This week, the first of an occasional series: “Pods from the wood”, in which Shaun goes back to nature and discusses one of his favourite albums whilst moving around in the Essex countryside. Today’s topic is the third album by Caravan, In The Land Of Grey And Pink. Themes discussed include: the influence of Chaucer on the band, where the album sta…

This week, Shaun and Tim did a marathon ranking of the 28 albums by The Beach Boys. The discussion included: the difference between a great album and a favourite album; who the best songwriter was after Brian; whether Pet Sounds is really that good; whether the Beach Boys discography is a curate’s egg or jam sandwich; and how many of The Beach Boys…

Peter and Shaun were busy this week, so Tim did a monologue, on the first album by Curved Air, Air Conditioning. Topics that come up are: Curved Air’s role in the English rock scene post-psychedelia and pre-prog rock, the nature of the writing committeee they mobilised, how the album fits into the band’s career trajectory, and the extent to which t…

Shaun and Tim discuss their opinions of the third album by Strawbs, From The Witchwood. The discussion includes: whether it should be thought of as a concept album, where it stands in the Strawbs canon, why we can’t find any information on the cover, whether Wordsworth was an influence on the lyrics, and how important the Christian influence was on…

Peter, Shaun and Tim discuss their favourite Beatles outtakes. The discussion includes: the ratio of John songs to Paul songs and of John and Paul songs to George songs; why there are so many early outtakes and late outtakes; who did the best solo album; and why they gave so many songs to Billy J. Kramer. Also, are there any Ringo songs on the list…

Peter and Shaun were busy this week, so Tim did the second part of his ‘Birmingham Beatles’ duology: the first album by the Electric Light Orchestra. The ‘conversation’ included: the Move connection, the differences between ELO and the later prog movement, the incredibly high quality of ELO’s musicianship and the nature of the creative relationship…

Peter and Shaun were busy this week, so Tim did a monologue about the debut album by The Move, Move. The ‘conversation’ included: the multicultural nature of The Move’s music, the ELO connection, whether this is the best UK album of the 1960s and why this was both the beginning and the end for the band. Also, why didn’t they make a concept album ab…

Peter, Shaun and Tim discuss their favourite Top Ten UK Bands of the 1970s. The discussion includes: the difference between cultural importance and musical importance, punk versus pre-punk genres, whether we trust one band to write better than another, and why we had so many honourable mentions. Also, who were the real heirs to The Beatles? Why did…

Shaun and Tim discuss their opinions of the second album by Black Sabbath, Paranoid. The discussion includes: whether Black Sabbath started heavy metal, who the most important member of the band was, the influence of drugs on their performance, what their influences were and what the relationship is between jazz and heavy metal. Also, what would Ka…

Tim and Peter were busy this week, so Shaun had a conversation with himself, about the debut album by Mike Oldfield, Tubular Bells. The following topics were covered: how Tubular Bells relates to the rest of the Oldfield catalogue, the relationship between Tubular Bells and early minimalism and how Oldfield's early life affected his compositional p…

Peter and Shaun were busy this week, so Tim did a monologue, on the first album by 10cc. ‘We discuss’ the history and pre-history of the band, the gap between 10cc’s talent and the way they’re remembered, the nature of the band’s harmonic and creative gifts, as well as the poor quality of 10cc reissues. Also, are 10cc the Beatles of the 70s? Why di…

Peter, Shaun and Tim discuss their opinions of the third album by Yes, The Yes Album. The discussion includes: the rebirth of Yes as a group, why they decided to get rid of Tony Kaye and Peter Banks, why the band sounds so American, whether Jon Anderson’s lyrics are good or not, and whether this is an example of a perfectly programmed album. Also, …

Shaun, Peter and Tim discuss their favourite female rock artists. On the agenda for today: is cultural importance relevant to musical importance? Which is the best period for female rock stars? How do we distinguish an individual contribution from a collective one? And do women appreciate certain female artists more than men, and vice versa? Also, …

Tim and Peter were busy this week, so Shaun had a debate with himself, about the fifth studio album by Hawkwind, Warrior On The Edge Of Time. The ‘discussion’ includes the following topics: where ‘Warrior’ stands in the Hawkwind canon, Hawkwind’s relationship to the British counterculture and whether ‘the Warrior’ was a metaphor for the band itself…

Peter, Shaun and Tim discuss their opinions of the tenth album by Pink Floyd, Animals. The discussion includes: whether the album was an attempt to fit in with the punk aesthetic, whether Roger Waters is a genius or not, to what extent is the band channeling George Orwell and what role love has to play in the album’s theme. Also, what is the band’s…

Peter and Shaun were busy this week, so Tim had a conversation with himself, about the unreleased album by The Beach Boys, Smile! The ‘discussion’ includes: the myth versus the reality of Smile!, whether it really would have changed the course of rock history if it had been released, how it relates to the following album Smiley Smile and how The Be…

