The Album Years

Back in September we made an appearance at the Haarlem Vinyl Festival for a special live podcast on the year 1994! Here's the second part of an abridged version of the show (we've had to cut out the sections we played music on the turntable due to copyright issues). For 1994, we were both astounded at how many great records we found, both established favourites and underrated classics. On this sec...

Back in September we made an appearance at the Haarlem Vinyl Festival for a special live podcast on the year 1994! Here's the first part of an abridged version of the show (we've had to cut out the sections we played music on the turntable due to copyright issues). For 1994, we both found a treasure trove of great records. On this first part, we cover albums by Jeff Buckley, Nine Inch Nails, Oasis...

It's the last episode of our series on 1982 and naturally we've saved the best until last. On this extended episode we cover metal, progressive rock, minimal jazz and of course our picks for our favourite and most influential albums from the year. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week's podcast, we explore which artists in 1982 adapted to the changing musical climate and which stayed true to their own style—with results ranging from mixed on King Crimson’s Beat to the absolutely exceptional All the Best Cowboys Have Chinese Eyes by Pete Townshend. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On the podcast this week: an album that might just be the most bleak and depressing album ever made (and it's not one by Steven, believe it or not!), plus post-punk releases by Cocteau Twins, Felt, XTC & more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Up for discussion on this week's podcast: mainstream hit records from 1982, with absolutely huge albums by Queen, Michael Jackson, Prince and many more! Coming up next week, albums by The Cure, XTC, Cocteau Twins and more! Buy Tim Bowness' eighth studio album Powder Dry (out now!) here: https://burningshed.com/store/timbowness Get tickets for Steven Wilson's The Overview Tour in 2025: https://stev...

Continuing our series on the year 1982, up for discussion this week are synth-pop albums, featuring Duran Duran's smash hit Rio, Thomas Dolby's debut masterwork The Golden Age of Wireless, Associates' Sulk, Gary Numan's I Assassin and much more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's the first episode of our series on the year 1982 and we begin by talking about innovative pop records that not only defined the era but also embraced emerging production technologies at the time. This is none more evident than on records such as The Dreaming by Kate Bush, Peter Gabriel 4 (Security), ABC's The Lexicon of Love, Roxy Music's Avalon - all albums that pushed the boundaries of what...

We've reached the sixth and final part of our odyssey into 1972! On this week's episode we discuss great jazz records by Miles Davis and Frank Zappa and progressive albums from outside the UK, including the undoubted masterpiece that is Aphrodite's Child 666. Plus, our roundup of 1972 with our favourite and most influential albums from the year! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm...

On this week's episode of The Album Years, we continue exploring deep into 1972, with great releases from soul legends Gil Scott-Heron & Terry Callier, and ever indefinable works from Todd Rundgren, Scott Walker, Osibisa and more! Pre-order Tim Bowness' eighth studio album Powder Dry here: https://burningshed.com/store/timbowness Get tickets for Steven Wilson's The Overview Tour in 2025: https://s...

In the fourth part of our deep dive into the legendary year of 1972, we focus on some of the biggest rock classics that defined the era! Featured on this episode: Deep Purple's Machine Head and their iconic live recording Made in Japan, Black Sabbath Vol.4, Alice Cooper's Schools Out and more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We dive into the atmospheric worlds of ambient, krautrock, and folk music released in 1972, including the introspective sounds of Nick Drake, the experimental sonic landscapes of Tangerine Dream and Neu!, along with what might be the first ever folk concept album? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the second episode of our trip through the musical world of 1972, we discover one of the greatest years in progressive rock history! We talk classic albums by Yes, Jethro Tull, Genesis, ELP and lots of hidden gems from an astonishing year for prog! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We're back in a brand new studio with another exciting dive into music history: 1972! In this episode, we explore genre-defining glam albums by David Bowie & T-Rex, chart-topping hits by Elton John, The Rolling Stones & more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this week's episode we discuss our "Quintessential Album Years Albums", underrated records that we believe need to be critically re-evaluated and given a second chance! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week we have more from our live podcast debut in London last month, which is focused on our list of the artists we talk about the most on the podcast! Can you guess which ones? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode is comprised of highlights from our recent live podcast debut, filmed at West Hampstead Arts Club in London on 7th June 2024. We discuss how the podcast started, the current 'post rock era' of music we are living in, our changing listening habits with streaming and how we both meet up occasionally and 'blind swap' records! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our epic journey into the music of 1985 comes to a close with this week's episode, which includes albums by Marillion, IQ, Neil Young, Supertramp and more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We are back again with more albums from 1985 as we explore iconic "goth" records by Dead Can Dance, Cocteau Twins and Sisters of Mercy, along with critically acclaimed gems by Suzanne Vega, The Smiths, Jesus and the Mary Chain & more. You can watch the video version of this podcast on our new YouTube channel! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week's episode of The Album Years continues our journey into the groundbreaking year of 1985, where we discuss seminal art pop masterpieces by Kate Bush, Tears for Fears and Prefab Sprout, plus more experimental and under the radar releases from the year. Watch the video version of this podcast on our YouTube channel! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the second part of our deep dive into 1985, we discuss which established artists stayed relevant and which ones struggled to adapt to the new musical landscapes of the 1980s. Amongst those discussed are podcast favourites Joni Mitchell, Roy Harper and Miles Davis, while the zeitgeist conscious guises adopted by Rush and Robert Plant also go under the microscope. Meanwhile, Brian Eno continued t...

1985 was another sensational year for music. On this first part of our foray into the mid-eighties, we discuss the first album in history to sell over one million copies on CD (Dire Straits' Brothers in Arms fact fans), Phil Collins' smash hit album No Jacket Required, Prince's underrated follow up to 'Purple Rain' and much more (David Sylvian and Van Morrison? Check!). You can watch the video ver...

This week’s episode is part 4 of 1968 – and with so much left to discuss we’re doing two episodes in one! Includes Van Morrison's "Astral Weeks," Nico's "The Marble Index," The Velvet Underground's "White Light," and many others. And would you believe it, Tim Bowness and I share the same favourite album? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week’s Album Years - 1968 Part 3 - finds the boys covering singer-songwriters and emerging progressive artists. Pink Floyd, The Nice, Soft Machine, Caravan, Family, Moody Blues and many more are discussed. And, yes, they do manage to shoehorn mentions of Bowie, Fripp and Talk Talk into the conversation! Well done them. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's all about 1968 psychedelia on this week's The Album Years podcast episode! Steven and Tim break down albums by The Doors, The Grateful Dead, Iron Butterfly, The Incredible String Band and more, plus a mysterious inclusion on The Notorious Byrd Brothers' album cover... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices