On this episode of the podcast, we discuss Spirit and their fourth album Twelve Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus. The band Spirit sports an impressive pedigree. Drummer Ed Cassidy (20 years older than the rest of the band) was an established jazz musician, having played drums with many jazz greats throughout the 1940s and 1950s. His stepson Randy Californi…

This week, we dig into the debut LP by the Scottish jangle pop band Aztec Camera , 1983's High Land, Hard Rain. The creative force behind the band was Roddy Frame, a fine singer, remarkable guitarist, and very gifted songwriter, who started his career at 15, and was 18 when this album was recorded. Completed in just three weeks, the album is filled…

On this week's episode we look a one of the finest songwriters to come out of Texas, Guy Clark, and his 1975 debut LP Old No. 1. While Clark is considered one of the great county and folk songwriters of the latter half of the 20th Century, he is also one of the least appreciated when it comes to recording his own songs. On Old No. 1, he records his…

On this weeks episode, we take on a big LP, the 1979 monster hit by Supertramp, Breakfast in America. Supertramp struggled early in their career to find an audience. The two main song writers brought different strengths to the band. Founding member Rick Davies leaned more to the progressive rock side of things, where as Roger Hodgson was more pop o…

On this weeks episode, we take a listen to the second LP by one of the foundational bands of 1970's power pop: Fresh by the the Raspberries. The Raspberries were an intentional antithesis to everything that was going on in the early Seventies. Instead of focusing on the extended (and as they saw it, self-indulgent) musical jams, the Raspberries wou…

On this week's episode, we discuss Beck and his twelfth studio album, 2014’s Morning Phase. Beck is known for embracing a wide-range of genres, to include folk, lo-fi, funk, soul, hip hop, electronic, alternative rock, country, and psychedelia (just to name a few). He often glides between genres on the same album, and sometimes even on the same son…

When Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood started hanging out and jamming together after the dissolution of their previous bands (Cream and Traffic respectively), there was no set plan to start a band together. That changed when Cream drummer Ginger Baker joined the fun. With the addition of bassist Ric Grech from the band Family, Blind Faith was born. T…

On this week's episode, we dig into Pete Townshend's official debut solo LP, 1980's Empty Glass. As the main songwriter for The Who, Pete Townshend crafted songs that let singer Roger Daultrey flex his powerful voice and lets the rhythm section stretch out and indulge their bombastic sides. But on Empty Glass, Townshend is able to show that he can …

On this episode, we turn our attention to one of the most successful bands from the late 1960s and early 1970's, Creedence Clearwater Revival, and what is considered by many their masterpiece, Cosmo's Factory. 1970 was a fertile year for music. While the English Invasion was still dominating the airwaves and the psychedelic scene was still influenc…

On this week's episode we discuss Sunflower, the1970 LP by the Beach Boys. The Beach Boys' songwriting was mainly Brian Wilson's department, especially after their masterpiece, Pet Sounds. But on 1970's Sunflower, all members contributed to the songwriting, instrumentation, vocals (with some help from other background singers and members of the gre…

This week's podcast is a listener's pick and boy are we grateful to have it be Shake Some Action by the Flamin' Groovies. Shake Some Action is nothing short of a power pop masterpiece. With its British Invasion vibe, it's hard to believe it came from 1976. There a bunch of great covers, including one that goes back to 1914. But it's the originals w…

On this week's episode, we revisit an artist we discussed during our first season - Van Morrison when we talked about his 1974 album Veedon Fleece. This time we discuss his 1986 LP No Guru. No Method, No Teacher. Morrison is known for making albums rich in spiritual themes and Celtic lore. Around the time of No Guru, he was also writing songs from …

On this week's episode, we explore the 1973 LP by one of progressive rock’s most interesting (and entertaining) bands, Selling England by the Pound by Genesis. Considered by many to be the best album of the Peter Gabriel era of Genesis, it is definitely the most accessible, and even gave the band their first Top 40 single int he UK with “I Know Wha…

