The Great Albums
The Great Albums
Two indie rock musicians, Bill Lambusta and Brian Erickson, dive into the fandom of great rock and pop music and how it connects to their lives through the lens of the medium they care for most, the album. Episodes frequently include guest contributions from musicians, podcasters, and journalists and always culminate in a track by track review.
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Top 10 The Great Albums Episodes
Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best The Great Albums episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to The Great Albums for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite The Great Albums episode by adding your comments to the episode page.
Paul McCartney & Wings - Band on the Run
The Great Albums
05/21/18 • 107 min
Bill and Brian discuss Paul McCartney & Wing's Band on the Run (1973, Apple). Brian talks about listening to this album while driving around the American Southwest. Then we get into the criticisms of this album (that we disagree with), the band recording in Nigeria, Linda McCartney's musicianship, Denny Laine's contributions, Tony Visconti's arrangements, Macca's craftsmanship and our own songwriting, and more as we make our way through the album track by track!
03/15/18 • 34 min
Bill hangs out at Brian's pad for a change as we talk about Martin Shkreli's conviction and what it means for that one of a kind Wu-Tang Album, read some listener emails about definitive live versions of songs, and visit Facebook to debate the best guitar solos of the 90s! Make sure to check out Lowlight's latest single, "Can't Stop now, available on Spotify, and see the band on tour with the Pretenders this Spring! Visit for details!
Bonus Song Thursday - Pearl Jam "Last Kiss"
The Great Albums
09/07/17 • 31 min
It's Bonus Song Thursday! Bill and Brian discuss Pearl Jam's surprise hit "Last Kiss," the band's staying power, a listener email about second chances, and an indie rock version of the Traveling Wilburys.
Bonus Song Thursday - Beastie Boys "Sabotage"
The Great Albums
02/23/17 • 26 min
It's Bonus Song Thursday! Bill and Brian talk some more about the Beastie Boys and how their song, "Sabotage," soundtracked their youth and reminded them of Rage Against the Machine. This leads us into analyzing the late 90s rap/rock boom before we get into some listener emails about New Zealand NPR and Ryan Adam's new album. Make sure to check out Tweed at tweed-nz.com!
Pearl Jam - Vitalogy (w/ guest Steven Hyden)
The Great Albums
05/23/16 • 121 min
Bill and Brian are joined by rock journalist and music critic Steven Hyden (Pitchfork, Uproxx, Grantland, A.V Club) to talk about Pearl Jam's divisive third album Vitalogy (1994, Epic). Written on tour and recorded piecemeal and haphazardly, the band started to showcase its eclectic nature by featuring some noise collages and a more "punk" sound. Especially influenced by singer Eddie Vedder's trouble dealing with fame and the suicide of one of their closest peers Kurt Cobain, the album took on a darker, grittier tone that, although dismissed at the time, has become revered by Pearl Jam die hards. Steven talks about how Pearl Jam and their "feud" with Nirvana figures into his book, Your Favorite Band Is Killing Me, and how Nirvana helped shape his views on Pearl Jam and this album upon its release. Then Bill, Brian, and Steven discuss Dave Abbruzzese's excellent drumming and why his guns and sport cars got him dismissed from the band, how Eddie Vedder can be too good of a singer, how powerful the band is on "Corduroy," how using early takes both helped and hindered the album, PJ's penchant for trilogies, Vedder's ability to successfully write from a female perspective, how Pearl Jam has become the last huge rock act that has sustained its career, Vitalogy's similarities to Rust Never Sleeps, the importance of viewing this album as a whole, and much more as we make our way through the album track by track! Be sure to check out Steven's book, available at all fine book establishments, including at the following link! http://www.amazon.com/Your-Favorite-Band-Killing-Rivalries/dp/0316259152/ref=sr_1_1_twi_pap_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1463490702&sr=1-1&keywords=steven+hyden
Bonus Song Thursday - The Eagles "Ol' 55"
The Great Albums
09/03/15 • 24 min
It's Bonus Song Thursday on the Great Albums Podcast! In our previous episode we talked about Tom Waits and the impact he's had on others' careers thanks to their covers of his songs. So Bill and Brian take a closer look at the Eagles version on "Ol' 55," originally released on Waits' debut album, Closing Time, in 1973. We discuss the Eagles as a dad band, their use of harmony, soft rock radio, and how covering other's songs fits in the world of rock and roll.
Bonus Song Thursday - Steely Dan "My Old School"
The Great Albums
05/07/15 • 19 min
It's Bonus Song Thursday! We follow up the deep dive on Steely Dan's Aja with their track "My Old School." Ed Pratico (bassist for Jesse Elliot and His Band) joins Bill and Brian once again as they discuss their own old schools and more!
Liner Notes - Bill's Listening Habits in 2021 (plus emails!)
The Great Albums
01/03/22 • 62 min
Bill and pulls up Spotify's curated 2021 playlist and talks about what he enjoyed listening to in the last year! Plus some listener emails!
Harry Nilsson - Nilsson Schmilsson (w/ guest Dan Drago)
The Great Albums
07/18/16 • 117 min
Brian and Bill are joined by podcaster Dan Drago (25oclockpod.com) to talk about Harry Nilsson's triumphant hit album, Nilsson Schmilsson (1971, RCA Victor). Nilsson started his career as both a recording artist and songwriter who finally broke when Three Dog Night covered his tune "One" in 1969. He enjoyed continued success with a series of unique albums through the 70s before retiring from the music business in the 80s. Dan shares how he knew Nilsson without knowing it, until he checked out this album after not getting an in-joke perpetuated by his brother and their friends' band. Bill, Brian, and Dan talk about Nilsson's influence on solo Beatles output, his collaboration with Randy Newman, the idiosyncratic humor found on this album, multi-Harry harmonies, the Bo Diddley beat, Badfinger and their sad story, how Nilsson wrote a song that feels like it wasn't written by anyone, Nilsson's continuing legacy, and much more as we make our way through the album track by track!
Robert Palmer - Clues (w/ guest Jeff Fiedler)
The Great Albums
06/04/18 • 103 min
Musician, blogger, and label head Jeff Fiedler joins Bill and Brian to discuss Robert Palmer's Clues (1980, Island).
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FAQ
How many episodes does The Great Albums have?
The Great Albums currently has 371 episodes available.
What topics does The Great Albums cover?
The podcast is about Music, Podcasts and Music Commentary.
What is the most popular episode on The Great Albums?
The episode title 'Top 10 Albums of 2020 (Jeff)' is the most popular.
What is the average episode length on The Great Albums?
The average episode length on The Great Albums is 78 minutes.
How often are episodes of The Great Albums released?
Episodes of The Great Albums are typically released every 4 days.
When was the first episode of The Great Albums?
The first episode of The Great Albums was released on Jan 5, 2015.
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