Trimming The Musical Fat

TRIMMING THE SINGLES POD: It’s episode four of our special side-series dedicated to the eighties singles of U2. In it, we’ll critique and rank each single & its accompanying album to create the ultimate eighties U2 singles collection. The album must be 50 minutes or less to fit onto a single vinyl release. We’ll also share some interesting facts and figures related to each song /album, and our own...

“And I feel like I just got home” Ray of Light is arguably the most important album of pop megastar Madonna’s career. Her ‘comeback’ album from 1998, it was a huge critical and commercial success. But, with a 67 minute runtime, is it a little too long? That’s the question TTMF hosts Stephen & Paul ask themselves as they attempt to curate a single vinyl, under 50 minute version of the album. Are th...

TRIMMING THE SINGLES POD: It’s episode three of our special side-series dedicated to the eighties singles of U2.  In it, we’ll critique and rank each single & its accompanying album to create the ultimate eighties U2 singles collection. The album must be 50 minutes or less to fit onto a single vinyl release. We’ll also share some interesting facts and figures related to each song /album, and our o...

TRIMMING THE COVER POD: We’ve just covered ‘(What‘s The Story) Morning Glory’ by Oasis. Before moving on, we wanted to pit Oasis against their greatest influence, The Beatles. So, join us as we discuss The Beatles’ classic song ‘I Am The Walrus’ and Oasis’ live cover of it. What are the origins of the song? What do we like about it? Which version do we prefer? Listen now to find out. Podcast guest...

We covered Oasis’ third album ‘Be Here Now’ last year, so we thought it was time to take a look at the band’s superior second album -  ‘(What’s The Story) Morning Glory’. The band’s biggest selling album and home to ‘Wonderwall’ & ‘Don’t Look Back In Anger’.  Hosts Stephen & Paul, along with friend Bryan Borthwick and Oasis super fan Paul Young (no, not that one!), listen back to the album and its...

TRIMMING THE SINGLES POD: Welcome back for the second episode of our special side-series dedicated to the eighties singles of U2.  In it, we’ll critique and rank each single & its accompanying album to create the ultimate eighties U2 singles collection. The album must be 50 minutes or less to fit onto a single vinyl release. We’ll also share some interesting facts and figures related to each song...

Def Leppard’s ‘Hysteria’ album (1987) was a monster success: +20M sales; a transatlantic #1; seven hit singles, including a US #1 (Love Bites); two American Music Awards; and one of the biggest selling albums in US chart history. The success did come at a cost though, with car crashes, lost band members, ill health & creative differences playing their part in the story. And the album took 3 years...

HIDDEN PRIME CUTS POD: ‘Skin Trade‘ was Duran Duran’s first single not to go top 20 on both sides of the Atlantic since their early days. The band’s John Taylor has said his disillusionment with the charts started when this happened. It’s now a fan favourite. So, why was it not a bigger success?  Podcast hosts Stephen & Paul take a look back at the track, their history with it, extoll its virtues,...

TRIMMING THE CLASSIC POD: Don’t say we’re not good to you! Here’s a patron only show which we’re now making available to all.  In it, TTMF hosts Paul & Stephen Nicholson discuss one of their favourite albums by their favourite band - Queen’s “News of the World” (1977). On an album that contains “We Will Rock You” & “We Are The Champions”, what will they pick as their favourite track? What song do...

HIDDEN PRIME CUTS POD: Radiohead’s OK Computer is one of the greatest albums of all time. The B-sides to its singles were also great. And guess what? On its 20th anniversary reissue, OK Computer OKNOTOK 1997 2017, the unreleased tracks were great too. Perhaps the pick of the bunch was Man of War. So here’s an episode to critique it!   Interesting fact: This could have been the theme song to the 20...

HIDDEN PRIME CUTS POD: “Been here before, a long time ago, but this time I wear no sandals…”   So starts Queen’s ’’Mad The Swine’, a song recorded in 1972 that lay in the vaults until 1991. TTMF hosts Stephen & Paul Nicholson have been fans of it since hearing it on the B-side to ’Headlong’. In this episode, they discuss the merits of the song; its overt religious themed lyrics; if it was worthy o...

What songs would have got on Guns N’ Roses’ ‘Use Your Illusion II’ if it had been released as a single vinyl album back in 1991? After covering 'Use Your Illusion I' last year, that’s the question podcast hosts Stephen & Paul Nicholson, along with guest Bryan Borthwick, try and answer!  How does UYI2 stack up & differ from UYI1? Which is the better release? We'll also share some fun stories and in...

HIDDEN PRIME CUTS: Podcast host Stephen first heard Moby’s 2002 track “Love of Strings”, the b-side to “Extreme Ways”, for the first time last year, and was immediately enamoured with it. Will episode guests Ross Braidwood & Davie Melon concur with him that it’s a great track? Listen on as the guys critique the song, discuss seeing Moby live, and recommend some further Moby listening. AND, Davie d...