On this week's episode, we discuss the debut album by Kris Kristofferson 1970's Kristofferson. A man of many talents, Kris Kristofferson is a scholar, an athlete, a pilot, an actor, a performer, and most importantly, one of country music's most beloved (and most successful) songwriters. On par with Bob Dylan, Townes Van Zandt, and John Prine, he ha…

This week it is another listerner's pick as we dig into the debut solo LP by Texas music legend Doug Sahm, 1972’s Doug Sahm and Band. Doug Sahm was by all accounts a musical prodigy, having mastered the guitar, steel guitar, mandolin, and fiddle by age 8. Born and raised in San Antonio, TX, Sahm was attracted to a variety of music: blues from the b…

On this week's episode, we discuss Tomorrow, the criminally underappreciated 1968 self-titled debut album by the band Tomorrow. Mostly known as a band that featured future Yes guitarist, Steve Howe. Alongside bands like Pink Floyd and the Soft Machine, Tomorrow was a pillar of the British underground scene, and their song "My White Bicycle" was con…

On this week's episode, we discuss the Band and their second LP, The Band (also affectionately known as the Brown Album). With 50 plus years having passed, its difficult to understand the impact the Band had on the music industry, but it was HUGE. It is also hard to find a band that incorporated more American music traditions into their sound than …

On this weeks episode, we dive deep into the history of British rock legends Ten Years After and discuss their iconic 1971 album "A Space In Time." Their first record for new label Columbia showcased a notable shift towards a more acoustic and melodic direction compared to their previous works. Alvin Lee, widely regarded as the Flash Gordon of guit…

On this weeks episode, its another listerner's pick! We give listen to 1978's Heaven Tonight, Cheap Trick's third studio album, and considered by many to be their best. Having explored their harder rock side on their self-titled debut, and embracing their power pop leaning on their second LP In Color, Heaven Tonight finds the band finding a happy m…

This week we look at The Stranger, Billy Joel’s 1978 tour de force. Teaming up with producer Phil Ramone for his fifth LP The Stranger, Billy Joel finally found the critical and commercial success that had eluded him previously. Recorded with his own band, the album represents Joel at the pinnacle of his art. Containing such Joel standards as "Just…

This week we talk about Five Days in July, the fifth album by the Canadian country-rock band, Blue Rodeo. Formed in 1984 by high school pals Jim Cuddy and Greg Keelor, Blue Rodeo became mainstays of the country and roots-rock revival in Toronto during the mid-1980s. In 1993, the band gathered at Greg Keelor’s farmhouse to begin work on their next a…

On this week’s episode, we dig into the eponymous third album by the “Queen of Americana” 1988’s Lucinda Williams. After a move to California, Lucinda Williams found herself in the middle of a burgeoning roots rock scene, where traditional music was being performed with a punk-rock attitude. She formed a band of ace musicians and began making a nam…

On this week’s episode, its another “Listener Pick,” the band and LP that gave the world Glam Rock: 1971’s Electric Warrior, the second album by T. Rex. Marc Bolan, T-Rex's charismatic front man played a pivotal role in early 70’s British rock. Forming the folk-rock duo/band Tyrannosaurus Rex, Bolan would embrace the shortened moniker “T. Rex” at t…

On this weeks episode, we take a listen to the third album by Wilco, 1999’s Summerteeth. Wilco rose from the ashes of Uncle Tupelo trying to find its footing in the shadow of Son Volt, the band Jay Farrar founded. Wilco lead singer and main songwriter Jeff Tweedy had the vision of letting multi-instrumentalist Jay Bennett play just about any keyboa…

On this weeks episode, we discuss one of the most underrated albums by one of the most underrated bands of the 1990s: Spilt Milk by Jellyfish. Only the band's second outing, Spilt Milk is a fully realized collection of of meticulously crafted pop songs, with orchestration and lyrics that elevate those songs way above your normal pop fare. After a c…

