This is Vinyl Tap
This Is Vinyl Tap
Mining the layers of long players. We focus on great albums in their entirety and believe every album tells a story. We take a deep dive into the history of the artist and the album while discussing the merits of the music within the grooves. We are highly opinionated and outspoken and hope to provoke you into sharing your own opinions on albums. If you are serious about great music, this is your podcast. www.tappingvinyl.com
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Top 10 This is Vinyl Tap Episodes
Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best This is Vinyl Tap episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to This is Vinyl Tap 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 This is Vinyl Tap episode by adding your comments to the episode page.
SE 1, EP 29: Randy Newman - Good Old Boys
This is Vinyl Tap
05/31/21 • 83 min
In this episode we look at an album that has explicit lyrics written by a man who now writes children's tunes for Disney: Randy Newman's, Gold Old Boys. It's a character-driven album with songs carefully crafted and arranged by a man who comes from an extended family that has made a name for itself composing film scores. Randy Newman himself became a sought-after composer soon after releasing this album.
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SE 4, EP 21: Joe Jackson - I'm the Man
This is Vinyl Tap
09/17/24 • 93 min
On this week's episode, we jump into Joe Jackson's fantastic sophomore LP, 1979's I'm the Man.
When Joe Jackson's hit the airwaves in fall of 1978, critics labeled him as one of the new "angry young men" on British music, the other two significant members of that group being Elvis Costello and Graham Parker. This was lyrically mature music that owed a debt to the early 70's UK Pub Rock scene, but played with the aggressive attitude of Punk. Jackson's debut Look Sharp was released in January of 1979 and went top 40 in the UK and the US. After the success of Jackson's , many wondered what he would do as a follow up. Thankfully, its more of the same.
Released a mere 10 months later, I'm the Man didn't stray too far from the debut's formula, but to see it as simply Look Sharp Pt 2 does the album a significant disservice. This time, Jackson and his amazing band ups the energy on the simple instrumentation and well-crafted melodies he introduced on Look Sharp. The band is tight, the songs are crisp, and the music immediate resulting in an album that full of accessible pop tunes, clever and sardonic lyrics, and post-punk aggression.
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S3, EP 16: Steve Miller - Brave New World
This is Vinyl Tap
05/21/23 • 108 min
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 a guitar album that shows off Miller's considerable chops on the instrument.
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SE 2, EP 24: Queen - A Day at the Races
This is Vinyl Tap
05/24/22 • 96 min
On this episode, we discuss the fifth album by Queen, 1976’s A Day at the Races. The band blended elements of hard rock, prog rock, power pop, glam rock, and even opera into their own unique rock-n-roll stew. While this often makes Queen’s music difficult to categorize, there is little doubt that what they created was a sound that was completely and uniquely their own.
A Day at the Races was the follow-up to their previous and most well-known LP, 1975’s A Night at the Opera. With its grandiose use of multi-tracked vocals, especially on the ambitious “Bohemian Rhapsody,” Queen A Night at the Opera stretched studio production to the limit. It became at the time the most expensive rock album ever recorded. It's easy to dismiss A Day at the Races as more of the same; a sequel with nothing new to offer. To do so does a disservice to both the album and the band. Instated of treading the same ground, the band tones down the pomp a couple of degrees (for Queen a least). As such, the album really showcases the band. Several tunes feature Brian May's layering technique (dubbed "guitar orchestra" in the credits) and singer Freddy Mercury uses his amazing four-octave range to full effect and contains some of his most beautiful vocals. All band members contribute songs and stray from their usual instruments (drummer Roger Taylor, in fact, plays most of the guitars on one song). A Day at the Races has some of the band's most enduring tunes. It has hard rockers, gorgeous ballads, playful odes to the 1920s, and even an amazingly soulful nod to Aretha Franklin.
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SE 1, EP 27: Van Morrison - Veedon Fleece
This is Vinyl Tap
05/14/21 • 81 min
This week's episode focuses on a relatively obscure Van Morrison album, Veedon Fleece. It's an album about wondering around Southern Ireland, despite being recorded in Los Angeles and New York. It's a personal album for Morrison, recorded soon after his divorce from Janet Planet.
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SE 4, EP 23: Nick Lowe - The Impossible Bird
This is Vinyl Tap
10/26/24 • 117 min
On this episode, we have a listener pick: Nick Lowe and his 1994 album The Impossible Bird.
