIIIISTMAAAAAAAAASSSSSS!!!!!!!!!! Season’s greetings to all of our lovely listeners! As an extra festive treat we are bringing you another bonus...

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas and, to get you in the festive mood, why not listen to the second part in our Christmas Album Clash (told you it would become a time-honoured tradition…)? Bringing things home this week, Kev guides us through the 1973 compilation album ‘A Motown Christmas’. Featuring contributions from Stevie Wonder, The Jackson 5, The Temptations, the Supremes and Smoke...

Ho ho ho! Merry (almost) Christmas! Yep, it’s the time of year where we gather around the fire, drink hot wine, eat our own body weight in Celebrations and fall out with our family over games of Pictionary. And what better way to get in the festive spirit than by joining us for the inaugural Christmas Album Clash (soon to become a time honoured tradition)! Kicking things off this week we take a lo...

Concluding our clash between turn-of-the-century New York bands, and temporarily halting our virtual road trip of famous musical cities, we turn our attention to Interpol’s debut album, 2002’s ‘Turn on the Bright Lights’. It’s another long episode this week (sorry about that; you should have seen how long the unedited recording of this clash was!) and that’s because there’s a hell of a lot for us...

It’s new clash week again, and the final (for now) stop on our tour of famous musical cities takes us to New York, as we compare two of the bands that were instrumental in the revival of guitar music at the start of the 21st Century - The Strokes and Interpol. And what a place to start, as we take a look at one of the most influential and important albums of the last 25 years - The Strokes’ 2001 d...

And so our time in Detroit comes to an end - honestly this time. Having kicked out the jams last week, this week we welcome Iggy Pop back into the ring of death with his band The Stooges, to go through their self-titled debut from 1969. As ever we talk through the background leading up to the album, from the band’s formation, where they drew their inspiration, and how the initial recording session...

It’s new clash week on the pod and, following on from Detroit, the next stop on our tour of famous musical cities is: …...it’s Detroit. Yep, that’s right. No, that’s not a typo. Kev couldn’t be bothered to think of a different city, so it’s very much as you were, at least Geographically speaking. Musically speaking, however, it’s a complete change of pace from the soulful, funky grooves of Marvin...

Continuing our visit to the Motor City, in this week’s show we conclude our clash of the Motown titans as we see how Stevie Wonder followed Marvin Gaye’s lead with 1973’s ‘Innervisions’. As ever the fascinating background to this album gives us plenty to sink our teeth into, not least of all the bold decisions that Stevie took to get the creative control that he desperately wanted, and how he play...

Having left Bristol, the second stop on our virtual road trip of famous musical cities takes us across the Atlantic (and back in time a couple of decades) to Detroit, Michigan in the 1970s, as we cast our eyes (ears?) upon two albums released by arguably the most famous record company of them all, Motown. Well, Tamla actually, but who cares about details? First up, we revisit Marvin Gaye’s groundb...

On this week’s show we round off the first clash in our tour of famous musical cities by taking a look at Massive Attack’s entry into the battle of the Bristolian big beat behemoths, 1994’s ‘Protection’. How would the band follow up on the breakout success that was Blue Lines? Particularly after their vocalist, producer and manager had all done one and left them searching for new creative impetus?...

DING DING DING!!! It’s New Clash Season Day! What do you mean “that’s not a thing”? We’re making it a thing dammit!! Anyway, we kick off our new season of clashes involving famous musical cities with a trip to the sedate South West of England, gazing across the Severn estuary from good old Bristol. While we’re there we take a look at two of the leading acts in the mid-90s ‘trip-hop’ scene - Portis...

And so to the final episode of our Britpop season, in which we conclude our clash of the stalwarts by reviewing The Charlatans’ fifth album, 1997’s ‘Tellin’ Stories’. Once again there’s some heavy stuff for us to get through as we discuss the background to this album, in particular the tragic death of the band’s organ player, Rob Collins, during the recording sessions. We talk about how The Charla...

***TRIGGER WARNING - this week’s show includes discussion on mental health issues including depression, self-harm and suicide. PLEASE make sure you’re in the right frame of mind to hear about those subjects, and talk to someone if you are feeling vulnerable. In the UK, the number for the Samaritans is 116 123. Take care of yourselves.*** The final clash in our Britpop season sees two of Britain’s...

Continuing our Britpop season with the second part of our ‘battle of the exes’, and after Tim guided us through Elastica’s debut album on last week’s show, this week it’s Kev’s turn to lead us through Suede’s third, and most successful, album ‘Coming Up’. Well, I say that Kev leads us through it - and to be fair he mostly does - but Tim keeps taking over the conversation and leading it down all so...

We start a new clash this week, and continuing our Britpop season we take a look at two of the bands - and band leaders - that were very much at the centre of the scene. It’s Elastica vs Suede. (Also a clash that would have fit nicely into our ‘beef’ season…) This week Tim leads us through Elastica’s 1995 self-titled debut, and there’s an awful lot for us to get through - starting with Justine Fri...

This week we conclude our trip back to the early 90s by going through Primal Scream’s seminal ‘Screamadelica’ from 1991. Winner of the inaugural Mercury Music Prize and the album that rescued Primal Scream’s career from the doldrums, we take a look back at how Andrew Weatherall, and the band, completely reinvented the art of music production to produce something the likes of which had never been h...

Who says that the term ‘Britpop’ has to apply only to music released between 1994 and 1997? Certainly not us, as in the latest clash in our Britpop season we journey back to the start of the 90s, don our baggy jeans and listen to two of the bands that best defined the ‘acid house’ scene: Happy Mondays and Primal Scream. Shaun Ryder, Bez and their mates kick things off on this week’s show as we tak...

And so to the album that defined an era. The album that became the calling card for a generation and propelled five lads from Burnage (well, four lads from Burnage and a Cockney fella - we’ll definitely get into that) onto the global stage - before they fucked it all up (which we’ve already gone into - at length - on our ‘Be Here Now’ episode). It is, of course, (What’s the Story) Morning Glory by...

Just like the changing of the actual seasons is a seamless transition from the balmy days of Summer into the rich Autumnal hues, so the end of one Album Clash season and the beginning of another occurs without you even noticing. Except that I'm telling you about it here. Yes folks, to celebrate the end of our 'beef' season, while at the same time welcoming in the season of Britpop, we are doing th...

***Ding ding ding!!! Bonus episode claxon!!!*** To celebrate 'beef' season we decided to do our first ever bonus episode, where we celebrate the age-old tradition of 'diss' songs. In doing so we are joined by a very special guest, Sam, who curates all of our excellent social media content, including the pod artwork. And Sam introduces herself in quite spectacular fashion by telling the story of ho...

This week brings the conclusion of our clash of the 80s Titans, as Kev guides us expertly through Prince's seminal album from 1984, 'Purple Rain'. As ever there's loads for us to get into as we discuss how Prince brought his creative vision to life in what was to become one of popular culture's most iconic cornerstones. We talk about how one of the songs on this album led to the introduction of th...

Continuing our 'beef' season, we kick off a new clash this week. And if you thought we went big last time out, we are really upping the ante with this one. It's Michael Jackson vs. Prince. It's The King of Pop vs. The Purple One. It's 'Thriller' vs. 'Purple Rain'. We start things off with the biggest selling album of all time, Michael Jackson's epochal 'Thriller' from November 1982. And frankly, w...

And so to part two of our clash of the titans, as the second week in our 'beef' season sees us go through The Beatles seminal 'Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'. Once again there's a hell of a lot to get our teeth into here so it's another long old episode (sorry about that). Where to start when talking about arguably the most influential works of art of the Twentieth Century? We talk about ho...