On this week's episode, we talk about the third LP from the Steve Miller Band: 1969’s Brave New World. Considered by many to be the most consistent album from his early years, it is an album that foreshadowed the path Miller would take in subsequent albums. It's a mix of swampy blues, gurgling synths, and psychedelic overtones. But most of all it's…

On this week’s episode its another "Listener Pick." We talk about the last album by Nick Drake, 1972’s Pink Moon. Upon its initial release, the album was a both a critical and commercial failure, but it has grow in stature and appreciation for both critics and fans in the decades since. The album is quiet, mostly just Drake and his acoustic guitar,…

So this is it, we’ve hit 100 album reviews (or whatever it is we do on our little show). We decided that the only way properly celebrate was to talk about an album by the most influential rock band in rock and roll history - the Beatles - and their fifth studio album: 1965’s Help! . Released at the height of Beatlemania, Help! is the last album of …

Here's a phrase you don't read very often: One of the biggest bands to ever come out of Iceland. Sigur Ros have gone through numerous personnel and style change since its formation in the 90s, but their music has always been unique. This album, their fourth, is difficult to categorize. It is atmospheric and ethereal, with guitars played with bows (…

This week, we delve into what many contend is the blue print for 1990's power pop, the 1991 LP by Matthew Sweet, Girlfriend. Things were not looking particularly up for Sweet as he worked on his third album. Professionally he had no label, and personally his marriage was falling apart. Having released two competent, but commercial disappointing alb…

For this episode, we focus on the 6th album of singer-songwriter Steve Forbert, The American in Me. Forbert focuses on the realities of middle-aged life with its failures and compromises. Despite the general feeling of weariness, his humor and hope come through. Although there are no hits on this album, many tracks sure sound like they could have b…

On this episode, we take a look at another listener's pick: Warren Zevon's eponymous second album. Produced by Jackson Browne and featuring a who’s who of the mid-70’s “California Sound” (including members of the Eagles, J.D Souther, David Lindley, and Jackson Browne), the album is full of wry wit and dark humor. His lyrics may cover familiar groun…

On this week's podcast, we dig into one of the most respected and understated guitarists in the business, Ry Cooder, and his 1974 LP Paradise and Lunch. Cooder’s slide guitar has graced albums by Van Morrison, Little Feat, and the Rolling Stones. He has also written and performed music on countless soundtracks and is perhaps most well known for his…

On this week's podcast, we have another “Listener’s Choice,” the 1977 debut by Television - Marquee Moon. Recorded in the fall of 1976 and released in February of 1977, Marquee Moon was a critical darling and a minor hit in the UK. Music fans in the US outside of New York were indifferent. Which is unfortunate because Marquee Moon is an album worth…

On this week's podcast, we take a look at the 1987 album Clutching at Straws by the kings of 80's Neoprog Marillion. By the early 1980's in the wake of Punk and New Wave, Progressive Rock (or Prog Rock) was considered decidedly "uncool" by the the music press. In the midst of all of this, a bunch of young bands who loved the Prog Rock of the 70's d…

On this memorial episode of This Is Vinyl Tap, we discuss the life and legacy of one of rock’s most unique and imaginative guitarists, Beck. We focus on his 1968 groundbreaking album Truth. After his very successful, but short-lived, stint in the Yardbirds, Beck began to work on his next project. Finding an amazing supporting cast in singer Rod Ste…

On this episode, we discuss the 1972 eponymous debut from B.W. Stevenson, a tragically overlook talent from Texas. Stevenson was one of group of artists identified with the progressive or Outlaw country movement of the early 1970s, a singer-songwriter based movement that strove for a more authentic sound than that coming out of Nashville at the tim…

