The Twilight Turntable

Tone offers up Leonard Cohen's 1988 album. What will Paul make of Cohen's commitment to synth? What do the vocals of Jennifer Warnes bring to the party? Can we expect a call from the Jazz Police? And what's a persecuted Spanish poet got to do with all of this? For the answers to at least some of these questions, please try listening.

Tone brings Harry Nilsson's 1971 album to the Turntable. Why was he so friendly with the Beatles (Nilsson not Tone)? Which song invented the power ballad? And why does Paul keep getting future echoes of Rufus Wainwright? For the answers to these - and possibly fewer - questions, please try listening.

It's Episode 30, which means role reversal time. Paul offers up Portishead's Mercury Music Prize winner from 1994. The album is often credited with popularising trip hop, a term the band apparently hated. What will Tone make of the filmic soundscape, dense production and yearning vocals? And how horrified will he be to learn that studio techniques included surfing on vinyl discs? To find...

Tone brings Nick Lowe's 1978 box of tricks to the Turntable. Effortless pop sensibility. Biting criticism of the music industry. The occasional gruesome lyric. What will Paul make of this musical smorgasbord? To find out, please try listening.

Tone slips Kate Bush's 1980 LP on to the Turntable. How will Paul receive the Fairlight-inspired work? What schoolday memories will the album evoke for Tone? What will the pair of them make of Kate's legendary 1979 BBC special? For the answers to these questions - and more besides - please try listening.

It's all gone rather dark at The Twilight Turntable as Tone offers the Sisters of Mercy for Paul's consideration. Is Andrew Eldritch an admirable musician or "Gary the Goth"? Are we to take him seriously or is the joke on us? Who or what is Doktor Avalanche? And what's the deal with former bandmates the Mission and leather hats? To find out, please try listening.

Steve Pringle joins Tone and Paul at the Turntable, bringing with him the Isley Brothers' 1973 album. Tales of lazy, hazy days and a glass of something nice; a relatively unheralded guitar hero; the Isleys as a family business; close harmonies; outlandish synth; multiple cover versions; and a "record in transition", bridging the gap between soul and funk. How will Paul fare with two...

"Like a warm summer breeze", the Zombies' 1968 album blows through The Turntable. The pinnacle of a turbulent career? Something of a forgotten classic from a band that had already run its course? To find out...please try listening.

Tone offers up Billy Joel's 1982 album for Paul's consideration. But is he Billy the Balladeer? One of the finest and most under-rated song-writers of the twentieth century? Or a really good John Lennon tribute act? To find out, please try listening.

To kick off the new year, Tone asks Paul to consider Roxy Music's 'retro-futurist' classic from 1973. Is it - as Morrissey has suggested - "the only truly great British album"? Or a triumph of process over product? Please try listening to find out.

The estimable Ian Forth of Sombrero Fallout fame joins Tone and Paul at the Turntable. What will Paul make of The Human League's transition to a more commercial sound? What effect did the departure of two founding band members have? And what on earth happened to Phil Oakey on Tiswas? To find out...please try listening.

Prefab Sprout's founder and bassist Martin McAloon joins Tone and Paul at the Turntable. Incredible technical insight. First-hand accounts of the recording process. Tales of minibar-dwelling musicians. How will the lads react to the presence of one of their musical heroes? Please try listening to this bumper episode to find out.

B.C. Camplight arrives at the Turntable. What on earth will Tone make of it? Please (oh please) try listening.

Slade - the biggest-selling singles act of the '70s in the UK - were also film stars. What will Paul make of this sound track album? How did the band's quest to conquer the USA turn out? And what's Tone's celebrity connection this time? Please try listening to find out.

Tone brings his showbiz friends - charming New York gangsters Fun Lovin' Criminals - to the Turntable. It's a tale of DATs, gats and hats. Stick 'em up, punks, and...please try listening.

Tone slips Jefferson Airplane's psychedelic classic onto the Turntable. And although Paul "wasn't there in '67, man", he willingly dives down the rabbit hole. Turn on, tune in and...please try listening.

Disco didn't suck. And the Turntable welcomed its first guest to prove it. Paul Burke was THERE (by which we mean Wembley Market). Tone and (regular) Paul were giddy with excitement. Please try listening.

The Peterson sisters, Steele and Hoffs grace the Turntable. Tone relives his mid-80s discovery of The Bangles and Paul learns there was much more to their music than the singles. But did the band's peak coincide with the beginning of the end? Please try listening.

If tales of werewolves, firearms and psychopaths are your thing, this might be right up your alley. Tone brings Warren Zevon to the Turntable. Will Paul be an excitable boy?

Rock on! Tone brings Birmingham's favourite metal sons to the Turntable. Will Paul be spooked, thrilled, delighted or busy thinking about Spinal Tap. Please try listening (and turn it up to 11).

The coolest band in town circa 1984 or as 80s as Carol Decker holding a Rubik's cube? Tone brings Thompson Twins to the Turntable and explains his long-held theory as to why they were denied a Number 1 single. Please try listening.

"One of the great lost albums," says Tone. Does Paul agree? Were The Undertones victims of circumstance and an unwillingness to write what the fans wanted? And does the music stand the test of time? As ever, for the answers to some, all or none of these questions...please try listening.

The Turntable flips on its head as Paul asks Tony to consider Radiohead's seminal 1997 album. Prepare for angst, turmoil and profound emotional upheaval. And that's just Tony. Please try listening.

Tony introduces Paul to a barrel-load of jack-a-napes and ne'er-do-wells in the shape of Madness's 2009 album. But how will it fare at the Turntable? Please try listening to find out.

The endlessly fascinating Mael brothers grace the Turntable. What WOULD they do if they owned the BBC? When WILL they get to sing My Way? And what exactly is their beef with Pet Shop Boys? Join Tony and Paul to see how much they enjoyed a dish that's 'as British as Mom's apple pie and as American as fish 'n' chips'. Please try listening.