Vinyl Verdict

On this episode of Vinyl Verdict, Bell, Jamie and Plouffe listen to Bell's next pick, Green Day's American Idiot . Released in September 2004, American Idiot was somewhat of a departure for the band in that it was their first album that sought to tell a whole story, rather than just be a collection of songs. The album was an overwhelming success, spawning five singles that received a good amount o...

On this episode of Vinyl Verdict, Bell, Jamie and Plouffe talk about their favourite live albums. Bell and Plouffe bring two albums from the MTV Unplugged series - Courtney Barnett's Live in Melbourne, released in 2019 and Alice in Chains' MTV Unplugged, released in 1996. Changing up series and sounds, Jamie's pick is Sam Cooke's Live at the Harlem Square 1963, released in 1985. Join the boys as t...

On this episode of Vinyl Verdict, Bell, Jamie and Plouffe listen to Plouffe's next pick, Aesop Rock's The Impossible Kid . His seventh album, it was released in 2016 to overwhelmingly positive reviews. Aesop Rock is known for using deep wordplay in his lyrics, where the listener is left to decide what the meaning is and many publications noted that this trend continued, but in a more introspective...

On this episode of Vinyl Verdict, Bell, Jamie and Plouffe listen to Jamie's next pick, ZZ Top's Eliminator . Their eighth studio album, Eliminator was released in 1983 and marks a departure from their earlier blues influenced sound to something very in keeping with the 80s. The album featured the use of drum machines and synthesizers, with guitarist Billy Gibbons saying he took inspiration from ba...

On this episode of Vinyl Verdict, Bell, Jamie and Plouffe listen to Bell's next pick, Ween's The Mollusk. Their sixth album, The Mollusk was the first album done in a traditional recording studio and with an expanded lineup, adding a drummer in place of a drum machine used on previous albums. Like the Audioslave album we covered a couple weeks back, the album cover was designed by Storm Thorgerson...

On this episode of Vinyl Verdict, Bell, Jamie and Plouffe talk about their favourite holiday records! Plouffe and Jamie bring two Christmas classics with Bing Crosby's Merry Christmas and Percy Faith's Music of Christmas . Bell brings a Hannukah themed album with the soundtrack to Eight Crazy Nights . Along the way they discuss holiday memories such as "having the tree". What does that mean? Come...

On this episode of Vinyl Verdict, Bell, Jamie and Plouffe listen to Plouffe's next pick, Audioslave's Audioslave . Like the self-titled release from Boston we covered a few episodes back, Audioslave came out of the gate hot. Made up of Chris Cornell from Soundgarden on vocals, and everyone who isn't named Zack de la Rocha from Rage Against the Machine, Audioslave was one of the 21st century's firs...

On this episode of Vinyl Verdict, Bell, Jamie and Plouffe listen to Jamie's next pick, Miles Davis' Workin'  With the Miles Davis Quintet. Recorded in two sessions in 1956, Workin' is part of a series of albums - Workin', Steamin' Cookin' and Relaxin' . All four albums are considered staples of 50's jazz and are widely regarded as some of the best jazz albums of all time. Will the boys discover th...

On this episode of Vinyl Verdict, Bell, Jamie and Plouffe listen to Bell's next pick, Begonia's Fear. Hailing from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Begonia was formerly a member of Juno Award winning band Chic Gamine, before starting a solo career in 2017. Her first album, Fear , was shortlisted for a Juno Award. Will the boys fear this album, or will they be living on the ceiling after listening to it? Come a...

On this episode of Vinyl Verdict, Bell, Jamie and Plouffe are joined by Adam Sondergard to talk about his pick, Sleep's Dopesmoker . Their third record, Dopesmoker  was recorded in 1996 and was supposed to be their major label debut, but it all went wrong. When the band presented this as their album, London Records balked at releasing an album that was a single long song. It went unreleased until...

On this episode of Vinyl Verdict, Bell, Jamie and Plouffe listen to Plouffe's next pick, The Mars Volta's The Mars Volta . Their seventh studio album, The Mars Volta represents somewhat of a clean slate for the band and a clear departure from their earlier, more progressive rock sound. Released to critical acclaim, the album reached #6 on the Billboard Alternative chart. Will the boys also critica...

On this episode of Vinyl Verdict, Bell, Jamie and Plouffe listen to Jamie's next pick, Boston's Boston . Their self titled debut album, Boston marks the culmination of years of home recording by Tom Scholz, the lead guitarist and founder of the band. Recorded in both Scholz' basement, and in Los Angeles, the album was released in August 1976 and became an overnight hit. It was first picked up by a...

