The Apollo Audio Podcast

We time travel back almost exactly 50 years to two albums celebrating the golden anniversary of their release. Probably fair to say that one of these albums has faired better in the eyes of the critics and in public consciousness, although testament to both artists that they remain widely loved and, incredibly, still touring! The definition of national treasures - what on earth will we do when Elt...

With a special guest appearance from an alien enquirer and a surprisingly effusive and enthusiastic response to one of this weeks albums from one of our hosts. We pitch two of the great British legends against each other and see how comes up trumps. While it's their most commercially successful album, Some Girls from The Rolling Stones is lodged in the bottom 20% of the official Rolling Stone list...

Two albums from the early-ish 90's this week - one that came just before a tragedy and one that we maybe think is a tragedy!! Fair to say we were probably a bit surprised by our reactions to both albums this week, with preconceptions and expectations largely off the mark. As always, we'd love to know what you think of these albums - positive or negative. Drop us a line at apolloaudiopod@gmail.com...

The album that introduced the whole world to Bob Marley, and the album that was a reinvention of a group that looked like it was heading for a gimmicky early dead-end. The Apollo Audio Podcast is recorded at Apollo Audio in Hertford, hosted by Billy Hills, Miles Mitchell and Martin Lumsden. Produced, recorded and edited by Martin Lumsden. A Froody Music Production www.froodymusic.com The Apollo Au...

This week we break from our normal random selection from the Rolling Stone 500 best album list to pick up and have a listen to a favourite from one of our hosting team. It might be from the list, it might not - but it's definitely an album that we think is worth talking about. For the first special episode in an occasional series we have the selection of Apollo Audio studio owner and splendid guit...

A glorious album or an "over-hyped piece of shite". The critics were divided but what do the Apollo crew think of The Stone Roses? And as for Van Morrison, our guest host this week definitely thinks you can have too many horns, even if there are only two. The Apollo Audio Podcast is recorded at Apollo Audio in Hertford, hosted by Billy Hills, Miles Mitchell and Martin Lumsden. This week we are joi...

This week on the podcast, it's the debut album from Big Star and the sixteenth (albeit delayed) from Bob Dylan. In the words of Rolling Stone "Big Star produced a style that foreshadowed the alternative rock of the 1980s and 1990s. Before they broke up, they created a "seminal body of work that never stopped inspiring succeeding generations" John Rockwell of The New York Times hailed The Basement...

We had a bit of a chat about things arising from the Grammy Awards on Sunday 3rd April The Apollo Audio Podcast is recorded at Apollo Audio in Hertford, hosted by Billy Hills, Miles Mitchell and Martin Lumsden. Produced, recorded and edited by Martin Lumsden. A Froody Music Production www.froodymusic.com The Apollo Audio Podcast is hosted by Martin Lumsden (record producer and engineer) and Billy...

"...the most inventive piece of song-writing to have appeared on record in a considerable time". That's what they were saying about David Bowie's fourth studio record Hunky Dory back in 1972 - and that was before he really hit the heights with Ziggy Stardust in the following year. The clues are there, but the flame haired alien alter-ego hadn't yet had that transformative appearance on Top of the...

Bad Girls (25th April 1979) The Boston-born Donna Summer was the Queen of Disco by the end of the Seventies — but she wanted more. With her double-vinyl epic Bad Girls, she set out to conquer every corner of pop music in the name of disco, along with her longtime producers Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte. “Hot Stuff” was her rock anthem, while “Bad Girls” found the sweet spot where the toot-toot...

On the show this week we discover an artist for (mainly) the first time and are mainly surprised and delighted by our introduction to Fiona Apple. Plus we flip back to the golden era of Hip-Hop and the era defining sounds of Eric B. and Rakim with the general consensus that we prefer what they inspired over what they created. Every week we listen to two classic albums from Rolling Stone magazine's...

It's debut albums from both our artists this week, and we find out we're a bit of a sucker for some neo soul but rock guitars we maybe only want in conjunction with some MJ. The Apollo Audio Podcast is recorded at Apollo Audio Hertford and is a Froody Music Production. Recording and post production by Martin Lumsden The Apollo Audio Podcast is hosted by Martin Lumsden (record producer and engineer...