Peter, Shaun and Tim discuss their favourite 60s bands, minus ‘the big two’. How does the British rock and pop scene stand up without its two most famous elements? The guys discuss: the difference between musical contributions and cultural contributions, the influence of folk and blues, what it means to say that a band made its key contributions in…

Peter, Shaun and Tim discuss their opinions of the third album by Cream, Wheels Of Fire (Studio). The discussion includes: whether the band can be considered psychedelic or not, why they are masters of the art of syncopation and why they hated each other so much. Also, was Cream really a jazz band but noone had bothered to tell Eric? Is Pressed Rat…

Peter and Shaun were busy this week, so Tim had a conversation with himself, about the third album by Iron Maiden, The Number Of The Beast. The ‘discussion’ includes: the programmatic nature of Maiden’s music, why this album is considered their best, why they always use the same chords, and which their best line-up was. Also, was Hallowed Be Thy Na…

This week, Peter, Shaun and Tim discuss their least favourite songs by possibly the greatest band of all time, thus providing a potential track listing for a third mythical album to add to “The White Album” and “The Black Album”: “The Brown Album”. Topics discussed include the following. Will George and Ringo be over-represented in the list? Are la…

Peter, Shaun and Tim discuss their opinions of the seventh studio album by King Crimson, Red. The discussion includes: the band’s incredible musicianship, the relative merits of the albums in the Mark III period, whether the group sounds better with or without violin, and whether Starless is the greatest King Crimson track of all time. Also, can Ro…

Peter, Shaun and Tim discuss their opinions of the third album by Camel, The Snow Goose. The discussion includes: the quality of Camel's musicianship, why they decided to do an instrumental album, where does the band stand in the British prog canon and to what extent can music represent images? Also, were the band influenced by 70's game show music…

Peter and Shaun were busy this week, so Tim did a monologue about the newly-rereleased Queen 1. The monologue includes: the uneven development between Queen’s songwriters, the brilliance of Brian May’s guitar playing, whether Queen’s singles are better than their albums, and is the cover an early example of ‘queering’? Also, was Freddie a Christian…

Peter, Shaun and Tim discuss their opinons of the second album by Led Zeppelin. The discussion includes: the British blues explosion of the sixties, the difference between English folk and American folk, why couldn’t the band think of proper names for their albums?, and did John Bonham write Whole Lotta Love? Also: are the lyrics on this album good…

Peter, Shaun and Tim rank the Genesis studio albums. There's a few surprises, and one or two good rants. Also, how many ways are there to count to 15? And what does Shaun's brother Steve think?By timothyappleton

Peter, Shaun and Tim discuss their opinions of the fourth album by Jethro Tull, Aqualung. The discussion includes: Jethro Tull’s innovative lyrics, whether their style precipitated prog rock and heavy metal, why the album was so big in America, and, most crucially, was it a concept album or not? Also, did Ian Anderson really threaten to do a flute …

Peter, Shaun and Tim discuss their opinions of the fourth album by Rush, 2112. The discussion includes: Rush’s career swerve, the band’s fascination with Ayn Rand, why the album was considered better than Caress of Steel, and whether the whole concept for the album actually came from Tchaikovsky. Also, what actually happens in the title track? Woul…

Peter and Shaun were busy this week, so Tim had a debate with himself, about the eighteenth studio album by Marillion, F.E.A.R.. The ‘discussion’ includes: whether Marillion owe more to Genesis or to Pink Floyd, why the band’s abstract compositional technique is so difficult to discuss conceptually, and whether ultimately they are writing tracks or…

Peter, Shaun and Tim discuss their opinions of the fourth (or fifth?) album by Emerson, Lake and Palmer, Brain Salad Surgery. The discussion includes: ELP's astonishing musical talent, whether this was supposed to be a concept album or not and the question of why the band chose to do so many cover versions. Also, why was everyone so keen to go to S…

Peter, Shaun and Tim discuss their opinions of the debut album by King Crimson, In The Court Of The Crimson King. The discussion includes: King Crimson as singularity, what makes Michael Giles such a good drummer and why the heavy reliance on the mellotron? Also, should Mirrors be used on Strictly Come Dancing? And how do you pronounce Judy Dyble's…

Peter, Shaun and Tim discuss their opinions of the eighth album by Pink Floyd, Dark Side Of The Moon. The discussion includes: Pink Floyd's musical ability, whether it truly works as a concept album and whether the cover was based on the Black Magic chocolate box or Milk Tray. Also, is the opening of 'Money' the sound of someone paying Clare Torry …

Peter, Shaun and Tim discuss their opinions of the fifth studio album by Yes, Close To The Edge, as well as Jon Anderson's early work, as a milkman in Accrington, Lancashire.By timothyappleton

Peter, Shaun and Tim discuss their opinions of the fifth studio album by Genesis, Selling England By The Pound.By timothyappleton