Nick Lowe has been a topic of conversation several times on This Is Vinyl Tap due to the indelible mark the man has left on pop music. Lowe was a bass player, singer and songwriter of the influential pub rock band Brinsley Schwarz. He was a member of the the fabulous Rockpile. He is a producer of some note, having worked with countless artists including Elvis Costello, the Pretenders, Graham Parker, and the Damned. And he is one hell of a song writer, penning such timeless tunes as "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding," "Cruel to be Kind," "I Love the Sound of Breaking Glass," and "The Beast In Me."
Having found himself is a but of a rough creative patch in the late 1980's, his luck changed withe the success "The Bodyguard" soundtrack, which included a cover of "Peace, Love, and Understanding." That gave Lowe the financial freedom to pursue new musical directions and the music buying public were much the richer for it. The Impossible Bird was a bit of a reboot for Lowe and a different kind of Nick Lowe album; more mature and stripped down, with his vocals front and center. It was not quite country, not quite rockabilly, not quite folk, but a flawless combinations of all of the above. Its a collection of choice covers and fantastic Lowe originals expertly executed by a crack band and easily one of Lowe's finest musical statements that includes some of his most endearing and enduring songs.
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SE 1, EP 7: The Police - Outlandos D'Amour
This is Vinyl Tap
12/21/20 • 39 min
Who is (or what is) Sally? What's with the blonde hair? Who's brother went on to found IRS records? Found out on this installment of This is Vinyltap as we take a look at the Police's first album, Outlandos D'Amour.
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SE 4, EP 16: The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Are You Experienced
This is Vinyl Tap
06/01/24 • 124 min
On this episode, we tackle a BIG album, the 1967 debut LP by the Jimi Hendrix Experience, Are You Experienced.
Heralded by many as the greatest rock guitarist of all time, to many Jimi Hendrix, along with his band the Jimi Hendrix Experience (bassist Noel Redding and drummer Mitch Mitchell) seemingly came out of nowhere. However, in reality, Hendrix more than paid his dues, playing in relative obscurity backing a myriad of musicians on the "Chitlin' Circuit," including the Isely Bothers and Little Richard.
Endlessly restless, his stints with these bands was often short lived because he would eventually tire of being in the background and get fired for upstaging the star he was hired to support. He was finally "discovered" in New York by Chas Chandler (bassist of the Animals) who convinced him to go to England where he finally found the success that had alluded him in his own country.
But Are You Experienced proves Hendrix was more than just an amazing guitarist. It showcases what a gifted singer (if a shy and underappreciated one) and songwriter he was. It underscores his imagination and creativity in how he used the studio in his quest to find new sounds from his guitar. After its release, Hendrix became a star and would eventually become the highest paid rock musician of the era. While he would continue to stretch the boundaries of what both the guitar and the studio could do over his next two LPs, Are You Experienced is where it all began, and the the music within sounds as innovative and imaginative as it did in the over the five-plus decades since its release.
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Bonus Episode: Sleestacks (A collection of outtakes)
This is Vinyl Tap
04/24/22 • 12 min
Every now and then, we have to cut stuff from the show to due time constraints. These are some of the recent exchanges we've had: How do you say "Pogues"? Arguing the intellectual and entertaining merit of "Land of the Lost". "Who was Andy Warhol by chipmunks?"
There will be more to come.
Visit us at www.tappingvinyl.com.
SE 3, EP 22: Billy Joel - The Stranger
This is Vinyl Tap
08/07/23 • 139 min
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 the Way You Are", "Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)", "Only the Good Die Young", and "She's Always a Woman"; as well as fan favorites "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant" and "Vienna,” The Stranger would eventually sell over 10 million copies on its way to becoming Columbia's bestselling release of all time.
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FAQ
How many episodes does This is Vinyl Tap have?
This is Vinyl Tap currently has 141 episodes available.
What topics does This is Vinyl Tap cover?
The podcast is about Americana, Punk, Soul, Commentary, Country, Music, Music History, Progressive, Podcast, Podcasts, Rock, Music Commentary and Review.
What is the most popular episode on This is Vinyl Tap?
The episode title 'SE 4, EP 5: Creedence Clearwater Revival - Cosmo's Factory' is the most popular.
What is the average episode length on This is Vinyl Tap?
The average episode length on This is Vinyl Tap is 90 minutes.
How often are episodes of This is Vinyl Tap released?
Episodes of This is Vinyl Tap are typically released every 8 days, 23 hours.
When was the first episode of This is Vinyl Tap?
The first episode of This is Vinyl Tap was released on Nov 6, 2020.
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