Join Billy, Martin and Miles as we take a tour through the Rolling Stone Magazine 2020 list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. Did they get it right, and what might we have been missing out on? On this week's episode we discuss the first of two Grateful Dead albums released in 1970, and the 1992 debut from Rage Against the Machine. Once again the votes are split, and the early 70's is not com...

It might not seem like we've been away but actually it's been about 3 weeks since we've been together so future episodes will be almost live. An even better opportunity to get involved and join us on our voyage of discovery through the Rolling Stone Best 500 albums of all time. This week it's local boys The Zombies (from Hatfield and St Albans) and Dusty Springfield. Which of these impressed, and...

This week....the greatest album ever to be marketed under the heading “world music,” and and album that Elton John called timeless. We go back to 1985, which only one of us can actually remember IRL, and to 2019 which really seems far to recent to include albums that make it in to a list of the best 500 ever made. The Apollo Audio studio is also vibrant with the sounds of the Paul Jones Blues Band...

Way back to the past and our first visit to the 50's for the first jazz album on our journey so far, plus reminiscing about cd's in the car and pollen counts at Knebworth as we revisit a long time favourite - at least for Billy and Martin. Every week, we listen to two albums from the Rolling Stone 500 Best Albums of All Time and discuss if we agree they deserve their place. If you've listened too...

In this show we discuss the birth of sampling and the growth of grunge whilst Miles beguiles and hypnotises us with the tale of the most famous 7 notes in musical history... What do you think of this week's albums - are The Smashing Pumpkins indeed "smashing"? Are you a part of the De La Soul DAISY generation? Get in touch with us at  apolloaudiopod@gmail.com The Apollo Audio Podcast is hoste...

It's the early 2000's and both our artists this week are attempting follow ups to breakthrough albums while also attempting to address relationships against the backdrop of global idealogical conflict. In this week's episode we note the big difference between the status of bands in the UK and the USA and Martin finally remembers to come prepared with the facts. What do you think of this week's alb...

Should a greatest hits album qualify and does if work to hear 10 years of releases in a one hour session. And if The Rolling Stones are truly the best rock and roll band of all time, when do they get around to proving it? Fair to say we went in to this week's albums without high expectations and by and large they were met in full. What do you think - are we just totally failing to understand the w...

This week we find ourselves in Jamaica and and once again despite the random selection process we've got two albums that were largely recorded in Kingston Town albeit a quarter of a century apart. We try to figure out if Are Toots and the Maytals the fathers of reggae (or should that title go to UB40!!!) and which came first - reggae or ska. Plus Billy may have found his new favourite album but Ma...

In this episode, Martin get's the chance to visit an album he actually bought when it first came out and find out if it is as good as he remembered. We also chat about remasters, bonus tracks and why albums got longer in the CD age. Plus, the Destiny's Child breakthrough album featuring vocals from one Beyonce Knowles. Wonder what happened to her? Join us every week to discover how we got on liste...

It's only week 3 and already our random number selector has decided to throw us straight to the top of the charts, with the classic 1971 album "What's Going On?" from Marvin Gaye. A Motown legend, taking on the new decade with a change of direction that challenged his record label and ended up becoming widely regarded as the best album ever made. We also got the chance to force Miles in to listeni...

This week the random album generator threw up (or perhaps spewed out!) two artists that don't have much in common, apart from both being debuts. Probably fair to say that one of them has had a deeper social and cultural impact, but the Sex Pistols are also referenced occasionally! What is the correct pronunciation of Bon Iver? Is it a good idea to be afraid of death by bear when songwriting? What...

Our random album generator clearly has a sense of humour, pitching us straight in by putting together two artists that historically have a bit of beef but also easing us in gently with artists we are certainly familiar but perhaps not through these albums. Also by sheer coincidence, these are both artists 4th studio offerings and both declared them as their pop crossovers. Did we agree? Can Billy...

Join Billy, Martin and Miles on a journey through the 500 best albums ever made. We're going to have to focus... The Apollo Audio Podcast is hosted by Martin Lumsden (record producer and engineer) and Billy Hills (musician and studio owner), and is recorded at Apollo Audio Hertford. Each episode offers insight into songs, records, and the creative process, drawn from real-world experience in studi...