On this, our third violation podcast, we finally get around to talking about the late, great King of Western Swing: Bob Wills. While wills didn’t invent Western Swing, he was most certainly the most recognizable face of the genre. Wills was a musical melting pot of sorts, combining traditional string music with the horns and phrasing of jazz ad big…

On this weeks episode, we dig into the second album by the Psychedelic Furs, Talk, Talk, Talk. Starting as so many other young UK bands did in mid-1970s, the Psychedelic Furs got inspired after seeing the Sex Pistols. They met with almost immediate success, and were talked about n the same breadth as U2 as the next big thing. They even shared the s…

This week we take a deep dive into the 1978 LP by the Jam All Mod Cons. The Jam’s music was steeped in the urgency and energy of punk, but unlike most of their contemporaries, the Jam was not interested in tearing down what came before. Instead, the Jam unabashedly embraced the music and fashion of the 1960’s Great Britain, particularly that of the…

This week we take a listen to the 1971 debut LP by J.J. Cale Naturally. Though not a household name, J.J. Cale (or Johnny Cale as he was originally known) was a songwriter, singer, engineer, and guitarist of great renown among his fellow musicians. He has penned songs made famous by other artists (Lynyrd Skynyrd, Poco, and, most famously Eric Clapt…

On this week's episode, we look at our second "Lister's Choice" and a record that we were for the most part sadly unaware of: the 1994 studio debut by Jeff Buckley - Grace. Jeff Buckley's career was brief, but brilliant. The son a famed singer/songwriter Tim Buckley, he worked as a session guy before making people really take notice at a New York t…

On this weeks episode, we dive deep into Heart Like A Wheel, the 1974 LP from Linda Ronstadt. Possessing one of the strongest, versatile, and distinctive voices in rock has allowed Ronstadt to sing some of the greatest songs ever written in just about every musical genre. On this album, she interprets songs by variety of singers and songwriters to …

On this episode, we talk about the 1982 self-titled debut from Marshall Crenshaw. Arriving in New York after a stint with the traveling production of Beatlemania, Detroit born Crenshaw caught the attention of the New York music scenesters by writing and performing tight little pop tunes. Lauded by Critics, making several end of year “best of” lists…

The year 1967 was quite a year for rock music and this second album from The Jefferson Airplane was one of the first and most influential albums released that year. It's a psychedelic album with strange guitar sounds, strange lyrics, and strange arrangements, and the influence of new member Grace Slick cannot be overstated. Embrace the strange with…

On this episode we let you, our loyal listeners and fans, pick the album we reviewed. That's right, its our first "Listener's Choice!" and you all picked a doozy: Forever Changes by Love. Love's third album has come to be appreciated as a classic. Released around the time of the "Summer of Love", the album's lyrics and themes are not the "peace and…

On this episode, we discuss the 1988 LP by Leonard Cohen, I’m Your Man. Cohen gained fame as a writer of poetry and novels before he gained fame as a musician. He writes some of the most compelling (and often covered) songs in popular music (including the ubiquitous “Hallelujah”). His early albums fit more into the folk idiom, but on later albums, …

On this week’s episode, we take a two-steppin’ deep dive into the debut LP of a true original, 1971’s Lost in the Ozone by Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen. The band members came from varied musical backgrounds and interests, but they brought a love of pre-1970s American music to the table, to including boogie-woogie blues, honky tonkin’ s…

On this week's episode, we discuss Elton John's third, 1970's Tumbleweed Connection. Elton John's second LP was a lushly orchestrated affair that launched Elton John's career into the stratosphere, largely due to the single "Your Song", which was a top ten single all over the world. Not wanting to be pigeonholed, Elton John, chose to make an album …

On this week's episode, we look at the second LP by Lou Reed: Transformer. After a disappointing debut solo LP (both critically and commercially), Reed’s solo career was destined to be somewhat short-lived. However, interest to produce his next album by one of the hottest musical acts at the time (David Bowie) prompted Reed’s label to give it anoth…