On this episode of Vinyl Verdict, Bell, Jamie and Plouffe listen to Bell's next pick, Radiohead's In Rainbows. Their seventh studio album, In Rainbows was originally released as a digital download with the payment of any amount getting you a copy of the album. It later received a worldwide release on CD and vinyl. Spanning several genres including Art Rock, Alternative and Electronica, In Rainbows...

On this episode of Vinyl Verdict, Bell, Jamie and Plouffe talk about their favourite singles. Jamie brings a bucket of singles to share with the boys, before getting into his single - Peter Gabriel's "Sledgehammer". Plouffe brings his beloved single by Takako Mamiya "Love Trip" and discusses the mystery surrounding the artist. Wrapping the episode, Bell talks about Kero Kero Bonito's "Flamingo" an...

On this episode of Vinyl Verdict, Bell, Jamie and Plouffe listen to Plouffe's next pick, The Growlers' Chinese Fountain. Their fourth studio album, Chinese Fountain could best be described as psychedelic surf and garage rock, with a lot of the lyrical content dealing with finding and losing love. Upon release, the album received positive reviews, with many reviewers saying that it was one of the b...

On this episode of Vinyl Verdict, Bell, Jamie and Plouffe listen to Jamie's next pick, the Beastie Boys' Paul's Boutique . Either one long single LP, or two LPs in the case of Plouffe's special edition copy, Paul's Boutique is their second album. Coming three years after the release of the wildly successful License to Ill, this album was a wild departure from that album. Early critical reaction to...

On this episode of Vinyl Verdict, Bell, Jamie and Plouffe listen to Bell's next pick, Yaeji's EP1 + EP2. A compilation album comprising her first two EPs, EP1 +EP2 has been described as being in both the lo-fi house and trap genres. The album features lyrics in a combination of both English and Korean, reflecting Yaeji's upbringing in both the United States and Korea. Will the boys go to the club...

On this episode of Vinyl Verdict, Bell, Jamie and Plouffe listen to their picks for the records they regret adding to their collection. What makes a record a regretful experience? Is it bad art? Poor quality audio? Or is it that it's a Rush album? Come along and share in the regret with us! 

On this episode of Vinyl Verdict, Bell, Jamie and Plouffe listen to Plouffe's next pick, Blind Melon's Nico . Released after the death of lead singer Shannon Hoon, Nico is named after his daughter, Nico Blue. Nico is a compilation album made up of odds and sods from various Blind Melon recording sessions, answering machine messages and alternate takes. Proceeds from the royalties and album sales w...

On this episode of Vinyl Verdict, Bell, Jamie and Plouffe listen to Jamie's next pick - The Rolling Stones' Exile on Main St . Recorded mostly in the basement of Keith Richards' rented villa in the south of France, Exile on Main St. was recorded at a time of transition for the band. While reviews at the time of release in 1971 were mixed at best, it has been since re-evaluated as the Stones' great...

On this episode of Vinyl Verdict, Bell, Jamie and Plouffe listen to Bell's next pick - Mac Miller's Swimming in Circles . Released posthumously, Swimming in Circles is a box set of Swimming, his fifth album and Circles, his sixth and final, studio album. The albums explore themes relating to the era of life Mac Miller felt he was in at the time. Both albums were critically well received at the tim...

On this episode of Vinyl Verdict, Bell, Jamie and Plouffe are joined by Colin Worobetz to talk about his pick - Jungle - For Ever . Jungle is a neo-soul/funk band from England, consisting of only two members because much of their sound is based in electronic techniques. On tour the band expands to seven members! Released in 2018, For Ever is Jungle's second album and it went to #10 in the UK and #...

On this episode of Vinyl Verdict, Bell, Jamie and Plouffe listen to Plouffe's next pick, Jazz Spastiks' Scratch & Sniff. Jazz Spastiks are an underground hip-hop and beat making group from the UK, sometimes referred to as the "rough smooth duo". Scratch & Sniff is a record with a theme centered around smells and was sold with a booklet with you guessed it - scratch and sniff stickers for e...

On this episode of Vinyl Verdict, Bell, Jamie and Plouffe listen to Jamie's next pick - Rod Stewart's Every Picture Tells a Story. Released in 1971, this is Rod Stewart's third studio album. Featuring the members of his previous group The Faces, it reached number one on the charts in Australia, Canada, the UK and the US in 1971. Will the boys like this album or will it paint a picture best left fo...

On this episode of Vinyl Verdict, Bell, Jamie and Plouffe listen to Bell's next pick - Lianne La Havas' - Lianne La Havas. Her third studio album, Lianne La Havas came out after a five year hiatus following her second studio album. Released to overwhelmingly positive reviews by critics, the album has been called  "truly captivating" and "jazzy, soulful and understated". Will the boys find the albu...