HIDDEN PRIME CUTS POD: U2 covered the sixties classic ‘Everlasting Love’ in 1988 for the B-side of the ‘All I Want Is You’ single. It has recently been used in Kenneth Branagh’s award winning movie - Belfast. Podcast host Stephen has always been a big fan of it after hearing U2’s version on the radio in the early 1990s, and finally procuring it in 1998 when the song featured on the bonus disc CD o...

We did a ‘What If?’ episode last year focussing on Radiohead’s Kid A & Amnesiac albums. In that, we debated which songs would make a single vinyl version of a joint album.  Since then, KID A MNESIA has been released. We wanted to revisit the albums & the new bonus material to see if any songs were worthy of a spot on our TTMF Supercut. So, here we are!  Guests are David Melon & Ross Br...

Despite A LOT of technical difficulties, TTMF hosts Stephen & Paul Nicholson had a great time talking with Eric & Eric from the ’Face The Music: An ELO Song-By-Song Podcast’, as part of their ELO ‘Out of the Blue’ episode. As some of the conversation had to hit the cutting room floor due to time, including nuggets like Eric PJ‘s story about missing seeing ELO live; and Eric W’s concert but...

‘Out of the Blue’ was a huge success for E.L.O. back in 1977. A double album which included the hit singles Mr Blue Sky & Turn To Stone, it remains the band’s best seller. But would it have been better as a single vinyl, under 50 minute album?  That’s the question podcast hosts Stephen & Paul Nicholson ask, as they, along with their guests, critique the album & create the TTMF Supercut of it. Look...

Trimming The Musical Fat hosts Stephen and Paul Nicholson don’t like The Stone Roses. So, when friend Mark Poole suggested the trimming the Manchester bands much maligned second, and final album, Second Coming (1994), they were reluctant. However, with the support of Roses fans, Mark, Davie Melon & Ross Braidwood, a deep dive of the album has been completed & an under 50 minute cut of it has been...

‘Keep The Faith’ is arguably Bon Jovi’s most important album. Released in 1992, as alternative rock started to rule the airwaves, the band needed to redefine their sound for a new decade (& get some haircuts!). And with sales of nearly 9M, their ‘faith’ was rewarded.  As original CD buyers of the album on release, podcast hosts Stephen & Paul Nicholson take a trip back in time to revisit the album...

TRIMMING THE CLASSIC: The Cheeky Girls were a pop phenomenon. Featured on a U.K. talent show in 2002, the group gained international fame by creating one of the biggest selling debut albums of all time. Host Stephen Nicholson and guest Davie Melon discuss the impact of the album & choose the song they like least from it. Released 1st April. Like the podcast? Why not show your appreciation by buyin...

HIDDEN PRIME CUTS POD: Did you know that John Lennon’s first version of ‘I’m Losing You’ was recorded with Cheap Trick? Sadly, this more raucous version of the song lay in the vaults until 1998. Should it have been included on Lennon’s 1980 ‘Double Fantasy’ album?  Stephen & Paul debate this & share their thoughts on the song.  Podcast hosts - Stephen & Paul Nicholson.  Want more? Listen to our Jo...

TTMF is one year old! Yes, it really has been 12 month since the first episode was released - The Beatles' White Album.  Over 50 episodes later, hosts Paul & Stephen organise an impromptu get together to talk about their first 12 months of podcasting; podcast inspirations; what they've learned; sycophantic music fans; what podcasts they listen to; and what's coming up on future episodes.&...

HIDDEN PRIME CUTS POD: Ghost are a theatrical, Grammy award winning Swedish rock band, who Stephen & guest Bryan Borthwick, were fortunate enough to see supporting Alice In Chains in 2013. Fans since that night, Bryan nominated the track ‘Zenith’, as deserving of a Hidden Prime Cuts episode due to it only being available on the limited edition vinyl version of the bands Meliora album. Do Stephen &...

** Previously a Patreon exclusive ** TRIMMING THE CLASSIC POD: There’s usually always a song on a classic album that you don’t rate as highly as the rest. Stephen & Paul thought, let's do a series about them with one question - "Which song would you take off the album?" First up is Nirvana's absolute classic 1991 album - Nevermind.  Joining us to share their thoughts on the album and select their...

5 ft 6 Phil Collins was a GIANT music star. Only Michael Jackson & Madonna sold more than him in the 1980s. His last album of that decade, ‘…But Seriously (1989)’, sold more than 21M copies. The previous release, ‘No Jacket Required (1985)’, sold 25M. So why is he not talked about and remembered in the same reverential way as those other mega-selling artists?  Paul & Stephen discuss this while cri...